Just Play

by Taylor Hart

  Now, as he let the water go down his back and scrubbed his face, trying to fully wake up after having been up half the night, he couldn’t stop the stupid grin that appeared.

  In less than twenty-four hours, everything about his life had been turned upside down. He’d come to apologize to Roman, and amazingly, he’d somehow been granted forgiveness.

  A stir went through the bottom of his stomach, and an electric kind of energy filled him. For the first time since his break up with Sheena, he’d actually been attracted to a woman. Not just the 'she’s hot' kind of attraction either. There was something about Tiffany. Even under all the anger, he saw the vulnerable, soft side. It was in her smiles at Maddy, the way she held the child close, and the way she’d almost cried when he’d refused to give Maddy to her last night.

  An even wider grin tugged at the edges of his lips thinking about how flustered she’d been about his shirt being off. He finished his shower and grabbed a towel, perfunctorily going through the process of getting dressed for the day. A whistle escaped from his lips. He looked in the mirror and kept grinning even though he sported a nice black eye from Roman’s punch yesterday. He scrunched up his face and pointed at himself. “You’re number one,” he stated. And dang, it felt good to say it. Growing up, it’d kind of been the positive affirmation he’d always given himself in the mirror.

  For the first time in a long time, he wasn’t thinking about football and vying for his position. It was nice. It was more than nice. He had a new purpose today, and he wasn’t going to let Roman down. He headed down to join Reese and Tiffany. As he jogged down the stairs into the living room, there was an extra spring to his step.

  Hearing his descent, Reese looked up and smiled at him. She was sitting on the floor next to Maddy, who had been changed into a cute pink dress. Her hair had also been combed, and a large white flower overtook her whole head.

  “Doesn’t she look so cute?” Reese gently tugged at the hair at the edges of the flower on Maddy’s head. “My, she’s a looker.”

  Pausing next to them, Sam knelt beside Maddy. He reached for one of her toys and felt his grin expanding as he shook it at her. “Of course she’s cute.”

  To his utter delight and amazement, Maddy grabbed his face and cooed.

  Warmth filled him at her sweetness. “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”

  Tiffany was in the kitchen. She had all sorts of pans out and food was everywhere. “I’m making some spaghetti for you all tonight. I won’t be out that late, but I am driving to Ogden, so, mama, you can probably just mash up the noodles and the sauce together for Maddy.”

  “What are you going to Ogden for?” Sam didn’t know exactly how far away Ogden was. He just remembered passing through it on the way to Wolfe Creek. It wasn’t rational, but he realized he didn’t want Tiffany to leave.

  Reese spoke up, leaning her back against the couch for support. “Oh my baby’s the next Reba McIntyre, let me tell you what. She can sing like nothing you’ve ever heard.”

  “Mama.” Tiffany frowned at her, putting her hand to her hip.

  Reese gave an equal scowl back. “What? It’s true. And furthermore, you have more talent than Brett ever had. It made no sense to me when he went off touring and you stayed home. You should have gone with him, but he was too intimidated and worried you would be more successful than him. You know that’s the truth.”

  “Mama.” Tiffany now gave her a silencing glare. “We have company right now,” she said indignantly.

  Reese flashed her a wide-eyed scowl. “I never liked Brett.” She turned to Sam. “He’s the cheating boyfriend.”

  Unsure of what to say, Sam only nodded.

  “Mama.” Tiffany deepened her glare, and Sam could feel the chilliness of it sweep through him.

  Reese waved a hand through the air. Then turned to Sam. “I’ll level with you, Dumont. I didn’t like you, either. No, I don’t think anyone in this town would like you, knowing what you did to Roman, but…” She paused and held up a hand dramatically. “After Tiffany told me that you were here apologizing to Roman when everything with Josh went haywire and how you stepped up to take care of this baby…” Tears filled her eyes, and she fluttered her large lashes. “I can’t say that doesn’t soften me.” She grinned and reached out to pat his shoulder. “And I will say that I heard about your daddy and—” More tears pooled in her eyes as the grin slipped. “I did lose my husband recently.”

