Sweet Caroline

by Becky Lower

  Chapter Eleven

  When the knuckles wrapped on her door the following Saturday, Caroline jumped, even though she’d been expecting Grant for an hour. She hurried from the bathroom where she’d been fussing with last-minute touches to her makeup and threw open the door. The weather had turned brutally cold and the icicles hanging from the dock were no longer pretty. They were just a reminder winter wasn’t yet done.

  Grant blew on his gloved hands and hustled inside. “Hi, Caroline. Are you ready to face Old Man Winter?”

  She stepped to the coat rack by the door and grabbed her coat, gloves, and scarf. “As soon as I add a few layers, I’ll be ready.”

  “Here, let me help.” Grant stood behind her and toyed with her hair for a moment before he assisted her in getting her coat onto her shoulders.

  His mere touch sent off a shower of sparks inside her, and her stomach danced in delight. Actually, she’d been dancing ever since the ball game. The team lost the semi-final match, but she got to spend several hours staring at Grant as he prowled along the edge of the court, focused on the game and his players.

  She wrapped the scarf around her neck, and Grant tugged out her hair.

  His gloved fingers lingered, and he stroked her hair, straightening the locks.

  Caroline could scarcely breathe.

  They descended the steps from her apartment, and he opened her car door, behaving as a perfect gentleman. Caroline gazed through the window as he strode around the car to the driver’s side. She held her breath. Grant had definitely morphed from a cute teenager into one hot man. Not only had he become the most handsome male in Lobster Cove, in her opinion at least, but he also had evolved into a highly successful teacher and had a commanding presence on the sidelines of the basketball court as a coach. He had gotten a college degree, and she’d noticed from her brief visit to his house he even read the bestselling books, so he had no problem holding an intelligent conversation. She hoped to spend more time with him. To have long, weighty talks about the state of the world. About the state of their relationship. Starting tonight, their lost friendship would be rekindled.

  He climbed into the car, his presence large in the SUV, and he glanced over.

  She ran her tongue over her parched lips.

  Grant raised a hand and smoothed a stray lock of hair away from her face. “Always loved your hair, Sweet Caroline.” He held the tendril between his fingers and tugged gently. So close, she could have leaned in and kissed him right then. Maybe he would instead. She held her breath as their gazes met. Again, she wet her lips with the tip of her tongue.

  His focus strayed to her mouth. For a long second his gaze lingered. Then he released her hair and straightened behind the wheel.

  She could breathe again. “I’m sorry your guys lost the game last night.” Yes, that was the ticket. To steer the conversation away from lips or kisses or her hair.

  “In a way, I’m glad about the outcome.” He grinned. “If we’d won, we would have even more practice time, and we’ve been working hard since September. The kids need a break, and so do I.” He took hold of her hand. “Besides, I now have incentive for next year.”

  Her hand warmed in his, and the warmth spread to the rest of her body. The car barely had time to warm up since the Cliffside establishment was within spitting distance of the shop, situated only a few blocks down Main Street and around the bay. When Grant relinquished her hand to turn off the car and climb out, she closed her eyes, wishing they had decided on a Bar Harbor restaurant instead. The trip would have been longer, and she could have enjoyed him holding her hand for the whole ride. She also didn’t relish the conversation they were about to have and would have preferred to put the whole thing off a bit longer. Maybe she should wait until they were in a more private setting. Being in a cloistered setting with Grant meant putting herself into an uncomfortable situation, since she couldn’t trust him not to kiss her senseless.

  Before she could put two thoughts together, they were seated in a secluded spot in the fancy restaurant.

  “The specialty here is surf and turf in case you were wondering what to order.” Grant pointed out options as she scanned the menu.

  “Do you come here often?” She glanced around the restaurant. Candles at each table cast a soft glow over the white tablecloths, which were laden with china and silverware. The dark wood floors added to the warm ambiance.

