Harlequin Special Edition July 2013 - Bundle 2 of 2: The Widow of Conard CountyA Match for the Single DadThe Medic's Homecoming

by Rachel Lee

  So much for discreet—standing under the porch light right next door and across the street from snoopy Mr. Cota. In a tricky and impressive move, she turned the door handle from behind and had them inside in the next second.

  It was dark. She didn’t turn on the lights.

  They never made it past the foyer.

  An hour later he quietly opened his front door, hoping to sneak inside and go directly to his room. What was it about Jocelyn that made his common sense fly out the window? Until he figured that out, he’d have to steer clear because being in close proximity to Jocelyn led him not only into her arms but into her bed.

  * * *

  Two days later when Lucas hadn’t so much as called, Jocelyn combed her hair while getting dressed for school and tried not to freak out. Had she come on too strong and scared him away? The last thing she wanted was for Lucas to think she was stalking him. Multitasking, she decided to leave her hair down for school and to wait for Lucas to make the next move.

  Deep inside, she remembered always being the one to seek out Lucas. This time, she’d like things to be different. They’d had fantastic sex, several ways. So why the heck hadn’t he knocked on her door since Sunday night?

  Driving to school, she couldn’t keep him out of her mind. He’d been everything she’d ever wanted in a lover. There was no awkwardness, no game playing, no phony or obligated words, just two old friends finally getting it on. Somehow she’d always known it would be that way.

  Not that she’d been planning this her whole life or anything.

  She parked in her assigned spot at school, grateful she had a full day. Heck, she had a super-busy week, what with the annual STAR testing for all grades and the final track meet on Saturday. She’d take advantage of being swamped and try to forget Lucas hadn’t called. Yet.

  “Ack!” she grumbled as she walked into the school, determined not to be the one to make first contact since sex. It would be a long week if she had to wait until Saturday to see him again.

  * * *

  The next Saturday morning, Lucas sat watching his dad. He was off the hook from helping Jocelyn with track meets after the success of the fund-raiser when several more teachers stepped forward since pay was involved, but he couldn’t miss today. Besides, he hadn’t seen his father so excited since the W.O. track team had taken the regionals and sent three runners on to the state finals in 2002. His dad used a cane to help balance his still-weak leg, but the smile on his face, shadowed by his coach’s cap, stretched from earlobe to earlobe.

  Lucas had thought about Jocelyn every day, but he couldn’t let himself get pulled into her charm again. Until he had something to offer her, there was just no point in moving forward. She was like a drug to him, and he couldn’t let himself get addicted. Not yet, anyway.

  In the meantime, he’d kept himself distracted with putting the finishing touches on the Mustang and attending a live virtual-college fair. There, he discovered a possible degree in sports and health sciences—that is, if he could swing it on his GI Bill budget. But he had options, for a change. Athletic training had piqued his interest, and he’d also done research on becoming a physician’s assistant, which paid well and would utilize a lot of his medic training. But he hadn’t made any solid decisions yet. As it was, he’d have to get a job and save as much as possible while taking all the needed basic ed courses. He didn’t like the idea of being an almost-thirty-year-old student amid all the local and recent high school grads. Could he be humble enough to handle it?

  * * *

  After settling in the stands, his mom dabbed sunscreen on his dad’s nose, then covered her face and neck before donning a sun visor with the school logo on it. Lucas reminded himself there would be gunfire at the beginning of the races and decided to sit on the end of the bleachers in case he needed to make a quick getaway.

  He spotted Jocelyn on the field, probably giving last-minute directions to all of her new assistant coaches and the visiting team. Her limp was barely noticeable, but the bandage was still in place. She looked damn cute under her ball cap, whistle hanging around her neck, clipboard in hand, ponytail flapping and school windbreaker billowing in the breeze. Seeing her for the first time since last weekend, when they’d screwed each other’s brains out, sent a quick hot jolt through his center. He’d tried his best to forget about her all week, but each night when he crashed, his mind gravitated to Joss and how great she’d felt tucked in his arms. He’d missed her.

