Davey and Felicia’s grandmother, Ms. Hughes, snuggled like two lovebirds in the corner, while Ms. Gina glowered at them and Ms. Melba prattled on about the day. The town elders were all-knowing, plugged in to the Sugar Maple Gossip Hotline. Heck, they’d practically founded it sixty years ago.
Mary-Beth didn’t need to suffer the Elder Inquisition, so she painted on her best smile and greeted everyone. “Good afternoon. I have a Darjeeling for Ms. Melba, Earl Grey for Ms. Gina, English Breakfast for Davey, and a mint for Ms. Hughes. Here’s the creamer—oh, and Ms. Gina, I included a hint of lavender in it the way you like it.” She placed the special tiny white pitcher next to the Earl Grey and retreated.
“Not so fast,” Davey hollered after her. “Spill it.”
She halted, took a breath, and then turned on her heels to face the inquisitive bunch. “Spill what?”
“What’s got you all mixed up and turned around?” Davey said, pointing to the cup in front of him. Shoot, she’d mixed them all up. No way Davey would drink tea with a lemon on the side of his cup. “Oh no, sorry. I’m just tired. You know, raising a teenage boy who is obsessed with football can be exhausting.” She flung her hair back for extra drama and then switched the cups around to their correct positions.
“We heard Tanner is coaching Andy. How you feel about that?” Davey asked.
“Fine. It’s a great idea. I asked him to do it, you know. Andy deserves the opportunity to get a scholarship. He’s really good.” Was her tone convincing?
“As good as the legend?” Ms. Melba asked.
“He’s better than Tanner.” Mary-Beth stuck her nose in the air and marched to the counter.
“Funny, she thought I was talking about Tanner. I meant Charles Frankinslip from 1946.”
Mary-Beth refused to be baited into a conversation about Tanner. “That would be a little before my time, you know.”
“She’s calling us old,” Ms. Gina said with a little spittle at the corner of her mouth.
Mary-Beth grabbed a rag and scrubbed all the kitchen surfaces with vigor.
“I bet she’s still hung up on that boy and he’s gonna break her heart again,” Davey said. “Then I’ll have to fight him.” He put up his tiny, sun-spotted fists and duked it out with the air.
Ms. Gina put a loving hand over his knuckles and lowered them to the table. “No need. It was the other way around; she broke his heart,” Ms. Gina whispered but at a yelling level so she could hear herself.
“Is that what the town thinks? That I chased him away?” She tossed the rag into the sink and bolted to the back room, fuming. What did it matter what the town thought? It was better they didn’t know the truth. At this moment, she wished she couldn’t see the big picture. Because if she did, she’d have to admit that her friends were right that the man who she’d sworn off years ago still held her past, present, and future hostage in his athletic grip.
No more.
She slid her phone from her pants pocket and texted Seth. “Sorry to cancel our last date. If you’re free tomorrow night, I can go out after I’m done helping at the farm. I’ll meet you at the coffeehouse at seven.”
Three dots danced instantly.
See you then.
And with that one text, she vowed to pry her heart loose. Nothing Tanner could say or do would change the past, and it was time for her to look toward the future.
Chapter Ten
The kids were pumped and worked harder than any of the college students he’d trained over the last several years. Andy was as good, if not better than Tanner had been at his age. He watched the kid run like he had wings on his cleats. The boy was talented and deserved his chance at a college scholarship. But was Andy one tackle away from his career ending before it ever began? Tanner wanted to make sure the boy knew the challenges that faced him, to prepare him the way no one had ever prepared Tanner himself.
When practice ended, he felt a love for the game he’d lost a few years back. The rush he used to experience on the field had returned for the first time since his injury all those years ago. Tanner chalked it up to first day energy and the kids trying to impress their small-town football hero. That would fade if he stuck around. The kids would drag, and he’d find himself making excuses not to attend practice all the time. After all, he had responsibilities at the farm. How could he afford the time to coach high school football? And at some point, he’d return to his assistant coach position. Was it only platitudes, or did the university mean it when they told him they’d welcome him back when he was ready?
Andy tossed the ball at Tanner and removed his helmet. “So, coach? Do you think I have what it takes to snag a college scholarship?”
If the boy understood how loaded that question was, he wouldn’t ask Tanner to answer it.
Andy’s mood melted in front of him. “You don’t?” He deflated as if someone let the air out of his shoulder pads, and Tanner knew he couldn’t take the chance at his dreams away from the boy.
“I absolutely think you have what it takes. As a matter of fact, I’ll even make a few calls on your behalf.”
Andy jumped like he was warming up for a game.
Tanner tossed the ball back to him. “Hold up a minute. I know this is exciting, but I want you to know all the facts before you decide your future. If you want me to make those calls, then we need to have a man-to-man talk.”
“Anything. What’s up?”
Tanner eyed his watch. “Can’t this minute. I need to get back to the farm.”
“Tomorrow. Before school. We can meet at the coffee shop.” Andy bolted to the locker room before Tanner could argue the point. The boy was floating on dreams and ambition without a thought to the fact his cloud could burst at any moment with no warning, flooding his future full of disappointment.
The principal of Sugar Maple High School and a few men with him, one toting a camera, headed his way. The last thing Tanner wanted was to be in the local paper, so he darted to his bike and tore out of there. The thought of returning to fan admiration made him feel hollow. He’d felt empty for so long. When was the last time he’d felt full?
He shook off the notion of Mary-Beth and focused on the road ahead, winding through the mountain pass and up to the farm, where he found the Sugar Maple gang parked across his front drive. Everyone he’d tried to avoid was standing on his front porch, in his barn, or at his field. Avoidance was no longer an option. He could send them away like his father, the man who’d bullied people to get what he wanted in life, but since when did he want to be like the man who’d kept secrets and told lies? The man he’d once been so close to who had made him feel abandoned and unloved. Had he had a clue what that did to a man?
The crowd gathered, as if waiting for him to catch the winning pass, but all he could do was roll his bike to a stop and remove his helmet. That’s when he found himself searching the audience for Mary-Beth, but she was nowhere to be found.
“Welcome home!” Mr. Strickland, the infamous fiancé of Mayor Horton, held out his hand. The man was a legend with the women, but for some reason Mayor Horton had never given up on him and she finally had won him over.
“Good to see you again, sir.” Tanner unzipped his jacket and greeted the remaining members of his hometown community. Once the fuss had ended, he made his way into the barn and checked on the roof repairs. To his surprise, the work was going well, so he went to the garden, where he found Felicia and some man working.