Under the Lights

by Shannon Stacey

  “Good morning. I’m sorry I came in a little late last night,” he said, maybe taking a little too long to stir his coffee so he had a reason not to look up. “I tried to be quiet, but I ran into an old friend and started catching up and time got away from us.”

  It wasn’t the truth, but it wasn’t exactly a lie, either, which he wanted to avoid if at all possible. Maybe it was a stretch to call Kelly an old friend, and he didn’t want to admit what they’d been catching up on, but time had definitely gotten away from them.

  Was it his imagination or was Mrs. McDonnell’s smile a little tight this morning? “I told you, we’re pretty sound sleepers.”

  “Where’s Coach?”

  “He went out on an emergency call. I think the only thing worse than Sunday morning calls are holiday calls.”

  “I would have gone with him if I’d known. I could have given him a hand.”

  She shrugged. “Would you like some breakfast?”

  He was starving, but he had too much guilt going on this morning where she was concerned to ask her to cook for him, too. “I’m heading to O’Rourke’s, actually, but thank you.”

  “Give them my best.” She took her grocery list pad and a pen and opened the pantry door.

  Chase drank the coffee as quickly as he could and got out of there. He knew it was probably his imagination—or guilty conscience, maybe—but Mrs. McDonnell didn’t seem as warm as usual. If knowing he’d been with Kelly was at the root of it, he dreaded what Coach’s reaction would be.

  Once he hit the front porch, he sent texts to the guys, letting them know he was buying breakfast if anybody wanted in, but only Alex and Sam were free. Since they were farther away and he didn’t want to go back into the house, Chase killed some time by walking to the restaurant.

  Because he had to stop and talk to what seemed like a million people, the guys already had a table when he arrived. He slid into the booth next to Alex, since Sam was wider, and gratefully accepted a full coffee mug from their server.

  He looked across the table at Sam, who looked tired as hell. “You look like shit.”

  “Good morning.”

  “Yeah, good morning. You look like shit.”

  Sam shrugged. “Didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.”

  Unlike Chase, who’d slept like a rock once he’d left Kelly’s apartment and snuck into Coach’s house. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and she’ll accidentally leave the coffeepot on the table.”

  Over breakfast, Alex told them stories about some of the places he’d traveled for work. Being a freelance photojournalist, his work varied, and sometimes he was in a quiet town in Italy, capturing the architecture, and sometimes he was in the middle of a violent coup. It sounded like a great life to Chase, except for the fact that he refused to fly. It would take a long damn time to get to the Middle East without a plane.

  He kept the conversation going as long as he could, but both guys had made commitments for the day with their host players. Since Chase had a host coach instead of a host player, he made the walk back to the house, hoping Mrs. McDonnell would have something for him to do.

  Coach was sitting in a rocker on the front porch when Chase walked up the steps, and the sight of him formed a knot in his stomach so tight he wished he hadn’t eaten a huge breakfast. “Morning, Coach.”

  “Morning. Have a good breakfast?”

  “Yes, sir.” The man was giving him nothing as far as a possible emotional response. “Cassandra doesn’t serve up quite as good a breakfast as Mrs. McDonnell, but it’s not half bad.”

  Coach smiled and the knot in Chase’s gut loosened a little. “You know, you’re a grown man now, and she’s said she doesn’t mind if you call her Helen.”

  “I appreciate that, but it doesn’t feel right.”

  “That’s what I figured you’d say. You all had your share of troubles, but you were all good boys at heart.”

  Guilt reared its ugly head again, but Chase hid it behind a smile. “There were times you were the only person who seemed to believe that.”

  “It might have felt that way, but I wasn’t the only one. And it makes me proud none of you ever disappointed me.”

  Chase wasn’t sure if he was simply reminiscing or if Coach was trying to give him some kind of message, so he just nodded and kept his mouth shut. He figured if Coach knew where Chase had been last night and was mad about it, he’d have let him know by now.

  Hell, maybe Coach would even be happy about it. Chase had always been close to him, so maybe the older man was thinking about him as a potential son-in-law. One who was good at heart and had never disappointed him.

  But Chase wasn’t looking to be anybody’s son-in-law anytime soon. And Kelly wouldn’t have him if he were. It had been a no-strings bit of fun—maybe even a one-night thing, though he hoped not—and that was it.

  He was pretty sure if Coach knew the truth of what was going on, he would be pretty disappointed in Chase, after all.

  —

  Because she didn’t have a family at home, which made one day more or less like any other, Kelly often worked Sundays. She didn’t mind. They were slow days, with most of them spent monitoring the flow of traffic heading south through the town as the tourists went home.

  This particular Sunday she would have liked to spend in her bed, basking in the glow of great sex. Instead, she was driving around, trying not to dwell on whether Chase would call her or if she should call him or if there should be any phone call at all. Since she’d never done the casual-fling thing before, she wasn’t really sure what the rules were.

  The only thing she knew for sure was that she wanted to be alone with him again, and sooner rather than later. They didn’t have a lot of time.

