Summer on Main Street

by Crista McHugh

  The time had come to end this one way or another. Vance pointed in the direction of a pair of comfortable chairs. As they sat, he took her hand, and after a few deep breaths he spoke to her fingers.

  “If there were no Brooks, would there be an us?”

  “If there were no Brooks, there probably would have been a very hot week of us.” When he scoffed, she relented. “Okay, maybe a wild, crazy month of us…or even a long, steamy summer of us. Because I was looking for the opposite of milquetoast and you certainly…are that.”

  He smiled and squeezed her hand, still unable to look at her.

  “But it would have burned out. You’d have stuck me into the Old Vance style of romance. One shot at the bar and then off to your truck.”

  “I never…okay, rarely ever, do it in my truck anymore.”

  “And I would have gone along with it because a summer fling was all I thought I wanted. Then I’d go back to school and you’d…you’d be off doing shots with someone else.”

  “You sure about that? I was hellbent on settling down before you walked into my training room.”

  She turned her head and looked over at him, so he dragged his gaze up to meet hers.

  “But there is a Brooks,” she said softly.

  God, he hoped she didn’t notice the moisture accumulating in his eyes.

  “I’m not choosing Brooks over you.”

  A bitter laugh erupted. “Of course you’re not,” he quipped, rubbing his eyes.

  “Brooks chose me. He asked me to be your friend. He’s put up with a lot from the two of us. He’s hung in there, waiting it out. Making sure I’m okay, making sure you’re okay. At the same time he’s making sure Darcy’s okay, and Lewis and Duncan and Annabelle are okay. Not to mention his parents, our parents, your baseball team, and the whole darn town. He’s that big. Cares that much. Why he chose me?” She shrugged. “All I know is that I’ve fallen into our all-encompassing Hero of Henderson more and more each day.

  “You’re one of my best friends, Vance. Brooks is my strength, my security, my past, and hopefully my future. He’s too much for me not to love. And if I’ve blown this because I’m…flighty, competitive, and flirtatious and fickle when I’m around you…” she said, giving his arm a punch, “then I’m exactly what he’s been saying all along: too young.”

  “You’re not too young. You’re perfect.”

  “I hope I’m perfect for Brooks. I know I’m a good teammate for you. That’s not going to change.”

  “It’s going to change. It’s gotta change,” Vance said, feeling sorry for himself. “At least until the dust settles.” He felt his phone vibrate against his thigh. He pulled it out, read the text twice, and then cursed.

  “What?”

  “Okay,” he said, his head snapping up. “You! Hit the showers. Get yourself all prettied up so Brooks can’t resist you when you apologize for having your hands all over me.”

  “Having my hands all over—”

  “I’m gonna go find the guy and knock some sense into him. Go!” he ordered before she could question him further.

  “Fine. All right,” Lolly said, collecting her things. “I’m going. Yeesh.”

  Vance waited until Lolly was shut up tight inside the women’s locker room before he called Duncan and made a mad dash for the door.

  “I sure hope you’re bullshittin’ me,” he said when Duncan picked up. “Because if he left with Tansy, we could have a real problem on our hands.”

  “You had a real problem on your hands before Tansy leapt into the truck. What the hell is going on with you and Lolly anyway?”

  Vance bounded up the steps as Duncan was racing down them. They both stopped dead, eyeing one another and cutting off their cells. Duncan looked as angry as Vance had ever seen him.

  “I’m going to fix this,” he promised.

  “How? How the hell are you going to fix this?”

  “Dude. I may not be much of one, but I am a cop.” Vance pushed a few key buttons on his cell. “Got any idea where he was heading?”

  “He turned west out of the drive.”

  Vance nodded and then started issuing orders. “Rookie One. I need you and Rookie Two to find Brooks Bennett and drag his ass to the Henderson Country Club. You’re looking for his truck. Check his home first and then the lake. If that doesn’t turn him up, scout the town. When you find him, interrupt whatever the hell is going on, and I mean whatever is going on, and tell him you have a situation only he can handle. He won’t come willingly if you tell him I sent you or if he knows where you’re taking him. Lie through your teeth or cuff him if you have to, but get him here.”

