A Home for Her Baby

by Gabrielle Meyer

  Piper was silent next to Max, another reminder that it wasn’t just the championship game he had lost because of his foolishness.

  “I want everyone to go home,” Max said, his pulse escalating. “And that includes you, Tad. I’ll call Mom to let her know you’re on your way.”

  “You’re a jerk,” Tad said, pushing past Max with his shoulder. “Why don’t you go back to where you came from?” He paused and laughed sardonically again. “Oh, that’s right, you can’t. You’re not only a fraud, but you’re a quitter, too. The NFL won’t take you back.” Tad took his girlfriend’s hand and pulled her along with him toward his car.

  Anger pulsed in Max’s veins. “Tad!”

  His brother didn’t stop or respond, but got into his car and slammed the door. His girlfriend looked uncertain for a second before getting into the passenger side.

  The second the door closed, the old familiar feeling to walk away from the mess started to creep into Max’s chest. He had done it a dozen times in the past ten years in romantic relationships, his career and even with his family—especially with his family. He’d always had a good excuse to leave and hope the problem didn’t follow him.

  For the most part, it worked—but what kind of a cad would he be if he didn’t fight for his brother? Max couldn’t keep ignoring the problems around him, no matter how much he wanted to pretend they didn’t exist. Eventually, he’d have to face them and they’d be worse than ever.

  “I’m sorry, Max.” Piper let out a sigh. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

  Max shook his head, his shoulders drooping as he watched his brother’s car pull out of the parking lot. “He knows exactly what he’s talking about—and he knows exactly where to aim his ammunition.”

  Piper reached through the darkness and clasped her hand around his.

  It wasn’t a romantic gesture, but a comforting one. She’d done it hundreds of times in their youth. Offering reassurance was as natural to Piper as breathing.

  “Don’t let his anger steal your confidence,” she said quietly, but with conviction. “He was in the wrong here, not you. You’ve already been punished for your transgressions. He was just trying to deflect his own mistakes to derail you from following through with his consequences.”

  Max’s disappointment and frustration began to fade in the light of Piper’s words.

  “Come on,” she said, tugging him toward the sidewalk. “It’s late and my feet hurt.”

  He followed her, and when she let go of his hand, he had to fight the urge to reach out and take it again. He had missed Piper for so many reasons, but her calming presence was one of the things he missed the most. There had been countless times in the past ten years he wished she was by his side to offer some wisdom or insight, or to just be a voice of reason in difficult situations.

  He had a feeling his life would look a lot more promising if she had been with him.

  * * *

  The week passed quickly and Piper was thankful the bed-and-breakfast was empty. By Thursday, there were so many things she and Mrs. Anderson needed to prepare before the onslaught of guests arrived for the big arts and crafts fair. It was the largest annual event held in Timber Falls, with over a hundred thousand visitors descending upon the small town for the weekend. Six hundred vendors set up booths along the streets and in the parking lots, and there were dozens and dozens of great food booths. It had always been Piper’s favorite weekend of the year, but this year was a little different now that she was managing the bed-and-breakfast.

  “The drier just buzzed,” Mrs. Anderson said as she came into the Diamond Room where Piper was just finishing cleaning the bathroom. “I need to vacuum the rugs downstairs, but I can help you make beds before I need to run to the grocery store.”

  “The beds can wait,” Piper said. “I still need to finish two more bathrooms and vacuum all the carpet upstairs.”

  Piper had been busy earlier in the week with her weddings and events business and had put off the cleaning until the last minute. Mrs. Anderson would have done most of it, if her son and daughter-in-law didn’t need help with emergency childcare that week. Max had been home a couple evenings, but Piper didn’t want to ask him for help. Not only was he busy with his coaching, but he had hired Piper and Mrs. Anderson to do all the work. It wouldn’t be right to ask him to do what he was paying them to do.

  “Do you mind if I run to the store now?” Mrs. Anderson asked. “I’d like to go before five when it becomes busy with weekend shoppers.”

