Emma ground her teeth in frustration. “But Brad, I—”
“Please, Emmaline,” he interrupted, gaze intent.
She knew she was a coward but found herself nodding reluctantly. She let out a breath she hadn’t been aware of holding. “Okay, we’ll enjoy the day.”
By the time they made their way back to the picnic table, Maddy had returned and Logan was in conversation with Derek, who held a match to the charcoal in the portable barbecue. Maddy glanced at Emma and at her questioning look, Maddy shrugged. “He can eat with us because he’s Brad’s friend, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
Emma worked with Maddy and Trish, and soon potato salad, watermelon, and the fixings for burgers and grilled Polish sausages were laid out on the table. Brad grabbed three beers, popped the tops, and handed over one each to Derek and Logan.
Maddy muttered, “Why is it that it takes three men to barbecue a bunch of hamburger patties and grill a couple of dogs?”
Emma shrugged; she could tell that some of the shine had come off Maddy’s day.
Maddy continued, “I’ll tell you why, because men are jerks and it’s their way of trying to look busy so they won’t be asked to do anything else.”
Emma nodded her agreement. “But Brad said Logan is taking a turn in the dunk tank. I’m sure the water is beyond cold. Maybe you can dunk him.”
Maddy brightened considerably.
In short order, Emma found herself at the picnic table, wedged between Brad and Jenny, enjoying tasty potato salad and a grilled burger. Maddy was careful to sit at the far end of the table well away from Logan Ross.
The fruit salad Emma had brought was a hit, and Brad heaped the berries, melon, and mango onto his plate. She liked watching the interaction between the members of the Gallagher family. Trish held baby Brandon while his parents ate, feeding him a bottle while she chatted with Derek. Emma could feel the deep and abiding love shared by the family. She couldn’t imagine growing up like this, knowing without doubt you were safe and loved. The clutch around her heart wasn’t envy, but gratitude that such love existed. Simply knowing it was there made the world a better place.
Logan sat at Emma’s end of the table, deep in conversation with Brad about the developer’s proposed plans for Hangman’s Loss. It was obvious Logan wasn’t too pleased with the idea his hometown might be in for major changes. Brad’s arm came to rest around her shoulders. She glanced up at him and he leaned to whisper in her ear. “You look sad.”
She shook her head. “Not sad, thinking. You have a beautiful family.”
He raised his brows. “Yeah, I do. You okay?”
She nodded. She was a bit sad. The future she had mapped out for herself suddenly looked lonely. Determined to shake off the feeling, she turned to Trish and offered to feed the baby so she could eat. Emma caught Brad’s thoughtful gaze as she nuzzled the baby’s neck, breathing in the soft scents of milk and powder.
After the meal, Maddy corralled Emma to play catch. She knew Maddy’s real motive was to see whether Emma would be of any use in the softball game. She smiled to herself. She’d followed baseball avidly from the time she was ten, and had been on the softball teams in middle and high school. She’d always looked for ways to extend her school day, to delay returning to whatever run-down apartment or motel she and her mother were living in, and playing ball had been a lot of fun. With the today being warm enough for shirtsleeves, the smell of pine in the air, and a deep blue mountain sky, she considered it perfect for a ballgame.
She lifted her borrowed mitt to snag the high, arcing ball Maddy lobbed, then arrowed it back where it hit Maddy’s glove with a smack.
“Yeah, baby. I think I’ll put you at third. Caroline Johnson called third but she wants to pat the guys’ butts when they run the bases. I want to win.”
“Great. Now you’ll have her mad at me and I don’t even know her.”
“Nah. She won’t be mad. I’ll put her out in center field with a couple of cute guys in right and left. She’ll be in pretty-girl heaven.”
Emma noticed Brad and Logan trooping off toward the dunk tank. “There they go, ready to make great sacrifices for the public good.”
“Let’s go buy our tickets. I’m going to make sure Logan Ross is sorry he ever came back to Hangman’s Loss.”
