Chapter 24
Bettina the book lady wasn’t any happier to see Parker the next day than she’d been the day before. She followed him to the
back room, then pounced on him as soon as he’d shed his coat.
“Your fans are mean,” she informed him. “Lina was listening yesterday and told me all about it. It wasn’t very chivalrous
of you to put poor Alice in the hot seat like that.”
“This wasn’t my idea,” Parker said.
Bettina crossed her arms over her ample chest and glared at him. “I supposed that ugly meme wasn’t your idea, either.”
“It wasn’t. I told Alice that. I’ve told everybody that. And, in case you forgot, it was one of your posse who called the
station and took me up on my offer to debate,” he added in exasperation.
The debate. He wanted to recall the words the minute they were out of his mouth. He’d just dug up an ugly corpse that should
have stayed buried.
“We’ve all regretted it since,” said a soft voice behind him, making him jump. He turned to see Nola Willoughby. “And I’m especially sorry my daughter feels the need to participate in keeping this battle of the sexes going, even if the store has been promised some free advertising.”
“Look, I don’t want to be here any more than your daughter wants to be at the station,” Parker informed her.
“I understand,” she said.
“But I enjoyed meeting with her last night.” Now, why had he gone and shared that information? Bettina looked ready to beat
him up, and Nola’s smile didn’t reach her eyes.
“Détente,” he added.
The smile remained icy. “Let’s all get to work,” Nola said, then turned her back on him.
He was about as welcome in this pink box of books as the plague. He hoped things were going better for Alice.
“Hey, Alice, you said something earlier about Parker getting you to watch some sports movies. I got one for you,” said a caller
named Ed. “Watch The Natural. It’s a classic. I bet Parker’s got a copy. If he doesn’t, you can stream it.”
“Thanks, Ed. What’s it about?” she asked.
“It’s about baseball. And overcoming the tough stuff. Starting over and making it work.”
Starting over and making it work. Why did that make her think of Parker and her?
She forced herself to stay in the moment. “It sounds interesting,” she said.
“That movie is a classic,” said Jay from where he sat behind the glass.
“Good suggestion, Ed,” said Jerome, who was once again Alice’s wingman. Ed went away and Jerome continued the discussion.
“You know, there’s something about sports movies. Actually, there’s something about sports,” he added.
“What is it? Tell me, everyone. I want to know,” Alice said.
That lit up the lines. Every man had a theory. Sports tested a man’s strength and endurance. Sports taught him how to be a team player. Sports were a metaphor for life—hard work and not giving up paid off.
“You all make it sound so noble,” she said.
“There is a certain nobility to it,” Jerome said. “We’re all made different, and we’re all given different talents. Whatever
a person is gifted with, it would be a shame not to use it. There’s another classic movie I love, Chariots of Fire. It was about the men who competed in the 1924 Olympics. One of them, Eric Liddell, was a runner. His sister didn’t want him
to go. He was going to be a missionary. What was the purpose of running a race, right?”
“Did he end up being a missionary?” Alice asked.
“He did. But he also ran. He reminded her that God had made him fast. ‘When I run, I feel God’s presence,’ he said. I know
how he felt. When I was on the football field it was like I was playing in a corner of heaven, showing off a little for God.
Plus, sports are fun,” he added with a wink. “Kind of like books, right?”
“You can learn a lot from books,” Alice said.
“You can learn a lot from playing a sport, too,” Jerome said. “You get Parker to show you The Natural and see if you don’t get hooked. How about it, guys? Does she need to watch The Natural?”
Of course, this brought in more calls, all agreeing with Jerome.
“I definitely will watch it,” she promised.
The next caller, a man named Cole, wanted to compliment her on being willing to learn about sports. “My girlfriend won’t go
to any games with me or even watch one on TV,” he complained. “But she always wants me to watch her chick shows with her.”
Oh, boy, here was a Parker acolyte. “I’m wondering if she doesn’t want to because she doesn’t know anything about those sports, like me. Maybe you could play a video sports game with her.”
“Alice, would you play a sports video game?” Cole wanted to know.
“I’d certainly try,” she said. “Don’t give up, Cole. Bribe your girlfriend with chocolate and tell her if she watches a game
with you this spring HEA Books will reward her with a complimentary book.”
“A football romance?” teased Jerome.
“Maybe,” she joked. It was the perfect lead-in to read the ad copy she’d been allowed time for. “And, men, if you’re losing
at love and looking for a new playbook, come on into HEA Books in West Seattle. Our team of experts will be on hand to match
you up with the perfect book. Real men read.”
