Courting Carlyn

by Melissa Chambers

  Keisha, Micah, and Josh appear. “Are you two about done here?” Micah asks. “Because all these fools want to dance with you for some reason.”

  Vaughn brings me in for a side hug. “Actually, we’re just getting started.” He looks at me. “But we can dance.”

  “You bet your behind we can,” I say, taking Keisha’s hand and leading her to the dance floor with a smile on my face so wide I might swallow the whole fantastical night.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Vaughn

  I toss Carlyn’s bags into the back of my car, and then shut the hatch. I turn to Fred.

  “Well,” he says. “It sure was a heck of a summer. I don’t know what I’m going to do with all the quiet around here.”

  Nancy comes up beside him and puts her arm around his waist. “Oh, I’m sure we’ll think of something.” She waggles her eyebrows at him, and Fred’s cheeks color, which is both gross, and kind of cute.

  “Well, Carlyn,” he says, “how are you feeling about the match?”

  “I’m ready.” I love the confidence with which she says that.

  Fred narrows his gaze at me. “How’d Jeffrey take the news that you were going on to college?”

  “He’s all right,” I say. “In fact, he’s having to skip the match today because he’s going to watch another kid in Nashville. Poor guy’s only twelve.”

  “May be the one to go all the way,” Nancy says.

  “May be,” I say, something nicking at my stomach, just barely, but it passes.

  “Oh, before you two head out of here, I was wanting to show you something in the house. You got a second?” Fred asks. “You come, too, Carlyn.”

  We give each other a quick look, and then follow him inside. He leads us down the hallway and stops in front of their guest room, hand on the knob of the closed door. He smiles at me, and then opens the door.

  The bedspread that was all lacy and girly is now navy blue, and the cloth that covered the nightstand matches the pattern. An old wooden tennis racquet hangs on one wall along with a large framed picture of Carlyn and me with one of the groups of campers.

  Nancy points at the wall in front of the bed. “We left that wall blank so you could decorate it however you wanted.”

  I look between the two of them. “Are you giving me this room?”

  They smile at each other. “We sure are,” Nancy says. “It’s yours whenever you want to come home from Avery.”

  Fred hands me a key. “Put that on your key ring. We’re usually here most of the time, but in case we’re not…” he trails off, and slides next to his wife.

  I turn to Carlyn, and she’s swiping at her eyes, smiling at me, closemouthed.

  My heart doesn’t understand how to process this sort of emotion, so I just sort of glance around at everything, speechless for a minute. I look at the key in my hand, and close my fingers around it, water threatening at the back of my eyes.

  “Thanks,” I say, the word coming out strangled, my voice unrecognizable.

  “You’re welcome,” Nancy says. “I was fifty when I married Fred. Neither one of us ever had kids of our own. Guess that’s part of why we started this camp.”

  “Oh, now you went too far, honey. You’re going to scare the kid off.”

  With that, I put my arms around Fred and hug him tight to my chest. He smells like sweaty old man, and I love every bit of it. Before too long, Nancy puts her arms around us, and then Carlyn’s on the other side. We stand like that for a long moment, tears and laughs all around.

  When we break apart, Fred dabs his eye with his upper arm. “If you’re more comfortable in your cabin, you can always stay out there. But we’d rather have you in the house where you can clean toilets, since you do it so well.”

  Nancy backhands him on the chest. “You’re welcome anywhere on the property, you know that, hon. You, too, Carlyn, anytime.”

  Fred points between us. “Not in this room together, though, you hear me?”

  We both nod. “Crystal clear, sir,” I say.

  Fred gives a contented sort of bow, and then heads out of the room. Nancy follows him, putting her finger to her lips before shutting the door quietly behind her. I can hear Fred fussing at her from the hallway as she shushes him and moves him along.

  I glance around one more time, and then turn to Carlyn.

  “Well, what do you think?” she asks.

