IT HAD BEEN two weeks of nonstop craziness, but Loretta was totally content with the way things were going.

Hazel had completely mended from her surgery and was back to normal. The bookstore was busy, and since they were gearing up for all of the back-to-school sale madness, she had a lot to do.

But that meant good business for the bookstore, so she had no complaints. Hazel was about to start tryouts for the competitive soccer team, though, so she had to juggle that along with some extra time at the bookstore.

Fortunately, Deacon said he could pitch in and help. She hated relying on him when she wanted to be able to handle it herself, but Deacon said things at the building were well under control. So she was going to close up a little late, and he’d pick up Hazel, make sure she had something to eat, then get her to soccer tryouts in plenty of time.

She had to admit it was great to have him around. She could have asked her parents, but they weren’t exactly the type to help Hazel warm up beforehand, and Deacon would. Plus, Hazel had asked him to, and Deacon would do just about anything Hazel asked.

A dangerous thing, she thought with a half smile. Her daughter definitely had Deacon wrapped around her little finger. But the feeling was mutual. She wasn’t sure who loved Deacon more—Loretta or Hazel.

It was probably even.

Deacon showed up right on time at four thirty to pick up Hazel.

“She’s been bouncing off the walls all day,” Loretta told him. “She’s in the back now. I tried to settle her by downloading a new game for her and tried to convince her to store up all that excess energy for tryouts. I don’t think it’s really working.”

Deacon nodded. “She’s excited. We’ve been talking about it every day. And she’s really good, so I don’t think she has to worry about making the team.”

“I hope she will. She loves soccer so much. She’s played every year since she was old enough.”

Deacon gave her a kiss on the cheek. “It’s in the bag. We’ll see you at the field.”

“Okay. And thank you for doing this.”

“You know, at some point you’re going to have to quit thanking me like I’m your next-door neighbor or something. We’re in a relationship, Loretta. So stop treating this like it’s a favor, okay?”

She was shocked by that. “Okay. Sorry. I’ll see you on the field.”

Deacon went and got Hazel. She had her backpack on, and she came and hugged Loretta.

“Wish me luck, Mama.”

“Not that you need it because you’re so spectacular, but good luck. I love you.”

“Love you, too. Bye.”

She watched her daughter walk out the door with Deacon, and her heart did a little lurch.

Now it was time for her to get all of her work done so she could get out to the soccer fields on time. She hustled inventory onto the shelves, put Kendra and Camila to work dealing with customers, and, miracle of all miracles, actually closed the doors on time at six p.m.

She wouldn’t have time to go home and change clothes, but that was okay. She made it to the soccer field at six fifteen, and since tryouts had started at six, she hoped she hadn’t missed too much.

She found Deacon and Otis on the sidelines. It figured he’d bring the dog.

“You brought Otis?”

“It’s good for his socialization and training to be around crowds. He needs to learn to behave.”

“And how’s that going?”

“He tried to chase a few soccer balls, but since he’s on the leash, I’m teaching him that every ball is not a toy for him.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m glad you’re in charge of him.”

“Hey, I’ve got this covered. No worries.”

The one thing she never worried about was Deacon and Otis together. He truly did have a handle on the large beast. She wandered and found Hazel with Tabitha and a group of other girls. They all had numbered uniform tops on over their T-shirts and were listening intently to the coach’s instructions.

As the first set of girls took the field, Loretta realized she was nervous. Hazel wasn’t in that group, so Loretta decided to watch. They went through a set of drills, then played a mock game against each other, no doubt to demonstrate ball control and skill set. The coach had all the girls switch positions multiple times. There were several coaches on hand making notes on clipboards, and Loretta was nervous for all the girls.

Then it was Hazel’s turn, and her anxiety level went up about ten notches. She walked the sidelines, trying to find the best spot to watch. Deacon was on the other side of the field talking to some of the guys. Loretta finally grabbed what she thought was a decent location in the center, where she spotted Jane talking to some other women.

“Hi, Loretta,” Jane said. “Isn’t this exciting?”

“It is. I saw Tabitha with Hazel a few minutes ago. I didn’t realize Tabitha played soccer.”

“I don’t think she’s quite as good as Hazel, but yes, she’s played for a few years now, and she wanted to try out for the competitive team.”

“I hope she does well today. How are you feeling?”

