by Gina Wilkins
And now he had subjected her to this—the scrutiny of his old friends, strangers to her, and his family, all of whom seemed compelled to treat her like some sort of oddity. Because she was so refreshingly different? Or simply because she was with him?
During the third quarter she decided she wanted a soft drink from the concessions stand. Joel immediately offered to get it for her, but she declined, telling him she needed to stretch her legs.
“She’s something else, Joel,” Ernie confided when Nic was gone. “How’d you meet a cute cop, anyway?”
“She lives next door to me in Cabot,” Joel reminded him. “We’re neighbors and friends. She needed a break from work and I wanted company for the trip here, so she agreed to come along with me.”
“So there’s nothing going on between the two of you?” Earl inquired.
Aware of several pairs of ears listening for the answer to that question, Joel forced a smile. “We’re friends,” he repeated. “Good friends, obviously, since she was willing to accompany me to a high school reunion.”
“So there’s nothing…uh…?”
“Friends,” Joel said firmly.
“Of course they’re just friends,” Heidi said with a wave of one red-tipped hand. “I could see that right away. Nicole is a lovely girl but hardly Joel’s type.”
Joel felt his eyebrows rise, but he bit back the obvious question. He really didn’t want to get into one of those discussions with Heidi this evening.
As fond as he was of Heidi, she had a bad habit of thinking she knew what was best for everyone else. She’d told him once that she’d always fantasized about having a syndicated advice column because she thought she was pretty good at solving other people’s problems. She just had a talent, she had added with no attempt at modesty.
She had contented herself with running his father’s orthodontia business—and the personal lives of everyone else who worked there—serving as perpetual president of the local PTA, chairing half a dozen committees for church and social organizations and organizing periodic reunions of her high school class. Her friends tolerated her for the most part, understanding that a kind heart and good intentions lay behind her bossiness. A few people disliked her and avoided her as much as possible.
Joel liked her well enough but was secretly glad he lived in another state.
Even knowing better than to get into a debate with Heidi, he was tempted to ask exactly why she seemed so adamant that he and Nic were mismatched. Was it only because Nic was so very different than Heather? And did Heidi really believe he would look for someone exactly like Heather if he were to consider marrying again?
Nic dropped onto the bench beside him, offering him one of the two sodas she’d brought with her, and then set a bag of popcorn between them to share. Considering the timing of her appearance, Joel wondered if she had overheard Heidi’s comment. If she had, he couldn’t tell from her expression, which revealed nothing of her thoughts as she tossed a handful of popcorn into her mouth and turned her attention to the game again.
For some reason, Joel had to pretty much force his own gaze away from Nic’s face. He assured himself that the fact that he found her much more interesting than the game wasn’t particularly significant—despite what any of his friends might think.
The Danston Cardinals won by a field goal. After cheering until they were hoarse, the home crowd began to move toward the exits. To keep from losing each other in the stampede, Joel and Nic held hands on their way out of the stadium. Their progress was slow, especially since people kept stopping Joel to chat with him. Nic moved along patiently beside him, buoyed by the good spirits of the home team supporters.
She had spotted the security officers on-site, of course. She had worked sporting events herself on plenty of occasions. Yet there was no officer visible when she noticed a group of perhaps ten boys, roughly half wearing Cardinals red, the others in Pirates black and purple, all squaring off in a shadowy corner of the lot. She drew her hand out of Joel’s loose grip.
“Great,” she murmured in resignation just as one boy took a swing at another.
It was strictly instinct that had her running forward, right into the path of a swinging fist.
Dodging the punch with the skill of experience, Nic grabbed the most aggressive boy by the collar and jerked him backward. “Break it up!” she shouted, throwing up a hand to hold off another would-be fighter. “Now!”
The boy she was detaining surged forward when one of the others jeered at him for being collared by a “little lady.” A moment later Nic had his arm twisted behind him. The furious teenager winced when she pushed upward, making it very clear that what was merely discomfort now could easily become real pain.
