Half an hour later, the crowd went wild while the team cheered. “We’re going to the playoffs!”

Mitch, carried along with the good feeling, laughed, slapped backs, and shook hands. As the team disbursed, he turned to see several demanding parents coming his way. Then Becca was there hugging Simon, and no one else mattered.

“I’m so proud of you, honey!” She had to stand on her tiptoes to reach the kid’s neck. “Wasn’t he great?” she asked Mitch.

“Awesome. That touchdown put us over for sure. You need to thank Roger for that pass, Simon. He hit you square on.”

“I know.” Simon was beaming. He held his helmet in one hand, his expression full of joy…that slowly turned to a scowl.

Becca frowned in concern. “Simon?”

Mitch followed his gaze to see a pretty blond teenager chatting with a few guys on the team.

Simon huffed. “I’ll be right back.”

When Becca moved to follow, Mitch grabbed her by the arm. “Hold on. He needs to handle this. It’s a guy thing.”

“I think I know my own son.”

“Yeah? Then did you know he’s having a hard time trying to figure out what that girl means to him?”

Becca stared after Simon. “Jenna? She’s his best friend.”

“She was. Now she might be turning into something else.” They watched Simon insert himself between the girl and the boys with her. The girl rolled her eyes and slugged Simon in the gut. But Simon continued to stand by her side, a puzzled look crossing his face every so often.

“What the heck?” Becca studied him. “He’s acting different.”

“I think it’s called puberty.”

“Oh? Is that what’s troubling you?”

He laughed. “You’re a riot. You know that?” He looked over her shoulder. “Hey, isn’t that the woman from your store? Is she your cousin or your sister? Because Simon’s called her his Aunt Nora a few times.”

“She’s my cousin, but he’s always called her his aunt.”

“Okay. Got it. Look, I need her to talk to my brother. In front of witnesses.”

She blinked. “Oh, you mean… Because of what you said in the grocery store, right?’

“It’s stupid, but yes.” He added in a lower voice, “Let’s sell this for Linda, who hasn’t stopped staring at me all night.”

“I’m still not sure why any of this is necessary.”

Because it’s an excuse to be near you. He cleared his throat. “I already look like an ass to some people in town. Let’s not add ‘liar’ to the label, eh?”

She huffed. “Fine. Hey, Nora.” She waved her cousin over.

Nora stood as tall as Becca but had more curves. Less streamlined, and more voluptuous as compared to Becca’s refined beauty. Becca seemed so wholesome, yet…not.

He noticed her looking at his mouth and smiled. When she blushed and looked away, he felt ten feet tall. Then he thought about how she’d bolted from him in the parking lot. How her deceased husband still affected her after so many years. Of how insane it would be to date a woman with a teenager when he could have his pick of the ladies in town. Women who were single, uncomplicated, up for whatever the “Amazing Flash” wanted to give them.

As usual around Becca, his lips started moving without his consent. “So, tomorrow night. Dinner at my place. We’ll celebrate our win with some nice steaks. How about it, ladies?”

A few of the football moms stood close enough to overhear the conversation, so he could blame his need to claim Becca in public as part of his cover with Linda. Yeah, sure.

Nora raised a brow. “Considering how hot your brother is for me, I guess I’d better be there.”

He felt his face heat and cleared his throat. “Great.” Deacon had better show, or Mitch would wring his thick neck.

“Simon too?” Becca asked.

She sounded nervous, which made him feel better. Good to know he wasn’t the only one so off-kilter. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking. “Yeah, the kid too. And bring your suits if you want to swim. I have an indoor pool.”

She quirked a brow. “Must be nice.”

“I guess. I haven’t tried it yet. Been too busy.”

“Yeah? Doing what?” Nora asked.

Becca watched him, waiting.

Mooning over your cousin, he wanted to say. Trying to think of how to reintegrate into normal society, was another truth. One that sounded as if it came from a guy who was too full of himself. But living as an NFL star under scrutiny in a big city and living as an ex-football player in a small town were two very different realities.

“Acclimating to town has taken some time.”

“When did you get here?” Nora asked.

“Mid-September.” It hadn’t been all that long, come to think of it. But long enough he should have had some sense of direction with what to do with his life. His investments ran themselves. What did Mitch do except coach a bunch of teenage football players? And even that was just as a favor to his brother.

A guy could only exercise, ski, and watch movies for so long before he grew totally unmotivated. Even his books had begun to bore him. And then he’d met Becca…

“Oh, that’s not that long.” Nora looked over his shoulder. “Ah, my man approaches.”