  “Not on a teacher’s salary.” He grinned like a kid who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “I only come here for special occasions.”

  “And you consider tonight a special occasion?” She flashed a quick glance his way before lowering her gaze to the table and playing with her fork. She’d been fishing for a compliment and kicked herself for doing so. Still, she waited, breath caught in her throat, for an answer—an all-important answer.

  His hand snaked out across the sparkling white tablecloth and grasped hers, ceasing her agitated motion with the fork. “Since I never thought I’d get the chance to explain myself, yes, I do consider this a special occasion.”

  The waiter appeared out of nowhere, dressed in black from head to toe, with a white towel draped over his arm. They ordered wine and selected dinner choices before he faded away. Too fast, at least in Caroline’s mind. Of course, Grant would pick a restaurant with competent staff. She could no longer put off their conversation. Might as well be the one to begin the awkwardness.

  She took a deep breath. “I had such a crush on you the summer I turned fifteen.” Her voice cracked, despite her best effort to control her tone.

  He put his hands on the table, his mocha skin glowing in the soft candlelight and contrasting beautifully with the white cloth. “My feelings were the same as yours, Caro. Never doubt that.”

  “Then why?” She blinked several times, holding back the sudden moisture in her eyes.

  The waiter interrupted his answer, setting their wine choices in front of them.

  Grant brushed his hand through his black curls. “In order to answer your question, you’ve got to consider what my daily struggles were during high school.” He raised his clear blue eyes and stared across the table. “Things were different then. In the late 90s, race relations were not the same as they are now, at least in most parts of the country. My father picked up people’s trash for a living. My mother got called all kinds of names and was shunned a lot for marrying a black man. Dad provided a nice life for Mom and my brothers, but people still spoke disparagingly about them at every turn. About all of us.” He stopped and took a deep breath.

  Caroline longed to touch him with a comforting hand but held back, lifting her wine glass and taking a sip. “I’m aware of what your father did for a living. Abbey, Penny, and I became your friend anyway.”

  Grant ran a hand over his muscled chest. “Well, not everyone at the party the particular evening in question had the same mindset as you ladies. Now that I’m an adult, I’ve managed to piece their reasoning together. The guys who threatened me if I came near a white girl did so out of jealousy and frustration, since they couldn’t get any girls, black or white, to pay attention to them. Back then I hadn’t yet figured out things. If I touched you or any other white girl in front of an audience, I’d get the life beaten out of me. Especially you, Caro. The beautiful, exotic stranger from the faraway place called Ohio.”

  His faint smile nearly melted her. Caroline glanced away and stared at the gleaming floor for a minute. “I don’t recall any of the other boys who were in the circle that night. I only had eyes for you.”

  He took a long sip of his red wine. “One guy really had a thing for you. Tony Dillard. He beat me up on a regular basis for imagined insults I’d given him, or because he needed to take out his aggression on someone. He’d never face me one-on-one, but he had a posse of guys around him most of the time. They’d hold me down while Tony used me as his own personal boxing bag.”

  Grant’s voice became as hard as the punches he described. Caroline gasped, her heart opening. She
stared across the table. “I’m so sorry, Grant.”

  “To make matters worse, Tony had hoped to further his cause with you that night. So if we had shown any interest in each other during Spin the Bottle, he would have made life a living hell for us. Besides, even though we ran around together for a couple weeks that summer, I wasn’t sure you’d agree to be kissed by me.” He placed his hand over hers. “I still don’t have the answer to that one. In order to save your reputation, and to save my face from another beating, I made the choice for both of us. If you hadn’t run home to Cleveland in such a hurry, I would have explained my actions.”

  “You could have written to me and saved me years of anguish, prevented me from developing a huge sense of inadequacy. I never thought about things from your viewpoint before.” She shrugged and stared at the floor, one hand on her rapidly beating heart.

