“It might not be the exact relationship you thought brought him here for. But maybe it’ll be the one you need.”
Dane opened his eyes and turned slightly to face Amanda. Her hand brushed down the length of his arm until it dropped back by her side.
Maybe he needed more than the chance to get to know his son. Maybe he needed the chance to get to know this woman, too.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Amanda took note of each foot-fall on the trail surrounding the Provident College campus. She tried to run at least two miles, three days a week after work. It cleared her head to listen to nothing but the sound of her feet moving forward.
She desperately needed to get her arms around this idea of moving forward. Lately, she’d had her fill of unexpected shocks and disappointments. In the midst of that mess, though, she’d been given the opportunity to help Cole Vasquez navigate his own challenges.
She might not be able to do work that would lead to helping people around the world like she’d thought, but if she could change one person’s world, maybe that would be enough.
The gravel on the trail crunched beneath her hot pink running shoes and the early summer sun warmed her arms. They pumped back and forth in time with the movement of her feet. For a moment, she was lost in the routine.
“Amanda!” A familiar voice called out.
She turned her head and saw Dane sprinting across the grass toward her. She slowed down and gave him a moment to catch up.
“Hey. Have you heard anything from Cole’s test?”
“I’m about to head there now to pick him up. He said he was tired, but overall, he was doing as well as could be expected. Do you want to come with me?”
The smile on Dane’s face was almost a complete one-eighty from the expression he’d carried this morning. It caused her own mouth to curve gently upward. Maybe they were all turning a corner this afternoon.
“Ugh. I’m all stinky.” She gestured at the sweat stain on her tank top. “I don’t think this is the aromatherapy we had in mind to try on Cole.”
Dane’s warm grin didn’t change. “You’re beautiful.”
Amanda took a step back, unsure quite how to take his compliment. “You’ve spent too much time on the field today, Coach Vasquez. The summer heat has fried your brain.”
“Nope.” He shook his head. “And I think I asked you to call me Dane.”
Something in his voice caught her attention and Amanda looked him over. He might have been crazy to think her sweaty workout clothes were high fashion, but there was no doubt at all that he made shorts and tight-fitting athletic wear look ready for a runway.
“Hey...can I ask you something?” Dane caught up to Amanda’s moderate jog in a matter of a few steps.
“Sure. Is it about Cole’s testing today? I know all of that is a lot to take in and keep straight.”
“No. Not about the testing—but about something else you said. It’s been on my mind.”
Amanda’s mind hit the rewind button, trying to come up with some idea of what they could have talked about that would have lingered on his mind, yet had nothing to do with Cole and the testing.
“Well, sure...shoot. What’s up?”
“You said the other day that you thought this was all a God thing—everything happens for a reason, or something like that. You know, whatever church people say.” He paused, and Amanda could hear him starting and stopping phrases under his breath, trying to come up with the right words.
She looked away from the trail with a cock of her head. “What church people say?”
“Yeah...I mean...I don’t know. I’ve never been a church person. But don’t they say things like that? That there’s always a plan or some reason?”
She heard a searching in his words.
“Well, I guess you could put it like that. There’s a verse that says ‘All things work to good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purposes’.”
Dane snapped his fingers. “Exactly. Something like that.”
“So what’s your question?”
“I think...I think this happened for a reason.” The pace of his words was measured. “I think...Amanda, do you think what’s happened to Cole is punishment for me? Do you think God’s punishing me for living the life I have? I never cared. I was never there for the people who needed me. I was all ego, all about me. And now, I’ve tried to turn things around so I can get to know my son and it just feels like there’s one roadblock after another. I can’t help but think that I’m being punished for my past—I can’t have the relationship I want with my son because I’ve waited until it’s all too late. Do you think that’s what this is?”
Dane’s search for answers pierced Amanda’s heart like an icicle. Sharp and cold, his raw questions and the tone in which he’d asked them left no doubt that these thoughts were the true sentiments in his soul.
He believed what he was saying and was just looking to her for confirmation.
Amanda didn’t know what to say, except to give him some of the “churchy” phrases that he clearly didn’t think much of. One by one, verses she’d memorized in Sunday School or Vacation Bible School came to mind.
But she knew he wasn’t going to accept a laundry list of scripture as an answer. She couldn’t answer this wrong. She couldn’t push him away or further confirm his hunch that “churchy” people just spoke in old-sounding phrases.
She put one foot in front of the other for a few more paces, then chewed ever so slightly on her bottom lip as she decided what she needed to say. Amanda took a deep breath and asked God to help her not sound “churchy,” but instead to be the friend who spoke the truth and the reassurance that Dane needed to hear.
“No, I don’t think that’s it at all. Here’s what we do know—the Bible calls God our Father. Think about your relationship with Cole. Think about the lengths you’ve gone to in order to repair your relationship with him. You’ve turned your life around, left bad habits, gotten a new job, moved across the country, and convinced him to join you for an opportunity that would give you both the chance to know each other and to play the game you both love.”
Dane nodded his head, but didn’t interject.
