Second Chances: Love in Juniper Ridge (Carver Ranch Book 1)

by Heather Tullis

  “Yeah.” She hugged and kissed her son, telling him to be good, then let Marsh help her into her coat, and they left.

  When Marsh opened the door of the Luigi’s fifteen minutes later, the pepperoni-laden heat enveloped Karissa. They passed a room filled with the dinging and bleating of arcade games and the chatter of children’s voices. It was a different kind of homecoming for Karissa, the first time she had been in the restaurant since she had returned to town.

  They ordered, got their drinks, then settled across from each other on the black benches, and Karissa settled her hands on the table’s chipped red Formica. She smiled when she recognized the letters JLH carved into the edge. When Karissa had been twelve, her friend Jana Lee Harper’s latest ‘boyfriend’ had put the letters there. At the time, it had seemed almost romantic, now she shook her head, amazed that she had ever been so young and foolish.

  A glance back at Marsh made Karissa smile. All the times she had sat at this table with her friends or parents, dreaming that someday she would be there on a date. Since Karissa’s one high school boyfriend had never taken her anywhere but parties and dances, it had never happened. Until now.

  “What are you thinking?” Marsh asked, taking her hand on the tabletop and wrapping his fingers around hers.

  She laughed lightly. “You bringing me here on a date is the fulfillment of a childhood dream.” It seemed silly to admit it, but he knew far more embarrassing things about her.

  A cocky grin slid across his face. “You dreamed of dating me, too?”

  Karissa picked up the straw wrapper in front of her, scrunched it in a ball, and tossed it at him. “The pizza place, dork. You’re just the mode of conveyance.”

  “Convenient. So you’re saying you didn’t pine for me like I did for you?” His eyes laughed at her, and his mouth was set in a mischievous curve.

  She took a sip of her soda. “I’m still not sure I believe you about that.”

  Marsh grinned and she realized the tension had ebbed from her shoulders while they spoke. This was what she needed right now. He was what she needed.

  “You know I wouldn’t lie to you about something like that,” he said.

  “Right, because you’ve never teased me about things before, making up stories to fool me.” She thought of their childhood and the tall tales the guys had fed her. Not that she thought he was doing the same now.

  “This is totally different, and you know it.” He caught her gaze, holding it for a long moment.

  “Yeah. I know it.” She studied him a while before allowing herself to say what she was thinking. “Being with you feels good. It surprises me all the time, how right it feels to be with you. It shouldn’t, but it does.” And the fact that attraction wasn’t the only thing she felt, that the friendship was easily catching up to the chemistry between them, surprised her. He was nothing like Dennis and, it turned out, nothing like she’d thought from what she’d known of him when they were kids. Was this an act? Or had that been the act and this was the reality? Or was the truth somewhere in between?

  “Good.” Marsh's lips twitched for a few seconds, like he wanted to say more, but then he stopped, leaving Karissa to wonder what he wasn’t saying.

  “So, what’s new on the basketball front?” she finally asked. She tucked her fingers more firmly into his hand, hoping he’d feel her reassurance, and not like she was just prying.

  “We practiced with the JV team today. Three of their guys are going to join our team permanently. Some of the others will rotate in from week to week. We announced this morning that we are going to have tryouts to fill a few spots. Four guys approached Jeff this afternoon. We may have another one or two talk to him tomorrow, if we’re lucky. We’ll work out together for the next week and see which ones mesh the best. Then we’ll pick the new guys next week, before Christmas break. We’ll juggle a few more things and see where it comes out.” He shrugged but seemed uncomfortable.

  “Are you nervous?” she asked.

  “Terrified. The sheriff’s office and school have been leaning on the kids pretty hard, but either they don’t know where the drugs came from or they aren’t telling. As long as they keep their mouths shut, we can’t stop the person who put us in this spot.”

  “Do you think they’re being threatened by the dealer?”

  “It happens, sometimes. We think this is different, not your typical dealer. None of the guys on my team tested for recreational drugs. And the wrestler who did isn’t connected to the rest of the problem. He’s kind of a loner and doesn’t know anything about it.”