  “Go ahead.” Piper pushed aside a tendril of hair that had fallen over her forehead. “The beds aren’t going anywhere.”

  Mrs. Anderson grinned, but Piper could see the fatigue around her eyes. “I’ll be as quick as I can.”

  Piper nodded and picked up her cleaning supplies to go to the next bathroom. Her phone buzzed in her back pocket, so she set down the bucket and pulled her phone out. It was Max.

  “Hello,” she said. Max had never called her phone before and her pulse picked up a steady tempo now. Was something wrong?

  “Hi, Piper.” He sounded a little breathless, like he was walking. “I’m in a bind and I was wondering if you and Mrs. Anderson could help me out.”

  “Sure.” Piper stood and stretched her lower back. “What can we do?”

  “We have our first home game tomorrow night and after what happened with Tad, the team could really use a morale boost. I know this is last-minute, but I was wondering if you and Mrs. Anderson could whip up a quick batch of spaghetti for the team. It doesn’t have to be fancy. They can eat off paper plates.”

  Piper stared at the unmade bed in the beautiful Diamond Room, her back suddenly hurting more than before. “Whip up a quick batch of spaghetti?”

  “Yeah. There are about ten coaches and forty players—minus my brother who’s been suspended from the team for two weeks.” His voice was heavy and Piper knew how much it hurt him to have Tad miss their first home game of the year. “Some of the players have a pretty big appetite, so I’d double the batch, just to make sure. If Mrs. Anderson could make some cookies, too, that would be great. You’d really be helping me out.”

  Piper sank into a chair near the fireplace in the bedroom. She hadn’t mentioned the important weekend coming up to Max, and she doubted he even remembered the big craft fair. No doubt he had no idea how busy she and Mrs. Anderson were.

  “I know I’m asking a lot,” Max said to Piper. “And I’d owe you big-time. I already extended the invitation to the team. They’re showering and will be there in about an hour.” He hesitated. “If that’s not enough time for you, I can keep them busy tossing a few footballs around in the yard while I come in and help get supper on the table. Or, I can just order some pizzas and pick them up on the way.”

  It was Max’s house and she and Mrs. Anderson were his employees. He wasn’t out of line asking her for a favor.

  “That many pizzas would be too expensive.” She stood, needing to catch up to Mrs. Anderson before she left for the grocery store. “I’ll run up and grab everything we need for spaghetti. I can’t promise it’ll be ready in an hour, but we’ll do our best.”

  “Thanks, Piper. I’ll reimburse you for all the costs, so don’t worry about that. I appreciate it more than you’ll ever know.”

  Piper pressed the red button and took a deep breath, overwhelmed with all the work she needed to do. She could have told Max to just order pizzas, but what was better than a home-cooked spaghetti dinner the night before a game? Max’s mom used to host them all the time when Max was in high school. It was one of Max and Nick’s favorite nights of the week, gathering together with all their friends. No doubt Max wanted to create the same atmosphere for his team. Besides, if Mrs. Anderson knew that she had told Max to order take-out pizzas, she’d probably hyperventilate. If food was a love language, it would be at the top of Mrs. Anderson’s list.

&n
bsp; There was no time to lose. Piper rushed down the hallway and then used the back stairs to enter the private living area. “Mrs. Anderson!” she called as she rushed in.

  Mrs. Anderson stepped out of her bedroom, concern in her eyes. “What’s the matter?”

  Piper quickly explained Max’s phone call, and just like Piper guessed, Mrs. Anderson was on board to make the meal.

  “It’s not ideal timing,” she conceded, looking around the kitchen with a calculating gaze. “But I think we can do it. I have everything I need to make cookies, we just need the ingredients for spaghetti.”

  “I’ll run to the store and purchase what we need.” Piper grabbed her purse off a side table. “We’ll need to feed over fifty people.”

