Playing for Keeps

by LuAnn McLane

  “Do I have a choice?”

  “Mmmm, no.”

  “Then I guess I’m in.”

  “That’s my boy,” she said and then started moving slowly against him. “I’ll give you the details, but first things first …”

  24

  Love on the Rocks

  It happened again. As soon as Olivia entered Grammar’s Bakery for a much-needed chocolate brownie fix, everyone stopped talking and then tried to cover it up by doing something busy. Mabel almost pulled it off by wiping down the counter, but Chrissie’s attempt to rearrange cupcakes so that white icing and chocolate were in separate rows was a dead giveaway. They had been talking about her. She could just feel it. The same thing had been happening all over town.

  “You missed one.” Olivia pointed to a chocolate-topped cupcake sitting side by side with a vanilla-iced one.

  “Well, look at that. You’re right.” She reached inside the shelf and fixed the situation. “I know it’s an OBC kinda thing,” Chrissie explained with a wave of her hand.

  “Right,” Olivia said and almost rolled her eyes. This was coming from a girl whose locker had been a disaster. “Your French manicure looks great. Do the purple tips match your prom dress?”

  “P-prom?”

  Olivia frowned. “Um, yes, you know, that big dance in the gym tomorrow night?”

  Chrissie gave her a nervous chuckle and put the heel of her hand to her forehead. “Oh, the prom …” She shrugged. “I guess my mind was on the cupcakes. You’re still chaperoning, right?”

  Olivia inhaled a deep breath. “I don’t know. I might ask Madison to do it for me. Rehearsals have worn me out this week.” Yeah, her acting skills were being put to the test each night. First, she had to pretend that being with Noah and having to play his love interest onstage didn’t bother her. She still felt terrible that she had misjudged him, but she didn’t know how to makes things right. “I don’t know if I’m up to it.” She had been so excited when Noah had asked her to go, but now everything had changed.

  Olivia sighed as she gazed into the nearly empty glass cases. She really needed chocolate! While Noah hadn’t been flat-out unfriendly, he had seemed preoccupied all week, and she had heard that he had flown out of town several times, making it back just in time for rehearsal. In fact, yesterday he had rushed out of the community center as if the hounds of hell were nipping at his heels, and they’d had to cancel rehearsal today when he failed to make it back to town. Not that it mattered. They knew the script backward and forward. But still … she wondered if it had something to do with going back to the soap opera. Did he change his mind? Not that she could blame him. He had every right to be angry with her, but she hated that Cricket Creek might suffer the loss at her hands. The thought made her stomach hurt, but she didn’t have the courage to go to him. Rejection wasn’t something she could handle right now. But she would eventually have to confront him, for the sake of Cricket Creek.

  “Miss Lawson, the prom wouldn’t be the same without you,” Chrissie protested, bringing Olivia back to the present. She looked at Mabel for help. “Don’t you think so, Miss Mabel?”

  Mabel nodded so hard that all of her chins shook. “Olivia, I made an extra-special sheet cake this year and little pastel petit fours that are to die for. Sugar, you know you’ll be sorry if you don’t go.”

  “Oh, seriously, I don’t think I would be missed, and I know Madison would get a kick out of going with Jason.”

  Chrissie shook her head and stomped her foot for good measure. “But it’s my senior year and I want you there.”

  Olivia shrugged. “We’ll see. Do you have any brownies left? I’m in serious need of some chocolate in the form of one of your soft, fudgy brownies.”

  “Oh, sweetie, we’re out,” Mabel informed her. “I wish I had known—I would have saved you one.”

  “That’s okay. I know you’re about ready to close,” Olivia said glumly. “Maybe Myra made some over at the diner. I’ll head over there. See y’all later.” She turned to go with a small wave and a forced smile. Just as she reached the front door, Adam and his father came into the bakery. Little Adam’s baseball cap was tilted slightly to the side and he was holding his father’s hand. For some reason seeing them together made Olivia imagine Noah holding the hand of his child … their child.

  “Hey, remember us? Dan Forman and my son, Adam?”

