“The statute of limitations on something like that is probably about five minutes.” He took a bite of the hot dog and then swiped at a dot of mixed condiments on his lip. “I haven’t had a steamed dog in ages. I forgot how good they are. So, should we talk about the other night?”
The abrupt change in subject startled her. “No.”
“Okay.”
They watched the dunk tank filling very slowly with water while they ate their hot dogs, and Kelly felt the awkwardness looming large between them. She hated it. And there was no reason for it. They were two adults and they’d kissed.
“Fine, let’s talk about it,” she said when Chase had shoved their napkins and empty condiment packages into one of the bags. “Being Coach’s daughter is both wonderful and a total pain in the ass at the same time. All my life, it’s felt like people . . . I don’t know how to explain it. I don’t have a different standard, per se, but I feel like I’m more visible. Everybody knows who I am and who my dad is. So when I’m alone with a guy, being called the coach’s daughter—having it be the reason I’m pushed away—pisses me off.”
“You pushed first, just for the record.” Chase stretched his legs out, leaning his elbows on the tabletop. “And I’m sorry I pissed you off, but it’s hard for me to separate the two of you, because he means so much to me. When I look at you, I see a sexy, confident woman who’s amazing, and I want you so bad it hurts sometimes. But I love your dad, Kelly. I love and respect that man, and you’re the most important thing in the world to him. That matters.”
Kelly absorbed his words, trying to focus more on the emotional confession than the fact that he wanted her so badly it hurt. “I guess I can see that.”
“Maybe if my life wasn’t in the shitter and my intentions were more . . . honorable, I wouldn’t have a problem. But you’re not a woman I can mess around with lightly, and that’s all I’ve got to offer.” He turned his head to look her in the eye. “And even if I could put all that aside, I’m not what you’re looking for long-term, and you’re not looking to have a fling that’ll put you in the gossips’ line of fire. Right?”
“Right.” She felt as if she should say more, but he’d managed to sum up the situation pretty well.
“So we kissed. It happens.”
“It was a great kiss.”
His gaze dropped to her mouth. “Yeah, it was.”
Just thinking about it made her want to do it again but, even if they hadn’t been in one of the most public spots in Stewart Mills, the kissing was over. “How’s the street fair coming along?”
He shrugged and looked out across the grass again. “My part’s about done. Once the tank is full and I’ve made sure it doesn’t leak, I’ll cover it and head back to your parents’ house to clean up. I’m looking forward to seeing the guys again. Murphy and Leavitt should be here soon, from what I hear.”
She nodded. “Alex texted me when he found Sam, and they were on their way out of the airport. That was about two hours ago, so it’ll be at least another hour. Probably more like two, with Friday night traffic.”
“Yeah, they’re going to meet Jen in the school parking lot so she can take them to where they’re staying. Then, after they settle in, they’re going to pick me up so we can go out and catch up over supper.”
Kelly nodded and then drained the last of her soda. “Break’s over, I guess.”
“Somebody could be having a verbal altercation over spilled milk right now,” he teased, standing and gathering the garbage, which he tossed into the nearby trash.
“You’re funny.” She tossed the empty can into the recycling bucket next to the garbage and gave him a stern look. “I’ll see you later. And keep your shirt on.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She really liked the way he said that.
—
Because Sam texted him when he and Alex hit the town line, Chase was watching for them and stepped out onto the porch when the navy sedan pulled into the driveway.
When the two men got out, Chase felt a surge of emotion he hadn’t expected. Sure, they’d been his teammates and his high school buddies, but then they’d all gone their separate ways and eventually lost touch. He hadn’t realized he’d missed them until now.
They looked remarkably the same and yet different at the same time. Sam was more rugged than he’d been as their quarterback, and whatever he did for work was obviously physically demanding. His brown hair was cut short enough that the barber probably skipped scissors and went straight for the clippers, and he was wearing at least a day’s worth of scruff.
Alex had changed even more than Sam. He’d been a very big guy in high school, the star of their defensive line, but now he looked lean and strong. Where Sam looked like he’d just come off a construction site, in worn jeans and a faded T-shirt, Alex wore a button-down shirt and jeans that looked so new, Chase wondered if he’d bought them just for the trip. His dark hair had what Chase always thought of as a business cut, and he was clean shaven.
Seeing the changes in them made Chase feel old, but he consoled himself with the fact that they looked like they could still kick some ass, so maybe he could, too.
He met them at the curb, and both handshakes turned into a quick hug. “I can’t believe it’s been so long since I’ve seen you guys.”
Sam scowled. “I can’t believe it’s been so long since Murph stopped at a bathroom.”
“When you travel as much as I do, you get used to holding it for longer than a four-year-old can.”
It was like they’d never been apart. They’d all been friends—practically brothers—but the bickering between Murphy and Leavitt was part of the soundtrack of their high school years. “Come on in and see Coach.”
That reunion ate up almost a half hour, until Chase was so hungry he couldn’t stand it anymore, having burned off the hot dogs a long time ago. He’d already told Mrs. McDonnell they were going out on the town, so she didn’t bother with a big dinner. She just kissed each man on the cheek and told them to have a good time and that Chase shouldn’t worry about waking them if they were out late.
