She pulled the collar of her wool peacoat up around her cheeks and looked over at Kendra, sitting two rows down with Tiffany and some other girls. Adele was really glad Kendra had made good friends since she’d moved to Cedar Creek. Otherwise, the upheaval in her life would have been so much harder on the thirteen-year-old.

The crowd around Adele cheered, and she looked toward the field. One of the Cougar players intercepted the ball on the Odessa fifteen. With four minutes left on the clock, the Cougars got the ball and steadily moved it down the field. If Adele had been a nail biter, she would have chewed off her fingers as they moved it yard by painstaking yard. With less than thirty seconds to go, tension buzzed the air and grabbed the back of her neck as the Cougars’ quarterback dropped back, looked to his right, then threw the ball to the left. The ball sailed through the air into the hands of a receiver, who ran the ball into the end zone from the ten-yard line. The crowd went wild, jumping to their feet and screaming as six points were put up on the scoreboard. Odessa still led by a point with five seconds left in the game.

“It’s goin’ into overtime,” said the man next to her. He’d painted his face green and black and wore a Cougars jersey.

Overtime? Adele didn’t think she could take the excitement of overtime. She wondered how Zach could handle it. He called a time-out, and she looked down at him in his dark green Cougars jacket, surrounded by his players, pointing as they nodded their helmets. Then he moved back to the sidelines and put his hands on his hips. As he watched his team line up, he pulled at the brim of his hat as if he couldn’t find the right spot on his head.

“They’re going for the two points,” the guy beside her said, his voice serious as a heart attack. “I hope like hell they don’t screw the pooch on this one.”

Adele’s attention returned to the line of scrimmage as the ball was snapped. The quarterback took the snap, fell back and brought the ball behind his head for a pass to the left. The defense anticipated the pass and crowded the end zone, leaving a gaping hole on the right for the Cedar Creek running back to sprint through. By the time Odessa saw the ball hadn’t been thrown but handed off, it was carried into the end zone.

“They ran the Statue of Liberty,” the guy beside her yelled, as half the crowd screamed, and the other half groaned. Two more points flashed up on the Cougars side as the time clock read double zero. Game over.

“We won?”

The guy nodded and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

“H-h-how?” she managed, as he jumped up and down while she was trying to avoid all that paint on his face. How had the quarterback handed the ball off when everyone thought he’d passed it? Was that legal?

“That was goddamn brilliant.” Then he let out a holler that made Adele’s ears ring. He sat her back down on her heels, then leapt over a few rows and moved toward the field. Adele couldn’t see Zach at first, but then she spotted him out on the field, in the center of his team. The boys were all jumping on top of each other and flashing the hook ’em horns sign. Two of the players ran onto the field with a big ice chest and dumped its contents on top of Zach’s head. He turned as ice cubes bounced off his shoulders and the top of his hat. He laughed and shook his head.

Kendra made her way to Adele and together they sat for the award ceremony. Adele watched the Cougars hoist their big gold trophy and pass it around. They named the most valuable players, and Zach gave a little speech about the team. He was interviewed by news organizations from as far away as Austin and Dallas, and as the crowd moved from the stands, Zach and the players headed into the tunnel.

“You ready?” she asked Kendra as she pulled out one of Sherilyn’s lists from her coat pocket. She had to get two Christmas trees. One for the hospital and one for the condo, as well as ornaments and gifts. “We’ve got a lot to do before Christmas. We have to decorate the condo and your mom’s room,” she said, and looked up, catching one last glimpse of Zach and the lucky hat she’d rescued from a couple of cheerleaders that day last month inside the girls’ bathroom.

Tiffany stood at the back of the crowd and waited for her daddy to make his way toward her. She could see his head above everyone around him as he shook hands with the people who waited for the coaches and players at the gates to the stadium. She could see his ball cap and his great big smile. Her heart got big as a balloon when she saw him. She loved him and was so proud that she was his daughter. Sometimes she got scared when she thought about something happening to him like it had Momma. When she thought about losing her daddy, her stomach hurt, and her chest got tight.

A man in a big cowboy hat shook her daddy’s hand, then wrapped his arms around him in a big hug. The man looked like he was crying.

Tiffany liked football, but gee, it wasn’t like dance-team competition. Dance team was tough.

