Chapter 10

Ella searched the bleachers Friday night. She’d called Cat before leaving campus and asked her to save her a seat at the high school football game. She hadn’t seen Striker since he brought dinner by on Wednesday, and she’d barely talked to him the night before. She’d been wiped out when she got home from Prism and had wanted nothing more than a long, hot, bubble bath. Since he’d surprised her more than once over the past few weeks, she’d decided it was time to reciprocate as she walked back to her office after lunch.

He hadn’t only surprised her with the things he’d done, either. She still didn’t know if she should be pleased or upset by his answer on Wednesday. Of course, she also didn’t know why she’d lied to him either. After opening the letter, she’d considered the offer for maybe fifteen minutes before deciding she couldn’t do it. Being away for a couple months was one thing, but a year she couldn’t do. Not anymore. When she’d been an undergrad, it’d been no big deal to spend a year abroad. Even the two semesters she spent in France as a graduate student had been a breeze. But she couldn’t be away from her family for an entire year now. Or Striker.

Don’t make any decision yet, she reminded herself as she kept looking for Cat. She’d had the same conversation with herself multiple times this month. Each time she found it harder to not give in to her heart and tell Striker she loved him. Tell him she wanted to be with him.

Finally, she spotted Cat, surprised to see Kelsey sitting next to her. Most Friday nights Kelsey worked. It was about time she took a Friday off and went out, even if it was only to a high school football game.

Before she joined her friends, she glanced back at the sideline. Striker stood with Tony. When he looked in her general direction, she waved. After saying something to Tony, he jogged down the sideline toward the opening in the fence.

“Hey, you.” His smile reached his eyes as he stopped near her. Then he kissed her, a polite closed-mouth kiss that was nothing like the one he’d given her before leaving Wednesday night. A smart decision, considering the crowd around them, but her lips wanted more. “No plans tonight?” he asked, his joy at her being there clear to anyone near them.

“Nope, so I decided to surprise you.”

Striker stepped closer, his hand closing over hers, and the noise around her dimmed. “Come over after the game.” He spoke the words against her ear.

So many times the previous year, she’d come to a game and later spent the night at this house. Doing it again tonight would be so easy. And if he asked once she got there, Ella didn’t know if she’d be able to say no. Her body certainly didn’t want her to. “Okay, unless I get a better offer during the game.” A little humor to help clear her head never hurt. “Good luck.”

He kissed her one more time before jogging back to the team.

Cat and Kelsey were talking when she approached. When they looked up and saw her they both smiled and became silent, a good indication they’d been talking about her.

“Mr. Masterson finally gave you a Friday night off?” Ella asked before either friend could ask about her exchange with Striker.

“Annie needed Sunday off, so we swapped shifts.”

“Sounds like a good deal to me. I’d rather work a Sunday afternoon than a Friday night any day,” Ella answered. She’d done enough waitressing while in college to have an opinion on the subject.

“Tips are better on Fridays,” Kelsey answered.

“Makes sense. Especially during football season. People like to stay home and watch the games on Sunday,” Cat said as she pulled water from her huge tote bag. “Either of you want anything? I’ve learned to come prepared.” She pulled her bag open further, revealing a treasure trove of snacks, waters, a sweatshirt, and an extra blanket.

Kelsey took a water bottle and a granola bar from Cat’s bag. “Things do slow down a little when the season starts. It gets better around Valentine’s Day. At least, it has for the past two years. But even then, I make more on Friday nights.”

Wow. Had Kelsey’s parents really been gone that long? She’d started working at the restaurant after their deaths. It didn’t seem possible they’d died that long ago already. It seemed the older they all got, the quicker the years went by. At this rate, she’d be as old as Mrs. Mitchell before she realized it.

“Drew dropped by football practice last week. Did he visit you while he was around?” Cat asked, taking charge of the conversation.

Even with the cheering crowd, Ella heard Kelsey groan next to her. “He came in the restaurant and, lucky me, I got to wait on him.” She clapped along with everyone else as the North Salem players took the field. “He wanted to come over after my shift. Thankfully I was closing, and he couldn’t hang around until then.”

Ella knew Kelsey hadn’t shared her reasons for working two jobs with many people. And she guessed Kelsey was afraid Drew would ask questions she didn’t want to answer. He’d practically been a member of the Bancroft family, and might cross lines other people in town wouldn’t.

“Then he asked me to go as his date to Sean’s wedding.”

Most women old and young alike would’ve said yes before he finished his sentence. Judging by Kelsey’s tone, her friend had turned him down. Still Ella asked, “And you said?”

Kelsey threw her an incredulous look. “Do you have to ask?” She shook her head and looked back toward the field. “I told him I was going with my boyfriend.”

Cat, who’d taken a sip of water as Kelsey answered, choked on it and started coughing. “Did I miss something? Or did you create a boyfriend in your kitchen?”

“Very funny. The excuse slipped out when he asked.”

Ella thought Kelsey should’ve accepted the invitation. A fun night out with an old family friend would be good for her. It didn’t hurt either that the old family friend was easy on the eyes.