Emma eyed her friend cautiously. “You sure don’t hold back when you dislike someone, do you? What happened between the two of you?”
“Too much to forgive. He’s a lying, cheating snake without an honorable bone in his body.”
“Brad’s about the most upstanding person I know. I’m surprised he’s friends with someone like that.”
“Well, you’re right about my brother. Honesty and integrity ooze from his pores. But he’s also loyal to a fault. Once he believes in someone it’s almost impossible to get him to change his mind. He refuses to see Logan for what he really is.”
While Emma pondered Maddy’s assessment, the two women made their way over to the dunk tank, where a short line had formed. She wondered if that loyalty would blind Brad to the reasons they couldn’t be together. Her heart wrenched when she realized how much she would miss him. When she saw him on a daily basis, regardless if some days it was only for a few minutes, he always managed to make her feel special, like she lit up his day simply by being. Beyond that, his constant support since they met had helped integrate her into the community. She knew people now, people spoke to her when she walked into the grocery store or stopped at the gas station, and she was pretty sure the reason they were so accepting had to do with the small-town news that the chief of police had a thing for the new girl.
As she stood in line to pay for her ticket, another idea chased the first. Was Maddy as loyal as her brother? Would she end her friendship with Emma once it became apparent that she and Brad weren’t together? Emma sincerely hoped not. She’d had few true friends in her life and didn’t want to lose Maddy.
Feeling glum, Emma paid her five dollars for a chance to throw three balls while Maddy laid down a twenty-dollar bill. “Twenty dollars? How many guys are you planning to dunk?”
“Just one dirty rat,” Maddy replied with a scowl and picked up her tickets.
Emma stared at her friend in amazement. “Those are all for Logan? What are you planning? To drown him?”
“That would work,” Maddy replied.
The rules were that each participant got three balls for their five dollars, but only one dunk. If you dunked the hunk on the first try, you couldn’t throw the other two balls. Apparently, that didn’t mean you couldn’t have another go with an additional three-ball purchase.
They joined the line next to a hand-painted sign that read, “Dunk a Hunk and Support Hangman’s Finest!” The picture showed a muscle-bound man, dressed in a Hangman’s Loss police uniform, flexing his biceps while a ball sailed toward him.
Brad sat on the seat over the tank dressed in athletic shorts and a black t-shirt while Bert Morales, the first person in line, tossed a ball lightly in the air and waited for the event to start. Emma recognized the young officer, Warren, who was taking the tickets and making sure those with the balls were behind the limit line.
“Dunk the hunk, folks,” he called out. “Has the chief ever written you a speeding ticket? Nabbed you for running a red light? Well, here’s your chance to get back at him.”
Brad cupped his hands and yelled at Warren, “You’re not thinking of a promotion any time soon, are you, Warren?”
This was met with hoots and laughs from those in line while a small crowd gathered to watch. The mayor approached the table and paid for three balls. In pressed jeans and a sequined blouse, Marla obviously thought she had dressed casually, but to Emma she still looked like a politician, always on the job.
Marla walked to the front of the line, past those already waiting. “Would you folks mind if I went ahead of you? I’m meeting with some businessmen in town in half an hour but I wanted my chance to support the police department.”
“Can you believe the nerve of her,” Maddy muttered. “She doesn’t have a clue how obnoxious she comes across. And I know what she really wants.”
“What’s that?” Emma asked.
“Remember what I told you before? About the kiss?”
“What kiss?”
“The tradition is that the hunk gets to kiss the first woman to dunk him.”
“Oh.” Marla’s cut to the front of the line now took on greater meaning. “She means to get that kiss from Brad?”
“You got it, sister. But I really don’t think you have anything to worry about. Marla always sucked at softball.”
Emma had to agree when Marla gave the ball an awkward toss that landed in the grass well short of its target.
“See? She throws like a wuss. She should throw like a girl.”
Emma laughed.
Marla’s next toss nearly hit Warren, who stood well away from the tank. Brad looked relaxed on the seat, probably realizing he would stay dry as long as the mayor was throwing.
