Playing for Keeps

by LuAnn McLane

  “Oh … my.” Olivia felt her eyes fill with tears again.

  “And when Aunt Myra sashayed in here with her hair down and wearing a skirt, Owen couldn’t take his eyes off of her. I’ll tell you, Olivia, I was overcome with emotion.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “It was a beautiful thing. Now I know why you enjoy matchmaking. Meddling is so satisfying.”

  Olivia snagged a potato chip from the bag but shook it at Madison instead of popping it in her mouth. “Your Southern roots are showing, you so-called city girl. You just might belong here more than you think.”

  Madison munched on a chip and then said, “Well, now that I know I can get a perfect dirty martini, I might just have to reconsider.”

  “See, there’s more here to offer than you even know,” Olivia said in a light tone, though they both knew that Madison’s dilemma was a real issue. There weren’t many opportunities in Cricket Creek for playwrights.

  “I do like my condo overlooking the river,” she admitted. “Water just seems to get my creative juices flowing. It’s a shame that beautiful building is basically empty. In Chicago waterfront property goes for big bucks.”

  Olivia reached for another potato chip and sighed. “The project came to a screeching halt when the economy tanked. The marina just isn’t enough of a draw to keep it going. We need something more.”

  Madison dusted salt off her fingers and said, “It’s a shame. The view is fantastic and it’s some prime real estate.”

  “Well, if you come up with any brilliant ideas let me know,” Olivia said with a shake of her head but then swiveled in her seat when the bell over the door jingled. Her pulse quickened when Noah entered, still looking way too amazing in his Cricket Creek baseball jersey. His butt was built for baseball pants.

  Noah gave them a rather perplexed grin. “Guess what I just witnessed.”

  “What?” Olivia asked and Madison angled her head expectantly.

  “Your father and your aunt singing karaoke over at Sully’s.”

  “They don’t have karaoke over at Sully’s,” Olivia said.

  Noah raised his eyebrows and grinned. “They do now.”

  Olivia tried to picture this in her head, but she simply could not wrap her brain around her father singing in front of a crowd.

  Madison clapped her hands. “I love it. What were they singing?”

  “ ‘Islands in the Stream.’ ”

  “Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers?” Olivia said softly, more to herself than to them.

  Noah nodded. “Yes, but as I was leaving someone shouted for them to do some Johnny and June.”

  “Priceless,” Madison said once more with a chuckle. “I would love to be a fly on the wall. I would suggest heading over there to watch, but it might make them feel self-conscious and quit.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Noah commented. “They seemed to be on a roll with no stopping them. Of course the crowd was egging them on.”

  “Were they any good?” Olivia had to ask.

  “No, not at all,” Noah admitted with a grin. “But highly entertaining.”

  “Mercy me,” Olivia mumbled. “Somebody put some crazy in the Cricket Creek water tower and we’ve all been drinking it.” She gazed up at Noah.

  “Hey, don’t look at me.” He raised both palms in the air. “I’m afraid of heights.”

  “Maybe.” Olivia glanced at Madison and then gave Noah a pointed look. “But nothing has been quite the same since you roared into town in that little red Corvette.”

  Noah took his baseball cap off and ran his fingers through his hair. “So you’re blaming me?”

  “No,” Olivia said, “I’m giving you credit.”

  When Noah tipped his head back and laughed, Olivia had to smile. “Hey, I’ll take all the credit I can get. So, are you ladies ready for some baseball?”

  “You two go on without me,” Madison said. “I have to wait for my mom to come back before I can leave. Save me a spot in the bleachers. And tell Jason I’ll be there as soon as I can scoot out of here.”

  “Will do,” Noah said and then extended his arm toward Olivia. “Ready?”

  “Yes,” Olivia said and put two dollars down on the counter for her tea. She shook her head when Madison opened her mouth to protest her paying. “See you in a little bit,” she said and slipped her hand into Noah’s warm, firm grip. It was beginning to feel so natural to be at his side that she wondered how she could possibly cope with not having him in her life. Madison’s question about what if Noah asked her to leave Cricket Creek entered her head. While she couldn’t fathom moving away from her home, the thought of life without Noah seemed pretty doggone bleak.