“Keep fighting me and you’re going to be eating asphalt,” she advised him loudly enough to be heard over the din. She jerked upward on his arm again to punctuate the threat.
He stilled reluctantly, and by that time several other people had arrived to help break up the fight, including Joel, the Watson twins and a uniformed officer. After some stern warnings, the boys were sent on their separate ways.
Instinctively recognizing another cop, the officer chatted with Nic for a few minutes, and then Nic turned to Joel to let him know she was ready to go. Once again she was all too aware of being the center of his former classmates’ attention.
She suppressed a wince as she realized how she must have looked charging into a fight and grabbing hold of a snarling teenager. She doubted very much that Heather would have reacted to the situation that way. More likely the beloved psychologist would have encouraged the boys to sit down and talk out their problems.
“Whoa, Joel,” Earl teased. “You better not mess with this one. I think she could take you.”
Joel didn’t seem to mind the ribbing. Instead he merely laughed and said, “I have no doubt that she could. That’s why I never argue with her.”
Nic gave a little snort of disbelief. “Yeah, right.”
Still smiling, he motioned toward his father’s car. “Let’s get out of here.”
“We’ll see you tomorrow, Joel,” Heidi called after them. “Oh, and, um, you, too, Nicole.”
“She could hardly contain her enthusiasm,” Nic murmured beneath her breath.
“What was that?” Joel asked as he started the car.
She snapped her seat belt and gave him an artificially bright smile. “Nothing. Great game, huh?”
“Yeah. It’s always nice when our team wins the homecoming game.”
“Sorry if I embarrassed you by breaking up that fight. Habit kicked in, I guess.”
“You didn’t embarrass me.” He seemed surprised that she had suggested it. “I just wish I had reacted as quickly as you did. I didn’t even realize what was going on until you were already in the middle of it.”
“I’ve worked enough ball games to know when a fight’s starting.”
“You handled that tall guy easily enough. Don’t you ever worry that your smaller size will put you at a disadvantage?”
“I’ve learned to use it to my benefit. You know what they say—small but wiry. Besides, the guy was tall but skinny beneath those baggy clothes. I doubt he outweighed me by much.”
He chuckled. “I don’t think I’ll put Earl’s theory to the test anytime soon.”
“Earl’s theory?”
“That you could take me down. He’s probably right.”
Most men seemed to have a problem with the idea of being bested in a physical confrontation by a woman. Brad, for one, had always had a need to prove himself around Nic, challenging her to foot and bike races and other endurance tests. Even friendly games of pool and darts had become fierce competitions when the two of them had gone head-to-head.
It was almost as if the subtext had been, You might be a trained officer of the law, but I’m the real man in the relationship. Nic had gotten the message, but she hadn’t backed down—and in some ways, Brad had respected that. Until he’d gotten tired of it, of course, and gone l
ooking for someone with whom he didn’t have to work quite so hard at maintaining his ego.
If Joel harbored any similar feelings of threatened masculinity, he hid them very well. He cheerfully admitted that he was no fighter and that his idea of extreme sports was a rousing game of racquetball in the local gym. He had no problems being friends with a woman who could hold her own in a physical contest—but she didn’t know how he would feel about being in a romantic relationship with a woman like her.
As far as she knew, he’d had only a few dates during the time she had known him, usually when he had needed a companion for some social function he had been expected to attend in his position as one of Cabot’s prominent professionals. His choices had been fairly predictable, as far as Nic was concerned. A pretty kindergarten teacher who’d once been a Miss Arkansas runner-up. An attractive divorcée who owned a successful travel agency. A veterinarian from nearby Searcy that he had met through mutual friends.
If there had been any second dates with any of them, Nic wasn’t aware of it. She had always believed—and Aislinn concurred—that Joel had deliberately refrained from leading any woman on to believe he was interested in more than a pleasant evening of companionship. The more she learned about his late wife, the more she could understand how difficult it was for him to find anyone who measured up to her.