  When Rookie One started to talk back, Vance talked right over him. “I’m taking full responsibility. Just find him and get him here fast. Oh, and if there is a woman with him named Tansy Langford, put her in a separate car and take her ass home. Got it? Consider these orders. My orders. And you don’t want to be messing with me right now.” He disconnected the call.

  “Brooks isn’t going to like this,” Duncan cautioned.

  “Yeah, well,” Vance sighed. “Nobody ever likes being saved from themselves. Especially the Hometown Hero. Come on,” Vance said, resigned to whatever fate was about to go down. “Let’s get ourselves a shot and a beer.”

  “A beer?” Duncan sputtered. “Don’t you think you should be a little worried about blocking his right hook?”

  “I’ve never once fought anybody while sober,” Vance said, stomping toward the bar. “And I sure as hell see no good reason to start now.”

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  The higher part of Brooks’ brain, the part that was actually thinking calmly while the rest of his mind waged war on Vance, Lolly, and himself, realized that having Tansy Langford in his truck right now signified the most egregious poor choice Brooks had made over the last eight weeks.

  And that was saying something, because the list was long and mighty.

  But as his phone buzzed for the fifth time, he reached into the center console and turned the damn thing off. He sure as hell wasn’t having any kind of conversation in front of Tansy. Tansy, who sat basking in his anger, a prime and willing colluder for making a bad situation worse.

  And wasn’t he considering doing just that?

  Payback is a bitch, he thought. Throwing Tansy into the mix was sure to ignite some kind of explosion. As if that little love-fest on the tennis court hadn’t already taken care of that. He was here, wasn’t he? In his truck with his ex-girlfriend. Running away from the scene.

  Fucking A.

  And the one thing he desperately wanted to do—punch his fist into the dashboard—wasn’t something he wanted a witness for either. Yeah, having Tansy here was a really, really bad idea.

  “So,” she said, her voice scraping over his raw nerves, “is it safe to assume this marks the conclusion of your adventures in babysitting Lolly DuVal?”

  Brooks almost let out a laugh. Clearly, I dropped the ball on babysitting.

  “You’re smart enough to know she’s your rebound, right?”

  “And you’re smart enough to know that one more word is going to get your ass thrown out of this truck, right?”

  “Sorry. I just….”

  “Just what? Want me back? Like this?” he shouted. “Are you insane?”

  “No. I’m not insane. But I am here for you, Brooks. And yes, I do want you back. As soon as you get over this ridiculous infatuation.”

  “Ha,” he laughed humorlessly. “I wish it were a damned infatuation,” he said. “I really do. But I hate to break it to you, Tans. Lolly wreaked havoc on my heart long before I met you.”

  “What are you talking about? She’s a child.”

  “Yeah, well that child helped me through one of the worst nights of my life back when I was just a kid myself. And I never forgot it. Not likely to now.”

  “So, what? You’re going to forgive her an affair with your best friend behind your back?”

  “If they’re having an
affair, it clearly isn’t happening behind my back.”

  “They are in love with each other. Anybody watching that match could see it.”

  “It’s complicated.”

  “Oh My God! It’s not that complicated.”

  “What do you know about it, huh? You never once tried to get to know Vance. And you sure as hell don’t know a thing about Lolly. You’ve been off living in some…city.”

  “And you’re angry about that. I get it.”

  “I’m not angry about that, Tansy. That may be the one thing I am not angry about right now.”

  “You sure about that? Because it sounds like you’re making excuses for everybody involved but me.”

  Brooks let out a long breath as he pulled over to the side of the road, hearing the rough tumble of loose gravel underneath his tires as he came to a stop. He put the truck in park, put both hands on the steering wheel, and stared at it, thinking. Hard.

  He wasn’t making excuses. Things with Lolly and Vance were complicated. No one understood that better than he did. Yet he’d allowed their little love affair on the tennis court to get the better of him.

  Because he’d shown up vulnerable.