  Concern washed through him. On impulse, he touched her shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

  Reese wiped beneath her eyes with her long red nails. “It’s fine, Sugar. Me and Tiffany are doing fine, aren’t we girl?”

  When he turned to look at Tiffany, she was looking at the floor, a blank look on her face. But she quickly blinked. “Yes, mama.”

  Reese took his hand and put it between her own. “I guess we all have lost important men as of late.”

  He swallowed and tried to push back the emotion bubbling up. He didn’t know if he pulled Maddy to his lap because she was reaching for him or if he did it because he needed a shield from Reese, but he found himself giving Reese a nod and cuddling Maddy’s comforting frame. “Looks like.”

  Watching him cuddle the baby, her flashy grin came back. “Well, that being said, I want you to know I spoke with Roman, and I told him I wanted to have the day with Maddy.”

  Sam pulled Maddy closer, not wanting to give her up. “Oh.”

  “Well.” Reese lifted her eyebrows. She grinned and turned to Tiffany and then back to him. “Mind you, I don’t want to pull night duty. It wouldn’t be good for my beauty sleep, so I’ll make you a deal. You go with Tiffany to Ogden early, get some lunch, and watch her play her show. Then after you get back, Maddy is all yours.”

  “Mama!” Tiffany spoke sharply from the kitchen. “I’m sure Sam has stuff to do.”

  Sam had to admit the day had just taken another unexpected turn. He felt his cheeks redden.

  Tiffany pursed her lips together and shook her head, clearly embarrassed. “Mama, I don’t need you to meddle.”

  For a second, no one spoke. Reese lifted her eyebrows and gave Sam an expectant look.

  Sam wondered if he would feel the tightness in his chest that usually accompanied thoughts of hanging out with any woman, but he didn’t. “Actually,” he said slowly. “I don’t have any plans.”

  Tiffany leveled her mother with a glare. “Mama.” She scowled.

  Reese was unfazed by Tiffany’s outrage. “Now, sweetheart, I know you’re smarting still from Brett, but the best way to get over your fear of horses is to get back on one.” She paused and cocked an eyebrow at Sam. “Not in that way, but you know what I mean.” Clapping her hand to her leg, she shook her head. “Plus, he’d be good for a media plug anyway.”

  “If I wanted a media plug, I’d ask Roman and Katie,” she said stiffly, not looking at Sam.

  “Ah.” Reese looked embarrassed; she turned to Sam. “You know what I mean by getting back on the horse. It doesn’t mean…that.”

  He was now sure his face was on fire. “Right.” He nodded, trying to swallow and process all this.

  “Stop it.” Tiffany held her mother’s gaze for a second then continued putting ingredients together. “You are unbelievable, Mama.” But she did look at Sam, and the edges of her lips turned up in what appeared to be an amused smile. “Look at you, putting Sam on the spot that way. He’s blushing.”

  “Well.” Reese appeared breathless. “Why, I didn’t put you on the spot, did I, Sam? I mean, now that you’re in Wolfe Creek, you have to accept that we’re like family around here. Everyone is just doing their part to help the others.”

  Okay, he wanted to outright laugh at the antics of Tiffany’s mom, but he only cleared his throat and handed Maddy a toy she’d been trying to reach. “Right. It’s good.” He snuck a glance at Tiffany.

  Tiffany shook her head and lowered her voice. “I need to do this alone, mama.”

  Reese leaned forward, taking Madd
y into her own arms, a smug smile of satisfaction on her face. “Oh, hush up, girl, go out and have a good time with a nice looking man. It might actually do both of you a world of wonder.” She winked again at Sam. “Plus, Brett was so negative with you all the time. I think having Sam with you might help your confidence.”

  Tiffany threw her hands up in the air and started washing dishes. “I have confidence, Mama.” She didn’t look at Sam.

  At this point, Sam stood, making his way toward the kitchen, reaching out, and picking up a carrot that had been peeled on the counter.

  “Hey, that’s for dinner.” Tiffany glanced at him.

  He grinned, and he realized the muscles in his face were actually kind of hurting from smiling so much since he’d arrived. He chomped down on it. “Well, maybe we’ll have to save dinner for tomorrow.”