  “Oh, dear,” Mrs. Anderson said. “That’s a lot—but I’ve fed more.” She pulled an apron from the hook near the pantry door. “I’m always up for a challenge.”

  They had so many things on their to-do list, they’d be up into the wee hours of the night, but Piper shoved it all to the back of her mind and dashed out the door.

  In a half hour, she was back at the bed-and-breakfast with four gallons of milk, ten pounds of ground beef, a hundred ounces of spaghetti noodles and a dozen jars of premade sauce. Mrs. Anderson would balk at the idea of using store-bought marinara, but there wasn’t enough time to make it from scratch.

  “I just put the second batch of cookies in the oven,” Mrs. Anderson said, perspiration on her brow. “And the big stockpot is full of water, heating on the stove.”

  Piper’s stress level was as high as it had been in a long time. Her pulse thumped in her wrists and she was breathless as she set the first few bags of groceries on the counter. “I felt like I was on the Supermarket Sweep show. I’ve never run through the grocery store like that before. There was more than one curious shopper watching me.”

  “All’s well that ends well,” Mrs. Anderson said, hardly paying attention to Piper as she started to unload the grocery bags.

  “Then let’s make sure this ends well.” Piper smiled. “I’ll go get the rest of the groceries.”

  Right on time, half an hour later, the cars started to pull up to the street in front of the bed-and-breakfast. The high schoolers got out of their vehicles, and without being invited, started to toss several footballs around in the large side yard.

  The back door opened and Max stepped into the room. “I hope I didn’t ask too much,” he said when he saw them scurrying about in the kitchen.

  Piper hadn’t had enough time to freshen up her appearance before Max came home. Her hair was a mess, she was wearing her paint-stained overalls, and her face and back were moist with perspiration. But, at the moment, the only thing she cared about was getting the football team fed.

  “Wow.” Max came into the kitchen and stared at the mound of cookies on a platter, the stockpot full of cooked pasta and the marinara bubbling on the stove. “I had no idea you’d be ready by the time I got here.”

  He smiled at them, but when he noticed their harried expressions, his smile faded.

  “It wasn’t easy,” Mrs. Anderson said, wiping her hands on a dishcloth. “But we got it done.”

  “If there’s anything I can do to help,” Max said, “please let me know.”

  Piper tucked a stray piece of hair into her messy bun. “I think we’ve got it all covered. As soon as everyone is here, we can start to feed them.”

  “You two deserve the rest of the night off.” Max set down his duffel bag. “I’ll have the team clean up the kitchen for you.”

  “I wish we could take off the rest of the night,” Mrs. Anderson said. “But the house is fully occupied this weekend and several people asked for early check-in tomorrow morning.”

  “Tomorrow morning?” Max looked from Piper back to Mrs. Anderson.

  “The arts and crafts fair is this weekend,” Piper reminded him. “It’ll be the busiest weekend of our year.”

  Max closed his eyes and tilted his head back. “I completely forgot. I’m sorry, ladies.”

  Piper began to knead her lower back, which ached from being on her feet all day. She grinned at Mrs. Anderson. “All’s well that ends well, right Mrs. Anderson?”

  “After the guys eat,” Max said, “I’m putting them to work for you. They can vacuum the rugs, make the beds, fold the towels—you name it, they’ll do it.”

  Piper shook her head. “That’s not necessary—”

  “I insist.” Max rolled up his sleeves. “You two need to put your feet up. I’ll make sure the guys get fed and then when you’re rested a little, you can give us orders.”

  Piper wouldn’t hear it. “Max, it’s really not—”

  Max took her by the hand and drew her out of the kitchen. When she was in front of him, he put his hands on her shoulders and directed her to the sofa. “I won’t take no for an answer. I’ll make you a plate of food and you can sit here and enjoy it while the rest of the team eats.”

  Piper sat on the sofa and watched as Max brought Mrs. Anderson into the sitting area.

  “I’m serious,” he said. “You two do more than your fair share. We’ve got this.”