  “So he says.”

  “So he says.” Marsh nodded and sucked in some of his soda. The pizza arrived and he thanked the waitress. “Okay,” he said when she was gone. “Enough of that. I’ve practically thought of nothing else, and I don’t want to worry about it now. I’m with you, and you’re much more interesting.”

  She shook her head but had to chuckle a little at the flattery. “You keep saying things like that.”

  “That’s because it’s true. So tell me about what, exactly, your dream of coming here on a date consisted of. And what other dreams can I fulfill for you? Night skiing?”

  Karissa laughed. “Yeah, because me and skiing go hand in hand! No. I don’t know what else, and this was just the usual. I guess.” She shrugged.

  “What’s the usual?”

  “You know, me and a hot guy—that’s you by the way—sitting across from each other, eating pizza, holding hands, his attention riveted on me instead of his buddies or video games.” She felt herself blush at calling him a hot guy, though it was entirely true. She’d never been so forward before.

  “I think I can manage that. Really, you need to get some bigger dreams,” he said as he threaded his fingers through hers. “Not keeping my attention focused on you is going to be much harder than the alternative. Is a stolen kiss part of the dream?”

  “From across the table? Now that would take some serious contortions.” It had been part of the dream, but she wasn’t going to say so. Having a vision of something like that, and actually doing it in a packed restaurant surrounded by people she knew, were entirely different things. Then she glanced around the room and realized that the only people she knew were the wait staff.

  “I wouldn’t want you to get bent out of shape. I guess I’ll have to wait until later.” His eyes made dark promises.

  She wet her lips in anticipation of the kiss she was already looking forward to.

  Marsh brought her back to his place for movies and ice cream after they finished eating. “I’d take you down to the theater but, with the storm brewing out there, it probably wouldn’t be smart,” he explained.

  The closest theater was down the twisting canyon road, and the drive to her parents’ place would be dangerous enough if the snow started coming down. Adding the extra miles of bad road wouldn’t be smart.

  “You’re right. Besides, who wants to deal with a big theater full of giggling teens?”

  “Exactly.” Marsh helped her with her jacket, hanging it beside the door, then turned her to face him. “Plus, we’re much cozier here, and more private.”

  Karissa looked up and caught the heat in his gaze. It blazed through her, making her face grow warm again and her mouth go dry. “Privacy can be a really good thing,” she agreed.

  “Especially when someone has as little of it as you usually do.” He stepped closer.

  “I really do. There’s always someone in that house when you’re over.”

  “And when we’re sledding,” he said when he tipped his head toward hers.

  “Or at pizza places,” she murmured.

  “Or your work.” He touched his fingertips to her chin, tipping her head up even more toward him.

  “Or downtown. But we hardly ever meet there.” Her heart beat triple time, and she brought her hands up to his waist, needing the extra support even though he hadn’t kissed her yet.

  “Except when we do.” His mouth covered hers, soft, gentle
, with increasing pressure.

  Karissa felt her heart fly out of her chest and flutter around as she pressed against him, wrapping her hands around to slide up the muscles of his back. One of his hands caught in her hair and their heads shifted, molding their lips closer than ever.

  The breath backed up in her throat and she stopped breathing, not sure if she could anyway as she came up on tiptoe, stretching to meet him better.

  Somewhere her heart must have been pounding against the ceiling, wanting to get out, because she could feel its residual beat in her chest still, harder and faster than ever. “Marsh.”

  “I’m such an idiot,” he muttered against her mouth.

  She realized he had been maneuvering them in the room when her back hit the door. “Why are you an idiot?” she asked.

  “Because I didn’t do this weeks ago.”

  The kiss flowed on for a long, timeless moment before she pushed him away, sucking in a breath and her heart with it so it beat only in her chest instead of filling the room with the reverberations, though she still felt the nerves firing in her fingertips.

  “Wow.” Marsh tipped his forehead against hers, breathing hard.