  Lucas’s hands clinched tightly on his knees when the starter fired the first shot for the sprints. Just as quickly, there was a second shot. False start. It seemed the runners were as jumpy as he was. His pulse stuttered in his chest. But he hung on. By the time the middle- and long-distance races rolled around, he’d gotten to where he only flinched and had short-lived palpitations with the shots.

  Surrounded by adoring former students, his dad ran an ongoing commentary, which distracted Lucas at first but wore on him after a while. He’d tuned out his father by the 800-meter run. To his mother’s credit, she remained engrossed in every word of wisdom coming from her husband’s mouth, right along with three former students and their parents. When they started the mile race, Lucas noticed Jocelyn was over with the shot put and discus throwers, and he decided to wander over and say hello.

  She glanced up, and a sweet pink blush spread across her cheeks. They hadn’t seen each other since last Sunday night, rolling around in the dark on the tile floor of her house, and his body started reacting twenty yards away. He’d avoided her on purpose, but nothing should have stopped her, and she hadn’t exactly come looking for him, either. He’d thought about her, though. Oh, yeah, he’d thought about her a lot—and in some very interesting positions.

  “What’s up?” he said.

  “Hey.” She could play nonchalant just as well as he could. “Can you believe how great we’re doing?”

  “I never had a doubt.” He squeezed her arm but stopped himself from kissing her cheek.

  “Even our discus guys are kicking butt today. It’s like a miracle.”

  “I don’t think it’s as much a miracle as your hard work paying off.”

  She glanced at him as if afraid to admit she had anything to do with today’s results. “I was lucky to inherit a bunch of talented athletes, is what it is.”

  “I saw those so-called ‘talented’ athletes a few practices ago, remember? They were totally undisciplined and taking advantage of you.”

  “They weren’t that bad.”

  “Half of them didn’t even show up for practice on time. You got wise and took control, made them accountable to you and the rest of the team. It’s you. Your hard work is paying off today.”

  She started to blush again, even kicked the dirt with her sneaker, still unwilling to shout to the world that she was far more than a cheerleader.

  All coaches on the field.

  The request came over the speaker system as Jocelyn lifted her brows. “I gotta go. See you later?”

  “I’ll be around.” After she left, he bought three hot dogs and sodas from the booster-club stand, with the excuse of supporting the school and track team, and headed back to the bleachers to share them with his parents.

  His dad couldn’t contain himself. “Jocelyn’s a natural. Look at how she’s got this whole meet under control. Everything’s working like clockwork. I’m really impressed.”

  “Yeah,” Lucas said. “She’s something else.”

  So much for having it under control. When the gun went off for the first of the girls’ hurdles, Lucas choked on a bite of hot dog. His mom patted his back as if he was still ten years old. He pulled his ball cap closer to his brows after he recovered.

  Race after race, the competition was stiff, with several photo finishes, a few contentions and a handful of disappointed runners along with the winners. Once, Lucas caught a sad and distant look in his father’s eyes, as if he’d realized, ready or not, it was time to pass on the mantle of head coach.

  Luc
as sat in the Whispering Oaks sunshine, its warmth massaging his neck and back, a gentle breeze keeping the temperature near perfect. With green farmland off in the distance and a blue-like-baby-eyes sky, Lucas realized how good it felt to be back home, enjoying the morning with his family and watching the girl who’d recently blown his mind take her team to victory.

  If anyone had told him this would happen ten years ago, he would have accused them of being crazy.

  He watched Jocelyn stride up to a group of track and field officials in a heated discussion over the latest tight finish in the 4-by-100-meter relay. Showing all the confidence in the world, she seemed to hold her own in resolving the debate.

  Today, the only person who seemed to be crazy was Lucas for thinking about attending an online university in a field of study he’d never once in his life considered before, just so he had something to offer.

  He was crazy about something else, too. Crazy about Joss.

  Chapter Ten

  Lucas put the finishing touches on the Mustang, washing and waxing it, adjusting the rearview mirror, letting the car idle. The new paint job sparkled in the afternoon sun, classic-car-show ready.