  “Whoa there,” Noah said and tugged on her hand. “It might be the only traffic light on Main Street, but it’s red.”

  “Sorry—my mind was elsewhere,” she admitted with a short laugh.

  Noah frowned at her. “Hey, you’re not upset about your dad and Myra getting a little crazy over at Sully’s, are you?”

  “Oh, no, not in the least. In fact, I’m thrilled to hear that they’re having a good time. They both deserve it. I’d pop on over there, but like I said, I don’t want to ruin their revelry.”

  Noah responded, “It would be worth it to don a disguise. They were really singing up a storm.”

  “I would never have believed it.”

  He gave her a crooked grin and then squeezed her hand. “Life is full of surprises.”

  “It sure is,” Olivia agreed and laughed when he took his baseball cap off and put it on her head. When she started to take it off he shook his head.

  “No, it looks sexy on you. Keep it on.”

  “A baseball cap? Sexy?”

  “On you.” Noah leaned over and said, “Then again, everything looks sexy on you. Or even better yet, nothing at all.”

  “Oh … right!” Olivia hoped that the bill of the hat hid her blush, but she felt a feminine thrill at his comment.

  After they crossed the street, Noah drew her to a halt. “I hope you know I was serious.”

  Olivia looked at him and then nodded. “The feeling is reciprocal,” she replied in her best teacher tone, knowing it would make him laugh.

  “Ah … Olivia, what am I going to do with you?”

  “Everything,” she answered this time in a slow Southern drawl, but then she giggled.

  “Oh, just what you needed to say while I’m wearing tight baseball pants!”

  “Are you complaining?”

  “Hell, no!” he told her. “You continue to keep me completely off-balance. But just so you know, I’m going to hold you to it.”

  Olivia laughed, but she wondered what she would do if she were truly faced with making a choice of losing him or leaving Cricket Creek.

  16

  Play Ball!

  After sitting down on the bleachers directly behind the backstop, Noah turned to Olivia and smiled. He loved the aroma of hot dogs, the smack of the baseball hitting the catcher’s mitt, and a perfect pitch breaking over the plate. The chatter of the players and the shouts of the coaches took him back to a place and time that he truly treasured. Major-league baseball had been an amazing ride, but playing here had simply been for the love of the game.

  “You miss it, don’t you?” Olivia asked with a soft smile.

  “Yeah, I do.” Noah hadn’t realized just how very much until now. Olivia was right. He had lived and breathed baseball for so long that the game was a part of who he was, and without it in his life something was missing. He smiled back at her, and as if reading his thoughts, she put her hand on his thigh and squeezed. She looked so damned cute in the baseball cap, and it suddenly occurred to him that Olivia filled another void in his life. It felt good having her by his side. He wondered how he could go on without her.

  That’s easy—take her with you when you go. She can teach school anywhere.

  “Hi, Miss Lawson!” Chrissie shouted with a wild wave in their direction. She and her posse of giggling girls hurried over
to the side of the bleachers. “Would you just look at you in your cap?” She looked at her friends and they all nodded in agreement. “Isn’t this just exciting! Oh, I wanna beat those Morgan County Colonels so bad!”

  “Me too,” Olivia replied, so hotly that Noah grinned. So his sweet little schoolteacher had a competitive streak. Nice.

  “Thanks for extending the deadline for the essay.”

  “Shh!” Olivia leaned forward. “Don’t want to ruin my reputation,” she added softly.

  Chrissie’s eyes widened. “Right—we’ll keep it on the down low.” All the ponytails swung back and forth when the girls nodded. “But it was very cool of you,” she whispered.

  “Just remember to turn in some excellent work and we’ll all be happy.”

  “Yeah, as long as we win,” Chrissie muttered.

  Noah leaned sideways past Olivia and winked. “You got that right,” he commented and reached over and gave Chrissie a high five. Olivia was so well liked and respected, and he had to admire her dedication to her school and students. Taking her away from here would be a real loss to the community.

