Ronnie snorted.
So, what about you? Treble asked, zeroing in on a fresh victim. Have you considered telling Jason McDeere about your mad, secret love?
Hell, no. You exaggerate. I dont think you can call it love I barely know the man. Their very first conversation had been after Ronnie rammed into Jason with her shopping cart at the local grocery. Shed apologized, feeling clumsy and starstruck by his good looks. Those eyes Someone with Trebles fearless poise had probably never had to maim a man to get his attention.
Why not go talk to him now? Treble prodded. Get to know him.
Now? You mean hes here? Heat bloomed in Ronnies face; shed never been able to outgrow the blushing her brothers had teased her mercilessly about.
In the flesh. Treble gestured toward the bar area and a row of tall narrow tables. I passed him when I came over to say hello.
Ronnie had to look twice to make sure, but, yes, there was Jason McDeere, standing at one of the tables. What was he doing here? Shed been doing her best to keep the blues at bay, but if Jason were here on a dateThere were two drinks on the table in front of Jason, but to her somewhat embarrassed relief, he seemed to be here with Coach Hanover, a forty-something man she knew mostly through his restoration of a classic 55 Ford F-100.
This is your chance! Treble nudged her. In case I havent said so before, you have excellent taste. Hes gorgeous.
Ronnie nodded. None of the teachers looked like that when I was a sophomore. Jason was somewhere between her height and that of her looming brothers. The lean, corded muscle was well defined in his arms, and the slim gold glasses he sometimes wore made his chiseled face even more masculine in contrast. He didnt have them on tonight, she noticed.
So? Treble prompted.
Ronnies throat was so dry she could barely get her tongue unstuck from the roof of her mouth. I wouldnt know what to say. With his quiet, reflective manner and literary profession, he was intriguingly different from her brothers and the other men shed known all her life. My brothers! Besides, Danny and Devin are both here. If they see me talking to Jason, theyll be on him like white on rice, wanting to know his net worth and his intentions.
Treble tilted her head, sending a cascade of dark spirals over one slim shoulder. I know how protective they can be of you, but Danny seems nicely occupied with his wife and I dont even see Devin anymore. Its a thick crowdseems like a good chance for a friendly hello without sibling interference. You want to know what I think?
Ronnie grinned, despite the butterflies churning in her stomach like oversize mutant insects from an old grade-B horror movie. Probably not.
I think that, given your home situation when you were younger the gentle empathy in Trebles voice made it clear she was talking not just about the obnoxious brothers but about Ronnies mom being sick you missed out on some of the formative opportunities to flirt and date that most girls, myself included, took for granted. And now you feel so daunted at the prospect that you cling to Dev and Danny as an excuse not to learn.
Thats Ronnie broke off, closed her mouth, opened it again, then finally admitted defeat with a quick shake of her head. Thats annoyingly insightful.
Well, back in Atlanta, I did have my own radio advice show, remember? These days, Treble co-anchored a regional cable morning show. It would never make her famous, but she seemed happy with her life.
Ronnie blew out a puff of air. When was the last time shed felt truly happy? She was content, but that wasnt the same. Having lived her whole life in Joyous, she loved the town and the people in ither friends, her familybut lately shed had the growing, restless awareness of wanting more. WantingAlmost involuntarily, her gaze strayed back to Jason McDeere. He looked up, and for just a heartbeat, their eyes met.
A potent zing went through her body. Then someone moved between them, and the moment was gone. Still, her reaction had been powerful enough to brook no doubt: she wanted Jason McDeere.
Ronnie squared her shoulders. All right, she told Treble. Pretend Im someone who called in to your show for advice. Do you have any magical secrets for making me more What kind of woman did a man like Jason even want?
Experimentally, Ronnie tried to imagine what his wife had been like, but no one in town knew anything about heronly that newly divorced Jason had moved here to live with his grandmother and pick up the pieces of his life for himself and his daughter. Unfortunately, Sophie McDeere, a woman liked by all whod known her, had passed away this winter. A wave of sympathy washed over Ronnie, nearly as forceful as the attraction shed felt.
You want me to start with the bare basics? Treble asked.