  I just shake my head and then meet her gaze. “I think this is the best damn summer of my life.”

  She grins, hard. “Mine, too.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Carlyn

  A crackle sounds throughout the area as an announcer comes on the loud speaker. “Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention.”

  Keisha’s eyes go wide. “They’re gonna announce your match!”

  “Shh,” Josh says, adjusting on the bleachers, listening intently.

  Micah nudges him. “Don’t shush her, fool.”

  Josh frowns. “Sorry,” he whispers to Keisha, and she smiles that sweet smile of hers.

  “The next match will start in five minutes. Please make your way to Center Court the teams of Vaughn Yarborough and Carlyn Sadowski, and Slade Oswell and Trinity Kalivas.”

  Slade and Trinity head our way, Slade resting his racquet on his shoulder. “Not too late to turn back. I’ll accept a forfeit.”

  Vaughn grins. “I think we can handle you.”

  Trinity rolls her eyes. “Of course they can. But don’t be expecting any favors from me on the court. I’m fiercely competitive…but you both already know that.”

  “That’s why we chose you,” I say. “If I’m going to do this, I want to show I can win against the best.”

  “So it’s no coincidence that’s we’re paired up then, huh?” Slade asks. Vaughn just gives him a look. “That’s fine,” Slade says. “I’ll take you on anytime you want.”

  Vaughn smiles. “Thanks, both of you, for doing this for us.”

  “Glad to,” Trinity says, and winks at me.

  The two of them saunter off to the court, and I turn to my people on the bleachers. My dad smiles at Vaughn. “I hope you know what you’re doing with this, son.”

  “I’ve already done all I can. The rest is up to Carlyn, sir.”

  My dad winks at me. “You got this, sweetie.”

  “I know, Dad. Thanks.”

  Rebecca hops down and comes in for a hug. “You’re going to nail it out there. I’m sure of it.”

  I pull away from her. “Thanks for all those matches through the years. You’re a huge part of who I am on the court.”

  “Ditto,” she says with a smile, and then turns serious. “Now, watch your wrist. You flip it when you get tired. And remember not to slam the volleys at the net.”

  We both say at the same time, “Catch the ball with your racquet and carefully place it.”

  I giggle. “I know.”

  “Hey, man. Sorry I’m late.” We turn to find Jamison looking flushed. “I went to the wrong damn parking area.”

  Vaughn’s face lights up. “I said you didn’t have to come to this.”

  “I wanted to. It’s your first match at Avery, right?”

  “Well, I guess.”

  “All right, then.” Jamison turns to me. “I don’t think we’ve ever officially met. I’m Jamison.”

  “Carlyn,” I say, grinning like I’m twelve. “And you know Rebecca right?”

  Rebecca’s cheeks go pink. “Hi.”

  “I definitely know who she is.” Jamison takes her hand, shaking it slowly, hanging on to it way longer than he should.

  Rebecca’s eyes widen as she glances at me, trying to contain a grin. She settles back in next to Keisha, and they scoot over to make room for Jamison. My heart fills with love, seeing our support system all sitting there together, waiting to cheer us on. Their smiles, along with my newfound unshakable confidence, is strong enough to get me through any dark tunnel on the planet.

  Vaughn turns to me, putting hi
s hands on my shoulders. “You ready to do this, ace?”

  I smile up at him with a nod, and then we head to the court.

  (Press Box, Avery University, Three Months Later)

  Hello listeners, you are tuned to Avery University’s premiere sports station WAVY FM radio. I’m Jeremy Highland, and I’m here with my lovely cohost, Sasha Finkle. On this brisk November day, we bring you full coverage of the final rounds in the inter-collegiate fall tennis tournament.

  Yes, we do, Jeremy. This tournament is preseason play, of course, but traditionally, it’s been a good indicator of the structure of the ladder for the season starting in January.

