Catch of a Lifetime: A Cricket Creek Novel (8 page)

“Well, hell.” She had thought of nothing other than her troubles for the past six hours, but she inhaled a deep breath and squared her shoulders. Lively dance music spilled out into the parking lot, and the neon Budweiser sign seemed to be winking at her in silent invitation. Plus, she dearly wanted to see Madison and meet this Jason Craig cowboy, or whatever he was, that she was engaged to. And, oh, how she missed strong and steady Jessica, who was like a mom and friend rolled into one sweet package. While Bella loved her mother, Nicolina Diamante tended to get emotional when Bella needed someone to just simply understand. Jessica Robinson was an amazingly levelheaded listener.

Although they hadn’t talked much in the past few months, Facebook had allowed Bella to keep in touch with Madison, and she had followed the progress of Wine and Diner and the construction of the baseball complex. In truth, she would never in a million years have thought her friends would have ended up back in this small town to stay, but she had learned a hard lesson lately that life could take some unexpected twists and turns. She sighed again and stiffened her spine. Yes, she was going to have to buck up and head on into the party. And Madison had mentioned that the owner made a kick-ass martini, something she could really use right about now. But when she looked up at the rustic exterior, she had some serious doubts, and glanced longingly back at her car.

“Arabella Diamante? Are you coming in or not?” inquired a deep voice that Bella thought she recognized.
Wait! Ty McKenna?
She watched the tall figure come from the shadows of the building and walk toward her, and had to smile. Sure enough . . .

“Well, hello, Mr. Triple Threat. I thought that was you.” Even in her heels, she had to tilt her head back to gaze up at him. “Madison told me that you’re the new manager of the Cricket Creek Cowboys.”

“Cougars.”

“Right, Cougars. How’s life in a small town been treating you?” She gave her hair a flip and tried to muster up some sass.

He shrugged those spectacular shoulders of his. “Not too shabby.”

“So are you here for Jessica’s party?”

“I crashed it.”

“Wait.” Bella raised her palms in the air. “You weren’t on the A-list? Here?” She sliced one hand through the air. “What’s up with that?”

Ty leaned back against a fat tree trunk and crossed his arms over his chest. “The birthday girl isn’t exactly fond of me.”

“What? Everybody likes you. Um, especially women.” It was true. Ty McKenna had an easygoing, fun-loving personality. Like most pro ballplayers, he had a bit of an ego, but never seemed to take himself too seriously. And although Bella had seen him in Chicago Blue with lots of different arm candy, she had always thought he was selling himself short with shallow women instead of someone worthy of his time. Someone like Jessica Robinson . . . And then it hit her. “Ohmigod, you’re into Jess!”

“Guilty,” he admitted with a scowl.

“Hmmm.”
Bella gave him a slow smile. “Jess always did get a little flustered when she knew you were eating at Chicago Blue.”

Ty snorted. “I think you’re mistaking flustered for pissed,” he commented, but seemed to be a little pleased at the notion.

Bella tapped her index finger against her cheek. “Maybe it’s kismet that you both ended up here.”

“Right. So, then, why is she in there dancing with a young-as-shit ballplayer? He’s been panting after her all night.”

“So what are you doing about the situation?” Bella tilted her head sideways and looked at him in challenge.

“Look, I already tried talking some sense into her, and she got pissed.” He glanced toward the tavern and sighed.

“Wait.” Bella frowned, and then her eyes widened. “You did
what
?”

“Let her know that the cocky kid was trying to score with an older, beautiful woman.”

“Older?” Bella added a wince to her frown. “No, you did not.”

“’Fraid so.” He sighed and then raked his fingers through his hair. “Hey, but I did call her beautiful. That should count for something. And I was genuinely concerned for her welfare.”

“You were jealous.”

“That too,” he admitted with a certain sense of wonder in his voice.

“Oh, wait. There’s more, isn’t there?”

Ty raked his hand down his face and then winced. “I kinda said that I would kick Lannigan’s ass if he got out of line.”

“What are you—twelve?”

“Hey, she said my badass attitude was hot,” he announced with some swagger.

“And you thought she was serious?”

“Oh . . . well, yeah. I mean, I guess,” he said with more than a little confusion. Had she been poking fun? “Hell, I don’t know.”

“Ah, a first for the mighty Ty McKenna. Well, stop your girly pouting.”

“I’m not pouting. I don’t pout.”

Bella rolled her eyes. “Okay. Glowering? Call it what you want, but I have some good news for you.”