  Because he hadn’t been allocated enough of her time.

  Which was his own damn fault, because all along he’d been holding Lolly off with one hand and egging her on with the other. Trying to protect himself.

  From?

  Falling in love with Lolly.

  In case you hadn’t noticed, asshole, that ship has sailed.

  From losing Lolly.

  Brooks turned his head and looked over at Tansy.

  Running away with your ex-girlfriend is a surefire way to take care of that.

  He might not have all the answers at the moment, but he was damn certain of one thing. He’d rather be stuck in a love triangle with Vance and Lolly than sitting here with Tansy or any other girl.

  He threw the truck in drive and made a U-turn.

  “Where are we going?” Tansy asked.

  “Back.”

  “Back? Why?”

  “Because it’s time.”

  “Time for what?”

  “Time to start throwing my weight around. Time to start imposing my will. Time for me to lay down the title Hero of Henderson and become Chieftain instead.”

  “Chieftain? I thought you wanted to be mayor.”

  “Yeah. No. Chieftain.”

  Tansy let out a big sigh. “I guess this means you’re going back to Lolly.”

  “I love her,” Brooks said without apology. “I don’t want to hurt you, Tans, but the truth is I love her and I’m going to fight for her. You may as well pack up and head back to your big city because I aim to make her the Chieftain’s wife.”

  A long, sad silence emanated from the passenger side. Then, with a sigh of finality, Tansy offered, “Well, as long as the two of you plan to adopt Vance, I’m sure you’ll be very happy.”

  Brooks started laughing. “God, that’s the truth.”

  Tansy nodded and began laughing with him.

  ***

  Once Brooks pulled back into the same parking spot he’d recently vacated, he hopped out of the cab, sent Tansy off with a quick hug and headed to the front doors of the Club. He turned on his cell and scrolled through the missed calls, voice mails, and one text message from Duncan.

  ‘Annabelle and I are turning this thing around. Trust us.’

  Good. Finally, he thought as he picked up his pace. The Chieftain had backup.

  About damn time.

  He hit the foyer, bounced up the stairs and didn’t have to venture any farther to know where to find his clan. Because although the volume might not have been loud, the air filtering out of the mixed grill was so loaded with tension it would have stopped anybody in their tracks. Brooks pulled up short underneath the frame of the double doors and blinked.

  Annabelle Devine—beautiful, sweet Keeper of the Debutantes and Miss Manners in all things—was right up in Vance’s face chewing him a new one.

  Words like ‘shameful,’ ‘lowdown,’ and ‘vile’ were raining down on Vance, punctuated with finger pokes to the chest as she launched phrases like ‘public display,’ ‘rules of civility,’ and ‘bonds of friendship’ at him.

  Clearly Duncan’s precious southern belle was this Chieftain’s military leader. She was doing such a thorough job of evisceration that Brooks was half tempted to jump in and stop it.

  He looked around for Duncan and found him standing in the background gnawing on a knuckle, his expression a mix of mirth and horror. When he caught Duncan’s eye he mouthed, ‘Where’s Lolly?’

  Duncan mouthed back, ‘Locker room.’

  Brooks headed directly there, ready to start imposing his will.

  After five minutes of waiting for her to emerge, he imposed his fist on the door and shouted for Lolly.

  No answer.

  He knocked again.

  This time the locker room attendant, a stout, frowning, and territorial woman named Lulu opened the door and looked him up and down.

  His heart sank. Lulu. It had to be Lulu.

  “I’m looking for Lolly DuVal,” he said, offering up his best Golden Boy grin.

  “Mmhmm,” she huffed, crossing her arms and looking him up and down.

  Okay. That’s not good.

  “She was here. Fixin’ herself up all pretty. Until her phone started beeping and shaking and sputtering like the world was coming to an end.”

  Uh-oh.

  “Sat there a good ten minutes reading text after text.”

  Brooks took his phone out of his pocket and started dialing.

  “Then she just sat there staring into space. Like she’d been blindsided.”