Amanda slowed the pace of her steps and turned her head slightly. She wanted to see Dane’s reaction to her words.
The muscle at the back of his jaw clenched. Then it locked. Then it tightened. Amanda could see the muscle fibers separate and line up like soldiers along the line of bone. So much tension pulsed along that meridian that Amanda wondered if his response would actually be an explosion.
“Yeah,” he said simply as he stared at the curve ahead in the trail. “But don’t you think I’m right?”
She shook her head and stopped jogging completely. When Dane realized Amanda was no longer at his side, he stopped too and then went backwards a few steps to join her.
“Absolutely not,” she said. “I don’t agree with you at all. The Bible tells us that God is our Father. And if you would turn your whole life upside down for the chance to get to know your son and to coach him in just one baseball game...how much farther will the God who created the universe and everything in it go to develop a relationship with you? He’s not going to do all that just so he can yell at you and make you feel badly about yourself.”
She prayed he could hear nothing but the conviction and care in her heart, not condemnation.
Dane tilted his head and looked at the blue sky stretched above the Provident College campus. His hands were clenched in balled fists alongside his weight-toned and tanned legs.
“I’ve screwed up one thing after another for my whole life, Amanda. I just don’t think you understand.”
“Maybe I don’t understand everything you’ve done, Dane. But I am certain that the God that I know—the God that I talk about—has seen every single one of your screw-ups. And he still pursued you here, to Provident College, and to a table at lunch in the faculty dining room so you
could eventually hear these words and drop this weight from your shoulders. There’s nothing that Cole could do to make you love him less, simply because you’re his father and you want to know him. And in that same way, there’s nothing you could do to make God love you less because He’s your Father and he wants to know you.”
Amanda reached out her hand. For a moment, it seemed like a very solitary gesture. Dane didn’t move. But inside, Amanda knew she couldn’t pull away.
She’d extended this gesture of support. She would not take it back. Instead, she decided to just wait there on the gravel-and-dirt trail until Dane accepted the help he didn’t even know he’d asked for.
Dane looked down at his feet, then pulled his gaze up to where he connected with Amanda. His eyes, the color of dark sand, sent a flash of lightning from her head to her toes.
She felt the connection. It was as real as if there were an actual wire between them, moving the energy back and forth.
He put his palm on top of hers and threaded his fingers between each of her own digits, deepening the link she felt. This was not just a simple helping hand. She was used to observation and study, but she didn’t know how to fully classify everything she was feeling.
“Let’s go get Cole,” Dane said. “I want to talk to my son.”
FIRST KISS FIREWORKS
Chapter Five
Dane let off the brake and began to inch down the circular drive in front of Cole’s dormitory. He turned to Amanda, sitting in the passenger seat beside him.
“Man, I hate leaving him like this. I feel like I should make him chicken noodle soup or something. He just seems so wiped out.”
Amanda kept her eyes glued to the door of the building as it closed behind Cole.
“I know how you feel. I want to give him a hug. Those tests use the whole brain—the parts that are injured, the parts that don’t always get used. It’s a full mental workout, and I’m told that at the end, it’s like going through a marathon. Total rest is the best medicine. No lights, no sound, just time to repair and heal.”
“I’d like to give him a hug too.” Dane put on his blinker and turned on to the street. “I’m definitely going to check back in on him tonight.”
“Will you let me know if he needs anything? I don’t live too far from here.”
“Of course. Thanks for the offer.”
Amanda reached behind her head and adjusted her ponytail. “I’m going to go back to my office in a bit and pick up some things that I think might help him shake off the brain fog. Remember the terpenes?”
Dane’s grin was as insolent as a pirate’s. “Yeah, the science lesson.”
She swatted at his arm. “There are a few things we could put in a diffuser in the room that would work as a passive therapy. Oils like cedarwood are calming and can facilitate rest, and cedarwood is also loaded in sesquiterpenes.”
“Sooo...lots of turtles.”
A short musical laugh came from Amanda’s side of the car. “Lots and lots of turtles.”
“I’ve got to head to the ballpark and start getting ready for tonight’s game. I can drop you off at your office...” He thought of a better idea. He didn’t want Amanda out of his sight yet. She’d completely changed everything about this day and had kept him calm on a day that had started full of agitation. “Or I can give you a tour of The Splash.”
Dane smiled broadly, hopeful that he could convince her to spend a little more time with him.
“You know, I’ve never been to a game at The Splash.”
He clutched a hand to his heart. “Amanda. That hurts. You’ve been at Provident College how long?”
She shrugged. “Teaching? Five years in the fall.”
“Didn’t you say you grew up watching baseball?”
“Yeah, my brother played all the way through college.”
“But yet, you’ve never been to a game here?”
Her ponytail tossed, and as he caught the swish in the corner of his eye, it hypnotized him all over again. “Not a one. I think I’ve become too much of a homebody or a paper grader or something.”
Dane stopped at a red light and looked straight at his passenger. “I thought you were an official crazy cat lady. It’s time to get back to the ballpark, Amanda. Reconnect with something you love, something that’s fun.”