The third ball took him by surprise. Marla gave it a good toss and it actually hit the target, but not with enough force to send Brad into the tank.
Marla’s shrug looked good-natured, but Emma saw from the glitter in her eyes she had desperately wanted to nail it.
Bert Morales was up next and while he threw with more consistency than Marla, the target was small and Brad stayed out of the water. Next up was a little girl of about ten who managed to hit the target but again without the force necessary to trigger the mechanism.
Then it was Emma’s turn. Brad flashed her a broad grin. “Hey, sweetheart. This water is damned cold so you’re going to be nice, right?”
Emma returned his smile, set a pitcher’s stance, wound up, and hurled the ball. It hit the target and Brad hit the water. Someone yelled, “Get ready to pucker up, young lady.”
To the sound of Maddy’s cheering and the clapping of the crowd, Emma handed the extra two balls over to Warren. “My job here is done,” she said smugly.
Brad stood up in the tank, water streaming as he climbed back on the platform. He’d managed to keep his head out of the water but was soaked from the chest down. “I’ll pay you back, Emmaline,” he called out to her.
Smiling sweetly at him, she said, “Now, now. The police chief shouldn’t make threats.”
His laugh reached her before he turned his attention to his sister. “Remember when I beat up that bully when you were in seventh grade, Maddy? You owe me.”
“You’re such a big brother, Brad. And I’ve more than paid you back with coffee from the café. But don’t worry, you’re safe from me. I’ve got other fish to fry or, in this case, dunk.”
Maddy was next in line, but she allowed others to take their turns until Brad’s time in the tank was up. He’d managed to stay out of the water for the rest of his shift but with the steady breeze he had to be getting chilled. When he climbed down from the tank, Logan prepared to climb up. Brad walked to a curtained enclosure behind the tank while Warren handed Maddy her three balls in exchange for her ticket.
Logan eyed Maddy as she tossed a ball up, then caught it. “Still an ace with the ball, Blondie?”
“Yep. Prepare for your weekly bath, big guy.” There was a little mean in Maddy’s smile.
“Come on, now. I’m doing this for the police department. For my good friend, Brad. And these are borrowed shorts.” He apparently hadn’t found a shirt to borrow because he climbed up onto the platform shirtless. Strong muscles bunched and stretched as he heaved himself up, a tattoo of a snake coiled on one shoulder. The black hair combed back from his forehead added to the bad boy look.
At Maddy’s determined expression he called out, “Give it the best you got, darlin’. It’s been a while since high school softball. You might have lost your edge.”
“You’re going down.” Maddy’s first ball flew hard toward the target but sailed over it.
Emma watched in fascination at Maddy’s concentration. She had no doubt that Logan would end up in the water. The next ball clipped the top edge of the target without triggering the mechanism.
“Last shot, Blondie. I think I’m starting to burn sitting out here in the sun.” Logan shifted in his seat, making himself comfortable while Maddy wound up for another throw. This one nailed it and Logan splashed into the tank.
Emma expected the cold water to cut some of the bravado. But he stood, water glistening on his chest, a wolfish smile on his face. “Well, I guess that means a kiss. Me and Madison Gallagher.”
Chapter Fourteen
Maddy glowered. “In your dreams, buster. That little part of the program has been suspended.” She turned to Warren, digging a ticket out of her pocket. “Give me my next three.”
Emma saw Logan’s eyes narrow. “Take it easy, Gallagher. I think it’s someone else’s turn.”
“Nope,” Maddy responded, “still mine.”
Brad came out of the changing area in his jeans and a denim shirt and walked over to stand beside Emma. He put an arm around her shoulders, and they watched the showdown between Logan and Maddy.
Maddy missed two, then nailed it with the third. When a dripping Logan climbed once again to the platform she used her third ticket and sent another ball smacking into the target. Not taking her eyes off the drama in front of her, Emma asked, “What happened between those two? I thought sparks flying was a fiction writer’s exaggeration, but I swear those two could start a fire.”
