Chapter 15
Ifinish getting ready in a flurry and head downstairs to find Jake standing under the porch light. He runs his hand through his surprisingly tamed hair, causing it to ripple around his fingers. I realize this habit is probably why it always looks a little unkempt.
“Claire,” I say with a warning in my tone. She didn’t even offer for him to come inside to wait, which means she’s up to something.
“We were just doing introductions,” she replies, throwing her hands up in the air as if to plead innocence. “Isn’t that right, Jake?”
He nods solemnly; his attention is still set on me.
“Hi.” I nudge my friend out of the way and stop at the threshold.
“Hi, you look great,” he greets me.
I’m wearing jeans and a loose sweater, not something I put on when I want to look great. But his focus lingers on my lips a beat too long for it to be considered an accident. They pull into a shy smile in response.
“Thank you, we can head out—”
“Remember what I said,” Claire interrupts. From the way her eyes flit between us, it’s impossible to know who she’s addressing.
I tense, but Jake doesn’t. He nods with a genuinely calm smile on his face. “It was nice to meet you, Claire.”
“It might be. Depends on if my girl enjoys herself tonight.”
I roll my eyes as heat creeps up my neck. “Okay, we need to get going, it’s starting soon.” I grab my bag, flash a smile in Claire’s direction, then step out onto the porch.
“What is it that we’re doing tonight?” he asks as we walk towards his waiting truck.
“Something that’s considered a cornerstone of small town life.”
“Cow tipping?”
I stop just before reaching his truck and narrow my eyes. “I am so close to calling this whole thing off.”
“Alright, but I have always wanted to try that. So, if it’s on the table at all…” He steps around me and opens the passenger door.
Climbing onto the leather bench seat, I wait for him to walk around to the driver’s side before I say, “I don’t think you could handle it, city slicker.”
His deep and alluring laugh fills the truck cab. I want to descend headfirst into the cozy way it surrounds me. “Why does it feel like that’s the meanest thing you’ve ever called someone?”
I shrug, fighting a smile. Maybe tonight won’t be so hard after all.
There were plenty of possibilities that ran through my mind when I considered where Lucy would want to go. A high school football game was not one of them.
Down on the field, the home team’s white helmets glow in that stark way that can only be achieved under Friday night lights. Their uniforms are a burgundy perfectly matched to the sweater of the woman beside me—and nearly everyone else in these bleachers.
“Do you come to these games often?” I ask, unwrapping the foil from my concession stand hotdog.
Lucy’s main course still sits on her lap as she pops a peanut M&M in her mouth instead. While she chews, she waves back to the woman climbing the stadium stairs to three rows before us. It’s the fifth person to greet her since we arrived.
“Not really since graduating, no. I did come last year with Claire when it was her cousin’s senior night though.”
Interesting choice for tonight, then.
“What made you bring me here? If you don’t mind my asking.”
She points down at the field. “Do you see the head coach? The man in the backwards baseball cap with the clipboard.”
I nod. “Sure.”
“His name is John Dewese. He’s the person that built the brewery before his funds got backed up and the bank seized the property.”
My stomach knots as I watch the coach, John, talk to his players. They look at him with devout respect and admiration. I recognize it from my own days playing high school sports, and it’s clear that he’s not the kind of coach that berates these boys and makes them feel ashamed.
If I had to bet, he’s the kind of coach that builds strong members of a community.
I understand why Lucy brought me here.
“He’s a good man,” she continues, as if reading my thoughts. “And he wanted to give something back to his town.”
“I’m guessing this isn’t just about having a hotel versus a brewery.”
Lucy quirks an eyebrow. “Very insightful of you, vice president.”