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  “Very well. If you need anything, just whistle. I’ll be packing up a few things for the Harts.”

  His head popped up. “Hart House?”

  “Yes.” She paused to look at the stranger who still had an air of surprise around him. “Is that where you’d be staying?”

  “It is.”

  “Ah, then you’ll be having a lovely weekend, you will. The Harts have a wonderful establishment. No finer spot on the lake.”

  “That’s nice, but I’m really here to see a friend.”

  “Friend?”

  “Yes. You probably don’t know him, but he’s been here a short bit. Zane Crandall.”

  It’s him. Katie gave the man another look-see. Tall enough. A bit on the scrawny side for an athlete, but then again, he just had to coach and encourage the team, not play on it. “Yes, he’s staying in one of the cabins. Will you be doing the same?”

  “I will.” For the first time since coming into the shop the thin man smiled. “It’s already more than I expected.”

  “I’m sure you’ll be seeing lots of exceptional things.” Starting with Deidra. The whole town was rooting for her.

  Mr. Scrawny set a handful of protein bars, a box of instant oatmeal, and a six pack of cola on the counter.

  “Is that all you’ll be getting?”

  The man nodded and Katie rang up his bill, considering her options.

  It was important for the town to make a good impression. Deidra’s talents would win out on their own merits but a little small town hospitality to sweeten the pot certainly didn’t hurt anything. “You know, I made a couple of extra apple pies last night.” She turned and grabbed a prepackaged slice from the counter behind her. “Why don’t you be taking some of it off my hands now?”

  “Oh, I don’t think…”

  “Go on now. It’s on the house.”

  A smile as wide as the lake took over his face. “Thank you. That’s very thoughtful.”

  So the way to this fellow’s heart was indeed through his stomach. “And,” she held up a finger before spinning around and coming back, “here’s a tub of whipped cream to go with it. Should keep in the fridge just fine and it’ll make a fine dessert with that pie.”

  “Oh, I couldn’t.” He waved his hands.

  “Nonsense. My lunchtime crowd is long gone. Besides, any friend of Zane’s is a friend of mine.” She tossed it into a bag with the other things and smiled at him. “Speaking of which, if you’re looking for Zane, he should be at the high school about now. There’s plenty to be done. Tonight’s the big student faculty game to kick off the mountain tourney. The local high school teams have a pre-season tournament. They’ve been doing it for as long as I can remember. Helps determine the line up for the school year.”

  “Oh.” He slowly lifted his chin high and then gave a single curt nod. “I see.”

  “When you find Zane, tell him that Katie sends her regards to him and our Deidra.”

  The confused-looking fellow bobbed his head, retrieved his bag of food, and walked out the door.

  Yep. With her talent and a little extra help from her friends, Deidra would win Mr. Skinny College Scout over.

  ***

  “He’s here.” Lucy hung up the relic rotary phone on the kitchen wall. “That was Katie again. The scout just pulled up and was asking for Zane. She sent him to the high school.”

  “Guess the friend doesn’t have good enough reception to call Zane himself and ask where he is.” Zinnia rubbed a lock of hair away with the back of her hand and continued helping her grandmother crisscross the abundance of strips into miles of braided fabric.

  Lucy dialed Mabel. “He’s here. Red SUV.”

  “Is she going to call everyone in town?” Zinnia asked her grandmother.

  The older woman smiled. “Probably. Everyone wants to be on their best behavior.”

  Zinnia loved this old town and everything about it, but sometimes their logic escaped her. The scout needed a good ball player, and all the small town hospitality under the sun wouldn’t have an impact if the kid couldn’t play.

  The porch door slammed and it only took Zinnia and her grandmother a short while to realize that it couldn’t be family or they’d be in the kitchen by now.

  “I’ll get it, dear.” Grams stood and set her project to one side. So far there seemed to be a growing supply of braids but no baskets. “I’ll be right back.”

