by Diane Darcy
“What is it?”
“I’m supposed to be teaching basketball to twelve-year-olds in forty-five minutes. It completely slipped my mind.”
“And can I help ye with this at all?”
She glanced over at him, assessing. “Now that Zach and Tina are gone, I guess you could go home until tomorrow. But if you don’t mind, I’d rather you stayed with me. They might get out, try to call me, or come find me and confront me. I’d really rather you were here with me.”
He lifted his hands, palm up. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Okay, good. In that case, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d appreciate it if you just came with me. After basketball, I’m having dinner at a friend’s house, but she always makes plenty, and I think you’d like her and her husband. How does that sound?”
“That sounds like a nice day.”
She nodded. “It’ll be good to stay busy, anyway, won’t it?”
He smiled again. If she needed to stay busy, to keep her mind off of something as trifling as kidnapping a husband and wife, he could help her with that, too.
“Okay, Kinsey, now watch me do this,” Jenny bent over, held the ball tight between her hands, and kept one foot firmly planted on the floor as she pivoted one way, then the other. “Notice how I keep elbows up, and my pivot foot stationary. All right, now you try it.”
As the children paired up again, offense and defense, to practice the move, Jenny glanced over to where Niall sat in the bleachers. Two of the mothers were doing their best to capture his attention, which he seemed to be keeping firmly on her.
An unexpected wave of jealousy flashed through her.
Which was ridiculous.
That was why she wasn’t going to keep looking at him.
Determinedly, she focused on the kids, corrected them when they needed it, and then decided it was time to actually play ball, as that would keep her attention more on the game than on Niall.
“All right, you five,” she pointed at each individual child, “are the A team.”
“And you five,” again she pointed, “are the B team. Everyone else on the bench. We’ll take turns coming in and out of the game. All right, let’s play. Jump ball to start.”
As everyone scrambled into place, Jenny grabbed up a ball and kicked others toward the first row of the bleachers, where the kids on the bench snatched them up.
Ball under one arm, she headed to the center court, lifted it between two kids, and threw it into the air.
The two kids jumped for it, the taller boy winning the jump and tipping it to a teammate.
As she moved back to watch the play, she heard a voice behind her.
“This is not acceptable!”
She turned to see Mr. Miller, a father she’d had trouble with in the past, glaring at her.
Keeping one eye on the court, she backed off so she could talk to the man. She knew from past experience that if she didn’t, he’d end up losing his temper and ruining it for the kids. The man had been tossed out of more than one game already. She hoped she didn’t have to toss him out of the practice, as well.
“What’s the problem, Mr. Miller?”
“You know dang good and well what the problem is, lady. Why is my son on the bench?”
The fact that she didn’t sigh or roll her eyes made Jenny feel like a saint. “As I just told the children, we’ll be moving the kids in and out during play.”
“You know what? That’s all good and well, but why is my kid always the first one on the bench? Why wasn’t he one of the ones you chose first? Do you have something against him?”
“I assure you, Mr. Miller, that is not the case.” She looked over to see Ryan Miller cringing slightly and felt sorry for the kid. “Now if you don’t mind?”
“Actually, I do mind. I’m paying just as much money as the next parent to make sure my kid gets to play. I don’t see that happening, so yeah, we do have a problem.”
She was hanging onto her temper. “Mr. Miller, if you don’t like how I teach this team, then perhaps you should sign up next year to be a coach yourself.”
“Maybe I will! But in the meantime, I paid good money to have my kid on this team, and he’s going to play, same as the next one.”
She noted the kids had stopped playing, and one of the girls was holding onto the ball, an uncertain expression on her face.
“You’re interrupting my practice, Mr. Miller.”
A couple of the other parents, told him to sit down, and he swung around to glare at them. “Why don’t you guys just stay out of this? This is between me and the coach.”
Niall stood up. “Nae, I doonae believe it is.”
She was tempted to tell him not to interfere, but realized with his therapist background, he might be more capable of diffusing the situation than anyone here.
She turned back to the team, but only took one step when her arm was seized from behind.
More outraged than anything, she turned to glare at the man. “Take your hand off me.”
“Not until —”
Niall seized him by the back of the neck. “Did your mother no’ teach ye that ’tis impolite to grab hold of a lady in such a manner?”
The man sputtered, struggling to free himself.
“Dad!” Ryan, shoulders hunched, looked mortified.
Niall glanced at the child as well, and then he was walking with Mr. Miller toward the double doors, his hand still firmly about the back of his neck.
After a bit more gasping and thrashing, Mr. Miller finally found his voice and angrily shouted at Niall, but they were soon out the doors, and Jenny quickly took control of the children.
“All right, let’s get the ball back in play. Who had it last?”
Olivia was still holding the ball and she lifted it in the air.
“All right, let’s switch out some players, Ryan, Caleb, you’re on A team. Go!”
The kids started playing again and within minutes, everything in the room fell back to normal.
Jenny glanced at the door, hoping Niall’s skills could change even Mr. Miller’s bad attitude around.