“Really?” He appeared so hopeful that Bella knew he really was interested in Jessica.

“Yep. There’s more than one way to skin a cat.”

“What are you getting at?”

“Come on, Triple Threat.” Bella crooked her French-tipped fingernail at him. “Let’s make Jessica jealous.”

Ty pushed away from the tree trunk. “Do you think it will work?”

“There’s only one way to find out.” She hefted her Coach purse over her shoulder and then slipped her arm through his.

“So, are you just here for the party?” Ty asked as they headed for the front door.

Her smile faded. “Why do you ask?” Had everyone heard about her now-notorious food fight?

“Well, Jessica is looking for an experienced hostess at Wine and Diner. I thought she might be trying to snag you away from Chicago Blue.”

Oh, thank God he didn’t know she had been fired during a fury of flying desserts. “Come on, Ty.” Bella looked up at him and shook her head. “Do you seriously think I could survive in this small town? I’d go stir-crazy. I honestly don’t know how you’re doing it.”

Ty shrugged. “It’s growing on me. Life does move at a slower pace here, but I’ve found that’s not such a bad thing.”

“Really?” Bella looped Jessica’s decorative gift bag over her wrist and pointed to the front door. “This little honky-tonk is your night life?”

“Hey, at one time, Cricket Creek was actually a pretty lively tourist town, with thriving shops and bed-and-breakfasts. I’m told that the marina was always packed with boaters. The community theater is top-notch too, but in this sluggish economy, everything has suffered.”

“And you hope the baseball complex will bring the town
back to life? Isn’t that taking a pretty big chance, all things considered?”

He gave her a crooked grin, and Bella wondered how Jessica could resist his charm. “Isn’t that what life is all about? Taking chances?”

“No!” Bella pulled up short at the front door. “I told you I’m all about sure things, and I’m not at all sure about going in this bar. Ty, would you look at me? I’m way overdressed. I’m going to stick out like a sore thumb.”

“Oh, you’re going to stick out, but not like a sore thumb. You’re as pretty as ever, and those young ballplayers are going to be falling all over themselves to get a glance.”

His statement made her throat constrict.
Apparently, not pretty enough.
She swallowed hard and remained silent.

“Bella, look. You’ll make an entrance.”

“That’s my mother’s gig, not mine.”

Ty laughed. “Speaking of, how is Nicolina? I used to love it when she would hang out at the bar at Chicago Blue. She’s quite a character.”

“Driving me crazy, as usual.”

“Okay, enough stalling. Let’s go on in there. It will be fun. Trust me.”

Bella arched a carefully plucked eyebrow at him. “Oh, like you haven’t promised that before.” When he laughed again, Bella’s spirits lifted a little. It would be good to see her old friends and forget her woes for a while. “Let’s do this.”

“Don’t forget, we’re making Jessica jealous,” he reminded her, but then tilted his head in question. “Hey, wait. Don’t you have a boyfriend? A chef or something? Jessica would never buy into you cheating.”

Bella snorted.

“Oh . . .” He gave her a look of sympathy.

“Don’t even ask.”

“Take the hostess job at Wine and Diner. You know that Jessica would be thrilled to have you.”

“Ty, I can’t live here.”

“At least give it some thought. The change of atmosphere might do you some good, and you can always move back.”

“I’ll think about it.” Her heart thudded. Maybe he was right. A change might do her a world of good. “I’ll go over there tomorrow and check it out.”

“Fair enough. Right now you need to come on in here with me, grab a drink, and kick up those ridiculous heels of yours,” he said, but when he put his hand on the door, she held back.

“Wait. Jessica is my friend, and it’s her party. I don’t want her to get pissed at me for fawning all over you.” She shook her head. “Maybe making her jealous wasn’t such a good plan after all. It seems I’m the queen of bad plans. Do yourself a favor and don’t listen to any more of my rotten ideas.”

Ty chuckled. “I thought you were all about sure things.”

“Yeah, but not sure-to-go-wrong things.”

“Well, at least look at me adoringly with those big brown eyes of yours, okay?”

“Oh, all right,” she relented with a slight nod. “No harm in that, I suppose.”

“Are you finally ready to go in there?”

Bella squared her shoulders. For some strange reason, she had a gut feeling that going through that door was somehow going to alter the course of her life. Crazy, she knew, and it was probably only due to her emotional state of mind, yet she couldn’t shake the feeling.

“Bella?” Ty raised his eyebrows.

“I’m ready. Let’s do this,” she finally answered.

