Crime and Periodicals: Green Valley Library Book #2

by Romance, Smartypants

  “Look.” Harry pointed. “Lizzy flipped over.” He stopped and stared, then looked up at me with excitement on his face. I looked where he pointed. The cheerleaders were stretching and dancing and doing flips on the track on the side of the field. Lizzy waved at us.

  “Hi, Lizzy, hi!” Harry shouted at her.

  She ran over and gave him a hug. “I’m gonna miss you, Harry, when I go off to college.” She sniffed then looked at me. “I’m sorry, y’all. I didn’t mean to hurt Weston, I…”

  “It’s okay, honey,” my father answered before she could finish her thought. “College is important and y’all are just too young to be in a serious relationship.”

  I nodded my agreement. “And we’re happy for you, Lizzy. Congratulations.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “Good luck tonight, sweetheart.” Wyatt hugged her goodbye before she ran back to rejoin the cheerleaders.

  “We got here early. We’re almost up front, right by the fifty-yard line,” Wyatt informed us and pointed to where his family was sitting—third row back, dead center.

  My father had turned away to chat with one of the people that had come up to say hi to him.

  Harry excitedly held up a hand. “Shh, I can hear Ruby and the band. Do you hear it too?”

  We could hear the band warming up from somewhere close by. Ruby said they would march in to their fight song.

  “I hear it, Harry.” I smiled at him. He was so excited, and I was so proud of how far he had come since the school year had started.

  “They are playing ‘On, Wisconsin!’, the official fight song of the Wisconsin Badgers, and the battle cry of Arthur MacArthur Jr. in the battle of Chattanooga at Missionary Ridge, in the Civil War. It is one of the most popular fight songs in the country. It is in the public domain. So, I can sing it wherever I want to, and no one can sue me,” Harry informed us.

  “Wow,” Wyatt said.

  “Harry likes to read history books. He likes facts and quotes,” I explained.

  “‘Destiny is that which we are drawn towards and fate is that which we run into.’ Wyatt Earp, right, Harry?” Wyatt said with a smile.

  “You remembered!” Harry was pleased.

  It astounded me that Wyatt remembered that—from the day we met.

  I smiled up at him.

  He touched my nose with his index finger and grinned at me.

  Boop.

  “There they are. Let’s go. It’ll be starting soon,” my father announced and started waving to Wyatt’s family.

  Mel spotted us. “Hey! Harry, hi! Harry, over here, look at me!” she screamed and waved as she jumped up and down in front of her spot on the bench. Everett caught her before she tumbled forward into the row below. He stood her up on his legs to sit on his shoulder. She laughed, thrilled at her high perch, and waved both hands over her head at us.

  Harry laughed and returned her wave.

  Wyatt shook his head. “I told you she was excited to see you, bud. Come on.” He held his hand out. Harry took it, and they jogged through the crowds and up into the stands. My father and I followed close behind.

  “Hi, Miss Sabrina,” Mak greeted me once we’d caught up to Wyatt and Harry.

  “Hi, sweetheart,” I said softly.

  “Hey, y’all,” Wyatt’s dad greeted as he stood up. “Roy, good to see you.” Wyatt’s father and mine shook hands and his mother stood up to hug my father. Jeez, he really did know everyone in town. Wyatt’s brothers waved at us from their spots farther down the row.

  I took a deep breath and smiled at Wyatt’s family. The good thing about being in a crowd this large was that it was loud. I quit worrying about chatting with his family and instead concentrated on smiling at them without crazy eyes.

  I shook his parents’ hands and smiled when Wyatt introduced me. Then Wyatt held his hand out to me with a grin on his face. I took it and he pulled me down the row to sit next to him and the girls. Everett and his other two brothers, Barrett and Garrett, were on the end, close to the staircase on the other side of the bench. We took up an entire row of the bleachers. My father sat by Wyatt’s father on the end of the row, and they chatted together with his mother.

  I settled into the bench with my hip and thigh pressed all along the length of Wyatt’s. My heart pounded a fast staccato and my stomach dipped and swirled like an internal roller coaster.

  How was I supposed to sit like this for the whole game and not die of a heart attack or have a spontaneous orgasm?

