Playing at Love (16 page)

“Well, I’ve got a pretty full register at the moment, but I might be able to squeeze one more in; maybe the group class on Saturdays.”

“Great.” Tess beamed. “I’ll tell J— I mean, I’ll talk to her father about it and see what he thinks.”

Eva glanced up at Tess after pouring hot water into the cups. “All right, dear, just let me know. So, what are you going to do about that mess at the high school?”

Tess sat back and groaned dramatically. “Honestly, I’m doing everything I can.” While they drank a whole pot of tea, Tess told Eva about her plan with the show choir and spotlighting Penny as a soloist.

“That’s very interesting,” Eva said, fingering her chin. “If I were still on the judging panel, I think I would love to see something as refreshing as that.” She leaned forward across her desk. “But, does anyone know about it? Anyone except your team?”

“No,” Tess said. But then she remembered that she’d told Jack about it just yesterday. She was sure her secret was safe with him. What would Jack do with that kind of information, anyway? “I’ve asked the class to keep it quiet,” she added. “No discussion about it outside rehearsal.”

“Good.” Eva sat back. “You’ve got the element of surprise going for you, too. The worst thing that could happen is that the panel finds out beforehand that you’re doing something like spotlighting a soloist. Not to mention your song choices. One of the judges might not approve of something so out-of-the-box and institute a rule at the last minute.”

“I know,” Tess agreed, taking a final sip from her cup. “I considered that. But I’m pretty confident. And at this point, it’s all we’ve got.”

Eva reached out and put her hand over Tess’s. “It will be enough,” she whispered, her eyes sparkling. “I have a feeling.”

Tess smiled at her, feeling a lump in her throat. “Thanks, Eva. So do I.”

Chapter Eighteen

“Danny, Bryson.” Jack approached the two coaches. “Williams looking good today?” he asked, standing beside them as they watched their quarterback running plays.

“Good as ever, Coach,” Bryson said. “Those passing drills you taught him are making a difference. Have you always had such great instincts?”

Jack felt like rolling his eyes. Bryson tried hard and was a fine assistant coach, but also, he was kind of a suck-up. “Not always, Bryson,” Jack answered.

“Well, whatever you’re doing with Williams, it’s working,” Bryson said. “That last win really boosted his confidence.”

“A little too much,” Danny added, adjusting his ball cap.

“Yeah.” Jack gazed toward the player in question. “I’ve noticed that, too. I’ll get with him after practice today. I wanted to talk to you guys about something else. I’m adding Andy Rivers to the depth chart as QB three.”

It surprised him a bit when both coaches turned to him, wearing matching incredulous expressions.

“Rivers?” Danny said. “He can throw, but that kid wouldn’t survive one sack!”

“Hold on,” Jack said. “I didn’t say I was going to start him in the game tomorrow. I said
third-string backup
. With Williams and Morison as one and two”—Jack pointed toward the boys—“he’ll never play in a game this season. I just think it would be good for him. You
know
he’s got a strong arm.” He put his hands in his pockets and squinted out toward the field, searching for Andy. “He’s only a sophomore. Maybe after a few training camps, in a year or two he’ll be ready.”

“You think that’s a good idea, Coach?” Bryson piped in. “Seems like a waste of—”

Danny quickly cleared his throat. “We’re behind you, Jack,” he said. “If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure. We’re almost done for the day,” he called to them over his shoulder as he headed toward his defense working the tackle dummies. “I’ll call Rivers into my office after practice and let him know.”

After practically peeling the kid from the ceiling, Jack gave Andy an official copy of the playbook and a set of game tapes to watch, and then sent him on his way. He couldn’t help smiling when he heard the whooping and cheers coming from the locker room. Sure, Andy weighed a buck twenty-five and had a lot to learn, but Jack was happy with his decision. And knowing how supportive the other members of the team were—even for a third-stringer—reminded him of why he loved coaching.

He must remember to add
that
to his list when the subject came up with Tess again. He swiveled in his chair, tapping a pen against his chin.

It was Thursday and he’d only managed to see her one other time since he’d dragged her into the closet on Monday. They’d met again at lunch on Tuesday but they were never alone. That night, Jack had gone out to Jenna’s school for a teachers’ night. On Wednesday, Tess was in a meeting at lunch and then called Jack later that afternoon, apologizing that she couldn’t see him that night because she needed to help her parents with something at their house last-minute. When he’d asked if she wanted him to come along, she’d said no, but promised she would make it up to him.

That was good enough for Jack, even though it had been almost four days and he was starting to feel a little crazy without being able to touch her. It was a good thing he had such an important game coming up to distract him. With their two toughest rivals left, he really needed to win both games.