  Try as he might he couldn’t get Jocelyn out of his mind.

  “Are you hungry?” his mother called out the back door. “I’ve got food on the table, since we forgot lunch.”

  He glanced at his watch. It was already five o’clock, and he hadn’t eaten since that hot dog at the track meet. In his mother’s world a hot dog was considered a snack. Turning off the engine, he dusted off his jeans and washed his hands at the patio sink, then went inside. A little burst of adrenaline in his center caught him off guard when he saw Jocelyn already sitting at the table with his dad. Again. Had she become an honorary member of the family or something?

  Streams of afternoon sun made her sparkle prettier than his car. She wore a bright pink floral-patterned sundress with a short white sweater, and her hair was down. He especially liked it that way. Parting naturally down the middle, the beckoning cinnamon highlights made him want to dig his fingers in it and kiss her.

  “Hi! I hope you don’t mind me homing in again, but your mom invited me.”

  “We’re celebrating her win today,” Kieran said, already sitting at the head of the table.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” Lucas said, taking a seat across from Jocelyn so he could keep looking at her but not be tempted to grab her in front of his parents.

  “You know me. I’d just as soon cook for ten instead of two or three.” Beverly brought a large bowl of fresh fruit salad to the table. “Dig in, everyone.”

  She’d roasted a chicken and made potato salad and her signature skinny coleslaw. It was only mid-May, but the meal seemed more like a summer picnic. Lucas wasn’t complaining as he accepted the basket of crusty sourdough rolls thrust at him by his mother.

  With the glimmer in Jocelyn’s milk-chocolate eyes, and the constant smile stretched across her face, she looked like a lady dying to tell a secret. He would’ve loved to be the first to know what it was, have her whisper it in his ear. Take it from there. Taking a bite out of a chicken leg, he passed a subversive gaze at her and enjoyed watching her squirm as her cheeks pinked to the same color as her dress. Whatever the secret was she was keeping, it looked as though she’d burst soon if she didn’t let it out.

  Jocelyn let Kieran replay all the great moments of the track meet for her, like the finish-line lunge controversy by the Rio Mesa sprinter.

  “We call that breasting the tape,” his dad said, as if Lucas had never been on a track team in his life. “It’s one thing to lean into the finish, but some guys throw themselves ahead. That isn’t always considered fair. Good call today, though, Jocelyn.”

  Beverly chimed in with what a great job she’d done talking the Whispering Oaks runner into accepting the outcome. Even Lucas paid her a compliment for whipping the team into shape in time for the finals. The team had won by overall points, and all their strongest runners had set new personal-best times. It had been a good day.

  After helping clear the table, Jocelyn suggested Beverly let Lucas and her do the dishes. When his mother didn’t immediately agree, Jocelyn insisted she take her coffee and sit out back with Kieran and enjoy the warm late afternoon. The minute she was out of earshot, Jocelyn turned to Lucas.

  “I wanted you to be the first to know that I’ve decided to take you up on your suggestion.”

  “You mean that kinky little position I mentioned the other night?”

  She hit him with a damp dish towel. “About applying for the head coach job. Though maybe we can discuss that other topic later?” For someone focused on a mission, she still managed to cast him a smoldering glance, his immediate reaction landing somewhere below the belt.

  He winked and handed her a washed bowl, liking how she made him feel all warm and edgy. She dutifully dried it, but even her drying skills turned him on. Since when had washing dishes become sexy?

  “I want to talk to your dad first, so don’t say anything, okay?”

  “My lips are sealed—see?” He moved them close so she could inspect them, then kissed her quickly before handing her a large fruit-patterned platter to dry.

  When they finished the dishes, she set two glasses filled with iced tea on the counter, sliding her hands over her skirt, preparing to carry them outside. “Wish me luck.”

  He held her by the shoulders and kissed her soundly on the mouth, taking his time to make sure she knew exactly how much luck he wished her. When he’d finished, he enjoyed the dazed look in her eyes. “Good luck.”