She continued to wait for him as the crowd filed past, shaking his hand and patting him on the back. She looked at her pink wristwatch. It had been about forty minutes. Sheesh, that was a really long time to wait, and the crowd didn’t seem to be thinning. Tiffany didn’t mind sharing her daddy sometimes, but this was getting ridiculous. She was supposed to have gotten a ride from Becky Lee and her mom, Cindy Ann, but she’d rather wait and ride home with her dad.

Finally, after a few more minutes he looked over in her direction. He smiled and lifted a hand to wave. She waved back, and his smile got bigger. Something in his eyes made her slowly lower her hand and turn at the waist to look behind her. Her gaze landed on Adele and Kendra standing a few feet away. She turned back, and her dad motioned for her to join him. She picked up the green-and-black stadium chair by her left foot and weaved her way through the crowd. Just before she got to him, he reached out his hand, but he didn’t reach for her. A few feet from Tiffany’s face, her daddy grasped Adele’s hand and he pulled her toward him.

“Excuse me,” he said to someone who was chatting at him. He put one hand on Adele’s waist and one on the side of her face, and right there in front of the whole town, he kissed her.

Tiffany’s heart pinched, and fear stole her breath. “Daddy,” she gasped, but he didn’t hear her. He was too busy sucking face with Adele.

Chapter 15

“Congratulations,” Adele said against Zach’s mouth. His shoulders were wet beneath her hands from the big chest of ice water his players had dumped over his head.

He kissed her hard, then pulled her against his chest. “We’ll celebrate later,” he spoke next to her ear. “When we’re alone.”

“It’s Christmas break. School’s out,” she reminded him. “That might be tough.”

He groaned. “I’ll figure some way to get you naked.” He leaned back and looked into her face. “Thank you for coming.”

She stared up at him. Into his shining brown eyes with the smile lines in the corners. Her heart swelled with pride and joy and something else. “I’m glad I came.”

“Coach Z!” someone called out, and he looked over her head. He smiled and dropped his hands to his sides. He looked back into her face. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Soon” turned out to be Monday morning. Tiffany and Kendra were at a dance camp in San Angelo for the day, and Zach showed up on her porch bright and early. He wore a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt, and they set off on their usual jog. Only this time, he stopped about every few blocks and kissed her. His big body warmed her up, and she wrapped her arms around his waist. On the corner of Fifth and Yellow Rose, his mouth opened over hers and he fit his pelvis against hers. She rocked against the hard length of his erection and the usual five-mile run got cut short, and they ended up in Sherilyn’s spa tub, surrounded by hot water and rose-scented bubbles.

“You looked kinda studly down there on the sidelines Saturday,” she said. Zach sat across the tub from her, and she ran her toe up the outside of his bare calf. “I can see why all the Junior League girls think you’re so hot.” She lowered her face and hid her smile amongst the bubbles.

He lifted a brow and reached for her foot. “Only the Junior League girls?”

“Maybe a few others.” She shrugged. “You’re much more fun to watch than the game.”

“When I looked up into the bleachers and saw you, I couldn’t believe you were there.” He pressed his thumbs into her arch and massaged little circles. “I’m glad I didn’t see you until the second half.”

“Why?”

“Seeing you added about ten times more pressure to the game.” He lifted her foot and kissed her instep. “I didn’t want to screw it up and lose in front of you.”

Soap bubbles slid down the side of her foot and ankle. She looked at him, sitting across from her and kissing her foot, and something warm and bubbly slid next to her heart. “You mean, you didn’t want to lose in front of the whole town.”

“That too, but mostly I didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of you.” His thumbs moved over her heel and he pressed his lips to her arch. He turned his head to one side, and said, “When I used to play football, I didn’t have to worry about impressing women. Hell, I think you’re the only woman I’ve ever tried to impress.” He softly bit her instep. “First at UT, and now here.”

Her eyelids suddenly felt heavy. “Are you trying to impress me right now?”

“Why else do you think I’m sitting here, smelling like a rose garden and surrounded by girly bubbles.”

“’Cause you like girly bubbles?”

He shook his head. “I like you. Ever since I saw you in the gymnasium over at the junior high, I’ve wanted to be with you again.”