Use small words. And, if you want me to be able to concentrate, you should probably stand in my line of vision. She couldnt help stealing another peek at Jason. Despite Trebles can-do attitude, Ronnie suspected that any romantic involvement between her and Jason McDeere was nothing more than a pipe dream.
Yet, acknowledging that fact did remarkably little to slow her racing pulse.
AHA! COACH HANK HANOVER snapped his beefy fingers; he was the track coach for Joyous High, but his build was reminiscent of football. I know the perfect woman.
But
Becca Gibbons, two oclock. Shes looked over at you a couple of times now.
Jason McDeere wasnt surprised the coach steamrolled over his objection. After all, Hank had once invited Jason and Emily for a barbecue that had turned out to be a blind-date ambush. Jason had overheard Caren Hanover just last month, insisting to her husband that they had to find a good woman for that sweet man and his poor little girl. With Gran gone, it was as if the townspeople of Joyous had adopted him and were determined to improve his lifewhether he wanted their help or not.
Beccas the blonde in that group over there, Coach was saying. Real nice gal, damn shame about her husband taking up with that woman from Nashville. Beccas a single mom, so yall have plenty in common. Come on, you couldnt ask for a prettier dance partner!
I thought we came to play darts, Jason said. At least, that was the thin pretext used to get him here, though they hadnt been closer than fifty feet to the dartboard since they arrived.
Earlier, thered been a pizza dinner at the Hanover house for the boys and girls track teams. Jason was an unofficial chaperone who knew most of the kids because he sometimes ran with the teams for exercise. The teenage girls had fussed over how cute Emily was, and, as the party wound down, his daughter had fallen asleep in the study during a Shrek showing. Caren had thrown her husband meaningful glances and Jason had allowed himself to be talked into a quick drink and round of darts.
Shell be fine here for an hour, Caren had said, tucking a quilt around his daughters shoulders. Go out with Hank, take some you time.
It was true that he hadnt indulged in much of a social life since Sophies passing: Yet now that he stood in noisy Guthrie Dance Hall, where it seemed everyone but him had known one another since kindergarten, he couldnt believe hed let himself get conned into another attempt to introduce him to eligible women.
Im sure Beccas lovely, Jason said, but weve finished our drinks and should probably head back to your place.
The coach looked crestfallen. You havent danced with anybody yet.
Hank, I appreciate the thought, but theres already a female in my life whom I love with my whole heart. In the past year and a half, Emily had been abandoned by her mother and moved to a new town, where shed lost yet another maternal figure when Gran died in her sleep. His daughter needed time for her life to stabilizehis starting to date probably wasnt the best way to achieve that.
A female? Hank was a good man, but subtlety was lost on him. He squinted at Jason in confusion. You dont mean your ex? Cause I thought that was done.
It is. Completely. Jason had worked his way through the initial denial and shock of Isobels departure to subsequent fury and eventual, faintly pitying, acceptance. He had no desire to pick at that particular emotional scab. But just because Im over her doesnt mean Im eager to start the search for the future Mrs. McDeere.
Okay, okay. The other man held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. Had to try, though. I promised the wife. No hard feelings?
No, of c Jason stared past the coachs shoulder, meeting a pair of wide jade eyes. Logically, he knew he couldnt make out the womans eye color from several yards away, but hed seen her around town plenty of times. His memory automatically filled in the visual details that were fuzzy from this distance, as well as her name: Veronica Carter. Perhaps shed merely been looking around, just as he had, and their gazes colliding was coincidence. But there seemed to be something in her expression
A laughing couple wandered into his line of sight, blocking Veronica, and he blinked, feeling foolish.
McDeere?
Yeah. Sorry, I just remembered something I needed to take care of Monday.
Really? Cause it was more like you were staring at someone. Hank glanced over his shoulder, trying to confirm his suspicion.
So, are we ready to leave? Jason asked.
I guess. But Hank wasnt completely diverted. You sure you werent looking at someone?
Jason had never been good at lying outright. Like who?
His friend shrugged. Dunnobut if there is someone whos caught your interest, Ill hear about it soon enough. One thing youll learn about Joyous if you havent already, its damn near impossible to keep a secret here.
Chapter Two
Mornin, darlin.