Deacon glared at him as he joined them, pasted an insincere smile on his face, then lowered his voice. “Seriously? You pulled me into this because you’re too big a pus—ah, lamebrain—to deal with Linda Madison?” He nodded to Becca and did a double take at Nora. “Oh. So this is the woman I’m lusting after? Nice to meet you.”

Nora laughed. “Hi, Deacon. Do you want to get married now or have kids first? I’m not too traditional, so I could go either way.”

While his brother’s eyes grew wider, Nora, Mitch, and Becca laughed.

“I like your cousin,” Mitch told Becca. “Anyone who can intimidate my brother is cool with me.”

“Don’t get her started,” Becca warned. “Although she did force Linda to give up her seat two weeks ago.”

“It was a thing of beauty,” Nora said. She continued to stare at Deacon. “You know, I’ve seen you around town and at the games, but you’re much taller up close.”

Deacon frowned.

What the hell was his brother’s problem now? Before Deacon could ruin things, Mitch said, “I’ll text you directions to the party. Anything you guys don’t like to eat?”

Deacon glanced at him in bemusement.

Nora answered, “We love everything except onions. But we really love chocolate. And Becca’s cinnamon rolls. We’ll bring them. Oh, and have a lot of food. Simon never stops eating.”

“Neither does Deacon,” Mitch said.

His brother kept frowning at him.

Mitch sighed. “Okay, we’ll see you guys tomorrow night at five. I’m going to go get yelled at in private. Bye.” He left before Becca could change her mind, dragging his brother with him.

As he neared Simon, he caught the kid’s eye and glanced at the girl in question.

Simon gave a subtle nod.

Mitch stopped. “Hey, Simon. Great game.” He pumped the kid’s hand. To the other boys, also freshmen, he made small talk. The girl stared at him in awe, he was sorry to say. “Oh, hey, my bad. I didn’t mean to take up your time.”

She elbowed Simon in the side.

He cleared his throat. “Um, Flash? Coach Deacon?  This is my friend Jenna. Jenna, this is—”

“I know who this is.” She rattled off some of Deacon’s stats, then started on Mitch’s.

He had to admit, he was impressed. “Wow. Jenna, I think you know more about football than my brother,” he teased.

Deacon punched him in the arm, hard enough to hurt. Mitch would make sure to return the favor.

“We have to go,” Deacon said, “Nice meeting you, Jenna. Great game, guys. See you at practice on Monday.”

Simon nodded, looking happier than he’d been. The two boys she’d been talking with melted away, and Simon escorted the girl toward his mother and Nora.

“What the hell was that about?” Deacon grumbled.

“Weirdness.”

“Huh?”

Mitch shook his head. “Don’t ask.”

“Fine. Then let’s talk about your big mouth instead.”

Not exactly a better deal.

 

******

 

The next night, Mitch wondered if he’d done the wrong thing by inviting Becca to his home. He’d ordered some amazing food, not even trying to convince anyone he could cook. He’d intended to grill steaks, but the weather wasn’t cooperating. It had turned downright miserable. Cold rain couldn’t decide if it wanted to be sleet or snow, and it showed no sign of stopping.

Gray skies overhead promised more of the same, as did the weather report for the remainder of the weekend. Getting to the playoffs was terrific. But having to play in the cold sucked.

“You’re going to pace a hole in your floor,” Deacon said, kicked back in the living room, nursing a beer. “Relax. We’ll have a nice meal. You can show off to the pretty mom, and we’re done.”

“What is with you constantly bringing up that Becca’s a mom? I know that.”

Deacon sighed. “Do you really? Because I’ve been working in this town for five years. And it was a real adjustment, let me tell you. The requests for autographs fade, as do women throwing themselves at you left and right. The people here are regular family types. Hooking up with Simon’s mom impacts more than just your love life, genius.”

That stung. “You think I’d screw over Becca and her kid? I like Simon.”

“I do too.” Deacon drew on his beer. “And I like Becca, from the few instances I’ve talked to her. But I love you, you moron. I think Hope’s Turn could be just what you need—if you don’t screw things up before you even settle in. There’s something about this town that’s good. Decent. People look out for one another. It’s not so small you know everybody’s business all the time, but not so big people don’t help each other out.” Deacon paused. “My marriage to Rhonda was a mistake.”

“No shit.”

Deacon sighed. “I was at a really low point when Roy told me about the pub. It saved my life, man.”

“I know.” Mitch joined him on the couch, sitting across from him on the sectional. “I wanted to help you, but I knew seeing me while I was still playing would hurt.”

