A Wedding in Apple Grove (23 page)

Pat explained, “A red card means you cannot substitute; you play one man down.”

“But that would give the other team an advantage,” Meg said. “That doesn't sound fair.”

“Receiving a yellow or red card means that the player did something that wasn't fair or legal in the first place.”

“OK,” Meg said. “So number twenty-two will have to be careful not to take anybody else out then.”

Mike grinned. “Pretty and smart. Great combination, Pat. Thanks for bringing me.”

Meg shook her head and turned back to watch the game, only to see that Dan was frowning in her direction and that the play had moved past her, to the other end of the field again, when the defender cleared the ball. She looked behind her to see if he was looking at someone else. When she looked back, he had turned to follow the play and was shouting encouragement to Apple Grove's offense.

“Maybe I imagined it.”

“Imagined what?” Pat asked.

She looked up at him and smiled. “Nothing.” Pat didn't look as if he believed her, but that wasn't her problem.
Dan
Eagan
is.
He was tying her up in knots.

The game ended in a draw. Both teams had played all out, so Meg knew that the team bus ride back to Apple Grove would be a boisterous one. She missed those days. It had been years since she'd played on the field hockey team. With a glance in Honey's direction, she could tell her friend was having similar thoughts. But they weren't kids any longer.

“Hey, Mike,” Pat called out. “Wait up. I want to congratulate the coach.”

Before she could refuse, Honey B. had her by the hand and was following along behind Pat, who was headed toward the two men standing in the middle of the field. The coaches were talking and smiling. Pat called the other coach by name and the man turned and called out, “Garahan! Glad you could make it today.”

“Pat?”

“Hey, Dan. Good game.”

Dan's gaze tracked past Pat and got stuck on Meg—had she come here to watch the game with the guy? “Er… thanks, Pat.”

“Were you on your way home from the firehouse?” the other coach asked.

Pat shook his head. “Mike and I are off tonight and having dinner with two fine-looking women.”

The other coach smiled, but Dan didn't want to hear him agreeing. He knew that Meg was beautiful. Honey was pretty, but she wasn't his concern right now; Meg was. “Could I talk to you for a minute, Meg?”

She looked like she was about to refuse, but Honey B. prodded her toward him. He'd have to thank the woman later. “Did you change your mind?” he bit out.

She shook her head. “Of course not.”

“Then why are you dressed to kill and going out to eat with Pat and his friend?”

“I made a promise to Honey B. to watch her back when she began the online dating. I can't back out now.”

He scrubbed his hands over his face.

She looked up at him and crossed her arms beneath her breasts. Did she do that on purpose to torment him?
Damn
it!

“Hey, Dan,” Pat called out. “My friend Mike here and a few of the guys are going to drive over to Apple Grove next week. Did you get a group of guys to play us yet?”

The tension left Dan by degrees—and with it, his jealousy. “Yeah,” he said, looking from Meg to where the others were still standing. “How's Thursday sound?”

Pat and Mike were smiling at him. “Be ready to lose.”

Dan didn't think it was possible, but he laughed. Shaking his head, he looked at Meg. “Can I come over tonight? There's something I want to talk to you about.”

“I've got another full day tomorrow. I'm not planning on staying up late.”

“It won't take long,” he promised. “I've got a couple of things I need to tell you.”

Meg leaned in close and whispered, “Are you going to try to talk your way into my bed tonight, Dan?”

He grinned. “Actions speak louder than words, Meg.”

She smiled at him. “I should be home around ten o'clock.”

“I'll be waiting for you.” He reached out and grabbed a hold of her hand and squeezed it. “Thanks, Meg.”

“Hungry over here,” Pat called out, making Meg laugh.

Dan's guts tied themselves into square knots. He wanted to be the one to make her laugh… and make her sigh. He knew how to do the latter; now he had to learn how to do the former.