A few minutes later, both Niall and Mr. Miller came walking back inside.
If she hadn’t seen it herself, she’d never have believed the chastened expression upon Mr. Miller face.
The man was slightly bent over… as if he’d been punched?
She shot Niall a worried glance. Surely not.
But she couldn’t help but remember the way he’d so easily slugged her brother into unconsciousness.
As the two men sat down next to each other, Jenny quickly traded out the players, but left Ryan in so there wouldn’t be any more contention.
She continued the practice, undisturbed, and after the hour was up, she gathered the kids together to give them some last-minute tips and instructions.
“All right, good job everyone. I want you to practice the two moves we learned today, and practice your free throws this week. Next Saturday we have a game at ten here at the recreation center. Be here thirty minutes early. Good job everyone!”
As the parents walked their kids out, Jenny put the balls away, hoping all the while that Mr. Miller would leave, but he didn’t. Finally she walked over to where the two men stood.
“Ready to go?” she asked.
“I am, but first, Mr. Miller has something he’d like tae say tae ye.”
“All right.”
“I want to apologize for disturbing the practice. I was being unreasonable,” he glanced at Niall and Niall nodded once. “And ungentlemanly. I assure you, it won’t happen again.”
“Thank you.”
With a nod, and one last look at Niall, Mr. Miller quickly walked his son out the double doors.
“What was that about?”
“The man simply had a change of heart.”
Her brows drew together. “Did this change of heart have anything to do with you punching him on the side of the head?”
Niall looked affronted. “I would never! If I
knocked the man unconscious, who would take his child home?”
“So you didn’t hit him?”
“Not in the side of the head.”
Jenny blew out a breath and shook her head. “You know what? Forget I asked.”
Niall grinned and it was enough to weaken her knees.
“That’s very understanding of ye.”
She gave him a teasing shove on the arm. “Let’s gather the remaining balls and get out of here.”
Jenny was about ready to turn the lights off when she heard the ball bounce across the court.
She turned back to see that Niall apparently wasn’t quite ready to go home yet.
He shot the basketball and missed.
He looked at her, his expression sheepish. “Tis harder than it looks.”
She wandered back over. “Do you want to play pig?”
“Pig?”
“Sure, I’ll show you how it’s played.”
He threw the ball and she lined up and took a shot from the right side of the basket. It went in. “Okay, your turn. You take a shot from the same spot, and if you miss you’re a P.”
He lined up, took the shot, and missed it.
She grinned at him. “P.”
He scowled. “Is it my turn?”
“Not until I miss or you make a basket.”
She dribbled the ball for a moment and went to the other side of the basket. She considered missing. She really did. But she just couldn’t get herself to do it. She shot the basket and made it.
Niall retrieved the ball, moved into position, shot the ball, and missed.
She didn’t mean to, but she laughed, quickly smothering the sound with her hand.
He looked adorably miffed. “Laughing at me, is it?”
“No! Of course not. I was just thinking of something else. That’s all.”
“Mmmft.” He made a sound deep in his throat, a cross of disapproval and suspicion.
She bit her lip as a serious case of the giggles threatened to bubble up her throat. When he threw her the ball, she thought about missing again. She lined up at center, a place she’d stood many a time during her long and varied basketball career.
“Ye willnae miss apurpose,” Niall narrowed his eyes and glowered at her.
At that, she couldn’t help it, she burst out laughing, bent over, elbows on knees, ball clasped in front of her. “Okay, okay. You got me. I was thinking about it. I wouldn’t have thought you knew me well enough to read my expression.”
“Ye’re an open book tae me, never forget it.”
Another chuckle, and she shot the ball, and, of course, made it.
Niall retrieved it, and walked over to stand in her place as she moved off to the right. He shot, and the ball landed slightly off center, bounced on the rim, and then off again.
He looked at her, as if daring her to say something.
“G.” She played too many games with her brother to be intimidated by that look. “Pig.”
“I’m a pig, is it?” He started toward her.
Laughing, she backed away.
“Take it back, else suffer the consequences.”
“I suppose we could’ve played horse,” she continued to back away.
“Now she tells me,” he grumbled.
When he moved faster, she turned and ran across the gym floor, her laughter echoing in the spacious room.
A glance over her shoulder told her he was hot on her heels. She raced for the back of the bleachers, and slid behind them.
One minute, he wasn’t there, and the next, his huge form filled the opening and she screamed and hurried to the other side.
When she got there, he rounded the corner and nabbed her.
He had her up and tossed over his shoulder within seconds, crossing the gym floor as if she weighed nothing. “So, I could have been a majestic animal, revered by all, but ye used your skill to turn me into a mud-seeking scavenger.”
He stopped in front of the center line and set her down once more.
She was still laughing, and he was holding back his own smile.
“This time, we’ll be playing horse.”
Chapter 10
Quite a while later, they left the gymnasium and were heading to her car when Jenny checked her phone once again.
“What are ye looking for?”