  “Yeah, I could’ve done a lot of things differently. I made a huge mistake back then. I’m sorry for hurting you, Caro.” He grabbed the edges of the table and held on.

  She laid her hand over his. “I hated you for years for filling my teenage life with doubt about myself. With the help of therapy and the love of a good man, Michael, I learned to live with my feelings of not being good enough. Abbey tried to explain your side of things time and again over the years, but I always shut her down. I had to have things explained by you. Now that you’ve put things into the right perspective, I forgive you. I’ve missed our friendship.” She took a deep breath and removed her hand from his as their dinner order appeared. “When did Tony finally stop beating you?”

  Grant picked up a forkful of steak and popped it into his mouth. “Good steak.” He motioned with his head toward the plate. “Tony left me alone when I finally got big enough to fight back, and when he finally got a girl, a couple years later. Sadly, he didn’t give up beating on people.” His face morphed into a grimace. “Tony’s now in jail for spousal abuse.”

  Caroline shivered and ran her hands up and down her arms. “Thank goodness, I had no idea he had an interest in me. I could have been his next victim in the abuse.”

  “I never would have let that happen, Sweet Caroline.” He brushed his hand over hers.

  Now that the albatross that had been around their relationship had left, she could sit back and enjoy her dinner. Her stomach did a happy dance, and her mouth salivated as she stared at the succulent meal in front of her. She glanced across the table at Grant.

  He winked and had a glimmer in his eye.

  Yeah, Grant could hold his own against any man now. She raised her knife and fork, ready to cut into her own steak. They’d have a nice dinner with more pleasant conversation and behave like every other couple in the room. But when he took her home? Her insides stopped doing their happy dance and instead filled with butterflies that came in so fast they collided into each other and banged against the sides of her stomach. She now worried about how to handle things since she’d laid down her sword.

  ****

  Grant breathed a whole lot easier on the ride back to Caroline’s apartment than he had all night. They’d finally had the long-avoided conversation and could now maybe forge a relationship, even if their new course would never be more than a friendship. Being friends certainly beat being constantly at war. They lived in the same town, and he didn’t want Caroline to avoid doing things because they might run into each other.

  He parked at the base of the stairs leading to her apartment and hurried around the car to open Caroline’s door before she could exit on her own. She got to her feet and glanced up. He hovered, temptingly close.

  “You don’t need to escort me up the stairs, Grant. We can say goodnight here.” She lowered her gaze for a moment, her long lashes brushing her cheeks.

  Her expressive green eyes then locked on his and bored into his very soul.

  “I had a nice time tonight.”

  He couldn’t resist latching onto the stray tendril of blonde hair that had escaped from her hood. His fingers brushed her cheek as he held the lock. “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. I’m glad I could finally tell you the reasons for my actions so long ago. And I’m glad you relocated here.”

  Her breath puffed out in short bursts, forming little vapor clouds each time she exhaled.

  Grant had pinned her between himself and the car door. Maybe her lack of an escape route was making her nervous. He released her lock of hair and took a step back.

  She cleared her throat. “You said tonight you still didn’t have the answer as to whether or not I would have kissed you. I’ll clear that up right now, if I may.” She stepped forward and stood on her tiptoes, hanging onto his arm for balance, and kissed him.

  His free arm wrapped around her, tugging her closer. Her arms encircled his neck, and the kiss deepened, rocking him to his core. His tongue explored her mouth as she held on to his jacket. She tasted of wine and woman.

  After a long minute, they broke for air.

  Grant touched his forehead to hers, catching his breath. “It’s probably a good thing we didn’t kiss when we were fifteen. We wouldn’t have known what to do with ourselves.”

  She smiled and touched his cheek, delivering another tiny peck of a kiss before she broke contact and stepped away. “My thoughts precisely. Good night, Grant.” She jogged up the stairs.

  Grant kept his gaze on her as he slumped against the car.

  When she got to the landing and put her key in the lock, she pivoted and blew a kiss with a grin. Then she disappeared into the apartment.