  He leaned over to talk to Mak and Mel. His arm went around me, and he placed his hand on the bench next to my hip.

  He was so warm, so handsome, such a good dad, and a good man.

  Holy crap. This is it. This will be how I die—dead of an effing swoon at age twenty-seven.

  I inhaled a deep breath and got a lungful of Wyatt. His head was in front of mine as he spoke to his daughters, telling them to behave. I could smell his shampoo. I could also smell his soap or cologne or whatever it was that made him so yummy—or maybe it was just him. Maybe it was his pheromones that drove me crazy and got my own pheromones all riled up. Whatever it was, I wanted to take a bite, or a lick, or just move in and live inside of him so I could smell him all day.

  He pulled back a bit, his face near mine. Only inches away. Holy Hufflepuffs.

  “You doing okay?” he whispered.

  I nodded. “I’m fine, Wyatt. Thank you.”

  He stared into my eyes for a second while the crowd did all the crowd stuff—laugh, talk, yell, cheer. Whatever.

  He leaned forward and pecked me on the lips. He followed that move with a grin.

  I poked his dimple, and he laughed.

  “Where’s your mom?” Mel said to Harry.

  I gasped softly and froze.

  Wyatt’s eyes darted to the kids.

  “My mom lives in heaven,” Harry answered. “But it’s okay because I have Pop and Riri. She’s going to be my mom for real soon.”

  “We don’t have a mom either,” Mel said.

  “Our mom has a new family,” Mak added.

  “Riri takes care of me. Maybe she can be your mom too. She’s real good at it. I know how to share. Love grows when you give it away. My Pop says that sometimes.”

  Don’t cry. Don’t cry.

  “You can’t just get a new mom, Harry. You have to get adopted or something,” Mak said.

  “I’m getting adopted by Riri,” he explained.

  Mak’s eyebrows rose, and she looked at me with questions on her sweet face.

  We all jumped when we heard a whistle, followed by a drumroll from the percussionists. The band had taken position at the edge of the football field and began playing the fight song. As they played, they marched onto the field and divided into two lines on either side of the goal posts to stretch down the football field. The cheerleaders lined up next to them with their navy blue and gold pom-poms waving in the air.

  Harry stood up. “I can’t see Ruby.”

  Mel stood next to him. “I’ll help you find her. What does she look like?”

  Harry pointed to me. “Ruby looks like Riri.”

  Mel squinted her eyes and studied the band. “They all have hats on, and their clothes are all the same. Just watch everybody Harry, then you’ll see her for sure,” Mel advised.

  I grinned at her. I couldn’t argue with that logic.

  Wyatt chuckled. “There she is.” He spotted her before I did. Luckily, she was facing our side of the field.

  “Hi, Ruby! Ruby, hi!” Harry yelled and waved.

  “She can’t hear you,” I whispered into his ear. He was doing remarkably well with the noise. I couldn’t believe it.

  “Okay,” he said. I put my arm around him as we watched.

  The drum major whistled again, and the band quieted as the announcer’s voice filled the stadium over the speakers. Harry flinched when the speakers crackled. I pulled him closer into my side. “It’s just the speakers,” I said into his ear.

 
“Welcome to Green Valley High School’s homecoming game!” the announcer shouted. The crowd went wild; the screams were deafening. Harry turned into my body and buried his face into my chest.

  “You’re okay, Harry. It will be just fine,” I told him. “If you turn back to look, Weston will come out soon.”

  He looked up at me, some of the fear left his expression and he nodded and turned around.

  Mak had traded places with Mel, who was now on Wyatt’s mother’s lap. She took Harry’s hand and held it. “It is too loud,” she said. “We don’t like it either.”

  “You okay, ladybug?” Wyatt said to her.

  She gave him a look, then glanced pointedly at Harry. “Yeah, Daddy, I’m okay.” She was trying to make Harry feel better.

  I am now officially in love with Wyatt’s daughters.

  I smiled at her, then we all turned our attention back to the field as the announcer started calling out the players’ names. They ran through the rows the band had formed and stood on the opposite side of the field.