  “Mom!” he called out, throwing Jocelyn out of the sexy haze and causing her to screw up her face from the sudden blast. “Come and show me where all these dishes go, please.”

  * * *

  Jocelyn passed Beverly while heading out the door. The woman cast her a knowing glance, even patted her shoulder. It had always been hard to keep secrets from the Gradys.

  “I brought you some tea, Coach,” she said as she sat beside Kieran, whose healing leg was propped on another chair. Bart sat attentively at Kieran’s side, demanding his owner pet his head and scratch underneath his ears.

  “Thanks, Jocelyn. Hey, before you say anything, I want you to know that I’ve had a lot of time to think these past several weeks, and I’ve made some decisions.” He gave a direct look, his crystal-blue eyes more noticeable than usual. “I’ve come to realize running the entire track program is one hell of a big responsibility, one I’m not so sure I want to carry all by myself anymore.”

  “After pinch-hitting for you this season, I know exactly what you mean. So, would you mind my asking what your plans are?”

  Kieran took a long drink of tea and stared at his outstretched leg and foot on the adjacent chair. He let go a long sigh. “I’ve decided to step down as head coach.” He glanced up to catch her reaction. She was positive he’d seen her eyebrows shoot up and her lips part, even though she’d shut her mouth the instant it had dropped open. “I’m thinking I’d be better suited to be in a more supportive role from now on, let someone else carry the full load.”

  “Really? You’re surprising me, Coach.”

  He patted her knee. “Oh, hell, Jocelyn, you’ve already proved yourself. I think you should get the extra pay, too, and nothing could make me happier if you’re the one to replace me.”

  She tucked some hair behind one ear. “I have been giving it some serious thought, but only because I sort of wondered if you were thinking about giving up the job. Lucas hinted that you were.”

  “After the accident, I had to do a lot of thinking. Look, if I could handpick someone, it would be you.” He took his ball cap off his head, scratched his forehead and replaced the cap. “Do you want the job?”

  “I do. I really do.”

  “Then fill out the paperwork because as far as I’m concerned, it’s yours. But I’m warning you that that jack-off Schuster might want to try for it, too. Beat him to it!”

  She jumped
up, threw her arms around his neck and squeezed. “I won’t let you down, Coach. I promise.”

  He smiled at her, all his craggy lines deepening. “I have no doubt about that, Coach.”

  * * *

  Jocelyn found Lucas in his favorite place, the garage, tinkering with the Mustang. She ran up and threw her arms around his back, hugging him tight.

  “So what’s the word?” He turned so he could return the embrace.

  “The word is I’m applying for the head coach job first thing Monday morning.”

  He lifted and swung her around while they continued to hug. “Fantastic.”

  “I know, huh?” When he put her down, she kissed him the way she’d wanted to earlier in the kitchen, when he practically made her knees knock with his taunting kiss. His arms and hands found all the right places on her body to make her feel welcomed. She’d gotten used to his skills way too fast. Somehow, with Lucas, innocent kisses always turned quickly into smokin’ hot invitations to rip each other’s clothes off. But it being broad daylight, and them being within view of the back porch where she presumed the Gradys sat, she fought for control.

  Lucas must have been on the same wavelength because he ended the kiss before she was ready. She liked the burning look he gave and wanted to turn it into a flash fire at the first opportunity.

  “I forgot to tell you how sexy you look today,” he said.

  “Thanks.” As if she’d never heard a compliment before, and especially under his thorough head-to-toe inspection, she felt her cheeks warm.

  “You know, you’re not the only one with news.”

  She leaned her elbows on the hood of the car. “What? Tell me, tell me.”

  “I’ve been looking into sports medicine programs online and found some options I might be interested in. And I’ve signed up for a couple of online basic ed courses at Marshfield C.C.”

  Thrilled by the news, she stood at attention. “This is great!”

  “I’ve been thinking,” he said, leaning against the car, arms folded nonchalantly. “A special day like today needs an extra special way to celebrate.” He opened the passenger side of the Mustang. “What do you say we take this baby for its first spin around town?”