He gave her a reassuring smile. “Here we go.”

When Ty pushed the door open, Bella braced herself for the stench of stale beer and cigarettes, but she was surprised by a pleasant, smoke-free atmosphere that smelled like fried food, bourbon, and beer and actually made her
hungry. Although the interior was rustic, with wide-plank hardwood floors and sturdy-looking oak tables and chairs, the red-checkered tablecloths added a splash of color and the retro beer signs blinked with fun charm. Sully’s had an if-walls-could-talk kind of feeling and Bella felt a little of the nervous flutter in her stomach subside. Balloons and streamers created a festive, welcoming air.

Ty leaned over and said, “Not exactly Chicago Blue, is it?”

“Nope.” Bella shook her head. “But it is kind of cool.” Instead of the delicate sound of clinking glasses, the soft tinkle of a baby-grand piano, and muted conversation, Sully’s rocked with solid thumps, rowdy music, and lively laughter. A moment later, Bella spotted Madison on the crowded dance floor in a circle of women doing John Travolta moves to the Bee Gees’ disco classic “Stayin’ Alive.” Then she saw Jessica dancing with a gorgeous, tanned-and-toned guy who looked like he just stepped off a California beach. Bella felt an unexpected strong pull of attraction before she remembered that she hated men forever and always, and looked away. She felt Ty’s biceps tense beneath her hold, and glanced up at him. A muscle jumped in his stubble-covered jaw, and she had to chuckle.

“What’s so damned funny?”

“Seeing the mighty Ty McKenna fall so hard.”

He shifted his gaze from Jessica. “Noah wished that same damned karma on me. Don’t you know that mean people suck?”

“Yeah, they do,” she said, and felt her smile melt into a frown.

“Oh, damn it, Bella. I’m sorry. I’m so wrapped up in myself that I forgot that you’re going through some shit.”

She gave him a slight grin. “That’s okay. Focusing on your shit is distracting me from my sorry-ass, so-called life.”

“You’re welcome.”

Bella laughed and if felt good. “But seriously, I think it’s
great that you’re into Jessica. She’s an amazing woman,” Bella added, and nodded toward the dance floor.

“A lot of good it’s doing me.” He shrugged. “If that’s what she wants, let her have it,” he growled as Surfer Baseball Boy twirled Jessica around and then dipped her.

“Really?” Bella gave Ty a jab to the ribs and nodded at his hand. “So, tell me how you got that World Series ring with that kind of defeatist attitude. I still have plenty of hero worship for you. Don’t let me down.”

“Then look at me with that hero worship and make her perky little ass jealous. And speaking of ass, if Lannigan puts his hands on Jessica’s booty, there will be hell to pay.”

“Oh, a bar fight. That would impress Jess.”

Ty inhaled a deep breath. “Do me a favor and keep me under control, okay?”

“I’ll try,” Bella said, and then squeezed his biceps. “Oh, come on. Enough of the wallflower nonsense. Time for my big entrance,” she announced with more moxie than she truly felt. Funny how getting dumped messed with a girl’s confidence.

“You got it,” Ty answered, and they walked farther into the room.

A moment later, Madison spotted Bella. She let out a squeal before grabbing her mother’s hand and hurrying over. Bella breathed a sigh of relief when Hannigan . . . Lannigan, or whatever his name was, headed to the bar instead of coming with Jessica. She couldn’t help but notice that he had a very cute butt.

“Look who I found wandering around in the parking lot,” Ty announced with a grin.

“You made it!” Madison gushed, and gave her a huge hug. “I am so glad you came!”

“Me too!” Jessica said, and made it a group hug. “Madison said she had another surprise for me. Sweetie, it’s so good to see you!”

“Hey, what about me?” Ty complained from outside the hug fest.

Bella pulled back and then laughed. “Well, get on over here,” she said, and made room so that Ty was on Jessica’s side of the group hug.

“I thought you’d never ask,” Ty said, and then put his arm around Jessica and squeezed.

“
We
didn’t,” Jessica said, but Bella noticed color in her cheeks that didn’t match her grumble. She gave Ty’s chest a shove and then stepped away. “Bella, it’s so great to see your lovely face! I’m so thrilled that you made the trip.”

“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” Just seeing these two lifted her spirits. “I got lost a few times, or I would have been here sooner. I have a GPS, but Mom kept calling me and I made a wrong turn or two. I swear the chick in that little box actually got pissed at me. She kept saying ‘recalculating’ in a snippy tone.”