  Adam tugged on his father’s hand and looked up at him. “Is this the lady we hit with the baseball?”

  Dan nodded at Adam and then gave her a sheepish look. “Hey, tell Noah it was great of him to show up at Adam’s game. We thought you might be with him.” He raised his eyebrows in question.

  Olivia felt heat creep into her cheeks. “Oh, Noah led you to believe that we were married, but he was just teasing. We’re starring in the play together, but we’re just … friends.” She felt Chrissie’s and Mabel’s eyes upon her but was too embarrassed to turn around.

  Dan tilted his head. “Wow, you could have fooled me.” He grinned. “Well, you did fool me. You two make a cute couple. He was so worried about you, and you dived to save him from getting hit.”

  “You did?” Mabel asked with wide eyes. “Oh, I would have loved to have seen that.”

  “Oh, Miss Lawson, that’s so romantic!” Chrissie gushed, and Olivia finally turned around.

  “It was merely instinct,” she explained, hoping her face wasn’t beet red. Then she turned back to Adam and Dan. “Well, it was nice to see you guys.” She patted Adam on the head. “Good luck with your baseball.”

  “Thank you very much!” Adam said with a big grin. “Noah is gonna help teach me to pitch! Will you come with him to watch?”

  Olivia forced another smile. “I’ll try,” she promised. Then with one last wave she hurried out the door.

  Once she was outside she inhaled a shaky breath, and although she headed toward Myra’s Diner, when she arrived at the doorstep she paused and then decided to keep on walking and go home. She wasn’t in the mood for small talk. Perhaps she had a hidden stash of chocolate somewhere in her house. One could only hope.

  As she headed down Oak Street, a sense of hometown pride washed over her. Although hard times had befallen Cricket Creek, lush green lawns were meticulously manicured, with an abundance of blooming flowers adding both color and the sweet scent of summer. Stately trees reached toward the sky, and you’d be hardpressed to find so much as a cigarette butt littering the sidewalk. The aroma of charcoal grills and the sounds of music and laughter filtered toward Olivia, and she smiled in spite of her sad mood. Neighbors both young and old paused and waved as she strolled by, but she merely wiggled her fingers in return and kept on walking, though it was normally in her nature to stop and chat.

  But not tonight.

  Tonight she wanted a piece of dark chocolate, some bourbon on the rocks, and then she just might indulge in a rare good old-fashioned cry. But when she got to her house she was surprised to see her father sitting on her front stoop. “Dad!” she called and willed her emotions to stay in check. “What brings you here?” she asked with a smile that she barely managed to keep from trembling at the corners.

  “Just wanted to come over and see my lovely daughter.” Owen stood up and gave her a hug. “I would have let myself in, but the spare key beneath the rock over there was missing.”

  “Oh,” Olivia said with a nod. “Sorry.” She didn’t want to tell him that she had given the key to Noah, and hoped that he didn’t guess. “I’ll have to put it back.” She had begun locking her door at Noah’s insistence.

  He stooped and picked up a bag. “Brought you some brownies from the diner. Myra sent them to you,” he said and then blushed just a bit.

  Olivia accepted the bag from him. “Oh, you were reading my mind!”

  Owen smiled before leaning down to kiss her on the forehead. “I can still do that once in a while.”

  “Thank you so much!” Olivia felt emotion clog her throat. In his quiet way her father always
knew how to cheer her up. There’d been countless times when he brought her home a treat or called just when she needed it most. “I stopped at the bakery, but Mabel was out of just about everything.” She walked past him and opened the door. “Come on in.”

  “Feels good in here,” Owen said as he followed her into the kitchen. “It’s gettin’ kinda sticky outside.”

  Olivia nodded. “I think we might get some much-needed rain tonight, but at least it’s supposed to be nice for the prom tomorrow.” She set her purse on the kitchen table and then reached into the cabinet for a glass. “Want something to drink?”

  “Whatcha got?”

  Olivia pulled a bottle of Buffalo Trace bourbon out of the bottom cabinet. “Want a little nip?”

  Owen arched one eyebrow. “Oh, why not?” he said with a grin.