Deacon nodded. “Not being the star quarterback hurt. It wasn’t about the fame, bro. I fucking love the game.”

“Me too.”

“But all that other stuff got old.”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t mind the idea of having a tidy nest egg after retirement, but getting through all the shit to find myself after my injury and Rhonda’s bitchiness took its toll.” Deacon studied Mitch. “But I’m good. It’s you I’m worried about.”

“Me?” Mitch sipped his beer. “I’m fine. No evil ex-wife. No injuries. A clean retirement, and I never have to work again if I don’t want to.”

“And?”

“And what?”

“What next?” Deacon asked. “You snagged the gold ring early. Fame and fortune. Been there, done that. Now what? If you think you can fool me with all the positive, life-is-awesome crap, think again.”

Mitch groaned. “I don’t know, okay? I just… I have no room to complain. Most people would kill for my problems. But I’m bored. I’m tired, and I have nothing to be tired about. I feel like a huge jerk not accepting how privileged I am. But what do I do now?”

“You need to find your passion.” Deacon nodded. “I had a tough time too, you know. And not just because I was out of options and nearly out of money.”

“You know I would have helped you.”

“Fuck that. It’s not my money. You did the work that earned your paycheck, not me.” Deacon wore a familiar, stubborn expression. “Plus, everyone told me not to marry that gold-digger, and I didn’t listen. I should have. But that’s over now. She’s remarried to one of the Jets, I think. Or a Cowboy, I can’t remember.” He grinned. “And I don’t care. She’s out of my life.”

“What life? How’s the dating scene treating you, Casanova?” That came out more sarcastic than Mitch meant it, because he was genuinely curious. “Seriously. Is it that bad?” The look Deacon shot him made him laugh.

“The last woman I dated kept asking for stories from the old days. And she wouldn’t stop beating around the bush wanting to know how much money I made. She was sexy, no doubt. But not worth the effort. I’m so over the pretty ones with no substance.” Deacon gave him a knowing look. “Now Becca Bragg is both pretty and a hard worker.”

“So, ah, what do you know about her?”

Deacon’s smirk made him itch to slap it off his brother’s fat face. “She’s single, dated a little here and there, but not much. She loves her kid. Works at that tea shop downtown and makes killer sweets. Stan is addicted to her molasses cookies.”

“Yeah. What else?” Something had to give him an edge with the woman, because he had trouble reading her. Just when he thought she was into him, she wasn’t.

“I don’t know. I hadn’t realized her husband passed until you mentioned it. Simon’s quiet about his personal life. Not so quiet about his opinions about the game though.”

They both grinned.

“I like him,” Deacon continued. “He’s not only a terrific player, but he’s not a glory hound. We have enough of those. And then there’s his pretty mother—” he held up a hand to stop Mitch’s rebuttal “—who never gives the coaches any grief. Those are my favorite kids to play, the ones with the nice parents.

“You act different around her, Mitch. Just be careful, okay? I don’t think she’d try to cheat on you or lie to you, but with women, you just never know.”

Mitch took his brother’s advice to heart. Having witnessed how hurt Deacon had been by Rhonda’s infidelities, and having seen how difficult it was to find someone who’d like him for himself, not just for his fame, he’d backed off the dating scene.

Truth be told, he rarely spent more than a few months with a woman without getting antsy, feeling the net of a relationship tightening around him. Maybe after a little one-on-one time with Becca, he’d feel the same.

“How do you think Mom and Dad do it?” he asked Deacon.

Deacon shrugged. “Hell if I know. Then again, Dad wasn’t famous or anything, and he snagged Mom before she knew better. To hear them tell it, it was love at first sight.” Deacon scoffed. “Talk about some crappy excuse for getting lucky.”

“Come on. It’s possible.”

“You think?” Deacon shook his head. “Man, I can count on one hand the people I know who are still together after a few years of marriage. Relationships are hard enough, but trying to prepare for your own divorce on your wedding day has got to be a killer.”

“Aren’t you all sunshine and light?” Mitch had a need to get his brother thinking more positively. “What about Roy and Jess?”

“They’re the exception.”

“Mom and Dad? Aunt Joy and Uncle Steve? Meg and Harry?”

“So what? Our relatives are happy. That counts as one.” He ticked off Roy, their aunt, uncle, and cousins on his index finger.

“I know what finger I’d like to show you…”  

The doorbell rang, interrupting them. Mitch’s heart raced as if shot off the starting line. “Showtime.”

Deacon downed the rest of his beer. “God help us.”