Jenny threw him a sheepish glance. “I keep checking it, don’t I? I’m looking to see if my brother has called, or if possibly the police are looking for us.”
“Ye’re not to worry. Do ye truly believe Zach would give up this opportunity to spend time with his wife in a situation where he can save face? He’ll not be looking too hard to escape, I promise ye that.”
She turned to study his expression. “Are you serious? I would’ve thought he’d climb ten mountains, just to have his own way.”
“He is having his own way. He’s got time with his wife to straighten out the mess he’s made of his marriage.”
“You’re awfully confident.”
He shrugged. “I know men. I know what I would do in a similar circumstance.”
“I hope you’re right. I hope we don’t get home and find the police there waiting for us.”
“Why would the police be involved?”
“Are you kidding me? We kidnapped two people tonight. That’s against the law, you know.”
Niall snorted. “We simply placed a husband and wife together. No one could fault us for that.”
Jenny unlocked her car, but then stood looking at Niall over the top. Maybe the reason he had been so willing to come to her house to conduct therapy sessions was because the man was just flat-out unorthodox in his methods.
He smiled at her over the top of the car, his expression sweetly innocent.
The man was a kook.
She found herself grinning as she opened her door and settled into the driver’s seat.
Niall slid in next to her. “Everything all right?”
She chuckled as she started the car. “Everything is fine.”
They arrived home to find a distinct lack of police presence.
Niall shot her an I-told-you-so glance, and she grinned good-naturedly as they exited the car.
As they walked up the path to her front door, Niall had a moment of unease. She’d invited him to stay and he had nowhere else to go, but without her brother there, they’d be alone in the house tonight.
He stood back as she unlocked her door, threw it wide, and gestured him inside. He hesitated just a moment before going in. He could always sleep in her backyard, wrapped in his plaid. He’d slept outdoors many a time in his life, and would gladly do it to ensure Jenny’s peace of mind.
Jenny let out a small gasp.
He swung around. “What is it?” He glanced around the room, but nothing seemed amiss. Her little dog Bones stood on the sofa wagging its tail furiously.
“You’re going to stay, aren’t you? You’re not going to leave me now that Zach isn’t here, are you? I’d hate to be alone if he shows up. In fact, I don’t want to face Tina alone either.”
“O’ course I’ll be here. I’ll not leave ye alone until yer brother’s marriage is mended. I’ll see the task to completion.”
Jenny put a hand to her chest. “Thank you. I just had a really bad moment, picturing myself trying to explain things to Zach. I think I’d rather just stand behind you while you do it.”
Her impish grin charmed him, and he couldn’t help but return the smile.
She dumped her possessions on the couch and picked up the dog, who tried to lick her face. “Come on, let’s get out of here. There’s a trail just down the block that heads into the trees. It’s not exactly rural, but it’s a nice hike. I think Bones here needs the exercise.”
Niall followed behind Jenny and the wiggling, excited dog, now on a leash, and they quickly found the trail where she set the dog loose. “Nice, huh?”
Niall took it all in with a glance—the trees, the sun shining in the blue sky, the few floating clouds—an
d his gaze was immediately drawn back to Jenny. “Verra pretty, indeed.”
Color heated her cheeks, making her all the more attractive to him, and they started walking side by side as Bones rushed through bushes and grasses from one smell to the next.
“Tell me about Scotland.”
“Scotland is pretty too, in a different way. Where you’ve mountains off in the distance, we have them everywhere. If ye travel any distance, ye’ll probably run into a large body of water. Lochs, streams, rivers. We’ve thick woodland, rolling hills, and deep glens. It’s greener there than here.”
“What about your family? Tell me about them.”
“My mother was a beauty, kind and gentle. My father spoke with his fists more often than not. Especially when he was in his cups. And he did like to drink.”
Jenny looked startled. “Did he hit you?”
“Aye, often.”
“That’s terrible!”
Niall shrugged, slightly embarrassed at what he’d revealed.
“Are they gone now?”
He nodded.
“I’m sorry.”
He nodded again.
“What was it like growing up there? There were always chores to be done, but I also had a lot of freedom. Until the military anyway.”
“You don’t sound like you liked being in the military very much.”
“Nae, I didnae.”
She nodded, and picked her way along the trail, stepping up on rocks and jumping over a small branch. She was nimble, strong, and he felt he could watch her forever.
A log had fallen, or been pushed across the bank of the stream.
Jenny walked out on it, and turned. “King of the hill!”
He glanced around. “What hill?”
“It means, I own the bridge, and you can’t get past me.”
Competitiveness stirred within him. “Is that so?” Aye, she was strong, but he was stronger.
She grinned at him, and he couldn’t resist smiling back.
Arms slightly spread for balance, he walked toward her, and chuckled at her cocky expression.
When he reached her, she lifted her hands, and he twined his fingers with hers. Slowly, he pressed her backward, but she held firm, bracing her legs and pushing back.
Her laughter drew his own, and soon they were chuckling, scrabbling, and grinning like fools as Bones barked and jumped along the shore.