  Standing by the check-in desk in the front hall, a tall, slender gentleman in his mid-thirties smiled, receiving a key from the General. Fiona heard something about Mabel’s, baseball, how to find the high school, and she knew that Lucy and Katie were on the right track. This guy had to be the secret coach coming in to watch Deidra play.

  From just in front of the kitchen doorway, Fiona heard the man thank her husband, accept the key, and hasten out the door and into his car. “He seems to be in a hurry,” she said as her husband approached. “Looking for Zane?”

  “I think it’s more a matter of he hasn’t had lunch yet. And yes, he’s Zane’s friend. I’m sure he’s anxious to see what he came here for.”

  “Yes. I bet he is.” Fiona leaned in and gave her husband a brief peck on the cheek. The next few days were about to get very interesting.

  ***

  “I’m more nervous than a snowman in a sauna.” Callie slowly rubbed her hands together. She and Zane had been able to spend a great deal of time just hanging out and enjoying each other’s company. They’d also spent a lot of time working on the last minute details for tonight’s big game and the other games for the benefit of his friend the scout. Now that it was all so close, not even Zane at her side was enough to take the anxious edge away. “Anyone would think it was my collegiate future on the line with this weekend’s games.”

  “And tonight?” he asked.

  “What about it?”

  “No butterflies about playing against your students?”

  “Nah. The only thing that comes with tonight’s win is bragging rights.” She bit into the hot dog and contemplated how different things would be if he hadn’t come to visit. “I really am glad you agreed to stand in.” Ever since horsing around on the platform the other day, everything they’d done together had flowed like a well-oiled machine. Working together the last couple of days on the final details for the games had felt more like playing than work. Everything always seemed to function better for her with Zane by her side.

  A low guttural grunt accompanied a lazy smile. “I still don’t know how the General talked me into this.”

  “But you are happy he did?”

  Staring at his feet, he hefted one shoulder. “I don’t know if happy is the right word.”

  She wished she had something brilliant to say right now, something to make joy and lightheartedness replace the seriousness in his gaze. But as much as she wanted to, she didn’t have a clue. “Did your friend from Stanford mention when he’d be here?”

  Zane shook his head. “He didn’t say. All he told me was that he wanted to be here in time to watch Deidra in at least a couple of games.” He chewed and swallowed another bite of his hot dog, then tipped his head to one side. “You know, this may be the best hot dog I’ve ever eaten. Is there anything that this town doesn’t do better than anywhere else?”

  “Ha!” Callie burst out laughing. That might be the nicest thing she’d ever heard about her hometown. “I won’t even go there.”

  A slight twinkle reached his eyes. He lowered his hands, setting what was left of his lunch on the table. “You absolutely love it here, don’t you?”

  “Everything about it.” She smiled up at him and finished the last morsel of hot dog. He was right about a few things. Mabel’s picnic take out hot dogs could compete with any New York City street vendor’s. They were perfectly delicious. And of course, as far as she was concerned, there wasn’t any place on earth who did anything better than her hometown. But mostly, she did indeed love where she grew up. Unlike most people confined by the small area that mad
e up their home, she thrived on the hustle and bustle of ordinary life. A comforting median between the facts an education gave you and the facts of life. The hard knocks that came with reality. “So, you ready for the rest of the day?”

  “Yeah. I think this morning’s practice with the faculty went really well. I’m wondering how Deidra is doing with her testing.”

  “Mrs. Barclay has high hopes.”

  “So do I.” With the precision of a former ballplayer, Zane crumpled the wrapping and garbage into a ball and tossed them in a single shot into the trash. “What do you say we go check out the fields and make sure everything is set for later today?”

  “Absolutely.” She flung her leg over the picnic bench and pushed to her feet. Normally the job of checking the field prior to any game fell on her. She was really liking the idea of company. Someone who knew as much as she did about how a field needed to be prepared in order to host a ballgame. Someone who loved the game, any game, as much as she did. And most importantly, that the someone was Zane.