O’Rourke’s offered good food and beer, but they ended up going to the Stewart Mills House of Pizza just because they’d spent so much time there during their teen years. There was something about being all together again that brought out the nostalgia.
Decker and Philly joined them, so the only guy they were waiting on for the big game was John Briscoe. Chase spent a couple of minutes wondering about their other teammates—the ones who hadn’t come—but then he put them out of his mind. There were a million reasons a guy couldn’t put his life on hold even for a few days to play an exhibition game against a bunch of high school kids, and he wouldn’t hold it against them. These were the guys who had come back for Coach’s sake and that was all that mattered.
“It feels a little unreal, being back here,” Sam said when they’d knocked the hell out of three large pizzas and a pitcher and a half of beer, with sodas for Sam.
Chase wanted to ask him if he’d see his mother while he was in town, but it wasn’t the time. They were laughing and reminiscing about their glory days, and Sam’s parents didn’t fall in the happy memories of Stewart Mills category.
“Brings it all back,” Alex said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever had a moment better than the second I realized we’d actually won the damn game.”
“When Briscoe caught that pass and you threw that block so he could get in the end zone,” Deck said, “I couldn’t believe it. Even when they signaled the touchdown. I mean, who the hell thought we could win a championship?”
“Coach did,” Sam said quietly.
Chase nodded, then took a swig of his beer. After the final whistle blew and the crowd was going wild, Coach had gathered his team at the bench. I never doubted you boys for a minute. It was only the second time in his life Chase felt as if he’d made a perso
n he loved proud. The first time had been busting his ass on an English essay his senior year and getting to hand Mrs. McDonnell the graded paper with a big A minus circled at the top. She’d hugged him hard and then baked a cake for him.
“I wonder if Coach believes we can win this game,” Alex said, and they all laughed.
“I know I wasn’t the best student ever to go through Stewart Mills High, but I count six old guys,” Sam said.
“The rest of the old guys team will be filled in with school staff and a few dads, I guess,” Chase said.
Alex leaned forward. “What about any guys who played for the Eagles and graduated last year? Technically, they’re alumni, and if some went away to college, they’re home for the summer right now. Let the young kids take the hits.”
Chase shook his head. “I tried that. There has to be some affiliation to the championship team, even if they were just sitting in the stands watching the game. The school custodian’s going to play. He was in the band the year we won.”
“This would be a great high school revenge plot. Luring the jocks home in a secret plan to pummel them on the field they once owned,” Sam said. He frowned at Chase. “We didn’t piss those girls off in some way back then, did we?”
“I don’t think so. And it’s a little extravagant for revenge.” Although if anybody could come up with a scheme like this, it would be Kelly, Jen and Gretchen.
“Revenge plot or fund-raiser.” Alex refilled his mug and then emptied the beer pitcher into Chase’s. “Either way, it’s going to hurt.”
08
After Jen had made sure Alex and Sam were settled with their host families, Kelly, Jen and Gretchen decided to have an unscheduled Eagles Fest meeting at the Walker farm for the simple reason that Gram Walker had made macaroni salad. It was creamy and tangy, with chunks of ham and some secret ingredient that Kelly had never been able to figure out, but really wanted to.
Gram, who still lived her life on a milking schedule even though she’d had neither a husband nor cows for more than a few years, had already eaten and retired to her chair in the TV room to watch the evening news before she went to bed, so the women took heaping bowls of the macaroni salad into the dining room to talk.
“I finally found a printer for the discount cards,” Jen said after they’d all enjoyed a few bites. “We’ll have them in time for the street fair.”
That was a huge relief. It had taken a lot of door-to-door schmoozing to get the local businesses to take part in the discount program. If a person bought the card for ten dollars, with the entire amount going to the Eagles, he or she would get 5 percent off at many places in Stewart Mills until the last day of October. But finding a printer willing to donate services hadn’t been as simple.
“You should get a trophy when this is over,” Gretchen told Jen.
“Trophies cost money,” Jen said. “But when this is over, I won’t say no to a really cheap cocktail.”
Kelly knew Gretchen wasn’t exaggerating. Jen spent hours searching the Internet, looking for forms to fill out to request grants from numerous football-related foundations. She’d emailed the contact person for every current or former NFL player she could find with a connection to the state, or even to New England, and knocked on any door that might lead to a donation.
“Maybe we can buy a used trophy and write your name on it with a Sharpie,” Kelly said, and they all laughed.
“I’ll leave the trophies to the football team,” Jen said. “Unless it’s made of chocolate. Then I’ll take it.”
Kelly swallowed her last bite of macaroni salad and pushed her bowl away. “Speaking of chocolate, did either of you say anything to Chase about my sex life?”
Jen looked shocked, and then her expression changed to offended. “Of course not. I resent that question.”
“Sorry,” she mumbled.