Ronnie glanced up from the Monday paper she was scanning at the table and smiled as Wayne Carter came down the stairs into the kitchen. Hey, Daddy.
Whats on the breakfast menu this morning?
Cereal. She pointed to the bowl and spoon shed pulled out for him. Its the one thing Im guaranteed not to burn.
He paused behind her, ruffling her hair. Youre too hard on yourself. Youve blossomed into a fair cook.
Well, she hadnt sent anyone to Doc Caldwell with food poisoning, so she guessed that was something.
She could hold her own with prepackaged meals and brownies made from a mix, but she couldnt duplicate the efforts of Sue Carter, who used to can her own jellies, made noodles from scratch for her soup and never once served a store-bought dessert until after her cancer diagnosis. One day, a few weeks after her mothers funeral, Ronnie had stood inside the walk-in pantry sobbing at the realization that they were about to open the last of mamas blackberry preserves and that there would never be any more.
The sounds of her dads chair scraping on the tile and subsequent rustling of cereal into a ceramic bowl dragged Ronnie back to the present. She blinked against the phantom sting of long-ago tears.
Wayne nodded toward the paper. You done with the sports page?
You can have the whole thing.
The Journal-Report was folded in half, open to the classified section. Her dad glanced down, then back at her.
I was, ah, looking for good deals on furniture I could restore.
For the new place. To give him credit, he tried to sound happy for her. But there was no mistaking the shadow that passed over his expression. Itll sure be lonely with you gone.
She rose, carrying her empty bowl to the sink. Youll still have Dev.
Before Ronnie was born, Wayne and Sue had bought the converted farmhouse in which shed lived her entire life. Though the surrounding acreage that comprised the original farm had been sold off in parcels to local families, the old bunkhouse sat at the back of Waynes property. Devin had fixed it up and moved in, paying a nominal rent each month. Half the time, he joined them for dinner.
Or breakfast, if he hadnt entertained an overnight guest. At least he has the freedom to have overnight guests. Ronnie glared through the blue-checkered curtains in the direction of her brothers unseen home.
She rinsed the dishes, wiped her damp palms on the front of her jeans and smiled at her father. Besides, youll see me practically every day, boss.
He laughed. True. You probably think Im being an old fool, dont you? Its justyoure the last little bird to leave the nest.
Not that Devin had flown far, but she knew what her dad meant. Her brother Will had settled in North Carolina, where hed gone to college and met his wife. Danny had Kaitlyn and Ashley now. Besides, restless Dev with his odd jobs and fleeting girlfriends sometimes seemed as likely to take off for a distant ranching job in Texas as show up for Sunday dinner. Her brothers, in their individual ways, were all living their lives.
Then theres me, caught in a time warp.
She worked for her father, lived at home and was so tongue-tied at the thought of asking a cute guy to dance that she might as well still be the awkward, freckled fifteen-year-old who wore her brothers hand-me-down T-shirts more often than dresses. Even now, Lola Ann kidded that Ronnie only knew two hairstylesa ponytail beneath her denim Carter & Sons cap and a ponytail without the hat. Glancing down, she took in the faded George Strait concert shirt shed tucked into her jeans.
I think Ill run and change before heading to the garage, she said, hearing the rueful note in her own voice.
Her dad paused with a spoonful of shredded wheat halfway to his mouth. What the hecks wrong with what youre wearing?
For the mechanic whod be sliding on protective coveralls, anyway? Nothing. For the woman shed started wondering if she would ever truly become? More than she could possibly articulate.
BY THE TIME JASON APPROACHED the front of the high school, his paper bag from the Sandwich Shoppe in hand, there wasnt much of his free period left to eat lunch at his desk. It would have been quicker to take his car, but the mid-March weather was ideal, providing the perfect sun-dappled, breezy backdrop for the picturesque town.
Afternoon, Mr. McDeere. Allen, the custodian, stood a few feet away at the half wall that formed a horseshoe around the schools courtyard. Just beyond the brick wall were several picnic tables, the flagpole and the stairs leading inside.
Though the overall crime rate in Joyous was low, there had been some recent drive-by mailbox bashings and a spate of graffiti on the courtyard wall. Jason shook his head at the spray-painted suggestion that had appeared over the weekend. Obscene and misspelled.