  ***

  Mabel spotted the man they had all been waiting for climbing out of the red SUV. Lucy and Katie were correct. The guy wasn’t anything like what she’d expected a college coach to look like. In her mind, a competent coach was either young, muscular, and athletic looking, or old, balding, and somewhat paunch. Somewhere in between wasn’t an option. And wasn’t that the stupidest thing. Didn’t matter, Deidra’s scout was here and he was about to get the best lunch he’d ever had in his lifetime. She just hoped he liked Yankee pot roast.

  Menu in her arm, Mabel held back, waiting for their new guest to come through the door. The little bell had barely sounded overhead when she whipped in front of him like the Road Runner in a cartoon. “Welcome. Table or booth?”

  “Either will be fine, thank you.” The guy didn’t smile, but there was something friendly in his voice nonetheless.

  “Follow me, please.” She resisted the urge to rub her hands together with delight. “Are you looking forward to tonight’s game?”

  “Game? Oh, yes.”

  Coming to a stop, she stepped to one side, waved him into the booth, and handed him a menu. “It should be a great game with Deidra playing.”

  He looked up, and his grunt of a response was somewhat noncommittal.

  Winning this guy over was going to take more work than any of them had anticipated. “With you being a friend of Zane’s—”

  “Did I mention I know Zane?” The confused look on the man’s face was so adorable, Mabel almost laughed.

  “Sorry.” Mabel cleared her throat and hunched her shoulders in an apologetic gesture. “Small town. News travels fast.”

  The guy nodded as though he knew exactly what she was talking about.

  “Anyhow, as I was saying, we’ve named today’s lunch special in honor of you, Home Run Pot Roast.”

  A crumpled brow, and an air of total confusion descended on the scout’s face. He seemed to consider his words before handing back the menu. “What the heck, I’ll try the pot roast.”

  “I’ll have that right out to you.” Still smiling, Mabel collected the menu and spotted Brenda Cary. “Oh, blast. Brenda and her son Wayne are marching this way. Don’t you worry, I’ll run interference.”

  The man looked over his shoulder and then turning back, leveled his gaze with Mabel. “Interference from what?”

  Brenda came up beside Mabel before she could say another word. Brenda’s skirt, as tight as a sausage skin, came down several inches above her knee. “Hello, there.”

  Mabel figured she should be thankful the slip of fabric wasn’t any shorter. “What brings you into town this early in the day?” As if she didn’t know.

  Without even asking, Brenda scooted into the booth beside the scout, gesturing at her son to sit in the spot across from him. Poor kid. It was obvious to anyone looking that he had the good sense to feel uncomfortable crashing the man’s lunch table.

  Mabel opened her mouth to say something when Brenda shifted so she had Mr. Scout’s full attention.

  “This here is my boy, Wayne.”

  Looking somewhat reserved, the scout hesitantly nodded.

  “Brenda?” Mabel’s free hand landed on her hip. What was this woman doing?

  Completely ignoring her, Brenda gestured toward her son like a game show hostess pointing out a prize. “He’ll be playing in this evening’s game. Varsity, you know. Number Seventeen.” She leaned her shoulder up against the man, had the audacity to bat lashes at him, and if she took in any deeper a breath, her bosom was going to heave out the low cut peach colored top and land in the man’s lap.

  “Brenda, I think you and Wayne are going to be late for the early practice.”

  Brenda looked torn between being responsible and continuing her efforts. She nudged his shoulder again. “We’ll see you later.”

  Mabel couldn’t be sure, but she thought she saw Brenda wink at the poor man. “Sorry about that. I’ll have your lunch out right away.”

  Jaw fallen slightly open, the man sheepishly glanced after Brenda, back to Mabel, and nodded. Mabel couldn’t blame him for being struck silent. Brenda had that effect on people. Hopefully she didn’t shake the poor guy up too much, or take his mind off Deidra and that scholarship everybody wanted her to have so badly.

  “Scout in back booth is having the Home Run special,” Mabel ordered as she entered the kitchen.