  At the same time Brooks rang Lolly, he could hear a phone ringing from inside the locker room. Lolly’s ring.

  “Excuse me a minute,” Lulu said.

  Lolly didn’t pick up. But when the door to the locker room reopened, there was Lulu holding Lolly’s phone.

  His hand dropped as he disconnected the call.

  “I guess she had enough…of all the shaking and beeping.”

  “Where is she?”

  “Sounded like a friend was picking her up.”

  “Can I see that?” Brooks was more than a little surprised Lulu handed it over. He pushed the Recent button and looked at the calls. “Darcy,” he whispered.

  “Thank you,” he said honestly as he handed her back the phone.

  “That’s it? You aren’t going to snoop through all those text messages to see what kind of trouble you’re in?”

  “Lulu, I know as well as you do what kind of trouble I’m in. Thanks for your help,” he said as he turned and put his phone to his ear.

  He was walking out the side door to the parking lot when Darcy answered her phone.

  “Tansy Langford?” came the harsh whisper. “You are dumping my best friend for that bitch who snuck out of town?”

  “Of course not! Where are you? Where’s Lolly?”

  “Like I’m gonna tell you.”

  “Darcy. I swear to God….” He seethed. He caught himself. “Okay, okay,” he said as he stopped beside his truck and started thinking. He checked his watch, realizing it wasn’t long until he had to suit up for work.

  “Darcy, listen to me. Whatever gossip is flying around about Tansy is completely false.”

  “So you didn’t burn rubber all the way down Club Drive with Tansy Langford sitting on your lap while fifty people looked on?”

  Fucking A.

  “She wasn’t sitting on my—” He stopped himself and took a deep breath. “Darcy. I love Lolly. You know I love Lolly. And, I probably—no, I definitely—should have taken your advice sooner and started imposing my will. But I assure you, I plan to make up for lost time just as soon as I get off work tonight. So do me a favor and don’t let her out of your sight. I get off at midnight. If you can find it in your heart to throw me a bone and text me where you two are then, I’d be eternal
ly grateful.” But I certainly won’t be holding my breath.

  “Roger that, Rambo.”

  “Not Rambo. Chief,” he said as he hung up.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Brooks hit the office at the end of his patrol feeling uneasy. It was getting close to midnight and Henderson was just a little too quiet. The third of July held just as much potential for disaster as the Fourth, with amateur fireworks and parties for every age group scattered around town and at the lake. He’d driven by all the hot spots and found the gatherings small, safe, and sane. That did not bode well. He was missing something.

  But he wasn’t missing Vance apparently. Vance was there, sitting in Brooks' chair.

  “Fuck off,” Vance said as Brooks approached. “Annabelle already laid into me.”

  Brooks held up his hands but couldn’t keep the grin off his face. “You’d have gotten off easier with me. I’d have hit you once and it would’ve been over.”

  “No doubt,” Vance growled. “Right now my ego, my manhood, and my pride are lying in an ICU trying to recover.”

  Brooks laughed at that, plopping himself up on his desk facing his buddy. “Well, you sort of deserved it.”

  “I sort of did,” Vance agreed. “I’m sorry, man. Won’t happen again.”

  Brooks gave him a short nod. “And just to make sure, I’m giving you a week to arrange a meeting with Piper Beaumont.” When Vance looked up sharply, Brooks went on. “I know Duncan found her and the idea of meeting her again made your balls drop off, but you need to grow a new pair, and fast. Because if you don’t make contact in the next ten days, I will.”

  “You will what?”

  “Contact her. Cuff her. Throw her in the back of my truck and dump her on your damn doorstep. You need a woman, my friend. A woman of your own.”

  “Don’t I know it.”

  “Okay then. Damn glad that’s settled. One down, one to go.”

  “You haven’t seen Lolly yet?”

  Brooks shook his head as the precinct door opened behind him. Both men turned to watch Lewis Kampmueller walk in, staring down at his cell phone. Duncan shouted a greeting as he came in behind Lewis. “Thought we’d stop in and see if you two were up for a beer after you get off work.”