“I didn’t, either,” Gretchen said. “But now I’m dying to know what made you ask us. Especially since, as far as we know, you don’t have a sex life.”
And now Kelly didn’t want to tell them. She should have accepted the fact that it was a weird coincidence and kept her mouth shut, but it was too late now. “He said he wanted to take me up against the wall.”
Jen sat up straight. “And did you say yes, please?”
“Of course not.” Kelly smiled. “I might have thought it, though.”
“You could have just said you, up against the wall, right now.” Jen tilted her head. “Come to think of it, you’ve probably said that before.”
“You’re hilarious. And I don’t want him up against the wall. I want me up against the wall.”
Gretchen shook her head. “Since you’ve obviously given this scenario some thought, I’m seriously sad you threw away the perfect opportunity to make that dirty little fantasy come true.”
So was Kelly, though she’d rather not admit it. “You already know I have a good reason for why I won’t have sex with Chase.”
“No,” Jen said. “We know why you don’t want a long-term relationship with him. And we know why you think you shouldn’t have sex with him, but we disagree on it being a good reason.”
“What are you girls talking about?”
They all jumped. Partly because they hadn’t heard Mrs. Walker come into the room and partly because Gretchen’s grandmother had caught them talking about sex. Kelly wasn’t sure there was ever an age when that didn’t feel awkward.
“Nothing, Gram,” they all said at the same time, which was probably even more suspicious than the fact that they’d all jumped when she spoke.
“So boys, then.” She looked at each of them in turn, then zeroed in on Kelly. “Any special young man in particular?”
“No, ma’am.”
“I heard that Sanders boy is back in town, and he bought condoms at the drugstore.”
Kelly was vaguely aware of Jen almost spitting her drink all over Gretchen and barely choking it down in time, but all she could do was try to meet Mrs. Walker’s look with a straight face. “I hadn’t heard that.”
“He’s up to no good, that one.” Gram nodded. “I’m going to bed to read. You girls clean up after yourselves.”
They managed to hold back the giggles until they heard her footsteps reach the top of the stairs and disappear in the direction of her bedroom. Then they laughed, trying to muffle the sound with their hands.
“I can never un-hear your grandmother saying condoms,” Jen said when they’d regained their composure.
“A whole box of them, even,” Kelly said, putting her hand on her stomach because it ached from laughing and eating too much macaroni salad. When both women turned their gazes on her, she shook her head. “Don’t look at me.”
“Since I’ve seen Chase looking at you,” Jen said, “I’m going to guess you’re the only woman he was thinking about when he bought them.”
Gretchen held up her hand. “Back up for a minute. I want to know the circumstances of him telling you he wanted to take you up against the wall. Did he tell you that over coffee? Write it on a napkin? Just randomly blurt it out when you walked by?”
“We were . . . kissing.” And just the memory of it still made her weak in the knees. “In my parents’ kitchen.”
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell us immediately that you were kissing him,” Jen said, and Gretchen nodded.
“It didn’t really end well.” She told them how the post-kiss conversation had gone. “He looks at me and sees Coach’s daughter and not Kelly.”
“It’s natural for him to worry about disrespecting your dad because he means so much to Chase,” Gretchen said, being her usual reasonable self.
Jen nodded. “But his need to take you up against the wall is going to get the better of him very soon and, when that happens, you need to let him.”
“I am not going to have sex with Chase Sanders.”
Gretchen snorted. “You just keeping telling yourself that.”
Kelly rolled her eyes, but she’d been doing exactly that pretty much since she’d pulled Chase over for blowing the stop sign on his way into town. If she kept saying it to herself over and over, maybe she’d start believing it.
—
Ordering another pitcher of beer was probably a mistake, Chase thought. As hot and tired as he’d been all day, the alcohol seemed to be hitting him a little harder than usual, and he’d reached that state of pleasant buzzing in which the greatest ideas of all time were spawned.
Deck and Philly had split before the last pitcher because they had wives and kids waiting for them, but the three that were left weren’t ready to call it a night yet. Since there weren’t any other options, they were still sitting at the Stewart Mills House of Pizza, drinking and talking.
“I thought by now there’d be something to do in this town,” Alex said. “I always thought we hung out and drank beer because we were young. Now I realize it’s because there’s literally nothing else to do.”
“We should head out soon, anyway,” Sam said. “We’re guests in people’s homes, and even though they said they’d leave the doors unlocked, we shouldn’t stay out too late.”
Chase rocked his chair back onto two legs. “Look who learned some manners while he was . . . where the hell were you, again?”
“Texas. And screw you, Sanders.”
“He’s right,” Alex said. “But a few more minutes won’t hurt.”
Chase set his chair down with a thump so he could refill his mug. The frost had long since melted off the glass, but he was too lazy to walk up to the counter and get a fresh one.
“I can’t believe Coach’s daughter is a cop,” Sam said. “I always thought she’d be a librarian.”
Chase snorted, even as the phrase Coach’s daughter caught in his mind. Kelly was right. Her identity was always wrapped up with her dad’s. “Why the hell would you think that?”
Under the Lights Page 9