  She sat on the side of the road into town for a while, watching the noses of vehicles dive as drivers saw her cruiser and hit their brakes. None of them were speeding enough to merit banging a U-turn and pulling anybody over, but she liked slowing the flow of traffic before it hit the main street of Stewart Mills.

  When the dispatcher called, she sighed and knew her peaceful morning was probably over. “Go ahead.”

  “Officer Clark responded to a shoplifting call at the gas station. He has a twelve-year-old female in custody and is requesting a female officer on scene. So, that would be you.”

  “ID?”

  “It’s Emily Jenkins.”

  Her heart sank. “Oh, damn. Tell him I’m on my way.”

  Emily’s mom had been a friend of Kelly’s, and they’d lost her two years ago to cancer. Emily seemed to be doing okay, but shoplifting was so out of character for her that Kelly wondered what could have gone wrong.

  When she pulled into the gas station, she saw Emily sitting in the back of Dylan’s marked sedan, her head bowed and shoulders shaking. Dylan was leaning on the outside of the car, and he gave a shrug of his shoulders when Kelly looked his way.

  She decided to start inside so she could get the full story before she talked to Emily. Janie Vestal was behind the counter, and it occurred to Kelly that the woman had been Chase’s girlfriend back in high school. Even though it was stupid, she felt awkward all of a sudden and almost forgot why she was there for a second.

  Then she took a deep breath and stepped up to the counter. “Hey, Janie. What’s going on?”

  “I caught her shoplifting feminine hygiene products,” she said, almost in a whisper even though the store was empty. “You know, pads.”

  Oh, the poor child. “Is this the first time you’ve caught her shoplifting?”

  “It is. I called the owner. It’s hard, Kelly. I mean, my heart breaks for the child, but with the economy the way it is, we can’t be seen as an easy target. If we look the other way when a kid going through a tough time steals from us, we’ll be having tough times, too.”

  “I understand, and I agree. What about pressing charges
?”

  Janie shook her head. “She’s only twelve, and it’s not like it was cigarettes or beer or something. The poor girl’s having her period and it might even be her first. But we need you to make sure she understands she can’t do it again.”

  “I will.” Kelly rubbed the spot between her eyebrows. “You can tell your boss I’m going to speak to her father and that I appreciate being able to handle it. Trying to scare the kids with jail only does more harm than good.”

  “I know you care about the kids. All this work you’re doing for the football team is amazing.” Janie cocked her head sideways. “I couldn’t believe it when Chase Sanders walked in the other day. I dated him in high school and thought we’d get married someday. I heard his life’s a wreck, though, so I sure dodged a bullet there, huh?”

  Kelly nodded and smiled, as if she agreed, but she had to fight an urge to defend Chase. So what if he’d fallen on hard times not all entirely of his own making? A woman who’d just had to call the police on a little girl who didn’t have money to buy pads for her period should probably be a little more sympathetic.

  “I’m going to go see to Emily now.” She saw the package of feminine pads on the end of the counter and slid it over to the register as she pulled out her wallet. “I’ll pay for these.”

  After Janie put the package in a paper bag, Kelly walked outside and took a deep breath. Sometimes she wondered what it would be like to be a police officer in a big city. More dangerous, of course, but maybe more impersonal, too. But she supposed community was community no matter the size, and it would always be personal on some level.

  “I’m going to take her home,” she told Dylan, who looked relieved. “I’ll talk to her dad and hopefully that’ll be the end of it.”

  “I wasn’t sure what the story was because Emily just kept crying, and then Janie got all choked up and said it was a female issue. I figured with you being a woman and being a friend of her mom, it would be easier for everybody if you came.”

  “Absolutely.” She opened the back door of the sedan. “Come on, honey. I’m going to take you home.”

  Emily seemed to calm down once she was riding shotgun with Kelly, but she sniffled a little when she handed her the paper bag. “I’m sorry I tried to steal them.”

  “You got lucky, Em. The man who owns the gas station is a nice guy and Janie went to bat for you, but you can’t try to steal from them again or it’ll be bad.”

  “I know. But they’re expensive, and Dad’s still paying for Mom’s medical stuff even though she’s not here anymore and I didn’t want to ask him for money.”

  “You’ll need these every month, honey, and they’re a lot cheaper if you buy them at the big grocery store. He’ll just put them on the list and it won’t be a big deal.”

  “It’s embarrassing,” she mumbled.

  Kelly tried to imagine having to go to Coach the first time she’d had her period, but her mind didn’t even want to go there. She’d gone to her mom and that had been that. But Emily didn’t have a mom. “As you get older, there are going to be things you need to talk to your dad about, honey. And even if you or he or both feels a little uncomfortable, you still need to talk to him. Or at least to somebody. Go to Miss Cooper. Or to me.”

  “I don’t like telling people we don’t have a lot of money,” Emily said, her mouth setting in a stubborn line.

  “Your family’s not the only one going through hard times. Trust me. But stealing is not the answer.”

  “I won’t do it again. I promise.”

  Talking to Emily’s dad was as awkward as she’d imagined. Between hearing the news his daughter had shoplifted and learning she was transitioning into young womanhood, he was so flustered he forgot to be mad. After pulling him aside to give him a crash course on how to deal with this new chapter of his daughter’s life, Kelly got back in her cruiser with a sigh of relief.

