Full Coverage: Boys of Fall (12 page)

“I dated her too,” Carter said.

Randi rolled her eyes again. Barely. She and Carter had had three dates and she wasn’t sure one really counted, since all they’d done was talk about the upcoming football game against their rivals, Riverbend.

Nolan’s thumb kept moving, slow and steady, and she breathed in and out. Her past boyfriends didn’t matter. Jackson and Carter certainly didn’t. They hadn’t been boyfriends. They’d been guys she’d had a meal or two with.

“Because Coach asked her to go over the game film with you,” Jackson said.

“He asked her to go over game film with a lot of people,” Carter pointed out.

That was all true. When there was something Coach really wanted the guys to take note of, he often had Randi talk them through it. He said they tuned him out. Randi had since suspected that it had actually been because Coach knew how much she loved going over film and that it had made her feel important. Coach hadn’t only been influential with the guys on the team. Anyone who crossed paths with him felt better about themselves, and when he noticed someone needed something, he provided it. Subtly. Often without that person even knowing it. But Randi had always suspected he had her number, and he specifically found ways of making her a part of the team as much as he could.

“She never went over film with me,” Jackson said, sounding smug.

Again, Randi couldn’t protest. Jackson had been a natural. He’d been a running back and his ability to read a defense was amazing. It wasn’t something that could be taught. She’d loved watching him play. She knew that was why she’d said yes when he asked her out. But they’d fizzled out quickly. Probably because her main attraction to him was how he could pluck an impossible catch out of the air and take it in for six. But their two months of dating had been fun.

“Did she help you with some of your moves, though?” Carter asked.

“We talkin’ football?” Jackson asked.

“Nope.”

“Then yeah, a few.”

Randi sighed. She could
hear
Jackson’s huge grin. She also felt Nolan’s hold tighten around her lower leg. She and Jackson had never slept together. But yeah, okay, they might have made out a little. Jackson was a really good-looking guy. Who played football and liked to talk to her about it. That meant he met all of her criteria—goodlooking, played football, talked football. But they’d never been serious and she was going to be sure Nolan knew that. As soon as she could speak out loud without getting arrested.

“We didn’t just sit around talking football either,” Carter said.

Had their voices gotten louder? Randi frowned slightly.

“Well, of course not. I mean, Randi’s the best to talk game with but she’s way too gorgeous to
only
talk football,” Jackson said.

Yes, their voices were definitely louder. As if they’d moved closer to the door. Crap, were they coming in here?

“And any guy who wants to sit around for hours and just talk to her is crazy,” Carter said.

“Well, Nolan’s faking most of that,” Jackson said.

Randi sat up a little straighter. Nolan’s hand tightened around her ankle briefly.

“No kidding,” Carter said.

If Randi didn’t know better, she’d think they were standing on either side of the door, leaning against the wall as they talked. She frowned. What was going on?

“Nolan knows a lot about football,” Jackson said. “I think he’s faking the whole thing about needing help with the details so he can hang out with Randi.”

“Makes sense,” Carter said. “He’s a smart guy and it’s just football. It’s not like he couldn’t figure it out himself.”

Randi frowned. It was true. With some study, almost anyone could learn the game. Especially a guy as intelligent as Nolan. But Nolan himself had said that what she’d been giving him was about more than just the technicalities of the game.

“He
is
a smart guy,” Jackson agreed. “But if he’s as
brilliant
as I think he is, he’ll watch the tape of the game our senior year against Peterson with her.”

Randi grimaced. The game against Peterson had been rough. The Rams had come to town wanting to take the top-rated Titans out. No matter what. And the refs had sucked. A few fans had been thrown out of the game by security. And she’d made history. It was the first time anyone could remember that the head cheerleader—or any cheerleader—was one of the people escorted out.

But the refs had
sucked
. Randi didn’t regret a single thing she’d yelled at the guys in stripes. Or at the dickhead group of dads on the other side who didn’t know pass interference from pancakes. She also didn’t really regret that some of the junior varsity guys had needed to step between her and one of those dads who thought he’d come to their side of the field and tell the “little girl” a thing or two about football. Two of the JV players had needed to carry Randi out to the parking lot because she’d been about to go at the guy. And she knew how to throw a punch.