“And what are you going to do when he sees you’re alone?” Cat asked.

“This reception is going to be huge. Maybe he won’t notice.”

Cat snorted. “No way. He’ll seek you out. You better think up a good explanation. Or create a boyfriend tonight.”

***

Halftime over, Kelsey watched the players retake the field. So far North Salem had dominated the game. If the second half went like the first, it was going to be a blowout. It didn’t surprise her. North Salem’s football team had been outstanding for a long time. And while she enjoyed football, she hadn’t really come tonight because she wanted to see a game. She’d come because she knew her friends would be there and she needed a distraction. Drew’s unexpected visit had brought too many buried memoires to the surface. Memories that switched on emotions she actively pushed away. And tomorrow she’d see him again. Cat was right. No matter the size of Mia and Sean’s reception, he’d seek her out tomorrow. His parents might, too. They always made a point to say hello and ask how she was when she bumped into them. Even his youngest brother, John, did. The only way to avoid seeing them all tomorrow was to skip the wedding. She doubted Mia and Sean would notice, not with more than half the town there, as well as all the celebrities rumored to be showing up.

Since lying to Drew about a boyfriend, she’d considered skipping the whole event. But she’d known Sean her whole life and she liked Mia. Plus, she wanted a chance to just go out and have fun. She’d had so little of it lately.

Of course, not going didn’t guarantee she wouldn’t see Drew. He was persistent. His monthly calls since Ian’s death, despite her regular insistence they weren’t necessary, were a perfect example of that. Not to mention he could be stubborn. If she stayed home tomorrow, she’d find Drew at her door before he left town. She had a better chance of keeping their conversation short at the reception. Other people would want a chance to catch up with him. Single women would want to dance with him. He’d be unable to focus all his attention on her. If Drew came to her house, though, there’d be no one to bother them. Going tomorrow and facing him was definitely better than the alternative.

“What was Drew doing here anyway? He never comes back,” Cat asked, breaking into Kelsey’s thoughts. “I hope his parents and brother are okay.”

She hadn’t asked any personal questions. She’d hoped that, by not doing so, he wouldn’t either. Of course, that hadn’t happened.

“He told Striker he needed to see somebody. He didn’t say who,” Ella answered, the last few words barely audible as the crowd cheered because North Salem had intercepted the ball. Both Ella and Cat looked toward her with matching expressions.

She’d tried telling herself his unexpected visit was to see his parents or brother. Considering how infrequently he came back and the fact that she hadn’t returned his calls, she’d been unable to fully convince herself. Ella’s statement now reinforced her original suspicion. Judging by her friends’ expressions, they suspected the same.

“Why are you both looking at me? Drew knows a lot of people in town. He grew up here, remember? His parents live here. John lives here.”

“And how often does he come back? I don’t think I’ve seen him around in over two years,” Cat said.

She noticed Cat didn’t say “since your parents’ funeral,” but Kelsey knew she’d been thinking it.

“If he came back to see you, it’s kind of sweet,” Ella said, offering up her opinion. She shared a similar opinion whenever Kelsey complained about Drew’s monthly phone calls. “He’s always treated you like a sister. So, it makes sense he’d worry when you never called him back.”

“I had a brother. I don’t need or want another one.” Her voice reflected the anger crashing over her. Anger she felt toward Ian for dying and toward Drew for butting his nose into her life once a month. And anger she felt toward herself for never being strong enough to kill the hope that someday he’d see her as more than Ian’s little sister, a stupid childhood fantasy she’d tried, but had never completely managed, to eliminate.

“Sorry. I’m not mad at you guys,” she said. Her friends didn’t deserve her frustration. “You’re right, Ella. It’s sweet. But he needs to stop bothering me. I don’t need him checking in on me. And next time he calls, I’m not answering. Let him leave all the messages he wants.”

Kelsey glanced back at the field. The visiting team had called a time-out, and the team’s quarterback was on the sideline talking to his coach. Judging by the scoreboard, the coach could talk to his quarterback all he wanted and it wouldn’t make a difference at this point. While mathematically there might be time for the opponents to catch up, only a miracle would make it a reality.

“What’s everyone doing later tonight?” Cat asked while they waited for the game to resume. “Tony and I are heading to the movies and then O’Leary’s Pub afterward. Richard is coming. If you’re not doing anything, come with us.”

“Striker invited me over,” Ella said.

Kelsey took her friend’s statement as further confirmation that things were going well between Ella and Striker, despite the disaster she’d witnessed at the block party.

“What about you?” Cat asked, nudging her in the side with her elbow. “I don’t think you’ve ever met Richard. You’ll like him. He’s nice.”

She didn’t need or want Cat setting her up with Tony’s business partner. “Going to pass. I want to correct this week’s exams and finish next week’s lesson plans. If I don’t, I’ll have to do it all after work on Sunday.” Seeing Drew again tomorrow gave her enough to worry about. She didn’t want to add any more.