  Confused, she frowned at him. “Why would we do that?”

  He turned to Reese and winked at her. “Because I might just have to take you out for dinner after your show…if I like it.”

  “I don’t even want company. Plus, you probably don’t even like country music.”

  He hesitated. “Of course I like country music.” He kept his face expressionless as he delivered the bold-faced lie.

  He heard Reese whooping with laughter. “I like you even more, Sam.”

  Sam walked toward the stairs. “I’ll get my wallet, and then we can go.”

  “I’m not taking you,” she replied stubbornly.

  He turned back and flashed her his media smile before climbing the stairs. “Of course you are. Your mama likes me.”

  At this, Reese hooted out another laugh.

  6

  Tiffany didn’t engage him on the drive to Ogden. It was like they’d both silently agreed not to talk. She put on her favorite country station and sang along to the songs. What did she care if he liked the way she sounded or not? She didn’t. After Brett had told her he’d found someone else, she’d told herself she was done with men. Done trying to make a man happy. Done being something for a man. It still ticked her off that she’d let Brett have so much power over her.

  After ten minutes of no talking, only singing, Sam turned to her, turning down the radio.

  “Don’t touch the radio please,” she said, her voice clipped as she kept her eyes on the road.

  “You have a good, clear sound.”

  She hadn’t been expecting the compliment, and she chose to ignore it.

  He turned the sound back up and looked back out the passenger side window.

  Slightly shaken, by his easy compliment, she felt her voice falter. She stole a glance over at him. The smell of what she recognized as the shaving cream he’d left on the bathroom sink that morning wafted off of him.

  Crap. She didn’t want to think about the way he smelled. She didn’t want to think about how she’d noticed his black t-shirt stretched gloriously over his broad shoulders as he’d opened the truck door for her. She absolutely was not going to think about the way his dark hair, shaved on the sides and longer on top, fell into his eyes when he looked at her a certain way. She sucked in a breath.

  Focus. She had to focus on getting through her first official gig without Brett. And she didn’t need Sam Dumont and his too good looks distracting her.

  7

  On the drive down to Ogden, Sam decided he liked Utah. The Salt Lake Valley was beautiful. He loved the way the mountains felt close enough to touch. Actually, they looked like cardboard cutouts he could push over with a flick of his fingers. Today the sun was bright, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. He noticed Ogden touted having a four-year University called Weber State. The place was bigger than he’d thought it would be.

  “So who is your favorite artist?”

  She immediately smiled. “That’s easy. Luke Bryant.”

  “Ah,” he said, not knowing what Luke sang.

  “You have no idea who that is, do you?”

  “I know who it is. Kind of.”

  She laughed. “That’s okay. You don’t have to be a country fan. I’ll convert you.”

  “I’m a fan of all music,” he stated sincerely.

  Tiffany took the Ogden exit and kept driving past a bunch of shops. Before long they arrived in the middle of town. She stopped next to an older looking hotel. “We’re early.”

  Sam looked up at the sign. “The Ben Lomax?”

  Putting the truck into gear, Tiffany turned to face him and gave him a measured look. “Yeah. It’s the oldest hotel in Ogden.” She looked up at the hotel that had a plaque labeled ‘Historic Building.’

  Sam looked at the white washed walls of the building and the gold fixtures. He wouldn’t have imagined that this would be a place for country music. “This is where the gig is?”

  “Yep.”

  She turned off the engine, and he got out. They both walked up the steps to the hotel. It wasn’t anything like the old buildings he’d been around in New York. Those buildings were huge, but it did have some similarities. The chandeliers and the black and white checkered polished floor were comparable to some. There was no one at the front desk, so he and Tiffany sauntered through, noting on the side that there was a long room set up that looked like it could be used for a wedding. Green fabric covered the chairs with perfectly tied white ribbons circling the chair backs. The whole place had arched ceilings that made it feel kind of like a church.

  Tiffany grinned at him. “I haven’t been here for while, but the first time my parents brought me here I freaked out a bit.”

  “Why?” Sam looked around, not thinking anything felt freaky.