Vaguely depressed—or maybe she was just tired—she leaned back in the plush seat of Dr. Lou Brannon’s sedan and pretended to listen to the music streaming from the stereo speakers.
Chapter Five
Elaine was in the den, sipping a cup of what smelled like herbal tea and watching the evening news on TV, when Nic and Joel returned from the game. She wore a floor-length pink velveteen robe that revealed just a hint of a lacy white nightgown at the neck, making her resemblance to a porcelain doll even more striking to Nic.
Smiling when they walked into the room, she asked, “How was the game?”
Joel leaned down to brush a kiss against his mother’s cheek. “We won. By a late-game field goal. Very exciting.”
“Oh, I’m glad. And your reunion? How did that go?”
“It was nice enough. I wish it were over.”
Elaine shook her head. “And skip the big event tomorrow evening? Heidi would be heartbroken. She’s been planning this for months.”
Joel sighed heavily. “Yeah, I know. I’m just not particularly looking forward to it.”
“You could always have an emergency call from Cabot,” Nic suggested helpfully. “You’ve made your appearance and proven to everyone that you’re okay. They wouldn’t be surprised if a busy doctor had to bail early.”
Joel seemed to consider the suggestion, but Elaine shook her head in disapproval. “Lie to your old friends?” she asked. “People who have been so looking forward to seeing you? I’m sure you’re only teasing, Nicole, but Joel would never do that.”
Giving Nic a wry look that let her know he was well aware she hadn’t been teasing, Joel appeased his mother by saying, “I’ll go to the party, Mom. And I’ll probably even have a pretty good time. But that doesn’t mean I’m counting the minutes until it starts.”
Still frowning a little in Nic’s direction, Elaine rose from the couch. “I think I’ll turn in. Your father already went up, since he was tired from a particularly long day. Can I walk you to your bedroom, Nicole?”
Startled by the offer, Nic shook her head. “Thanks, but I’ll go up in a little while. I think I’ll watch a little TV first to wind down from the game, if that’s okay.”
“Of course it’s okay,” Joel assured her. “Actually, I need to wind down a little myself. Maybe have a cup of that herbal tea Mom’s been drinking.”
“All right.” Elaine looked somewhat anxiously from Nic to Joel and back. “You’ll let us know if you need anything during the night, Nicole?”
“I’ll be fine. Good night, Mrs. Brannon.”
“Yes. Good night.”
Nic waited until she was sure the older woman was out of earshot before she turned to Joel. “Did she really think I’d jump you as soon as we were alone together?”
Joel blinked a couple of times in surprise at her blunt question, but then he smiled and shook his head. “Why on earth would you think that?”
“It was obvious that she didn’t want to leave us in here together.”
“I’m sure you’re imagining things. Mom’s kind of hard to read sometimes.”
Nic didn’t think Elaine was at all hard to read. To her, it was clear that Elaine had come to the conclusion that Nic was not a suitable match for her son. Perhaps she thought Nic was angling to be the next Mrs. Brannon.
Elaine was probably convinced that any woman in her right mind would be interested in snagging her good-looking, successful-doctor son. Especially, Nic thought cynically, a woman like her—an average-looking small-town cop nearing her thirties.
A woman who couldn’t be more opposite from the daughter-in-law Elaine had obviously adored.
Dismissing the comments about his mother’s motives, Joel motioned Nic toward the couch. “Make yourself comfortable. You want something to drink? A nightcap? Soda? Hot cocoa?”
“Hot cocoa sounds good, actually. Can I help you with it?”
“No, sit tight. I’ll get it. Marshmallows or whipped cream?”
“Marshmallows, of course.” Sinking onto the deep, comfortable, intimidatingly white sofa cushions, Nic reached for the remote control. Might as well watch Letterman’s Top Ten since she was up, she figured.