  “And here’s your quarterback: The shark of the Green Valley High School Football field—Weston Adams.” Tears filled my eyes when I saw Weston run across the field to join his teammates on the other side.

  You should be here to see this, Cora.

  I blinked the tears away before they could fall. Wyatt put his arm around me and squeezed my shoulder.

  The band moved again to form a waving flag across the football field, the majorettes and color guard pulled red white and blue streamers through the rows the band had created, and the cheerleaders stood on either side, pom-poms still in the air and flashing navy and gold under the lights.

  “Look at that.” Harry excitedly turned to me as he pointed out to the field.

  “Amazing,” I agreed.

  “In the crowd tonight, we have a special homecoming treat for y’all. One of Green Valley High School’s most accomplished alumni. He started right here on this field and went aaallll the way to the University of Tennessee Knoxville’s football team. Give a cheer for Green Valley’s own Wyatt Monroe!” The crowd roared in response.

  I glanced at Wyatt. He had turned bright red. His smile was tight as he gave a quick wave. He really did not like the attention. I leaned into him and he gripped me tighter.

  Harry and Mak cuddled against me, Harry in front of me, and Mak at my side. I wrapped my arms around them both as we listened to the band play “The Star Spangled Banner.” The band marched off the field and took their place in the stands, one section over from us. The referee tossed a coin and some other stuff happened, the game started, and I lost interest. I guess I agreed with Ruby on this one—the band was more entertaining.

  Wyatt and his brothers, however, did not lose interest. It was cute how they cheered and discussed the game.

  “Weston is good,” Wyatt praised.

  Harry moved to sit between me and Wyatt. Wyatt and his brothers explained to him what was going on. It kept Harry focused on the game and not on all the noise in the stands and the crackling speakers blasting out the announcer’s voice.

  Mel was dozing off on Becky Lee’s lap, which I could not understand one bit. My ears were ringing from the noise.

  Since my dad and Wyatt’s parents were busy becoming best friends at the end of the row, that left Mak and me. I didn’t have time to dwell on finding the right thing to say because somehow, I was in the moment, instead of obsessing about what could go wrong.

  The game was a close one. The teams had been trading the lead back and forth the whole time. Every so often Wyatt would explain what was going on or I would check the scoreboard. I’m not a complete football idiot. Halftime was long over. The show the band put on only solidified my opinion on the band versus game debate—not that I would ever let Ruby or Weston know what I thought.

  I almost fell off the bench when Wyatt, his brothers, and Harry yelled, “Go, go, go,” and cheered loudly. My eyes snapped to the field. Weston had the ball; he was running for the end zone.

  “If he makes it, then we’ll win!” Wyatt explained.

  Mak and I cheered and jumped up and down with the guys as Weston dodged two boys from the other team before they could tackle him.

  “Go, Weston!” I screamed, surprising myself. I had no idea I had that in me.

  Harry looked up at me with a huge smile on his face. I beamed back down at him. The crowd was going berserk. I held Harry’s hand and stayed close to make sure he was okay with the deafening noise.

  I noticed the band had already left the stadium. Ruby would miss Weston’s potential big moment.

  Suddenly two boys from the other team tackled Weston and landed on top of him. Right by the goal posts. Why would they do that? He was in the end zone. Hadn’t he already scored?

  Harry gasped, then he screamed, “Noooo, Westie!”

  Oh no, oh no.

  “What the hell?” Everett yelled.

  I pulled Harry close to my body. I felt his head tip up to look at me, but my eyes remained glued to the field. The two boys got up, but Weston did not move. He was still and quiet on the ground, with the ball in his arms. Until it rolled to the side to land in the grass.

  I looked up at Wyatt. He glanced down at me, concern etched in his features. “He’ll be okay,” he whispered.

  I was not convinced.

  “Westie. Get up, Westie!” Harry screamed and lunged forward. I caught him around his waist before he could fall. He covered his face with his hands and burst into tears. I sat down and pulled him onto my lap. Mak cuddled into my side and looked up at me, eyes wide with concern.

  “It’ll be okay, honey,” I told her.