Jane smiled. “Today’s a good day, so I’m enjoying feeling relatively normal for once, even though it’s miserably hot.”

“I’m glad you’re feeling better—and yes, it is hot. Good thing the girls don’t notice the weather.”

“Isn’t that the truth? Tabitha spent the entire morning outside kicking the ball around with Ryan. They came in drenched with sweat and laughing, and they both still have tons of energy. I spend ten minutes outside and I want to run for the air-conditioning.”

Loretta laughed. “I know what you mean. I’m seriously considering putting a pool in at the ranch.”

“If you do that, Tabby will want to come live at your house. I’m giving you fair warning I might want to come live with you, too.”

Loretta laughed. But she could already envision how much fun that would be. She’d always wanted Hazel to have a house filled with friends. “Hazel would like that. They’ve become very close this summer.”

“Tabby loves Hazel. I’m so glad they’re friends.”

“Me, too.”

“Is that your daughter, Loretta?”

Loretta turned to see one of her bookstore clients next to her. “Yes, Paige, it is. And which one is yours?”

“Number sixty-four. That’s my Heather.”

“I wish her luck.”

“Same to you.”

The next group of players got started, and Loretta was shocked at how good Hazel was. She controlled the ball, passed it well, and even scored two goals. And when it was her turn on defense, she was fierce, turning the ball toward the offensive side and protecting the goal. She even got a turn as goalie, and no goals were scored against her.

“Wow, Loretta,” Jane said. “She’s really good.”

“Thanks. She loves soccer. Tabitha is very good, too. She scored a goal.”

Jane grinned. “I know. I can’t wait to tell Will about it. He had to work, so he’s really bummed he had to miss tryouts.”

“I think Deacon is doing enough cheerleading for both Tabitha and Hazel to make up for Will not being here.”

Jane grinned. “Yes, I think everyone can hear him from across the field.”

“Your husband is very animated, Loretta,” one of the women said.

“Oh, he’s not my husband. He’s—”

She found herself at a momentary loss for words to describe exactly what Deacon was to her.

“He’s her boyfriend,” Jane said.

“Oh,” the woman said. “Anyway, he’s doing a fine job encouraging your daughter.”

“Yes, he sure is.”

After the woman left, she turned to Jane. “Thanks. I had a minute of foot-in-mouth disease.”

“Been there. Sometimes it’s hard to describe a relationship when you don’t exactly know how. Boyfriend seems antiquated when you’re our age, but what are you gonna say? Oh, he’s my main squeeze? My lover? The hot dude I’m having sex with? I mean, really, there needs to be more modern terminology for it.”

Loretta laughed. “This is true.”

They watched the other groups, then all the girls were gathered together by the coaches, who informed them the competitive team would be chosen within the next few days, and the head coach would make phone calls to let them know who made it.

After that, all the girls hung out to kick the ball around. She waited for Deacon, but he was talking to one of the coaches.

“I need to head out, so I’m going to wrangle my little one,” Jane said.

“I’ll see you soon.” She hugged Jane, then thought about going up to Deacon and the coaches, but thought better about it. Whatever he was saying, it was probably best she stay out of it. The last thing Hazel needed was for an anxious, nervous mom to stick her nose into a coach conversation.

“I see you’ve managed to hook yourself up to another man, Loretta.”

“No surprise there, right, Piper?”

Loretta frowned and spun around. “Excuse me?”

Then recognition dawned. It was Piper Swift and Krista Friedman, her two former friends from high school who had caused trouble for her at the bar a couple of months back.

“You heard me,” Piper said. “I overheard you and Jane talking about Deacon Fox. So you dumped Tom Simmons and now you’ve immediately got your claws into your old boyfriend again.”

She could not believe this bullshit. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I don’t have time for another argument with you two.”

“What’s the matter, Loretta?” Krista asked. “Does the truth hurt?”

Okay, this wasn’t going to go away, so she might as well face it down. “What exactly do you think I did to you two to make you hate me so much? We were friends for a short period of time, and then I moved away. We didn’t continue our friendship beyond high school, but the way the two of you act, it’s as if I personally wounded you by living my life. So what’s the deal?”

“The deal is we don’t like the way you treated Tom,” Piper said. “He was best friends with my husband, who, unlike you, did stay in touch with him over the years. He told Paul how you treated him.”