The next few hours were the longest of his life—not counting the night he'd spent waiting for his ex to show up, but he tried not to relive that night too often. He'd have to bring it up when he and Meg sat down. A look at his kitchen clock told him he still had some time, but he was restless and needed to do something or he'd lose his mind. Grabbing his keys, he headed for the back door and was in his car heading to town before he could decide whether or not it was a good idea.

“I'll look like a dork waiting outside her apartment for an hour.” He had time to kill and no one to spend it with. Needing to do something with his hands, he decided to stop at the diner for a cup of coffee. Now might be as good a time as any to talk to the McCormack sisters about their piecrust.

He opened the door to the diner and smiled. The two ladies in question were behind the counter serving up coffee and pie.

“Well, well, if it isn't the coach,” Peggy drawled. “Heard Apple Grove played a good game today. Congratulations.”

“Thanks, Peggy. The guys played well.”

“What'll it be?” Katie asked, bringing a full pot of what had to be fresh coffee over to where he sat at the counter.

“I'm back for another slice of your pecan pie.” When Katie and Peggy smiled, he did too.

“Whipped cream or ice cream?”

Now that was a choice he hadn't considered. “I'll have it plain this time.”

Peggy grinned. “Planning on coming back for more, now that's a plan I can get behind.”

He added milk and sugar to his coffee, blew across the top of it, and sipped. “Good coffee.”

“So we've heard,” Katie said, serving up his pie. The sisters stood there waiting while Dan slid his fork into the pie and scooped up a bite. The decadent flavor hit his tongue all at once, so that his taste buds were momentarily stunned.

The pie was the perfect consistency—not runny—and the pecans were in perfect halves—not chopped. Add in the flaky piecrust and he was in heaven. He savored, chewed, swallowed, and immediately took another bite.

“Get his picture, Katie,” Peggy said. “I want to post it on the Internet. It'll be great for business.”

Dan swallowed his second mouthful and drank some coffee. “Ladies, that is one amazing pie. I like to cook,” he told them. “My grandmother taught me a few things about baking that my mom didn't know. One of them is her super-secret piecrust recipe.”

Katie had taken two pictures of him and was busy posting them to the Internet, so Peggy asked, “How does it stand up to ours?”

He shook his head. “Yours is good, but I think my grandmother's recipe is better. From the first bite though, I can tell you it was delicious.”

“Why don't we put your pie to the test?” Peggy suggested.

Dan shrugged. “I'm game.”

“We always bake the pies for the turkey supper the church puts on every November. Why don't you donate a couple and we'll have a taste testing? I think that would add a nice touch to the supper this year. Rally the town around the local favorites—my sister and me—and the new hometown hero—you.”

He smiled and felt his competitive self pumping his fist in the air. “I'd love to. I'll wager my mom's apple pie, my grandmother's buttered pecan pie, and her sweet potato praline.”

Peggy held out her hand. “Deal.”

Katie smiled and put her hand on top of their joined ones.

No one noticed the group of teenagers standing in the doorway or the fact that their phones were recording the moment for posterity—that and the front page of the
Apple
Grove
Gazette
.

“Hey, Miss Peggy,” one of the girls sang out as she walked inside with her friends.

“Hello, ladies,” she answered. “The usual?”

They smiled and nodded. “We'll take it to go, though.”

Dan noticed the look of surprise on Peggy's face but got distracted when Katie asked him if he wanted more coffee. He declined.

Fifteen minutes later, he was back in his car and sitting in the driveway waiting for Meg.

The knock on the window startled him; he must have dozed off waiting. He rubbed his eyes and rolled down the window. “Hey.”

She smiled. “Hey, yourself. Have you been waiting long?”

“What time is it?”

She shrugged. “I'm not sure; I need a battery for my watch.”

He looked at his and frowned. “It's a quarter to eleven.” No wonder he'd fallen asleep waiting. “I've been here over an hour.”

“Oh… sorry. We got talking and lost track of time. Honey B. and I were talking about it and we think we should introduce Pat and his friend Mike to Caitlin and Grace. What do you think?”

He nodded. “Sounds promising.”