Jay gave her a thumbs-up and Jerome smiled his approval.
The rest of the program flew by. She got lost in more than one conversation Jerome had about several of the major league baseball
coaches and the teams they were building, but she still enjoyed herself.
“Baseball sounds kind of fun,” she said as they vacated the booth for the next radio talk show host.
“It is, once you know the strategy. Some women find it a little slow. My wife used to bring a book to read when I took her
to games.”
“That sounds like a good compromise,” said Alice.
“It’s always more fun to watch when you know the players. We went to all of Parker’s Little League and high school games.
Those she watched. He had what it took. It was too bad he blew out his shoulder. That ended his career. But he landed on his
feet. Well, till his hormones took him down.”
“At least you didn’t say a woman,” said Alice.
“She contributed, just like in that baseball movie we were talking about.” Jerome shook his head. “He let it turn him sideways. All that stupid battle of the sexes stuff. It hides the fact that my nephew really is a good guy.”
“Is he paying you to say things like that?” she teased.
Jerome chuckled. “Nope.”
She might have seen glimpses of Parker’s good guy side the night before. Or had that been wishful thinking? After all, what
woman wouldn’t want a gorgeous man to turn out to be a good guy?
“Get him to show you The Natural tonight,” said Jerome.
“I will,” she said. The words were barely out of her mouth when she caught a vision of herself cuddled up next to Parker on
his couch.
There would be no cuddling, of course. He wasn’t attracted to her. Once this gimmick of trading places was over that would
be the end of seeing him. Which was just as well since they had nothing in common.
She’d done the post-show wrap-up with Jay, been complimented by Harlan the program director and was just getting into her
car when Parker called. “We were listening in the store,” he said. “You did great.”
Why did she feel so pleased by his compliment? She decided she didn’t want to know.
“How are you doing?” she asked.
“Bettina still wants to murder me and bury me under a pile of books. So far one customer has quizzed me on my love life, and
another wanted to know when you’re coming back. She needs a new book recommendation. Oh, yeah, and two guys came in half an
hour ago to tell me they saw me on the news and felt sorry for me. They both bought books for their girlfriends. And I started
reading my mom’s latest.”
“Are you enjoying it?”
“It’s not bad. So, I’m reading a romance. That means tonight you have to watch a sports movie.”
“The Natural,” she said, the same time as him. “I guess you heard that part of the show.”
“I did. It’s a good place to start.”
“You have it?”
“I have a whole collection of sports movies. Enough to keep you busy for a long time.”
Watching sports movies with Parker Black, the idea sent a frisson racing across her chest. “What a coincidence. I have a whole
collection of romance novels,” she said. Good Lord, was she flirting? And why was she flirting with Parker Black?
“I bet you do. Got any without sappy dialogue?”
“I have all of your mom’s.”
“Okay, I’m not stepping into that bear trap,” he said. “My uncle just walked in. See you tonight.”
And then he was gone.
Uncle Jerome had come into the store, pretending to check on Parker, but Parker knew he’d come to check out Alice’s mom. “How’s
your temp doing?” he asked her, giving Parker a teasing grin.
“He’s adapting quite well,” said Nola.
Jerome nodded. “Good. Looks like you’ll be needing to show Alice a movie tonight,” he said to Parker.
“That’s the plan,” Parker said. “By the way, I’m halfway through Mom’s book. And yes, it’s good,” he added in grudging response
to Nola’s raised eyebrow.
“The boy can be taught,” cracked Jerome. He turned to Nola. “Is it too late for you to grab some lunch? I’d love to fill you
in on what a success your daughter is.”
Way to suck up, Unk. But he wasn’t lying. Alice was doing well.
“Go ahead. We can handle things here,” he said to Nola. As if he was now a total bookstore pro.
The way she was smiling at his uncle, he knew she didn’t really need any encouragement. He realized he was a little jealous.
Uncle Jerome had no bad boy past to live down and the lady was more than willing to spend time with him. He wished he could
say the same about himself. He was a regular love leper who had already struck out twice. What chance did he have of succeeding
if he tried again with . . . anyone? Did he even deserve a chance?
Alice skipped into his mind and he couldn’t help wondering what she would she think of him if they spent more time together.
A new woman entered the store. She was tall with legs that could have stretched from Seattle to San Francisco and long, wavy