  She had to go back to the gas station to fill her tank, and she was thankful the department had cards to swipe at the pump so she didn’t have to go inside. And there were other customers, so Janie couldn’t do more than give her a quick wave through the window.

  She wondered who had been telling tales about Chase’s life, but she also thought about Janie’s dodged a bullet sentiment. It made Kelly wonder how she would have coped if her husband had lost all of their money and his business and their home. Probably not well, because she tended to be very conservative when it came to money and wouldn’t do well in financial chaos.

  But she already knew Chase wasn’t marriage material for her, and she didn’t care. She didn’t want to marry him. She just wanted him to call her. Or text her.

  She got back in her cruiser and, after a glance at her silent phone, went back out on patrol.

  —

  Chase sat in the back of the high school cafeteria, which had been chosen for its seating, trying to pay attention to the television that had been wheeled in and hooked up to somebody’s laptop. They were all there—the alumni, the football team and a few of the dads and staff members—watching video of the Eagles’ previous season.

  They were good, he thought. Maybe not great, but they were a solid team, and he recognized some of Coach McDonnell’s personal touches in their training. They were positive without being cocky. They communicated with each other rather than constantly looking to the coaching staff as go-betweens. No play was made by one single player, so they celebrated together and they also shared fault together. Whether they ever got to play for a championship or not, the things they learned from Coach and on the field would stay with them forever.

  He wished there was an abridged version, though. Sitting in the curved, hard plastic cafeteria chairs wasn’t comfortable, and the plays on the screen were all starting to blend together. What really sucked was that it had been his and Alex’s idea to do this. They were hoping to fire the boys up in case their energy was flagging only halfway through the fund-raising and, maybe, see what the alumni team was up against.

  There was no mystery there. They were up against a team of teenage boys who played good football together and were led by a great coach. Watching game tapes wasn’t going to give the older guys an edge.

  After a while, Chase pulled up his email on his phone and scrolled through, deleting the spam. There were a few communications from builders he’d talked to about taking over the big jobs he could no longer afford to do, and he went through the slow and painstaking process of responding to them on the phone’s small screen.

  It was tempting to ask the McDonnells for access to the computer they had at Coach’s office, but then they’d know something was going on and ask him questions about it. Even if they were coming from a place of concern and caring, he didn’t really like talking about the mess at home. It felt like a failure on every level.

  When he came to an email from his lawyer, he braced himself as he opened it, hoping it wouldn’t be some new horror show in the making. It wasn’t, but it also wasn’t good news. Seth’s lawyer had contacted his lawyer, and he was denying he’d taken the money, blaming it on a hacker or computer glitch.

  Chase cursed and had to make an effort not to throw the phone across the room. There was no question Seth had taken the money, and it wouldn’t be hard to prove he had. But it would take time. And it also meant he’d probably buried the money someplace where they wouldn’t easily find it.

  “Hey.”

  Chase looked up and saw that Deck was leaning toward him. “You’re making pissed-off noises. Like sighing and growling and shit. And you’re getting louder.”

  He flagged the email to respond to later and closed his email. “Sorry.”

  “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah. Just work crap I’m not in the mood to deal with right now. And I’m getting hungry. How much longer do you think this will go on?”

  Deck looked at the screen for a few seconds. “There are two
games left and they’ve started fast-forwarding through a lot of it. Not long.”

  “Too bad the pizza place doesn’t deliver.”

  “Dude? Pizza?” That was Cody, from the front of the room.

  “There’s pizza?”

  Somehow they ended up walking to the Stewart Mills House of Pizza when the video ended, where the alumni guys all chipped in enough to buy pizzas for everybody. Chase thought he’d had enough of football for the day, but once they carried the pizzas to the town square and were all sitting in the grass with their slices, he didn’t mind. The kids were happy to have the free pizza, and there were no surly attitudes in sight.

  Hunter even asked him about his time as running back for the Eagles and, the more he spoke, the more Chase warmed up to the topic. He wasn’t sure anything had ever come close to replicating the rush that came from running up the sideline, evading defenders without stepping out of bounds, and breaking the plane for the touchdown.

  “Did you ever get hurt?”

  Chase shook his head. “No, but I was lucky. Just some bad bruises and a lot of sore muscles. I remember a kid on an opposing team tearing up his knee, though. I don’t think he ever played again. That’s one reason stretching and workouts and listening to Coach matter. A lot of injuries come from poor conditioning.”

  He missed whatever Hunter said next because a police cruiser was driving slowly down the main street, and Kelly was behind the wheel. Wishing he’d thought to ask her if he’d see her again—alone and up close—before he left the night before, he debated texting her. But even if she hadn’t been driving, he wasn’t sure what he’d say.

  Hey, had fun. Want to do it again?

  That was lame. Maybe something simple and not pushy. I had a great time last night. Or I’m sitting on the grass eating pizza with a bunch of guys jacked up on football talk and all I can think about is you.

  “You going to eat that piece, dude?”

  He realized Cody had moved closer and was talking to him. “No, I’m full. Go ahead.”