  “Yeah. Wow. Hold on.” She let herself catch her breath for a long moment. “Don’t be an idiot again, okay?”

  He laughed. “I promise. I’m going to kiss you as often as I can get away with it.”

  “Good.” She laughed in relief as the blood started flowing to her brain again and he led her to the sofa, asking what she wanted to watch.

  The phone on Marsh’s desk rang before any of the kids entered for their first class of the day. He grabbed it, his mind half on the basketball practice and upcoming tryouts. “Hello.”

  “Marshall Willmore?” a man’s voice asked in a clipped tone.

  “Yes.” The voice seemed a little familiar, but Marsh couldn’t place it. “Can I help you with something?”

  “This is Ed Locke. I want to know what you think you’re doing kicking my son off the team like that. Those drug tests must have been tampered with. No way was my son doing drugs.”

  Craig’s father. Marsh rubbed his eyes. He had barely slept the night before, thinking about the decision he’d had to make, the struggle still ahead. “If you have a question about the drug tests, you’ll have to contact the school board as they hired a professional service to conduct them. All I know is the results came back showing drugs in his system. According to the contract I had all of the boys sign at the first of the season, Craig understood that he’d be kicked off of the team if he used any controlled substances. Trust me, the last thing I wanted to do yesterday was follow through.”

  “If that were true, you wouldn’t have kicked him off. How’s he supposed to play college ball now? Do you know how expensive college is going to be without that scholarship? And you don’t even care!” The man’s voice rose in volume with every sentence.

  Marsh tipped his head back in frustration. “I’m sorry, Mr. Locke. Really. But my hands are tied. If you have questions about the test results, you’ll have to take them to the school board.” He looked up as students started to trickle into the room and glanced at the clock in relief. “I’m sorry. I really have to go now. Class is about to start. Good luck with your discussion with the superintendent.” He hung up and let out a long breath. So it had started. He’d have expected to receive a phone call or visit the previous day. Maybe that meant Mr. Locke was the only angry parent. Marsh doubted it but decided to hope for the best.

  Marsh studied the current varsity and JV players along with the new boys who were trying out for the open spots on the teams. There was a new student in the group, Ryan, and it had only taken ten minutes into the first practice for Marsh to start thinking about where he’d fit best. Ryan had moved into the area after the original round of tryouts were already past, but he obviously had training.

  Marsh’s mind drifted to the spate of phone calls he’d received in the past two days, including one from Alana Jenkins, a local newspaper reporter. He’d deferred to the superintendent and principal’s public announcements and kept his mouth closed. Now he thought he understood why the coach he’d seen on TV had seemed wishy-washy.

  Coming back to the moment, he called out encouragement to one of the JV players who struggled to hit shots from the top of the key. Marsh walked over to pull the boy aside for some one-on-one training. The JV coach was on the other side of the gym working with the guys trying out for the teams.

  After Marsh sent the boy back to the group, Rex walked over and stood beside him.

  “Our chances at a state title really are sunk,” Rex said. He pushed his hands deep in his pockets, watching the boys go through their drills.

  Massive understatement. “I’ve seen teams come out of pretty bad odds to win. Let’s just focus on one game at a time.” Optimism was the word of the week, so even though Marsh agreed, he wasn’t going to dwell on it.

  “Those boys getting caught has ruined everything. This isn’t a movie, you know. We have to be honest.”

  Marsh felt his jaw twitch, but fought to keep his voice even and his face impassive. “I honestly don’t know what these boys are capable of if they put their minds to it and work hard. That’s all we can ask.” He called out a correction to Chris and moved that direction to escape the conversation.

  Karissa’s cell phone rang while her hands were deep in a sink of hot, soapy water. She pulled them out and wiped off on the drying cloth, then grabbed her phone, grimacing a little when she saw Dennis’s number on the Caller ID. It might not be a big deal. He may just be calling to make arrangements for their son’s visit the next day.

  “Hello.” She tried to keep her voice friendly and upbeat.

