Hooked on You

by Kathleen Fuller

  * * *

  “What was that all about?”

  Hayden watched Riley peel out of the parking lot as Tanner came up beside him. His head was spinning. When he was instructing her about the team and the assistant coaching duties, he saw the spark of excitement in her pretty eyes. She was paying rapt attention, and he doubted she’d even noticed her body angle toward him while he was speaking, her shoulders and torso relaxing. But he’d noticed, and it took some strong willpower to focus on what he was saying and not on her—the way her dark-blue T-shirt hugged her soft curves; her long, fair-skinned legs bare beyond the denim shorts; her thick, shiny hair pulled back in a casual ponytail, revealing her fresh face without a speck of makeup. She smelled amazing, like clean laundry and lightly scented soap.

  She was so incredibly sexy.

  Most importantly, she was opening up to him a tiny bit, and that hit him in the heart. Not to mention how he’d seen her watching him during practice, the desire in her eyes obvious, and that hit him somewhere else. There was something between them. He could feel it . . . and no amount of mental gymnastics was going to dismiss that fact. To him, asking her to join him for a meal was the next logical step.

  Then she flipped the script on him, closing up again and talking about contracts and terms, then leaving in a cloud of gravel as she fled once again. What are you so afraid of, Riley McAllister?

  “Hey,” Tanner said, moving to stand in front of him. “Earth to Hayden. What’s going on between you two?”

  He turned and focused on Tanner, then shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “You were cozy together in that dugout a little while ago.”

  Hayden shot Tanner an annoyed look. “There’s nothing cozy about me and Riley.” Far from it.

  Tanner laughed. “Right. I haven’t seen you that interested in anyone since you moved back here.”

  Hayden scowled and headed for his bags. He wasn’t in the mood for Tanner’s ribbing, even though his friend was right. When he reached the dugout, he hefted up the bag Riley had filled with the bats and balls and threw the strap over his shoulder. He liked how she took the initiative to provide water for the players and clean up the dugout even though she hadn’t wanted to do the job. He also liked how she respected Erma’s wishes, despite her own obvious discomfort. He’d observed her while she was talking to Harper, and she’d been ill at ease with her too.

  He was starting to put a few pieces together. For some reason, being back in Maple Falls was difficult for her. Still, she had set all that aside because Erma needed her. Loyalty was important to Hayden, and Riley was obviously loyal to her grandmother.

  “Why didn’t she practice with us?” Tanner asked, leaning against the dugout entrance. “She brought a glove.” After Hayden explained that Riley came at Erma’s insistence, Tanner added, “So she’s gonna take Erma’s place?”

  “Apparently not.” Which caused a problem for him, since he had an inkling that Erma wouldn’t be happy with the news. He had to agree with Riley. It had been a terrible idea. Not because she couldn’t do the job. Hayden was sure if Riley wanted to, she would make an excellent assistant coach. But forcing her into it was wrong, and hopefully Erma would realize that. He grimaced and faced Tanner. “I guess you’re the assistant, then.”

  Tanner smirked. “Since you asked me so nicely, I accept. Just don’t sit as close to me as you did to Riley, or I’ll have to punch you.” He started to leave the dugout, then added, “How’s the house rehab coming?”

  Hayden stilled. Before Riley, his house had been the most important thing on his mind. Now he was trying to remember the last time he’d thought about it. “Still in the planning stages,” he said, making a mental note to actually start planning.

  “Let me know if you need some help. I’m pretty decent with a hammer and nails.”

  “I appreciate that,” Hayden said, meaning it. “I’ll let you know once I get started.”

  “Cool.” Tanner waved at him. “See you at church tomorrow.”

  “Yeah. See ya.”

  As Tanner headed to his cherry-red Jeep, Hayden stayed in the dugout, looking at the ball field, the weight of the equipment bags nothing compared to the heaviness on his heart. Even though he was sure—at least he thought he was—that there was a connection between him and Riley, she wasn’t open to pursuing it. One-sided interest was new to him, and he had to admit it pricked at his ego.

