Texas Gold (20 page)

She heard the siren of an approaching ambulance and felt her tears mixing with rain drops. “I know there’s no point in killing ourselves like this, Brenton. It’s not going to work out. There’s no happily ever after here. And you know it.
 
You never planned on staying in Serendipity anyway. This just makes it easier for you to leave.”

“I’m not leaving.”

She was sure he believed that right now, but it wouldn’t take long for him to change his mind.
 

“Listen. I’m willing to be civil here because of Nina. But in a second, I’m going back to the waiting room and I don’t want you to follow me. Nina can stay with Jen if she wants. I’m sure Julie will get her home. But I don’t want you here. You’ve ruined my father’s life, and he very nearly died today. My heart breaks every time I see you, and I don’t think I can take much more of that.”
 

She stopped as her voice cracked. And then she pointed to his car and stepped even further away from him. “Just go, Brenton. Okay? Just go.”

Brenton brushed his rain soaked hair from his face as he watched her walk away.

He couldn’t believe she was willing to end it like this. He’d felt her love when he’d held her. Felt her resignation when she’d stepped away.

Dammit, the Mallory Baber he knew and loved was a fighter.
 

But her father had very nearly died, and suddenly he wasn’t so sure he had a chance. He could lose this battle. If he did, it would be the worse loss he’d ever suffered. Losing money was nothing. Losing love like he shared with Mallory could destroy him.

He thought about following her back to the waiting room even though she’d asked him not to, but he couldn’t do it. He didn’t want to hurt her any more than he already had.

Didn’t want to see her family as they waited, a tight-knit group resolved to see their father well again. At least his daughter was a part of that group. If nothing else, this stay in Serendipity had given her a sense of true family, something a single dad with no real roots could do.

He certainly couldn’t give her a grandfather to love. He had no idea who his father was. As for a grandmother’s legacy, his mother had drunk herself into an early grave years ago. He couldn’t make her mother care about her.

The only thing he could give his daughter, besides his own love, was a sense of resiliency and the belief that hard work would pay off in the end.

But he wasn’t going to feel bad about that. He hadn’t thought about his childhood so much in years, and he wasn’t going to start now just because Mallory wasn’t willing to work this out.

He had nothing to feel bad about. He’d been honest from the beginning. If Mallory wanted this to end, so be it. He could find plenty to do with his time. Until Nina graduated, he wasn’t leaving town. Mallory would just have to get used to seeing him around.

Finally resolved, he turned to the parking lot as the doors to the ER opened. For a second he wondered if Mallory had changed her mind, but then he heard Nina’s “Daddy” and forced himself not to feel defeated.

He stopped and waited for Nina to reach him. As soon as she did, he wrapped her in his arms. “Not staying?”

Nina shook her head. “I couldn’t stay. Not when I knew you’d be going home alone and sad. Let’s go.”

Brenton held his daughter’s hand as they walked to his SUV just as he had her first day of kindergarten. As she hadn’t let him in ages. And as they climbed in the truck, he felt a sense of relief. He and Nina had made it just fine all these years. They’d be okay now, too.
 

He ignored the part of his mind that insisted on calling him a liar as he looked in his rear view mirror, hoping for a glimpse of wet red hair and a stubborn chin.

Carolyn had driven Jackson back to the airport to catch his flight home, Keith and Toby were staying with Tim, and Celinda was pleased as plumb pudding to be taking care of Daddy as he recovered from the heart attack.

Mallory knew she should be happy. The doctor said J.D.’d be able to get back to light activity within a week. They hadn’t even had to do surgery.
 

But Mallory was worried anyway. What exactly would her father do to fill the time now that he wasn’t watching game film or planning two-a-days?

Rather than accepting a change of assignment, he’d retired from the district with more than thirty years.

Money wasn’t a problem for him.

She, on the other hand, was going to have to find work and soon.

She heard a car pull up to her curb and stood to brush the dirt off her knees.
 

She wasn’t exactly surprised when she saw Jen and Nina jumping out of Nina’s Mustang.
 

She gathered the plastic flower containers from the ground near her new garden and waited.

Mallory watched as Nina flipped out a leopard print cell phone and punched in a single number before closing her car door. Probably calling Brenton. God, she missed him, even if he was responsible for most of her worries right then.

Jen didn’t wait for her friend. Instead she hurried up the walk. “Aunt Mallory, you’ve got to listen to Nina. Even if you’re going to disregard every word she says, if you don’t listen to her, she’ll be devastated. She’s scared to death about staying in town since Grandpa’s heart attack.”