  She let out a light laugh. “My daddy loved this place because it’s haunted.”

  Sam was intrigued. “Really?”

  Strangely, Tiffany seemed to come to life when she was talking about this hotel. She pumped her eyebrows. “People say one lady came to stay here after World War II, waiting for her beau to come home from the war. After almost two months, she got word that he had died in France. Broken hearted, she took her life that night by jumping into the elevator shaft.”

  A shiver went down his spine, and he felt cold.

  “And the first time we came here to stay, the elevator took us to different floors.”

  “What do you mean by different floors?”

  “We’d push eight, it would stop at seven.”

  “No.” After hearing the story, he looked around. Now it felt creepier. He stopped walking, glancing around the lobby and focusing in on some old framed photos. He stepped closer to the wall, looking at them.

  Tiffany stood next to him. Her voice had dropped to a whisper. “The town was settled after the western and continental railroads came together forty miles from here. It became the spot where the West and East United States were now connected by the railroad. This area boomed with immigrants coming in to work on the railroad and then to work in the coal mines that the railroads shipped coal for. During the early 1800’s, it was a rough wild west kind of town, with gangs and opium dens.”

  Even though he found her hushed voice and the historical facts interesting, he was even more attuned to the light vanilla scent that confused his senses. It’d been slightly less than a year since Sheena had dumped him. He’d been out a few times with different women, but he didn’t remember the way any of them smelled. “Ya don’t say?” He turned and saw she was close. Kissable close.

  She turned her head and seemed to realize how close she was because she jolted back. “Oh.” She shook her head and looked disoriented for a moment. “Freaky, huh?”

  His heart rate had picked up a notch. He looked her up and down. For a second, his mouth went dry and nervous butterflies thrummed into his gut.

  She crossed her arms and sucked in a breath. “Do you feel that?” She glanced from side to side.

  “What?” He looked around and tried to calm his heart, noticing that this kind of racing heart and dry mouth was nothing like a panic attack. No. He felt like he was twelve and had just run into Marsha Ritt
er, his sixth grade crush, in the hall at school.

  She shivered and motioned toward the corner of the lobby with a sign above a pub opening labeled ‘MacCools.’ “C’mon, let’s get in there. I swear this place really is haunted.”

  Without thinking, he put a hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

  Shrugging out of his grasp, she pulled back. “You don’t need to touch me,” she said with a mixture of light humor and stern warning. “There’s no call for that.”

  Clumsily, he stopped moving, not liking how she seemed repelled by him.

  Emotion glistened in her eyes as she turned back. “It’s silly, but I’ve always felt bad for her.” She stopped walking. “The lady that was waiting for her soldier…she loved him so much that she went crazy, literally so crazy that she ended her life.” She shook her head.

  His mouth went dry. Inexplicably, he wanted to take her into his arms and comfort her.

  Her eyes fluttered, and she waved a hand in the air and continued moving through the opening. “Sorry, let me show you where I’ll be playing.”

  They walked in toward a row of stools lined up against a counter with classic Irish décor all over the walls.

  Sam didn’t know what to make of Tiffany or the hotel, but the pub had a distinctly different feeling than the hotel lobby. Not creepy at all.

  A tall man, probably in his mid-twenties, wearing a rock and roll shirt with a goatee was rubbing down the counter. His grin widened when he saw Tiffany. Dropping the cloth, he hopped over the front and let out a low rumble. “Tiiffaanny!” He took her into his arms and twirled her around.

  Even though Sam had no right to feel jealous, he couldn’t deny that he didn’t like this guy whirling her in a circle, and probably more than anything, he really didn’t like the way Tiffany giggled like a little girl. “Stop, Jared. Stop!” She got louder as he went faster.

  After putting her down, he kept her close and rested his hands on her shoulders, completely ignoring Sam. Sam was glad to notice he was quite a bit taller than this guy. Even most quarterbacks couldn’t beat his six foot four, and he’d always liked that. Yeah, he knew it was a stupid thing to be cocky about, but whatever gave him an advantage at the moment was okay with him. Lately, he didn’t feel like he had a whole lot of advantages.