He paused and she asked, “Do you still want to talk to me, or would you rather wait until tomorrow?”

He was so tired his eyes were having trouble focusing. “I'd like to get it over with.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized that wasn't the best way to put it, but he was tired, damn it.

“Sounds ominous.”

When he didn't respond, she motioned for him to follow her. He got out and stretched before heading up the stairs. She already had the coffee brewing by the time he reached the top step.

“Isn't it too late for coffee?”

She grinned. “It's decaf and I needed something warm to drink.”

Meg stood on her tiptoes to reach down two mugs. Dan couldn't help but appreciate the subtle curves of her body. He wanted to get his hands on her but knew they had things to sort through first. He had to look away because the temptation was too much.

She filled the cups with the steaming brew and asked, “Milk and two sugars, right?” When he didn't answer right away, she looked over her shoulder. “Are you OK?”

He ran his hands through his hair to hide that fact that they were shaking. “Yeah, just tired I guess. Milk and two sugars is great. Thanks.”

She turned around and he couldn't help but get sidetracked by her soft blue eyes.

He'd lost his mind; it wasn't such a short trip after all. “Meg, I'm really tired and can't stay long. Do you mind if I just say it outright?”

She sipped from her mug and nodded.

“I was engaged to be married a couple of years ago.” When she didn't do more than raise one eyebrow, he continued, “I guess it was fortunate that I found out she was cheating on me… the unfortunate part was that it was with my best friend.”

Meg set her cup down and reached for his hand. Grasping it in her much smaller one, she said, “Dan… I'm so sorry.”

“Well, that's part of what has my head in a spin, Meg. I want you so bad it hurts, but I'm not sure I'm ready to get involved again—it's too soon for me. Besides, my grandfather is only just now starting to talk to me.”

“I see. Was he very fond of your ex-fiancée?”

“What? Uh… no. It was the Mickey Mantle rookie card.”

“My dad mentioned something about a baseball card the other day, but what does a baseball card have to do with your ex?”

He sighed and pulled out a chair for her to sit on and then his own. “I have to sit down for this.” When they were seated across from one another he set his cup down and wiped his palms on his thighs. He knew it was a nervous reaction—hell, he could feel the tension ramping up inside him. He had to just spit it out before he lost his nerve.

“I couldn't afford the ring my ex wanted, so I pawned the Mickey Mantle rookie card my great-grandfather had given to me before he died with the understanding that I'd be making payments to the pawnbroker until I could pay to get the card back.”

“What does that have to do with your grandfather?”

“I'm getting to that.” He drew in a deep breath. “My grandfather wanted that card, but he'd argued with his dad and to spite him, my great-grandfather gave the card to me—not to my father or my grandfather, but to me.”

“I guess that caused a bit of a problem at the time.”

He sighed. “Yeah, but not as big a problem as when I went back to make the last payment on the card and found out the pawnshop had sold it for more than I'd pawned it for!”

“Oh my God! What did you do?”

“I saw my life flashing before my eyes and knew I was a dead man.”

Meg scooted to the edge of her seat. “Don't keep me in suspense. What happened?”

“Because the guy stiffed me, he told me the name of the person who'd purchased my card. I figured I'd go after the guy and try to make a deal to buy the card back.” His shoulders slumped forward as the memory of that day swamped him. “It was my ex–best friend—”

“The one who stole your fiancée?”

He swallowed against the lump of emotion clogging his throat. “Yep.”

“Did he let you buy it back with the money you got for her ring?”

He snorted. “Hard to do when she flushed the damned ring down the toilet.”

Meg's mouth opened and then closed. “She flushed the ring instead of giving it back?”

He sighed. “She figured she should keep the ring. I told her she figured wrong. I guess she showed me.”

“I guess you never really know someone until their back is to the wall.” She got up and walked over to him and cupped her hands on either side of his face. “The real losers are your ex and your ex-friend.” She brushed her lips across his.

He felt the electric charge all the way to his toes. “I'm hoping he'll see reason if I keep badgering him to buy the card back.”