  Olivia nodded and reached for another glass. “Coming right up.” Neither of them was a big drinker, but Olivia was in a restless mood and dearly wanted to relax. She pushed the crushed-ice button on her fridge door and filled both glasses, then added a generous shot of bourbon followed by a splash of water. She handed her father his drink and joined him at the table.

  For a moment they sipped in silence. Olivia could feel that something was on his mind, but instead of pushing she gave him the time to put his thoughts together. He took another sip and then ran his fingertip over the edge of his glass before looking across the table at her.

  “I’m sorry, Olivia.”

  “Whatever for?” she asked softly. She hoped he wasn’t feeling any guilt over his blossoming relationship with Myra.

  “For not bringing more joy into your life.”

  Olivia put her hand over his. “Dad … it’s not your fault that she deserted us.” Olivia refused to use the word “mother.”

  He had to clear his throat before continuing. “Nor is it yours, and I was remiss for not making damned sure that you knew that.”

  “Oh, Dad …” She squeezed his hand. “We did the best we could. And it was pretty damned good.”

  “‘Damned’?” He chuckled softly, but then brushed a tear away. “You’re cussin’ and I’m cryin’. What’s up with that?”

  “Maybe we’re finally learning to deal with our emotions … or at least to let them show. But, Dad, I was serious. You did a good job.”

  “Ahh, sweetie. Always the perfect little girl.” He sniffed hard and then rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. “Ahh, Olivia, I never told you, but your mother was pregnant with you when we got married. I insisted that we marry.” He shook his head. “I was terrified that she would give you up for adoption if we didn’t tie the knot and I couldn’t live with that. But I was wrong for trying to force her into living a life she never wanted and wasn’t cut out for.”

  “Dad, you sent her off and paid for her dream to come true! She was wrong to desert us! To … to cheat on you!”

  Owen nodded. “That she was, and someday she will have to answer to a higher power for her actions. But, Livie, she would have been miserable in the long run. I understand that now.”

  “You do? Why?”

  “I know now how it feels to truly be in love.” He chuckled. “Myra makes me laugh. Lights up my life.”

  Olivia felt elation at his admission. “Oh, Dad, I am so happy for you! Myra too. She is a gem.”

  “She is somethin’ else, that one. I’m enjoying life in a way I had never been able to do … or maybe allow myself to do.” He patted his chest. “Livie, I’ve become a new man.”

  Olivia smiled. It was the first time he had called her that in a long time. “You are both hardworking, good people. You deserve happiness and so does she.”

  He angled his head and swallowed hard once more. “It has made me finally forgive your mother.” He paused and added, “I dearly hope you can do the same.”

  She pulled her hand back and took a sip of her drink. The cold bourbon chilled and burned at the same time. “You’re asking too much of me.”

  “Forgiving her will open your heart, Olivia. Set you free to live and love without fear.”

  Olivia put her hand to her mouth while hot tears slid down her cheeks. “Oh, Dad, I think it might be too late.”

  “No”—Owen shook his head and brushed tears from her cheeks—“Livie, honey, it’s never too late. I don’t know what happened between you and Noah, but you surely glowed when you were with him.”

  “I love him, Dad. I really do. But I don’t know how to fix what I did.” She let out a sob. “I hurt him terribly. I accused him of being a liar and a cheat!”

  “Did you apologize for what you did?”

  “Of course! But I don’t know if it could ever be enough. Trust is the foundation for any relationship. I failed to believe in him—the one thing he truly wanted.”

  “Livie, does he know why?”

  She shook her head slowly.

  “Then tell him.”

  “Oh, Dad, he’s been going out of town. I think he’s moving back to New York!”

  “Let me ask you something. Would you go with him if he asked you?”

  “Leave Cricket Creek?” Her eyes rounded. “Leave you?”

  “Olivia, I can drive a car. Fly on an airplane. In fact, Myra and I are thinking of doing some traveling. Jessica is pretty much going to take over the renovated diner, and except for snowplowin’ and a bit of wood choppin’ my business is slow in the winter. We’ve been discussing wintering somewhere south.”

  “Really?”