  Shaking his head, he walked out of the dugout and stalked to his Subaru. Maybe he was imagining things. It wasn’t as if he didn’t have plenty of other things to keep him occupied, and he just added fixing up Erma’s house to the list.

  By the time he’d put the bags in the trunk of his Subaru and started the engine, he realized Riley was right. Contracts were always a good idea, even though it bugged him a little since she and Erma were his friends. Correction—Erma was. He didn’t know what he and Riley were.

  What he did know was that he needed to focus on the reality of his own life—working his job, rehabbing his house, and coaching the church softball team. He’d wasted enough emotional and mental energy on Riley McAllister.

  Chapter 6

  The bells of the Amazing Grace Church rang out clear on Sunday morning as Riley and her grandmother arrived for service. Riley maneuvered the car into the handicapped spot in the parking lot, then pulled Mimi’s wheelchair out of the trunk. When she unfolded the chair and pushed it to the passenger side of the car, Mimi frowned.

  “Next Sunday I’m using crutches,” she said as Riley helped her slide into the chair. “I hate this thing.”

  “We’ll see what the doctor says on Wednesday.”

  “I don’t care what he says.” Mimi adjusted the strand of pearls at her neck. She always wore them to church and for any other special occasion. “This chair can go in a dumpster fire when I’m done.”

  “It’s a rental, Mimi.”

  “Oh. Scratch that.”

  Riley couldn’t help but smile as she pushed her grandmother into the foyer. Immediately the BBs rushed their wounded friend, and Riley was surrounded by flowered dresses, lilac and geranium perfume, and the squawk of ladies talking. Bea took over pushing Mimi, and the ladies made their way into the sanctuary, leaving Riley behind. Or rather, forgotten. Which was fine. I’m used to it.

  She pushed away the bitter thought. Mimi had never forgotten about her, and it wasn’t fair to think that. She was surrounded by her friends, and Riley was grateful for them. She had taken the BBs for granted growing up, but she knew they all watched out for one another. Riley had always watched out for herself, except when Mimi did, and for the most part she preferred it that way. But since returning to Maple Falls, she wondered what it would be like to have a group of friends as devoted as the BBs. Not that it would ever actually happen, but she still wondered.

  She walked into the sanctuary, planning to sit with Mimi and the rest of her group when she heard someone say her name. She turned to see Anita Bedford motioning for Riley to sit next to her. Riley hesitated. She barely remembered Anita from school. Although she preferred to sit with Mimi or by herself, she didn’t want to turn Anita down and risk hurting her feelings, especially when she had such a sweet, expectant expression.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to talk to you at practice yesterday,” Anita said, her smile growing bigger as Riley approached. “Welcome back.”

  Riley nodded, unsure if Anita was talking about Maple Falls or church. Probably the former since Riley hadn’t been a regular church attender when she was a teenager. The first year she lived with Mimi she was forced to go to church, but instead of finding the peace and community interaction all the other churchgoers seemed to experience, she felt resentment. It was harder to pretend to be invisible among such close-knit people. Her opinion about church had never been favorable anyway, since Tracey never took her and had been quick to point out how judgmental church folks were. When Riley was there, all she’d ever felt was judgment, even
though people rarely spoke to her beyond small talk.

  Finally Mimi stopped forcing her to go when Riley started arguing with her every Sunday morning—as long as she agreed to attend during the holidays, which she had. Now she couldn’t remember the last time she’d stepped foot inside a church. Probably the last Sunday she’d spent in Maple Falls. The only reason she’d agreed to go today was because her grandmother needed a ride.

  Anita nodded toward Mimi. “She looks good today. A lot better than she did after the accident. It’s hard to keep her down, isn’t it?”

  Riley nodded. Harper and Olivia entered the pew on the opposite side and sat next to Anita.

  “I just hope I’m that spry when I’m her age,” Anita said.

  Harper leaned over to greet Riley. “Good morning.”