When he heard the last locker door close, Jack paused the game tape he was watching and reveled in the silence. The other coaches must have left, too, because the only sound Jack could hear was the AC unit. He closed his eyes and sat back.

“Hey, you.”

Jack’s eyes flew open to see Tess standing at the open door of his office. He was a little shocked at the sudden heat swirling in his stomach. Her hair was pulled up, displaying that long, sexy neck, and she was wearing a black pinstriped jacket with a matching skirt that was just short enough to cause his eyes to linger on her legs.

“Hey.” He pushed back from his desk and stood up. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“I missed you,” Tess said as she sauntered over to him.

Jack felt a hunger in his soul for this woman that was almost uncontrollable. Yes, he loved every inch of her body, but he also loved the in-between times when they would talk and laugh. He loved her mind, the way she thought, and the things she cared about. He hadn’t felt this strongly about any woman, not even at the beginning with Susan.

“I missed you, too,” he said, glancing past her into the hall.

“Everyone’s gone.” A little smile was playing around the corner of her mouth. “I have evening rehearsal, but not for another hour.”

Jack stood and watched as she pulled at the single button of her jacket then peeled it off, revealing a little purple tank top. “Oh, boy.” He swallowed. “Is that for me?”

Tess nodded then stepped up to him. “And a little for me,” she whispered, gently pushing him against his desk. Jack sat back as she leaned into him, kissing him slowly, like a sweet temptation.

He wrapped his arms around her, his fingers trailing over the silky fabric. When she pushed on him, he opened his eyes to see her grinning. Just when he was about to grab her and sweep everything off his desk in a romantic gesture, he heard a screech.

“Oh! Sorry!”

Jack and Tess disentangled and turned to see Mac at the door.

“Sorry, sorry!” she repeated, holding a hand over her eyes like she was watching a scary movie.

“Mac!” Tess gasped, stepping back from Jack and smoothing down her top. “What are you doing here?”

“I was looking for you,” she said, still covering her eyes.

“For me?” Jack asked, confused, taking a quick moment to make sure all his clothing was in place, too. “Why?”

“No.” Mac stomped her foot. “Not
you
.”

“Mac,” Tess said, chuckling softly. “We’re decent. You can open your eyes.”

“Oh.” Mac slowly lowered her hand.

“What are you doing here?” Tess repeated, pressing a hand against the side of her neck as though she was taking her pulse. If it was anything like Jack’s, it was going a million miles per hour. “I mean,” Tess continued, “how did you know I would be
here
?”

Mac rolled her eyes. “Please. You might have the rest of this school fooled, but not me. You’ve always been a terrible liar.”

“Oh,” Tess said. “Well, nothing’s going on, really, we’re just planning a, um—”

“Save it,” Mac said. “That’s not why I’m here. Rick released a special. It was too late to come out in this morning’s paper, but it’s online now.”

“About the school?” Tess asked, like she was hearing a foreign language. “What does it say?”

Jack blinked when Mac suddenly turned to glare at him. “I think
he
knows,” she muttered.

“Me?” Jack said, taken aback. “I have no idea.”

Mac rolled her eyes then pulled a computer tablet out of her bag. She swept her finger across it then held it up to Tess. “Read,” she practically ordered.

Tess obeyed. A few moments later, her eyes lifted to Jack’s. He hadn’t seen her look so angry since that very first day they saw each other in the teachers’ lounge. And suddenly, Jack felt ice in his stomach.

…

Tess was fuming as she flew down the road. She wasn’t sure if Rick Duffy would still be at his office, but if she knew one thing about newspapermen, it was that they kept very late hours. If he wasn’t still at the paper, someone would be. And that someone was going to give her answers.

After she’d read the online article, she’d confronted Jack. He claimed he had no idea what was going on, but Tess refused to listen, just grabbed her jacket and stormed out of his office. Was that why he’d really met her at the running park? Was their whole weekend together a ruse to get her to spill her secret plan for how she would save the music program?

While she sat at a red light, impatiently tapping her fingers on the steering wheel, she replayed that conversation, how casually Jack had asked about the choir and then about Penny. How interested he’d seemed. How she’d told him
everything
.

And now all of it was in print for the world to see. More importantly, for her competitors to see.

“
Why
did you
do
that, Tess?” she said aloud, lecturing herself. “Why did you pick now to open up like that? And to a man who broke your heart before? Stupid, stupid, stupid!”

There were lights on at the newspaper office. Tess slammed her car door and marched across the parking lot. The glass doors were locked but there was a night buzzer. Tess leaned on it for over a minute until someone showed up.

“The business office is closed,” the scruffy-looking guy said through the glass, pointing at the office hours stenciled on the window.

“I need to see Rick Duffy,” Tess said. “Is he here?”