  “Oh, hey, Mr. Falcon. It was so awesome of you to show up at school today and get people to come to the game. It’s gonna be packed. Thanks for coming, too!”

  “Wouldn’t miss it.”

  “That is so cool of you!” Chrissie continued and her friends nodded. Their ponytails swung back and forth again, but the blushes on their faces shown they still thought of him as the celebrity outsider, and all of them except Chrissie were hesitant to approach him. While Noah would always remember the thrill of signing his first autograph, right now he wished that he could simply be one of the crowd watching the game with his girl.

  His girl …

  Noah’s heart beat faster at the thought, but then he wondered why he wouldn’t consider her his girlfriend since she was constantly on his mind.

  “Mr. Turner is heading this way!” Chrissie whispered in a high-pitched squeak. “Oh, my gosh, I can’t take it,” she said and fanned her face. “Let’s bounce. See ya!” She wiggled her fingers and then hurried off with her friends.

  “What was that all about?” Noah asked Olivia.

  “Brandon Turner is our new hottie high school principal. All of the girls and some of the teachers have a huge crush on him.”

  “Including you?” Noah asked in a teasing tone but watched her closely.

  “Oh, pul-ease,” she scoffed. “He’s kinda cute, but whatever …”

  Noah felt a surge of relief and realized that he was jealous! And when the hottie high school principal came toward them Noah suddenly felt the need to slip his arm around Olivia’s waist.

  “Hello, Olivia,” Brandon the hottie said with a warm smile that set Noah on edge.

  Noah sat up a little straighter. Miss Lawson. Shouldn’t she be Miss Lawson to him? And damn, the man looked as if he belonged in high school himself, not being the principal!

  “Mr. Turner,” Olivia greeted him with a smile of her own. “Have you met Noah Falcon?”

  “We haven’t met, although I understand you have been helping out the baseball team in many ways, including rounding up enthusiasm for the game today.” He extended his hand. “Thanks so much.”

  “My pleasure,” Noah replied and had to remove the arm around Olivia to shake his hand.

  “I was a big fan of yours growing up.”

  Great. Noah ground his teeth together, feeling about a hundred years old, but he smiled. “Thanks.” He gripped Mr. Turner’s hand a bit more tightly than necessary and was rewarded with a slight wince.

  “And we’re so thrilled that you’re starring in the community play. And we’re also so proud that the play was written by one of our own. Olivia does such a wonderful job as the drama teacher. It’s one of the reasons Cricket Creek has a reputation for excellence at the theater.”

  “Why, thank you,” Olivia responded primly.

  “And lucky you to get to be her leading man,” Brandon said to Noah with a little sigh.

  “Mr. Turner!” Olivia said and then blushed.

  “I’m just making an observation,” he said with a small shrug but a big smile.

  “I’m honored. Olivia is very talented,” Noah answered and wanted to wipe the smile off of Brandon Turner’s face.

  “That’s what I meant,” he said, but his gaze lingered on Olivia a little too long for Noah’s comfort.

  “Hey, Mr. Falcon, would you sign this baseball?” a student asked and Noah felt childishly glad.

  “Sure,” he answered.

  Brandon had to step back to allow the student to come closer. “I’ll see you around,” he said with a wave and a nod at Noah. “Thanks again, Mr. Falcon.”

  “Sure thing, but you can call me Noah,” Noah answered firmly as he reached for the kid’s baseball. He signed it and handed it back to the student.

  “Thanks. I’m president of student council and we’ll auction it off to raise some money for the after-prom.”

  “No problem,” Noah answered. When they were basically alone once again, he leaned closer to Olivia and said, “I always liked going to the prom. I’m glad it’s a high school tradition that’s still around, aren’t you?” He raised his eyebrows at Olivia.

  She shrugged and a shadow fell across her face. “I was never asked, so I don’t know. The closest I’ve gotten is being a chaperone, and I’m one again this year.”

  “What?” Noah sat up straighter. “You’re kidding. Why didn’t I ask you?”

  “Um, maybe because I was a geek and you were a jock.”