  “Morning.” Now seeing the three of them, Riley felt underdressed in her black three-quarter-sleeved shirt and frayed jeans with her usual sandals. It was one thing for her grandmother and her friends to wear dresses and pearls to church, but quite another to see women her own age almost equally dressed up. Harper was the most sophisticated of the three with her pale-peach sleeveless dress, orange high-heeled espadrilles, and dangling turquoise earrings. Olivia was more tailored, wearing a light, white cardigan over a red blouse and navy-blue pencil skirt, while Anita was the most casual in a flowing lavender maxi dress.

  A man with a guitar stepped on the stage and started playing, and Riley realized it was Jesse Mathis, the oldest of the three Mathis cousins who were at softball practice yesterday. He began to sing, and the rest of the congregation stood and sang with him. Riley had never heard the song before, and despite the words displayed on the screen, she didn’t try to sing along.

  Instead, she observed her surroundings and soon saw Hayden standing in his pew, his parents beside him, all three singing. She tried to pull her gaze from him, but she couldn’t stop herself from checking him out. Crisp white collared shirt rolled up to the elbows, fitted blue jeans, and she caught a glimpse of his slip-on tan suede shoes. She’d never really been interested in portraiture, but an exception could be made if Hayden was the model.

  She jerked her focus and thoughts back to the front of the church, where a large wooden cross was framed by frosted glass windows. She was surprised God hadn’t struck her down for having such thoughts in a house of worship.

  For the next hour she forced herself to pay attention to the service, and she had to admit that Jared was pretty good at delivering a sermon. From what she could remember of the former pastor, Jared was much more interesting and exuberant than his predecessor, who had been a mainstay at the church for almost thirty years.

  When the service was over, she said a quick goodbye to Anita, Harper, and Olivia before they could say anything to her. This was her MO—arrive as late as possible and leave as soon as the service was over. That way she hopefully wouldn’t get stuck talking to anyone. She headed outside to wait for Mimi, certain one of the BBs would bring her out of the building. She walked to the car and leaned against it, then saw Hayden exit the church with Tanner.

  He turned and their eyes met. She steeled herself, expecting him to walk over and strike up a conversation, either about repairing Mimi’s house or, God forbid, trying to convince her to be the assistant coach. When she arrived home last evening, she had stood firm with her grandmother and told her that she not only wasn’t going to be the coach but also wasn’t going to attend any of the games. If Mimi wanted to go to one, she’d have to rely on one of the BBs to take her. Her grandmother had seemed taken aback, but to Riley’s shock, she didn’t try to change her mind.

  Hayden was surprising her right now. Instead of walking over to her, he gave her a curt nod, then turned his back and launched into conversation with Tanner. As other people poured out of the church, he began engaging them in conversation too.

  Riley frowned. He was acting like he barely knew her, when just yesterday he was sitting so close to her she could see the scar on his right knee, one she had wondered about last night when she couldn’t stop thinking about him as she tried to sleep.

  Wasn’t this what she wanted, though, for him to leave her alone? And not just him, but everyone else too? As she stood alone by Mimi’s car, longing washed over her. For Hayden and for something else she couldn’t put her finger on. Everyone here seemed relaxed and happy. Two things she was not.

  The noon sun was beating down, and she wiped perspiration off her forehead as she waited for her grandmother and questioned her decision to wear jeans on such a hot day. She hadn’t brought anything else other than shorts. She didn’t even own a skirt.

  “Riley! Yoo-hoo!”

  She looked up to see Bea pushing Mimi toward her, Peg strolling alongside. Mimi was grinning as they approached her. “We’re going to The Orange Bluebird for lunch,” Erma said.

  “Is that new?” Riley asked. The Sunshine Diner had always been closed on Sundays, and since it was the only restaurant in Maple Falls, The Orange Bluebird must be in another town.

  “Heavens, no.” Mimi’s fingers touched her pearls. “It’s been around for years in Rockfield. It used to be called Gas and Guzzle because it was part of a gas station. Then it was sold to The Orange Bluebird owners and they changed the name.”

  Riley couldn’t decide which name was worse.

  “They have a delicious all-you-can-eat brunch.” Bea was practically licking her chops.