Her cell phone rang while a local car dealer was shouting at the camera about the crazy deals he was offering for the month of October. Hearing the familiar opening refrains of her personalized ringtone—The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun”—she scrambled in the canvas tote bag she used for a purse to find the small phone.
Aislinn’s number was displayed on the screen. Surprised—and a little concerned—Nic held the phone to her ear. “Aislinn? What’s wrong?”
“That’s what I was going to ask you,” her friend said somberly. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Why do you ask?”
“I don’t know. I just had a feeling that something was wrong there. Something involving you.”
“Well, your feeling is misguided for once. Everything is perfectly fine here. Joel and I just got back from the football game, and the home team won and everything. Joel’s old friend’s were nice, for the most part, and I had a pretty good time, considering that I was attending someone else’s reunion.”
“So there was no…?”
“No what?” Nic prodded patiently.
“For some reason, I had a feeling you were in some sort of danger. Silly, I know, but…well, I had to call.”
Nic couldn’t help but smile. Aislinn could deny all she wanted that she had psychic abilities, but if she had picked up on the minor incident tonight, her abilities were much stronger than she wanted to admit.
“There was a fight after the game between some of the rival schoolkids. Well, almost a fight. I got in the middle of it and broke it up, along with some help from Joel and his friends and a security officer. It might have turned ugly if we hadn’t been there to stop it, but it was over almost before it began. I was never in danger.”
“A fight, huh?” Aislinn was quiet for a few minutes, as if trying to make the facts fit with her feelings.
“I suppose that could be it,” she conceded eventually, though she still sounded hesitant. “You weren’t hurt or anything, were you?”
“Not even a scratch. They were just kids—and skinny ones, at that.”
“Okay. Good. So you’re having a good time?”
“Let’s just say I’m not ready to slit my wrists. Yet.”
Aislinn laughed. “I’ll take that as a good sign. What are you doing now? Did I get you out of bed?”
“No, Joel and I were just about to have some hot chocolate. Actually, here he is now.” She smiled up at him as he stood over her, two steaming, marshmallow-topped mu
gs in his hands. “Aislinn says hi.”
“Tell her hi back. She checking to see if you’ve bolted yet?”
“Pretty much. Joel says hi, Aislinn.”
“I’ll let you enjoy your cocoa. Have fun tomorrow. And, Nic…be careful, okay?”
“Yeah, sure. Of course. You know me, I’m always careful.”
“Right.” Aislinn didn’t sound overly confident when she disconnected.
“What was that all about?” Joel asked as he handed Nic her mug, then sank onto the couch beside her.
Nic dropped her phone back into her tote bag and shrugged. “With Aislinn, who knows? She had a feeling that I was in danger, so she had to call.”
“In danger? Here?” The slight alarm in Joel’s expression was an indication of how seriously he had learned to take Aislinn’s vague warnings. “What did she say?”
Licking marshmallow off her lip, Nic shook her head reassuringly. “I told her about the fight we broke up at the ballpark. She agreed that was probably what had set off her…well, her intuition or whatever the heck it is that gives her those feelings. She felt a lot better after I told her how minor the whole thing was.”
“So she somehow picked up that you were in the middle of a fight earlier and she felt compelled to call and make sure you were okay.”
“Yeah. Basically.” Nic took another sip of her cocoa, enjoying the rich taste as it slid across her tongue.
“You have odd friends, Nic.”
She laughed. “You can say that after we just spent the evening with Heidi and the Watson twins?”
Looking rueful, Joel nodded. “Okay, you’ve got a point there.”
“You make really good cocoa. This is delicious.”
Smiling, he reached out to smooth a bit of marshmallow off her lip with the ball of his thumb. “It’s a mix. Add boiling water and stir.”
For some reason, she was suddenly flustered. She cleared her throat, looked into her mug and babbled, “No kidding? It’s better than the mixes I buy.”
Joel’s voice sounded a little strained when he replied. “Mom makes it herself using powdered milk and cocoa and stuff. I don’t know what else is in it. A little cinnamon, I think.”