  That it is. For the men’s number one spot, there’s really no surprise there, of course. We’re looking at Vaughn Yarborough on Center Court taking on Anson Talbot, who would love to upset the Indiana native, but I think we’d all be surprised to see that happen.

  Definitely, Jeremy, but what has been a big surprise this preseason has been the rise of freshman Carlyn Sadowski on the women’s team. She walked on in August as a last-minute decision by Coach Jones-Bergquist when she teamed up with Yarborough in the mixed doubles tournament, which was meant to be a fluff, PR ploy by the department, but turned out to be a match not to have been missed against Slade Oswell, state champ of Illinois and Trinity Kalivas, who’s shaping up to be the number three seed on Vanderbilt’s team.

  No doubt about that. Sadowski and Yarborough were nothing short of mesmerizing on the court against Yarborough’s archrival, and the match landed Sadowski a spot on the team and consequentially, here at this tournament. She’s been battling her teammates like a Viking this fall, clawing her way to today’s showdown for a seat at the table. If she keeps up this play, Sasha, I think she’s going to take that seat and upset quite a few players here.

  Yes, these two are quite the pair on and off the court. Looks like the women are taking the court now, Jeremy. Let’s tune in and see if she can pull off the W.

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  Acknowledgments

  When I was little, my parents decided to learn how to play tennis. On the weekends, they would load my sister and me into the car and drive us to a local high school where they would sneak onto the courts and hit with one another. My sister and I would bring our own racquets and hit against the backboard, which was how I learned to play. We joined a country club in our suburban town where we spent summers sweating on the courts and then cooling off in the pool with the speakers spilling out the soft rock sounds of the FM radio station.

  Church was a requirement year-round at my household except for the two summer weekends during Wimbledon where my family would huddle around the television watching John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors battle it out, stopping occasionally to entertain us by yelling at a line judge, or Pat Cash keep Ivan Lendl from ever winning the grass court tournament, even though he held the number one seed. I rooted on Chris Evert Lloyd even though Martina Navratilova dominated the court for years until a teenager named Steffi Graf came along and broke what seemed like would be a never-ending streak.

  Tennis was a way of life growing up in suburban Nashville in the 80’s and 90’s, and I wanted to convey a little of that here with Carlyn and Vaughn. I was never as good or dedicated as Carlyn, but she will carry out my tennis aspirations on the page and beyond! Tennis anyone?

  …

  Many thanks go to my editors Stacy Abrams and Judi Lauren who earned their paychecks with this one! Thanks for sticking with me and helping me get it right!

  Big thanks and appreciation to Jessica Calla, my precious friend and colleague who helped me understand camp life in great detail, who was the first beta reader for this novel, and who helped me come up with the title (even though we’ll always call it by the original name you came up with!).

  Thanks to Beth Pattillo for helping me re-plot this one. Your kitchen table has been the springboard for more book ideas and plots than any other single piece of furniture on the planet!

  Thank you to Jim Monk for answering my questions about the junior pro tennis circuit, and to Kathy Davidson for reaching out to her vast network for answers as well.

  My writing husband, Greg Howard, thank you for walking through this writing journey with me on a daily basis and getting excited with me about the small stuff.

  And finally, thank you to my boys, Jody and Collin, for giving me time to write and being more supportive than I could ever ask. The two of you are my whole life, and I love you both more than all four grand slams put together.

  About the Author

  Melissa Chambers writes contemporary novels for young, new, and actual adults. A Nashville native, she spends her days working in the music industry and her nights tapping away at her keyboard. While she’s slightly obsessed with alt rock, she leaves the guitar playing to her husband and kid. She never misses a chance to play a tennis match, listen to an audiobook, or eat a bowl of ice cream. (Rocky road, please!) She’s a member of RWA and serves as president for the Music City Romance Writers. She holds her B.S. in Communications from the University of Tennessee.

  To stay tuned for updates on new releases and other news, sign up for Melissa’s newsletter at melissachambers.com.

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  Falling for Forever

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