  I glanced down the row to my father. He was trying to move into the crowded aisle to get down to the field. People had frozen where they were, even standing on the steps between aisles, in order to see what would happen.

  “I need to get down there,” he said, frustration filled his voice.

  Weston still had not moved.

  “We’ll get you down there,” Everett said. Wyatt’s three brothers stood and passed in front of us to help my father get down to the field.

  “Tighter, Riri. Harry’s scared hugs please,” he sobbed. I squeezed him as tight as I could against my body.

  Weston or my father were always the ones to give Harry the ‘scared hugs.’ They were bigger and stronger than me and could hold him tighter than I could. Tears filled my eyes as they bounced between a scared and melting-down Harry in my arms, to Weston on his back on the field, and to Wyatt’s huge brothers escorting my father down to help.

  “I’m trying, Harry. Shh, he’ll be okay. It will be just fine,” I whispered as I squeezed him with all my strength. His arms flailed before he gripped his fists into my T-shirt.

  Wyatt’s parents scooted closer to us. “What can we do?” Becky Lee asked me.

  “I don’t know,” I answered.

  Mel had awakened. “Is Harry gonna be okay?” she said from Becky Lee’s lap.

  “He will be. Big feelings are still hard for him to handle,” I explained.

  Harry was writhing and sobbing in my arms. I was struggling to keep hold of him. “Tighter,” he sobbed.

  “I’m trying, Harry. I’m squeezing as hard as I can. Weston will be okay.” Please be okay.

  I squealed when Wyatt scooped me up to sit sideways on his lap. He wrapped his arms around me, over my arms and covered my hands with his to help me squeeze Harry tighter. Harry moved his face into Wyatt’s chest and huddled into him. We were both in a warm cocoon, safe in Wyatt’s arms.

  I glimpsed what my future could be, and for a moment it scared me—what if I lost it?

  He lowered his head to whisper to Harry, “Weston will be okay. Your grandpa is down there with him right now.”

  I turned my head; he had finally made it to the field. Thank goodness for the Monroes. Had we been here alone…

  I turned back and met Wyatt’s eyes. He smiled softly at me. “He’ll be fine, Sabrina. It’s just par
t of the game sometimes.”

  I nodded at him. “Okay, Wyatt.” My eyes darted back down to the field. My father was kneeling over Weston, examining him. The coach waved something under Weston’s nose, and he sat up. It looked as if he took a huge breath in. Maybe he had the wind knocked out of him? Relief filled me and a huge sigh left my body.

  “Weston is sitting up. Look, Harry, he’s okay,” Mak said and patted Harry on the shoulder.

  Harry sat up on my lap, leaned sideways against my chest, and looked up at me with confusion clouding his features. He turned to face Wyatt.

  “Weston is okay?” he asked in a trembling voice.

  Wyatt smiled at him. “He’s sitting up, look.”

  Harry twisted around and looked.

  “Are you okay now, bud?” Wyatt asked.

  Harry nodded. “Yes. I am okay now.” He twisted back and examined Wyatt. “You’re good at scared hugs and you are warm too. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” He cupped Harry’s cheek and wiped the remaining tears away with his thumb.

  He would have to wipe up my heart next because it had melted. Warmth filled me, but not from the heat coming from Wyatt’s big warm body. It was the kind of warmth that burned through a person and blazed a permanent trail.

  The crowd cheered as Weston stood up. And since my father was down there to examine him, I had no doubt he really would be fine. My father wouldn’t let him up if that weren’t the case.

  My first football game could not have met a more dramatic end—injuries, meltdowns, dramatic exits from the field escorted by the handsome Monroe brothers. And I was pretty sure I had fallen in love with not just Wyatt, but his entire family. But especially with Wyatt.

  He pulled me closer and kissed my temple. Mak grinned at me with a knowing look.

  Harry sat up, clambered off my lap, and sat down next to Mak on the bench. She grinned at him and bumped her shoulder against his.

  “Football games are boring,” Mel said with a yawn. “We should have gone to Chuck E. Cheese instead.”

  Wyatt laughed and the vibrations moved through my body still snuggled on his lap as if it belonged there. I moved to get up, but his arms tightened around my waist to keep me still.