Yeah, she could well imagine how Tom’s side of the story went. “My relationship with my ex-husband is none of your business.”

“Looks like you traded one guy for another,” Krista said, eyeing Deacon from across the soccer field. She flipped her head as if she couldn’t give the time of day to Loretta. “I have to admit, he’s fine in the looks department. And he does own his own business. So it’s not surprising you’d want to sink your claws into someone else who has money.”

She was having a surreal moment. It was like a bad dream. “I own my own business as well.”

Piper laughed. “Yes, with money you stole from Tom.”

“Stole . . .” Okay, she was never going to win this war. “Look, stay out of my life, stay away from my family, and stay the hell out of my business.”

“Or what?” Krista asked.

Loretta advanced. “Or I will shove my fist in your face and knock you on your ass. And judging from that nose, Krista, it looks a little fragile. And a lot different from the one you had in high school. Plastic surgery, right?”

Krista looked horrified. “You wouldn’t.”

“Just try me. Because I’ve had enough of you two and your bullshit. So take a step back and get the hell out of my face.”

Krista took a step back, which gave Loretta a large amount of satisfaction. And maybe a touch of disappointment, because one more word and she was ready to let her fist fly.

She’d had enough of their shit.

“Something going on?”

Deacon had appeared next to her, and Otis must have sensed her tension, because he growled and strained at the leash, which was a first for him. He was trying to get to Piper and Krista, who both took several more steps back.

And with Deacon’s arrival it was as if both women had personality transplants. They put on sweet smiles.

“Nothing at all,” Piper said. “We were just catching up with our old friend Loretta. See you later, honey.”

They wriggled their fingers in good-bye and marched off to the middle of the field to collect their daughters.

Ugh. If their daughters made the team, Loretta wasn’t sure she was going to be able to stomach being around them.

Deacon frowned as he watched them walk away. “Are those two still giving you shit?”

“Yes. Apparently I’m like the scarlet woman of Hope. Still. Forever.”

Deacon shot a scathing look at the two women on the soccer field. “What the hell is wrong with them?”

“I don’t have any idea. I divorced Tom. Now I’m dating you. It’s all some horrible scandal.”

“What?”

She shrugged. “Whatever. I think some women never grow up. But in all honesty, I think the real reason is that Krista always had a giant crush on Tom, and when I ended up marrying him, our former friendship turned to jealousy and hatred, and it’s going to stay that way forever. If I’d known she wanted him that badly, I’d have gladly let her have him. They were made for each other, with him being the cookie-cutter model politician and her the perfect Stepford wife.”

Deacon snorted out a laugh. “I can see that.”

They started walking onto the soccer field. “So Piper and Tanya, being part of that tight threesome, had to stick with Krista and hate me on her behalf because she didn’t land what I presume is the love of her life and I got him instead.”

Deacon frowned. “I gotta tell you, women and friendships are hard to fathom sometimes.”

“Not all of us are batshit crazy, you know. My friend Cathy liked this boy Sean in sixth grade. And I liked him, too. But then in seventh grade Sean decided to ask Cathy to the school dance. I figured he just liked her better. It hurt my feelings, but I was still friends with Cathy. It wasn’t her fault he chose her over me. Even if I did think I was the better choice.”

Deacon laughed. “Clearly, you’re a much better person than your former friends.”

“Clearly.”

Deacon hollered for Hazel, who ran over to them.

“That was so fun. Did you guys see I scored two goals? And then I got to play defense and goalie. I’m pretty sure I’m gonna make the team.”

No lack of self-esteem with her kid. “You were great, honey.”

“Yeah, you were,” Deacon said. “So great we should have ice cream.”

Hazel gave Deacon a confused look. “But we haven’t had dinner yet.”

Deacon shrugged. “I’ll bet your mom will let us have dessert first, and then dinner, just on this special occasion. What do you say, Loretta?”

Loretta could have said no, but after that run-in with those awful women, she could use a pick-me-up. “Who am I to stall a celebration of such an outstanding performance? Ice cream it is. But we’ll have to eat it outside since we have Otis with us.”

Hazel grinned. “Drippy ice cream. Awesome.”

Nothing like an exuberant nine-year-old to take your mind off having dealt with some unpleasant women.

And, of course, ice cream.