  He couldn’t make his muscles work. Her kiss had been everything he’d dreamed of. No, a whole lot more. His dream kiss had been steamy, but what he’d experienced a few minutes ago scorched him. He could only stand in place with a hand on his rapidly beating heart. He had the same mindset about Caroline as he had with his basketball team—to get farther along than ever before.

  He’d helped orchestrate things so she’d be at school a couple days a week and would soon spend time with each teacher to explain the nuances of their new computer program. He’d play dumb, be her worst student, so she’d have to take extra time with him. The first part of his plan had taken shape with an assist from Mrs. Edwards. Dinner tonight had been a second step. Maybe by the time the NBA playoffs rolled around in June, he’d have her on his arm for the big party Del threw each year. All he had to do was to climb over the mountain of fear on her part and seal the deal.

  The cold night air finally cooled him, and he peeled himself away from the side of the car. He got behind the wheel and drove off, but he’d be back every chance he could. The only time he’d been inside her apartment, he’d mentioned he’d come equipped with a bottle of champagne on his next visit. He’d have to stop by the Lobster Cove Grocery Mart tomorrow and pick up a bottle.

  Before Caroline had shown up at Penny and Del’s wedding, Grant thought once basketball season ended he’d be bored for the remainder of the school year. Now though, he couldn’t wait to see the last of a basketball court. He’d still be courting, but the end result would be infinitely better than a trophy to put in the awards case at school.

  At least, he hoped so.

  Chapter Twelve

  Caroline took an extra measure of care with her outfit and makeup the Monday after her dinner with Grant. Her day would be full with a morning stint at the shop before she spent a couple hours at school in the afternoon. The thought of seeing Grant again after their delicious kiss Saturday night made her tingly, jumpy, and happy. She should keep him at arm’s length to preserve her sanity, but after hearing about his experiences growing up in Lobster Cove, he had stolen a little piece of her heart.

  She supposed this town had been no different from any other in the country during the late 90s, and he would have had a hard time in school regardless of where he’d grown up. Bullying was an unfortunate fact of life to some kids in every school. Grant had been no exception, at least until he’d grown into the tall, strapping man he’d become. Her heart softened when he explained how he�
��d been looking out for her, too. She’d never even considered that some in their group would take offense by anyone befriending him. Even a Cleveland girl could be ignorant of the facts of life.

  Caroline appreciated the knowledge that Tony Dillard now spent his days behind bars so she wouldn’t encounter him on the sidewalks of Lobster Cove. If she’d run into him now, with the knowledge of his involvement in the worst night of her life, she’d be tempted to use her martial arts training. The thought of delivering a swift roundhouse kick to Tony’s midsection made her smile as she entered through the back door of the shop.

  “Good morning, Caroline.” Penny rose from her desk to give her a brief hug. “Nice to see the smile on your face again.”

  “I see you’re already hard at work.” Caroline canted her head to the computer screen and toward the pile of new merchandise in the cart beside Penny.

  “Inventory waits for no woman. I’m only grateful the cards and the other merchandise from the Baxter Company are already encoded into this program, and all I have to do by hand is the other stuff Abbey and I decide to carry.” Penny resumed her seat but cast a glance Caroline’s way. “So, how did Saturday night go?”

  Caroline tied the strings of her apron before she answered. “Is the entire town already aware Grant and I had dinner together over the weekend?”

  Penny grinned and cackled. “Just about.”

  Grimacing at the thought of other people knowing her business, Caroline hesitated, her heart racing. “I’m scheduled to work at the school this afternoon.”

  “Be prepared for an onslaught of questions,” Penny laughed.

  Caroline picked up on the underlying note of caution and her racing heart galloped.

  “Evidently a majority of the teenage girls and some of the teachers at school have been mooning over Grant all year. They’ll be eager for the scoop on how you turned his head so quickly.”