Their high school principal, Mr. Whitacre, her friend Lela’s dad, had agreed with her about the refs. He’d had to give her three days of detention for unsportsmanlike conduct, per school policy, but they’d spent the time in his office rehashing the game and every screwed-up call.

“Randi’s beautiful, but when she gets riled up about football, she’s gorgeous,” Carter agreed.

Randi felt the pleasure of the compliment go through her, right on top of the flush of uneasiness. There were some other stories they could tell. Just as she got riled up over bad officiating and bad play-calling, she could get just as worked up over brilliant plays and victories. Nothing got her blood pumping like a great Hail Mary or a trick play that worked or a well-executed onside kick. Parties after her team won were some of the most fun she ever had. She was funnier and cleverer with post-game adrenaline pumping. She was even a better dancer when her team won.

Jackson gave a small laugh. “I know it. Remember the Super Bowl party at Pitchers last year? She was all riled up over that call in the first half? I swear, half the guys there wanted to—”

Yep, like
that
story.

Randi was off the desk and yanking open the door before Jackson could finish his sentence.

“Okay. Enough,” she interrupted. She’d been riled up about the call, all right. She’d gotten into a huge argument with Kyle Simpson about it and they’d ended up naked together later that night. Football was an aphrodisiac for her. She couldn’t help it.

And she’d been right about Carter and Jackson leaning on the wall beside the door. They both straightened with big grins, not at all shocked to see her. Though they might have been slightly surprised that she was in only her bra.

She narrowed her eyes, realizing what was really going on out here. “You knew we were in there.”

They both laughed. “I saw you break in,” Carter said.

She felt Nolan move in behind her and then her shirt flop over her shoulder.

“Hey, guys,” Nolan said easily.

“
You
knew they knew we were here the whole time?” she asked, shrugging into her shirt and buttoning it up.

“No. I figured it out when they started talking about making out with you in high school,” Nolan said, drily.

“So you were out here, yakking and drinking coffee and screwing around, knowing we were in there in the dark, sweating our asses off?”

“We thought the sweating part was over,” Carter said.

“Not
that
sweating part,” Randi said. “It’s hotter than hell in there.”

“Good reason to get naked,” Carter told her with a shrug.

“ But you saw us break in?” Randi asked him with a frown.

“Give me some credit. I’m a good cop.” He gave her a big grin.

“You mean you were waiting for your root beer float at Dixie’s,” Randi said. Carter loved the root beer floats at the little drive-in across the highway from the high school.

“But I noticed and followed up,” Carter said, still grinning, unaffected by her critique of his detective skills.

“And you didn’t come in and stop us right away?” Randi asked him.

“Bro code,” Carter said, shooting a grin at Nolan. “Had to give Winters some time.”

“And he had to wait for me to get here anyway,” Jackson said.

“Why did
you
need to be here?” Randi asked.

“Because I’m enjoying this immensely.”

She huffed out a breath. “We almost sweated to death in there.”

“Good for you,” Carter said, grinning at Nolan again.

“Not because—never mind,” she said. “Are you going to escort us out?”

“Nah, you can find your way,” Carter said, setting his coffee cup on Jackson’s desk. “Let’s go, Brady.”

“’K.” Jackson pushed away from the wall. “Be sure you turn the lights off.” He ambled toward the door.

“Really? You just came in here to give us a hard time?” Randi asked.

“Yeah,” Carter said with a shrug.

“And because I now know something about you that Annabelle doesn’t know,” Jackson said. “I love that.”

Randi sighed. She was going to get called for a girls’ night soon, where Annabelle, Lela, Lorelei, Paige and the others were going to want to know everything about her and Nolan. Not that she minded. She had listened to many of them talk about their guys and falling in love and the confusing feelings that went with it. And now she knew how hard it was to put all of it into words.

Jackson and Carter headed into the hallway outside of Jackson’s office. “Oh, hey,” Jackson said, turning back. “Don’t leave any condoms or wrappers laying around. These are impressionable kids.”

“And they’ll think they’re yours?” Nolan asked.

Jackson faked looking affronted. “I would never.”

“You would never get caught, maybe,” Nolan said.

Jackson had been a wild child, but he’d been impressively good at getting out of things.

Jackson chuckled. “I meant I would never use that tiny office. Annabelle and I need more room than that. We stick to
my
desk.”