He loved looking at her face as the slow smile began to dawn on her lips. “You’re right. I’d really like a tour of The Splash. Besides, if I get my things and head back to the dorm too soon, I’ll probably wake Cole up.”
Dane turned down the alley behind the athletic complex. “I solemnly swear to be the best tour guide in the history of this ballpark. You know what...I’ll be the best tour guide in the history of this whole island.”
He pulled into his assigned parking space, turned off the car, then hopped out with the same enthusiasm he’d once used when trying to slide into home plate. Dane wanted to make sure he reached the passenger side of the car before Amanda opened her door.
“Thanks,” Amanda said as Dane pulled the door wide.
Instinctively, Dane’s left hand reached down, and Amanda took it with no hesitation. The touch of her skin on his triggered memories from earlier in the afternoon when she’d come to a dead stop on the jogging trail and shot down the fear that had wrapped him like a blanket—and then offered her support and friendship by simply being there and putting out her hand.
He wanted to tell her thank you for saying all that she had earlier. Unfortunately, a short phrase of gratitude seemed inadequate. Plus, in his heart, he knew wasn’t ready to have a conversation with any real depth. Dane was still sorting out his own emotions and what the twists and turns of this week—and especially this day—meant for him.
He didn’t know this God that Amanda was talking about. But he felt now like he knew Amanda. And because of that, he gave the words she had spoken with such conviction the benefit of any doubt.
“Come on, let’s go inside and I’ll show you around.”
They walked down the sidewalk in front of the ballpark and past the three windows of the ticket booth. Dane jingled his keys in his hands as they walked up to a glass door at the end of the breezeway, tucked in beside the booth where the souvenirs and T-shirts were sold.
“What on Earth is all that?” Amanda tried to stifle a laugh as she looked at the size of Dane’s key ring. “What do you do with all of those?”
“Well, I open a lot of doors. Locker rooms, training rooms, meeting rooms, offices, workout rooms...you name it. If it’s a door in this ballpark and you need it open, I’m your guy.”
For a split second, Dane wished he was talking about something other than opening the office door. He enjoyed being around Amanda—and he wouldn’t mind spending more time with her, getting to know her better, and maybe in the future, being her guy.
“Oooh. So, you’re saying you’re kind of a big deal?”
She sounded like she was flirting, and he wasn’t about to stop her.
“Well yeah,” he replied. “I mean, I’ve even got the key to where the fireworks are.”
Amanda put her hands on her hips. “In charge of the fireworks? Now that sounds dangerous...and intriguing.”
Dane adjusted the ball cap on his head. “Come to the game and I’ll show you what I mean.”
Things were warming up in the breezeway, and it had nothing to do with Provident Island’s summer heat. It took every ounce of self-control Dane had not to pull her close and set off some sparks right here in front of the souvenir stand.
He’d spent too many years of his life waiting for the perfect pitch to come across the plate. It was an equal blend of adrenaline and power held in check. He loved the feeling of knowing you could go wide-open at any moment, but you had to hold back and learn to watch for the right signs that told you this was what you were waiting for.
Dane’s days at the plate had been over for a while. But this back-and-forth with the ponytailed professor pumped the same kind of force of will through his ve
ins. He knew he wanted to get to know her better.
She wasn’t the first woman who’d intrigued him. But unlike the skirts he’d chased in his days on the road, Dane saw Amanda differently. He’d come to Port Provident to put his past in the past and focus on his future. Dane thought his future had been wrapped up in Cole and the relationship they could build together.
But now there was another relationship he wanted to build as well, one with Amanda McGovern.
“We have fireworks on Friday nights after the game. It’s a fun thing to do, and we get good turnout from the community.”
“How have I missed this?” The smile hadn’t left her face, but the expression in her velvet eyes had narrowed their focus, zeroing in on his face.
“I don’t know,” Dane said. “But I’ll leave a ticket at the will-call window tonight so you can fix the problem. First pitch is at seven-o’-five.”
“I’d like that. I’d also still like a quick tour if we still have time.”
Baseball had taught him that waiting on the perfect pitch could take time. Dane didn’t want to swing and miss. He unlocked the door and held it open.
“I promised you the best tour on the island. Come on inside.”
Amanda couldn’t believe how much fun this evening had been. It brought back so many childhood memories of running around with friends and eating all the junk food she could.
When she arrived at will-call, she discovered that her reserved seat wasn’t actually in the stands with the other fans. Instead, Dane had set aside the end of the bench in the dugout for her. He’d introduced her to the team as the professor who was helping Cole with some of his concussion recovery therapies, and they’d all warmed up to her presence immediately. Several stopped by individually before the game to thank her for assisting their teammate.
Dane had prepared for her comfort during the game almost as meticulously as he’d prepared for the game itself. A bucket next to her designated spot held bottles of soda and water, an overflowing container of popcorn, and four bags of peanuts.
Amanda watched as Dane touched his cap, then his arm, and brushed his wrist twice, signaling to the runner back at second base.
First Kiss Fireworks Page 5