  Mrs. Anderson sat on the wingback chair next to the sofa and sighed. “I could use a little breather.”

  Max winked at Piper as he walked to the side door and called out to his team. “Everyone come inside, but take your shoes off at the door. After we eat, we’ve got some work to do.”

  Not a single player protested as they filed into the house, grinning at Piper and Mrs. Anderson, several of them thanking the ladies for making them supper.

  Piper was never so happy to see forty teenagers in her life. She just wondered if she had enough to keep them busy.

  Chapter Six

  “Thanks for all your help,” Max called out to the last group of teenagers getting into a car. “See you tomorrow at the game.”

  Darkness had fallen and Third Street was full of the glow of lights from the houses all around the bed-and-breakfast. For a second, Max just stood and soaked up the simplicity of his hometown. There had been a time in his life when the quiet streets and lack of nightlife had bored him. But now, after seeing all the “excitement” the world had to offer, he could finally appreciate the quiet stability of Timber Falls.

  Stepping back into the foyer, he closed and locked the front door. The lights were still on in the dining room and he could hear the faint tinkling sounds of silverware.

  Max flipped off the foyer lights and walked into the dining room.

  Piper was at the built-in hutch, polishing the silverware before putting it in one of the drawers. She glanced up when Max entered. “Your team did such a great job getting all my chores done, I had to make myself look busy, so I decided to polish the silverware.” She tried to hide a sheepish smile. “I never polish the silverware.”

  Max laughed and went to her side to pick up a rag to help her finish. “Did they do an okay job?”

  “Better than okay. There was so much help, we got things done I had only dreamed of accomplishing, like washing windows, wiping down floorboards and flipping the mattresses.” Piper leaned against the hutch. “All I had to do was walk around and supervise.”

  “They were happy to help,” he said. “I had to force them to go home.”

  Max had been helping with the outside work. The lawn was mowed, the flower beds were weeded and the gutters were cleaned. He had caught sight of Piper only once or twice all evening, but she was always bringing a smile to someone’s face when he saw her. The team loved her—everyone loved her. She was still the town sweetheart.

  “I’ll happily feed your team a spaghetti dinner any night of the week if it means I can get that kind of help.” She put her piece of silverware back into the drawer.

  “Thanks, again, for putting the meal together so quickly. I wouldn’t have suggested it if I had known you and Mr
s. Anderson were so busy.”

  She waved aside his comment with her rag. “I was happy to do it.”

  Max wiped down a spoon and held it up to see his reflection. “I actually have another favor to ask.”

  Piper grabbed a fork and raised her eyebrows. “I’m almost afraid to ask what it is. Do you need me to feed all the fans at the game tomorrow night?”

  “No.” He grinned and put the spoon in the drawer and then picked up another one. “I was approached by Mrs. Tanner today after practice.”

  “Mrs. Tanner?” Piper stopped polishing her fork. “Is she still teaching home economics?”

  “Apparently.” Max shrugged, still amazed to see their old teacher with so much energy. Mrs. Tanner had been old when they had been in school. Now, she seemed ancient. “But she corrected me when I called it home ec. Now it’s called home and consumer sciences class.”

  “Fancy,” Piper said with a dimpled smile. “What did she want?”

  “She’s still in charge of the homecoming committee and made a special request—for the both of us.”

  Piper slowly began to polish the fork again. “What kind of special request?”

  “It seems the homecoming king and queen from last year are unable to attend the coronation this year to crown the new king and queen.” Max watched Piper’s reaction closely. “Mrs. Tanner needs alumni from a former year to stand in their place and she remembered that we were homecoming royalty. She asked if we’d be willing to crown the new king and queen and then stay at the dance afterward to help chaperone.”

  Piper set down the fork and didn’t pick up another. She also didn’t meet Max’s gaze. “I don’t know. It’s on a Friday night, isn’t it? I’ll have my hands full with our guests.”