He left the office, pulling the door shut behind him.

Randi turned to look at Nolan. He was shaking his head over Jackson. She couldn’t help her big grin. “I never slept with either Jackson or Carter.”

Nolan nodded. “I know.”

“You do?”

“Are you kidding? If you had, those guy would have been telling everyone.”

Randi gave him a little frown. “What?”

“Randi, every guy in high school wanted you. Taking you out was big bragging rights. Getting you to talk about something other than football was a huge accomplishment. Getting you to stop talking at all long enough to get a kiss was big time. More than that—” He shrugged. “Everyone knew that you were special. They would have been talking.”

She didn’t think that was true at all. But she felt warmed by his assessment. “And no one ever made stories up?”

He shook his head with a smile. “It’s Quinn. Everyone knew everything. They could have tried, but your girlfriends, who knew the truth, would have kicked their asses. And then your girlfriends’ boyfriends would have kicked their asses again. You have a very loyal group of friends and everyone liked you—no one wanted to make stories up. They wanted to make stuff come true.” He reached out and drew her near.

And she went willingly into his arms.

“And don’t think for one second that I don’t realize how amazing it is that I got you to fall for me.”

She tipped her head back to look up at him. “Not amazing. I might have almost failed geometry, but it turns out that I’m pretty smart about the things that really matter. And being with you really matters.”

“
W
hat do you think
? This one or the blue?”

Randi stepped out of the dressing room and executed a three-sixty for Annabelle, Lacey and Lela.

“Oh my God.” Lacey stood from her chair and came forward. “This one.”

Annabelle was nodding. “Definitely this one.”

“I don’t know. Blue is safer,” Lela said.

Randi looked over her shoulder at the mirror. The white dress hit her at mid-thigh. It crossed over one shoulder, leaving the other bare, hugged her breasts and waist and then flared at her hips. It made her tan look amazing and she loved the light, floaty material. She knew that people were sometimes surprised by how girly she could be, but just because she knew CCV valves, didn’t mean she didn’t also know tulle and chiffon.

“The blue is safer?” Randi asked Lela. She liked the blue dress too, but there was something about the off-the-shoulder white that she really loved.

“You won’t make it out of the hotel room on time—or at all—with the white one on,” Lela said with a grin.

Randi laughed. She could live with that. “Well, it’s not
my
agent and editor at this party. Guess Nolan will have to risk it.”

The girls had been talking about the party in New York, and Randi had been asking for opinions of some dresses she’d found online. They’d all finally agreed on one thing—she needed to order a bunch and try them all on to really make a decision. Lela and Annabelle had headed downtown and asked Corinne, who owned the shop where everyone bought their jeans and boots, if she’d be willing to order some things in. Corinne had been excited to do it and today was dress-up day.

“Okay, so all for the white?” Annabelle asked.

All the girls, including Randi, raised their hands.

“Awesome. Now shoes.” Randi was equally excited about the heels Corinne had insisted on ordering as well.

The three girls headed up to the front to find Corinne, and Randi twirled in front of the mirror in the changing area. She really did love this dress and she couldn’t wait for Nolan to see her in it.

She was surprised by how excited she was about the New York trip now. She’d been worried, she could admit. New York was as different from her usual life as she could possibly get. But now, with everything that had happened with Nolan, his reassurances that she would be fine in conversation with these people, but even more, how much
he
clearly loved being with her, made her feel so much more secure. It didn’t matter what the editor and agent thought of her. Nolan loved her the way she was. She’d be herself and trust that they would too…or that it wouldn’t matter if they didn’t.

She watched the skirt float up and then settle as she stopped turning. She checked the dress out again, running her hand down the front of the bodice. But when she lifted her gaze, something caught her eye in the mirror.

No, nothing something. Someone.

Teresa Winters.

Randi took a deep breath and turned. There was something in Teresa’s face that told Randi Teresa wasn’t at all surprised to see her. In fact, she looked ready for a fight.

“How did you know I was here?” Randi asked.

“Beverly told Monica that she heard Corinne was ordering some dresses for a big party in New York. It didn’t really take much to figure this out.”

“And you asked Corinne to call you when I came in for the fitting,” Randi guessed.

Teresa gave her a small, fake smile. “Don’t you love small-town life?”