  He smiled. “You and I have been lying low for a long time. It’s time for us to soar. If you love Noah, go with him.”

  “But I love it here.”

  Owen smiled. “Girlie, Myra and I sat in on your play rehearsal the other night.”

  “You did?”

  He nodded. “In the back where you couldn’t see us. The two of you are magic together even during this rough patch that you’ve hit.”

  Olivia smiled through the tears.

  “Have you forgotten the meaning behind Madison’s story?” He patted her hand. “If you could choose just one thing?”

  Olivia pressed her lips together and said softly, “Love would win every single time.”

  “Livie, we had a rough row to hoe, but don’t let love slip through your fingers.”

  “I might have already done that,” she said sadly.

  “I don’t think so …” He gave her a long look and then nibbled on the inside of his cheek.

  Olivia’s heart kicked it up a notch and she narrowed her eyes at her father. “I keep getting the impression that something’s afoot and I’m the only one in this town who isn’t in on it. Am I right?”

  Owen took a sip of his drink but avoided her direct gaze.

  “Dad?”

  Owen inhaled a deep breath and then raised his gaze to look at her. “Oh, boy …”

  Olivia leaned back in her chair. “So I am right. I knew it! Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

  “Sweetie, I can’t do that.”

  “Did you promise not to?”

  “No, but—”

  “Then tell me!”

  He closed his eyes and swallowed.

  “You know I’m not good with surprises. I’m a need-to-be-prepared kinda girl.” She gazed at him imploringly.

  Owen shook his head slowly. “No can do.”

  She covered his hand with hers and shook it back and forth. “I won’t let on that you spilled the beans.”

  “Okay, I will tell you two things.” He held up his index and middle fingers.

  Olivia nodded eagerly.

  “That boy loves you beyond reason.” A slow grin spread across his face as if he was thinking about whatever was going down. “So does this whole damned town, for that matter.”

  “Oh … Dad.” She felt tears spring into her eyes once more.

  “Promise me this. Whatever you’re asked to do tomorrow? Just do it. No matter how silly it seems.”

  “Daaaa-d!” Olivia put both palms on the table and l
eaned forward. “That’s all you are going to tell me? Seriously?” she pleaded.

  “Sweetie, it’s called setting your fears aside and trusting. Something you and I have been lacking in for a long time. Well, no more.” He held up his glass and with a nod coaxed her to do the same. He clicked his glass with hers. “To trusting our gut … our heart.” He drained his glass and then scooted his chair back. “I’d better get goin’.”

  Olivia pushed her own chair back and stood up with him. “I’m not going to squeeze any more information out of you, am I?”

  “Nope.” He kissed her on top of her head. “But I suggest you get yourself a good night’s sleep.” He reached down and took both of her hands in his.

  “Right.” She rolled her eyes. “Now just how am I going to do that?”

  Owen chuckled and then tilted his head toward the bottle of bourbon. “One more little hit of that should do ya just right.”

  Olivia sighed, then nodded. “Okay, Dad. Dang, you’re a tough nut to crack.” She walked him to the door, and when he’d gone, she took his suggestion, adding some ice and topping off her drink. After getting ready for bed, she propped herself up against the pillows and nursed her bourbon. She racked her brain for what could possibly be going on but came up with a big goose egg. She considered calling Madison, but she didn’t want anyone to know that her father had alerted her to whatever surprise was in store for her. “I guess I’ll just have to wait and find out,” she whispered as she leaned over and turned off the light.

  Olivia snuggled into the feather pillow thinking that sleep would evade her, but the soft cotton felt heavenly and the bourbon had her relaxed. Or maybe it was her father’s insistence that Noah loved her that eased some of her earlier tension. But whatever the reason, she felt more at peace and more hopeful that she had felt in days, and after a few moments she drifted off into slumberland … Mmmm, make that Noah-land. His face drifted into her dreams and she sighed.

  25

  Oh, What a Night!

  “Noah, for heaven’s sake, would you just chill?” Madison fisted her hands on her hips and shook her head at him. “Don’t ask me how we pulled it off, but everything is falling into place nicely.”