  Her cook of many years shook his head. “That’s a dumb name.”

  “Maybe, but we wanted to make him feel special.”

  “Humph. Don’t matter if you make him feel like the king of the mountain, all that’s gonna matter is how well the kid plays.”

  “I know. Still, being nice to him can’t hurt. Besides, it was really sweet of Zane to put himself out like that. Bringing his friend all the way from California and giving Deidra a chance she wouldn’t otherwise have. Least we can do is show his friend that coming all the way out here was worth it.”

  “Humph. That’s all I have to say.” He grabbed for a white plate and spun around.

  What did he know?

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Do you have any idea what’s up with her?” Callie’s cousin Zinnia cocked her head to one side in Poppy’s direction.

  “No.” Callie sighed. “She was kind of excited about a date over a week ago, but she hasn’t talked about it. I’m thinking that might be what has her a little mopey.”

  “Why?” Zinnia stacked a roll of tickets on the cloth covered folding table and glanced back at Poppy.

  “Of all of us, she’s the most traditional. I mean, if you don’t count Lily and her baking.” Callie slid the cash box next to Zinnia. “Poppy prefers to wear skirts, likes to hang out with family, loves shopping with Mom, helps Lucy with the garden. She even got a job at a church.”

  Zinnia bobbed her head. “I won’t argue with you that she’s our old-fashioned girl, but why would a date leave her mopey?”

  Callie shrugged. “Not sure. Maybe because six out of the nine of us have found their soul mate and this guy wasn’t her one?”

  “Seven,” Zinnia added.

  “Seven! Oh my. Who? Tell me all about him.” Callie was practically jumping out of her skin with enthusiasm for her cousin’s news. “When do we meet him?”

  “Not me.” Zinnia rolled her eyes. “You.”

  “Me?” For the love of all that was holy. Her cousin had lost her mind.

  “I’ve only been here a few days and that’s all I needed to see. You and the math tutor making doe eyes at each other like a couple of moonstruck teens. Except when I watch the way he looks at you, or the way you almost melt when he doesn’t know you’re looking, it makes me want to smile. Seven for seven. I love it.”

  “First of all, you’re exaggerating.” At least she thought her cousin was. Without thinking, Callie’s gaze immediately shifted to the faculty dugout where Zane and a couple of the teachers were setting up the water cooler. The sight of him made her heart beat a little f
aster and her lips twitch to blossom into a smile.

  “See.” Zinnia waved a hand at her and shook her head. “You’re doing it now. I’d bet a year’s salary if he looked up at you there’d be serious possibilities of simultaneous combustion.”

  “Don’t be silly. We barely know each other.”

  “Neither did Romeo and Juliet. If it’s right it’s right, and all the time in the world isn’t going to make it any more right.”

  “That sounds like something Grams would say.”

  “Actually, I think she did.” Zinnia paused and twisted her mouth to one side for a moment. “Maybe it was more along the lines of, if he’s the right one, then given time he’ll still be the right one. It was annoying back in high school when Mom turned out to be right about Jimmy Sullivan not being all that, but this isn’t high school.”

  “Well, technically…” Callie waved at the building behind her.

  “Ugh.” Zinnia rolled her eyes. “Just you wait and see.”

  “The school so appreciates you two girls volunteering.” Mrs. Brogan came up to the table positioned across the front gate and smiled at Zinnia and Poppy. “This is always our best fundraiser of the year.”

  Zinnia nodded, Poppy blushed, and Callie couldn’t stop thinking about what her cousin had said. Especially since she’d spent the last couple of days pondering what her life would be like without Zane Crandall in it, and the picture wasn’t very pretty.

  ***

  One thing after another had kept Zane and the others busy getting ready for today’s big game. Every chance he got, he stole a glance at Callie or exchanged a quick smile. He still wished he were another spectator on the bleachers, but playing right field wasn’t going to kill him. Especially since left-handed pull hitters were few and far between in high school.