Randi lifted her chin. “Actually, yes, I do.”

Teresa’s smile disappeared. “I know.”

“And that’s the problem, right? I’m not good enough for Nolan. Just like Quinn isn’t good enough for Nolan.”

“Right.”

Randi blinked. Not even a bit of subtly or hesitation. Okay, so that meant she didn’t have to try to be nice either. “I make your son happy, Teresa. That should matter to you.”

“Nolan had a crush on you in high school. Now he’s just caught up in having a chance with you.”

Randi laughed at that. “Wow, you almost gave me a compliment. You better be careful.”

Teresa frowned. “If you care about him, you’ll end this. You know how talented he is. He deserves a chance to do everything he can with that. And you know that chance won’t come in Quinn.”

Randi didn’t reply right away. She heard what Teresa was saying. And she wasn’t wrong. “Nolan is writing a book. He can do that anywhere. He can fly to New York when he needs to just like he does now.”

“And what if the book doesn’t do well? What if he only has two books in him?” Teresa asked. “He has to keep his job in San Antonio.”

“There are stories here,” Randi said. But the niggle of doubt grew with Teresa’s words. It wasn’t like Randi hadn’t thought of all of these things. But she’d been ignoring them. Because two weeks was too short of a time for any of it to matter, for one thing. For another, she was assuming a lot in thinking that Nolan was thinking about moving back to Quinn.

“And who is he going to tell the stories to?” Teresa asked.

Strangely, her voice lacked any disdain. She almost seemed sympathetic.

“Teresa—”

“Go to San Antonio with him.”

Randi frowned. “We fly out of San Antonio on Saturday morning.”

“I mean after. When he goes back.”

Randi felt her heart rate speed up. “What?”

“I saw you together at the Valentine’s dance,” Teresa said, hugging her arms to her stomach. “I saw how he looked at you.”

Randi wet her lips. Over Teresa’s shoulder, she saw the girls coming back with shoes. Lela gave her a look that said “do I need to kick someone’s ass?” Annabelle gave her a look that said “are you okay?”

She tucked her hair behind her ear and said, “How did he look at me?”

It was more for her friends than for Teresa. They got the message and moved back out of sight. But she knew they were there, listening, ready to jump in if she needed them.

“Like he never wanted to be anywhere else.”

Randi’s breath caught. God, she wanted that to be true. So much.

At least, she thought she did. She wanted him to be where he needed to be. Where he was happiest.

“He’s in love with you,” Teresa said.

Randi nodded. “Yes.” No matter what else, she believed that.

“He’s never been in love before. Not with a woman, anyway,” Teresa told her. “He’s been in love with his work for years.”

Randi nodded again.

“Don’t make him choose,” Teresa said. “Don’t make him pick between you and his work.”

Randi understood what Teresa
wasn’t
saying. And it warmed her, even as it made her stomach hurt. Teresa thought Nolan would choose Randi. Over his work, over his passion.

She’d never been that important to someone before. She’d never been the thing that was the biggest and best part of someone’s life. But she couldn’t just absorb all of that and enjoy it. Because she loved him too. And she couldn’t ask him to give up what he loved.

Teresa continued when Randi didn’t respond. “So just go to San Antonio with him. Let him have both.”

“I…” Randi shifted her weight. “My work is here. This is my home. My family and friends are here.”

That was when Teresa’s eyes hardened. “You’re a mechanic in a backward hick town in the middle of nowhere. This is your chance to get out and do something great too. Please tell me that my son is smart enough to fall in love with a woman who is smart enough to recognize an opportunity when she sees it.”

Randi had to admit that it seemed like Teresa had a point. But Randi was in Quinn because she wanted to be. The irony was that over the past two weeks, talking with Nolan and telling him the stories of Quinn, had made her love her hometown all over again. And had made her sure that this was where she wanted to be. For good.

She wanted to live here. She wanted to be a part of this community. She wanted to watch the cars and trucks drive up and down Main from the window at the Lone Bean and know she was the one who kept them running. She wanted to teach her kids to throw spirals and what a blitz was. She wanted to sit with Lela and Annabelle and Lacey and Paige and Lorelei and Charlene in Football Mama T-shirts, and yell at the refs, and holler for their sons and watch their daughters cheer on the sidelines in Nicholas Carr Stadium. She wanted to attend every Valentine’s Day dance from here on, and she wanted to be doing Cupid’s Cock shots with the girls when she was eighty.