  “Peg said she would bring me home,” Mimi interjected, gesturing to her friend.

  That was unexpected. “You don’t want me to take you?”

  “You’ve been running nonstop since you got here. I figured you’d like some time for yourself, so go on home and take it easy. I’ll be back this afternoon. Come on, girls!” She waved forward Bea and Peg. “I want to get there before they run out of buckwheat pancakes.”

  Riley stood by the Town Car as her grandmother and friends climbed into Peg’s gold minivan. It was a bit comical watching the two women figure out how to get Mimi in the back seat, then wrestle her wheelchair into the trunk. Finally Junior Dobbs sauntered over and helped them out. After several profuse exclamations of gratitude from the women and a tip of Junior’s baseball hat, he and her grandmother and friends exited the parking lot.

  When she scanned the lot, she saw that everyone else had left, including Hayden. Now she really was alone. There was nothing to do except go back to the house.

  When she pulled in the driveway, she parked and went inside, ignoring the stacks of magazines, catalogs, unfolded laundry, and layers of dust on the furniture. She slipped out of her sandals and placed them neatly near the front door, then walked into the kitchen, intending to fix a glass of iced tea. Instead, she paused at the table, listening. She heard the hum of Mimi’s ancient refrigerator, felt the cool, smooth, outdated vinyl flooring beneath her feet, saw the row of dust-covered small ceramic roosters sitting on the ledge of the kitchen window. Like everything else in the house, nothing had changed in this room since she left. But instead of lamenting that her grandmother was stuck in the past, she found the familiarity of the kitchen comforting.

  Although not the silence. It was too quiet, especially when she was used to hearing the TV blaring or Mimi chatting on the phone with one of her friends. Quiet canceled out comfort, and she slapped together a ham and cheese sandwich, poured herself a glass of tea, and went outside.

  The sun was hidden behind the clouds, but the heat and humidity lingered in the air. She wandered through the tall grass in the backyard, stopping in front of an old tire swing. She used to play on it when she was little and visited Mimi. She’d even swung on it a few times after she moved in as a teen. She sat on the raggedy tire and pushed her toes in the dirt, swinging back and forth as she ate her sandwich.

  How many times as a child had she sat on this swing while her mother and grandmother were in the house, having a talk that usually ended in an argument with Tracey storming out and dragging Riley with her? She had no idea, but she clearly
remembered wishing she could live here instead of with Tracey. Mimi’s house was always nice, always comfortable, and always filled with food and love. Mimi read her bedtime stories and fixed her cookies and milk, but only if Riley had eaten her vegetables at supper. She would let Riley take bubble baths and play dress-up, and she always told funny tales about her life with Poppy. Tracey had never done any of those things. Living with Mimi would solve all her problems. Riley had been sure of that.

  Then she moved in with her grandmother, and while her life had been different and better, it hadn’t been the paradise she’d imagined. She hadn’t felt any more connected to Maple Falls than she had to all the transient cities she’d lived in with Tracey. Whose fault was that?

  She popped up from the tire, shoving the past out of her mind. She should have gone with Mimi to The Orange Bluebird. At least there she would be distracted by the food and company. Here her only companions were memories she didn’t want to relive.

  As usual when she was out of sorts, she thought about her art. She went back inside and put her partially eaten sandwich and glass of water on the kitchen table, then climbed upstairs to her bedroom. She searched the small dresser in the corner of the room, and in the bottom drawer she found a small stack of cheap sketch pads, exactly where she’d kept them when she lived there, along with a pack of charcoal pencils.

  Riley took one of the pads and one of the pencils and went back to the backyard, this time sitting in a white plastic chair on the pitted and peeling deck. She put her feet up on the short deck railing and began to sketch the elm tree in front of her. She was halfway through with it when she looked at it and frowned. The sketch was uninspired and two dimensional. She glanced at the tree again, disappointed that her drawing hadn’t done it justice. Working in mixed media for most of a decade had eroded her drawing skills. She turned the page over to a fresh white sheet.