“Duffy?” the guy said, scratching his head. “Umm.” He glanced over his shoulder.

“It’s very important. Tell him it’s Tess Johansson from Franklin High. I need to talk to him. He
owes
me that.”

The guy fingered his patchy beard and seemed to be thinking it over. “Just a sec,” he said, then disappeared.

She folded her arms and waited. A few minutes later, Rick appeared in the lobby. He kind of waved and unlocked the door.

“Hi,” he said, holding the door open.

“Who?” Tess asked, not bothering to move the conversation into the lobby. “Who told you about my competition piece for Regionals? Who told you about Penny? And who told you the name of the song?” She folded her arms. “That’s a pretty lucky guess, don’t you think? So?
Who
?”

“You know I can’t reveal—”

“I
swear
to you,” Tess cut him off, “if you say you can’t reveal your sources, I will scream bloody murder. Who was it?”

Rick shook his head and slid his hands into the pockets of his brown corduroy pants.

“Fine,” Tess said, realizing she was at an impasse. “I’m pretty sure I know who told you, anyway,” she muttered, mostly to herself. “But why?
Why
did you print that? Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

“Information was brought to me and I reported it. It’s news.”

Tess felt fire under her skin. “No, it’s not,” she said. “It was a secret, one that a bunch of sixteen-year-olds managed to keep, I might add. These kids have worked so hard and you just ruined it. You promised that your columns would be equal and unbiased, so, tell me, are you now going to print the football team’s playbook?”

Rick furrowed his brow. “Of course not.”

“Why? What you wrote about my choir is just as damaging as telling the football team’s opponents what their plays are. Don’t you get that?” She bit the inside of her cheeks so she wouldn’t cry. “You destroyed the best chance I had at saving my program.”

“Why?” Rick asked, taking a step forward. “You have Regionals in a few weeks. The outcome there is what your program is hanging on. Right?”

Tess opened her mouth, tempted to further explain the nuances of show choir competitions, but she refused to give him any more fodder. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. And I’m calling your editor tomorrow.” She pointed a finger in his face. “Mark my words.”

“You should do more than that,” a voice said from behind.

“Jack,” Tess said, thrilled to see him for the briefest of moments, until she remembered. “What are you doing here?”

“The same thing you are,” he said, though Tess noticed that he wasn’t looking at her, he was looking at Rick.

…

“That was completely unethical,” Jack said, moving directly in front of Duffy.

“I assure you, it wasn’t.”

Jack wanted to take a punch at the guy, but he was trying to control his anger for the moment. After Tess had yelled at him and then stormed out of the gym, he’d read the article on Mac’s tablet. Then he’d become incensed. Just like the night she’d come to his house for dinner and received the phone call from Walker, Jack immediately felt the need to help. Though, after all they’d been through recently, that desire was even stronger now.

“You made a huge mistake tonight,” Jack said, stepping up to Duffy, just waiting for Tess to give instructions to knock him out.

“Calm down, Jack.” Tess sighed. “Haven’t you done enough?”

Jack shifted his gaze from Rick to Tess. “What
exactly
have I done?” he asked. His question came out more callous than he’d intended, but he couldn’t seem to control where his anger was directed.

“What did you do?” she repeated, her voice rising in pitch. “You
told
him!” She pointed at Rick. “You
told
him about Penny, about the song. You told him everything!”

Jack stared at her. “No, I didn’t,” he said, his anger melting away as hers ignited. Even though he felt wounded that she was outright blaming him, he wanted to comfort her, to make her see that he was there to help. “It wasn’t me,” he added, pushing back the pain he felt at the accusatory look in her eyes. “I wouldn’t do that to you.” When Tess’s glare didn’t soften, he turned to Rick. “Did I?” he said. “Am I your source? Tell her.”

Rick didn’t answer immediately. “No,” he finally offered.

Jack turned back to Tess and lifted his eyebrows.

“It wasn’t him?” she said to Rick, who shook his head. “Oh.” For a moment, she seemed to be at a loss. “Well, I’m still calling your editor,” she promised, but the fight had left her. Jack hated seeing that, too. At least she wasn’t blaming
him
anymore. Jack understood her confusion at first, but he had to admit, her initial, and
immediate
, doubt in him still stung.

“Is that all?” Rick asked.

“No!”

Both Jack and Tess turned around to see Mackenzie stomping through the parking lot toward them.

After gently elbowing Tess out of the way, she got in the newspaperman’s face. “I can’t believe you did that,” she said. “It’s completely unfair
and
unethical.”

“I already told him that,” Tess said, planting her hands on her hips.

“Oh.” Mac blinked but didn’t back away from Rick. “Well, what else do you want me to do?” she asked Tess. “What do you want
him
to do?”