She didn’t want New York or San Antonio. She wanted Quinn.

And Nolan.

She wasn’t sure what to do about that last part, but she did know that Quinn was where she belonged. And she was not just okay with that, she was proud of that. She wasn’t writing great novels or traveling the world or influencing the masses. But she was contributing to a town where good people were living good lives and were learning about and passing on things like love and community and loyalty and fun and the appreciation of the simple things. There was a lot of good going on in Quinn. And it might be simple,
she
might be simple, but she was happy. Because she belonged here.

She looked at Teresa. “We’re a ranching community. The world needs ranching communities. And I’m a part of that. The cars and trucks I work on help the ranchers and truckers to get to work and do their jobs,” she said. She was taking a risk. She was taking on the biggest bitch in town. But just like the sixth-grade girls had been willing to come to blows over their team, Randi was willing to come to blows—verbal and otherwise—over her town. “The ranchers have to get out to their pastures and livestock. The truckers transport the livestock and bring back supplies. But it’s even bigger than that. I also help the teachers and the nurses and the waitresses and the cops and everyone else get to work and to their jobs. They all contribute to this community, and to what the people from here turn out to be, whether it’s ranching with their dads or becoming a lawyer in Dallas. It’s all important and we’re all needed. Like the work
you
do.”

Teresa’s spine straightened and she narrowed her eyes. “What?”

“You contribute too. Dr. Weston has been the dentist here in Quinn for forty years. He’s a huge part of this town and everyone knows that his office would fall apart if it wasn’t for you keeping things running. You’re a part of his success.”

Teresa crossed her arms tightly. “We work on teeth. It’s not exactly saving the world.”

“Well, I think the people who want to chew the steaks we produce here would disagree,” Randi said with a smile. “As would the ranchers who want all of those people buying and chewing the steaks. But you help keep the community healthy. You help them when they’re in pain. And even more than teeth, Doc donates huge amounts of money to the rec program here, which helps keep the walking trail nice and the parks maintained and the baseball program going. All of that not only keeps us healthy, but gives people a lot of enjoyment. Without his successful practice, he wouldn’t be able to do those things.”

Randi took a breath. She was relieved Teresa wasn’t arguing. Yet. So she went on. Into even more treacherous territory. “And you,” she said. “I know that you bring Dr. Weston lunch every day since his wife died because otherwise he would forget to eat. And you make sure he drinks something besides Coke all day.”

“If he keels over, I’m out of a job,” Teresa said.

Randi knew she should have expected something like that. But she smiled instead of sighing. Because she saw something important in Teresa’s eyes—she liked what she was hearing.

Nolan had taught her over the past two weeks that sometimes having someone just say the words “you’re great” or “I like you” could have a profound effect.

“Well, besides keeping Dr. Weston and the practice going, you bring up issues that need attention in Quinn and keep us all on our toes.”

Teresa snorted at that. “People hate when I show up at meetings.”

Randi nodded. “Because you make them accountable for things.”

“You think I’m doing a great job, bitching and moaning?”

Randi chose her words carefully. If she’d learned anything over the past two weeks, it was that words were very powerful. “I think you could approach it all differently, and maybe even get more done because people would be more willing to listen. But yes, overall, I think it’s great that you point out things that we should be aware of.”

Teresa just looked at Randi. Her mouth was pinched and she looked a little suspicious. But she didn’t look as suspicious as she had when they’d started talking. And she didn’t look ready to slap Randi, so she counted that as a win.

“I like the white dress,” Teresa finally said, dropping her arms and hitching her purse higher on her shoulder. “But you should wear the silver shoes.”

Then she turned and left.

Randi knew she was staring with her mouth open when Annabelle, Lela and Lacey came back into the changing area. Their mouths were all open too.

“Holy shit.” Lela was the first one to speak. “That was…holy shit.”

“I’ve never heard you talk like that,” Annabelle told Randi. “That was amazing. You were so confident and used the exact right words.”

Randi nodded. “Thanks.” She looked at Lacey. “What do
you
think?”

Lacey held up a pair of strappy sandals with a three-inch heel. They were sparkling silver. “I think she’s right about the shoes.”