“They did have a fire going once. Maddy was still in high school. But Logan left the mountains and she never forgave him.”
One thing about small towns was that the connections went long and deep. It wasn’t hard to figure out that despite her anger over what had happened years ago, Maddy still had feelings for Logan Ross.
Logan was back on the seat, but this time he sat forward, giving Maddy a determined look.
“Had enough, Logan?” she called out. “Want to give up? Are you cold? I still have one more ticket, but I’ll understand if you can’t take anymore.”
Water was streaming from his hair and he ran his fingers through it, pushing it back off his forehead. “Take another shot, Madison. But remember there’ll be payback.”
Maddy took her next throw and Logan hit the water once again. The crowd that had grown to watch the contest hooted and cheered.
Her turn up, Maddy gave the remaining balls to Warren while Logan climbed out of the tank. Turning, she gave a bow to the crowd. Someone called out, “I bet the kiss he gives you will be smokin’.”
“I’m sorry to disappoint you all, but that little tradition ended after the dunking of the first hunk.”
Interested eyes turned toward Emma and Brad, and she could feel her cheeks warm.
“Go on, Brad, let’s see it,” an older man called.
He smiled down at her and then, tipping up her chin, slanted his lips across hers and engaged in a thorough kiss.
Applause broke out when they broke apart and Emma was glad for the distraction of a determined-looking Logan climbing down from the dunk tank. “I think things are really going to heat up now,” she murmured.
Logan, water dripping from his shorts and beaded on his chest, strode up behind Maddy. He tapped her on the shoulder and when she turned, he slid an arm around her waist. It seemed Logan knew Maddy’s default response, because when she drew back a fist he grabbed her hand and pulled it behind her back. She opened her mouth to protest and he fused his lips to hers.
The crowd cheered and the kiss grew hot enough to raise steam.
Brad shook his head. “I always knew it wasn’t over between them.”
“Yeah,” Emma agreed. “I can see that.”
Logan finally released a shaken Maddy. Her clothes were damp all along her front where she’d been held tightly against him. She stood staring, unmoving, even as he cupped her face in his hands.
She stepped back, crossing her arms defensively in front of her. When she spoke, the strain was evident in h
er voice. “No, Logan. Not again.” With that, she turned and fled.
***
Emma stepped back and caught the infield blooper on a bounce before hurling the ball to second on the forced run. At the bottom of the ninth and with the score tied, the trash talk was coarse and the competition hot. It didn’t matter that this was small-town softball; bragging rights were at stake.
Monica, a sergeant on the police force, hit the next pitch deep into left field where Logan snagged it to retire the side. Emma watched with amusement when Caroline in centerfield patted Logan’s butt as they jogged off the field.
When they got to the bench, Brad grinned and handed Emma a bat. “You’re up, slugger.”
She hadn’t felt this kind of pressure since high school. She stepped up to the plate, eyeing the pitcher, whose elaborate windup showcased a deadly fastball. The pitcher seemed to be tiring so Emma decided to wait her out. The strategy worked and she took the walk.
The next two batters, Maddy and then Logan, both struck out swinging, though Emma did manage to steal second. Then Brad came to the plate and Emma held her breath. He was so dang sexy. Having ditched the denim shirt, he wore a white t-shirt that bore a grass stain on one shoulder. Sleeves strained against powerful biceps as he took a practice swing. He stepped into the batter’s box, the pitcher wound up, and Brad swung mightily at the first pitch, missing for strike one.
George Van Horn, the city councilman who’d sided with the developers, was playing first base and upped the trash talk. “The chief wants to bring his girl home, folks,” he called out. “Don’t worry, Brad, I’ll take her home if you strike out.”
Spectators in the stands laughed but Emma didn’t let him break her concentration. When the next pitch came in where Brad wanted it, he swung all out, hitting the ball with a loud crack. Emma streaked around third, looking over her shoulder to see the ball sail far into homerun territory. She crossed home plate, turning around to cheer Brad home.
Flash Point Page 12