  “Hey, Karissa. I’m calling to say that Sheryl has gone into labor, so we won’t be able to take Paul this weekend.” He sounded a little harried and she could hear other people’s voices in the background, along with the beeping of machines.

  “All right. I’ll let him know. I know he’s excited about the baby.”

  “That makes three of us. I can hardly believe she’s almost here. Anyway, I gotta go, but tell Paul I love him and I’ll call when his little sister’s here.” He hung up.

  Karissa swallowed hard at the anticipation in his voice. He hadn’t wanted any more children, had put her off for years, but now that he was with his new little woman, he could hardly wait, he was so excited.

  She sucked in a breath and shoved the phone back in her pocket, then plunged her hands back in the hot water to finish up the serving bowls she hadn’t gotten to after lunch. When hot tears began to fall down her cheeks, she brushed them against her shoulders and kept going.

  By the time the dishes were washed, dried, and put away, Karissa was back under control, but she needed to get out. She had a strong pull to talk to Marsh and no desire to fight it.

  After checking her makeup, she went downstairs and smiled at her mom. “I thought maybe I’d run into town and do some shopping and maybe grab dinner.” She dug into her purse checking for her debit card and keys.

  “Alone?” her mom’s voice was full of questions.

  “Unless I find someone to eat with.” Karissa looked up to see her mother’s cocked eyebrow. “Dinner’s in the crock pot. Do you mind?”

  “Taking care of Paul? No. That’s fine. What’s going on?” She touched Karissa’s cheek, studying her face. “You’re upset about something.”

  Obviously she hadn’t eliminated all of the signs of tears. “Nothing, really.”

  Paul ran into the room, zooming his toy airplane through the air. “Hi, mom. Want to go to Disneyland with me? Dad says he’s gonna take me when my baby gets big like me.”

  Karissa clenched her jaw for a few seconds, then pushed the emotions back, not wanting to give into the tears again. Why did she care what Dennis said or did? It didn’t affect her if he had another child—not as long as things were fine with him and Paul. Still, she felt terrible.

  She sat on a nearb
y chair so she was at his level and pulled him close. “Hey, I talked to your dad a little while ago. Sheryl’s going to have the baby tonight, so you’ll have to wait to go visit them.”

  “But I want to see my baby!” Shock filled his face.

  “I know, honey, but Sheryl and the baby will be in the hospital for the whole weekend, and the doctors probably won’t let you go inside.” She didn’t actually know if that was true, but it was kinder than to say that his dad didn’t want to hassle with him when he had a new child to dote over. She told herself to cut out the pessimism. Some women took more than twenty-four hours in labor. If Dennis stayed for all of it, he’d be exhausted, and dealing with a kindergartener in that condition wouldn’t be fun.

  “Why not? I’m good. I won’t touch anything if they don’t want me to.”

  “I know, honey. I promise I’ll take you to see your new baby before Christmas, okay? I promise.” She would probably regret it, but when she saw her son’s tears start to rise, she knew she had to stop them before she lost it again as well—though for a totally different reason. “And then the baby will be happier and you’ll get to spend more time with her.”

  Paul frowned, still drooping a little from having his excitement put on hold. “Okay.”

  That was the best she could do. “Hey, honey, I’m going to go run some errands. Be good for Grandma and Grandpa, okay?”

  “Can I go with you?” he asked, brightening.

  “Not this time, sweetie.” Karissa kissed his pouting face and turned away when he whined about how he never got to do anything fun.

  Beth’s eyes held understanding. “Go. Enjoy dinner. Tell Marsh hello for us.” Her lips quirked.

  Karissa decided to take the advice and run. She grabbed her coat and called a goodbye over her shoulder before closing the door behind her.

  Karissa stood in the doorway to the gym and watched the coaches put the boys through their paces. Though she tried to spend equal time on everyone, her gaze kept gravitating back toward Marsh. He looked stressed out; she could see it in the way he held his shoulders, his hands on his hips, and the tightness around his mouth. However, when he called out to the boys, he managed to sound encouraging in his corrections instead of harsh.