  “Well, I’m asking you now.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You just said that you’re a chaperone. Do you get dressed up?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, I want to be your date,” he said close to her ear. “Unless Brandon the hottie high school principal has already beaten me to the punch.”

  She put a hand to her chest and looked at him from beneath the bill of her cap. “Why, Noah Falcon, are you jealous?”

  “Damned straight.”

  Olivia laughed. “He isn’t into me.”

  “You’re wrong, but will you allow me to be your date? I’ll even wear a tux and bring you flowers.”

  She inclined her head. “I would be honored,” she answered but then pressed her lips together.

  “What?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Olivia …”

  She swallowed hard. “You just fulfilled a fantasy of mine.”

  “To be asked to the prom?”

  She shook her head slowly. “To be asked to the prom by you.”

  There was something about her honest admission that touched Noah. “Wait. Beneath that cap brim I see a but in your eyes.”

  “It wasn’t because you were Noah Falcon, Big Man on Campus. All that sports stuff didn’t impress me much. Geeks are funny like that.”

  “What, then?”

  She gave him a slight shrug. “It bugged the daylights out of me because as the quintessential geek I frowned on everything you represented. But to put it simply, I liked you. You made me laugh when you weren’t looking, and I fully admit that I thought you were hot stuff.”

  “As I recall, you acted differently.”

  She tilted her head up to look at him. “Geeks have their pride too.”

  Noah laughed. “I was a stupid jock.”

  Olivia shook her head no. “I told you there is no such thing. Haven’t you seen High School Musical?”

  “No.”

  “Glee?”

  “No again.”

  “I’m going to have to broaden your horizons.”

  “Believe me, Olivia, you already have. Hey, want a hot dog before the game gets under way?”

  “I’d love one. Mustard and just a bit of relish. And could I have some nachos with extra jalapeños, please?”

  “Just the way I like them,” he said as he climbed down from the bleachers, but then he came around to the side and said, “Don’
t be giving my spot to that high school principal.”

  “Then you better hurry back.”

  “Will do,” Noah promised, but he was stopped by at least half a dozen people in his quest for a hot dog. Instead of autographs, though, it was for how-ya-doin’, great-day-for-a-game, and various other friendly small talk. Just like when he was a kid, dads grilled while moms pushed cupcakes and candy at the concession stand. Everybody knew everybody and wore their Cricket Creek Tiger blue with hometown pride. The rivalry created a buzz of excitement in the air. And the idea that had begun to form in the back of his mind started to take flight.

  “Hey, Noah!”

  Noah turned around to see Jason heading his way. “What’s up, Jason? Madison with you?”

  “She’ll be here soon,” Jason answered before ordering a Coke. “I wanted to get a seat so she didn’t have to stand. She’s been on her feet all day helpin’ out over at the diner in between working on the play. The girl works too much.”

  “Funny, but she says the same thing about you. I just think here in Cricket Creek people work hard.”

  Jason grinned. “Yeah, and play harder.”

  Noah reached over and gave him a knuckle bump. “It’s nice to see that some things never change.” Noah took the tray of hot dogs, nachos, and drinks from a smiling mom and then fell in step with Jason as they made their way back to the bleachers.

  “Speaking of playing hard, I stopped at Sully’s for a cold one before heading over here and guess what I saw.”

  “Myra and Owen sippin’ on mint juleps while singing a duet?”

  “Now how the hell did you ever guess that?”

  “I was over there earlier when they were singing ‘Islands in the Stream.’ Like to have blown my mind seeing those two up there belting out that song. Now Myra I could have guessed, but Olivia’s father?” Noah shook his head. “He doesn’t seem the type.”

  “You’re right about that. I’ve worked with him, and he’s usually a man of few words and keeps to himself.” Jason chuckled. “Ya know, it’s good to see people out havin’ a good ol’ time, especially Owen and Myra. Everyone tries to keep their head up, but it hasn’t been easy. Those wore-out dugouts are just one example of how budget cuts have hurt the athletic programs. It’s a damned shame. These kids deserve better.”