Mallory started to answer her niece, to tell her of course, she’d listen to Brenton’s daughter, but Nina was there before she could say a word.

The second she made it up to the house, Nina started talking. “Coach Baber, Jen and I are here for a couple reasons, but before I say anything else, we’re here to ask you to please reconsider your resignation. We can’t make it without you.”

This wasn’t the first she’d heard the words and yet it was the most difficult to give the answer this time. “I can’t, Nina. It’s a mater of principle. The board didn’t even call my father in and give him a chance to prove he could do the job with a growing school. I can’t work for a school system that operates like that.”

Nina and Jen looked disappointed even though they must have known her answer beforehand. The same way the team parents who had called had known.

“I guess I can understand that.” Nina answered looking a little deflated and so much like her father, Mallory felt her heart break even more. Damn him for making her care, for making her love him.

But this wasn’t Brenton. This was his very fragile teenage daughter. So when Nina started talking, Mallory listened.

“My dad has no idea we’re here. He’d kill me if he knew I was telling you all this.”

All what? Mallory didn’t ask the question even though it sounded in her mind. It didn’t matter. She was sure Brenton had painted his role in the entire mess with as soft a brush as possible. Shoot, he’d probably taken an eraser to the whole thing to try and keep his daughter’s high opinion.

“When we first moved here, Dad had all these plans for Serendipity. You should see the artist rendition of the plans for the future he had in mind. Since it’s so close to the city, he knew he’d bag investors by the millions. But after we moved here, he started to change. And then when he started to date you...” Here Nina paused and looked at Jen as if seeking assurance before continuing.

“God, I was so embarrassed that my dad was like having a fling with my softball coach. It was humiliating! And then I saw you guys kissing and it was so gross. I mean my dad never gets all goofy like that about women.”

Mallory couldn’t help but be a little pleased by the words. Even if Brenton was a snake and a slime ball.

“Well anyway, like I was saying once he started going around town with you, he took the plans down and talked to all these historic preservation people in Dallas and Austin. He completely quit talking to that creepy partner of his, and he started having fun. I’ve never known him to go a day without a million phone calls, his planner and completely connected to his pager and cell phone. Once he started going out with you, even John couldn’t reach him half the time. It was great, and now he and John have spilt the business.”

She stopped, a look of concern crossing her face. “Don’t get me wrong. My dad’s the best, but he was all about the job, you know? When he started going out with you, he changed. I can’t explain it, really. He even sang around the house and kissed Mrs. Johnson on the cheek in the mornings when he was home. You should have seen him grabbing her and saying, ‘Well, good morning to you, you lovely lady.’ It was weird. And Mrs. Johnson made coffee every morning. She used to refuse to make coffee. You changed him completely, Coach Baber. And now I’m afraid because you’re not there any more. What if he changes back?”

As Mallory listened to Nina she couldn’t help but notice the pleading in the girl’s eyes. Damn the man! This was his fault.

What was she supposed to say now?

So Brenton had changed. She knew that. It didn’t matter. Did it?

She couldn’t answer her own question, and because of that, she stood silently for a couple of minutes, brushing the dirt from her hands and looking at her now broken thumb nail.

Finally she brushed her hands on her legs leaving a trail of potting soil in their wake. Time for this conversation to end. “Thank you for telling me all that, Nina. And don’t worry too much about your dad. He’ll be okay.”

Of that, Mallory was certain. Brenton didn’t become the man he was by bogging down over relationship issues.

If only she could say the same about herself. Well, she’d just have to get over it.

She walked the two teens to the car and was waving goodbye to them when Nina rolled down her window. “Can you still come watch us play community ball tonight?”

Her heart would shatter, but Mallory figured she owed it to the team to watch if they wanted her there.

“I’ll be there.”

 
As the window rolled up and the girls left, Mallory hoped she could make it through the night without causing a scene. These girls had been her life for so long. Nina might be new to the team, but she was a part of the family now.
 

She turned to go pack tissues before she forgot. Tears would certainly fall. Life as she’d always known it was over, and it was her own fault. The day she’d decided to pursue the relationship with Brenton, everything had changed.

Now, even though the relationship was over, the changes she’d set off were still in motion. They couldn’t be stopped.

So yes, she’d go.

And if Brenton happened to be here, she’d ignore him just as she had before their affair. Somehow.

Chapter Fourteen

As the second hand on her clock ticked off the minutes until it was time to go to the softball complex, Mallory tried to ignore the headache starting to thud behind her left eye.

Beside her, Carolyn was counting the number of ways they could ostracize Brenton without hurting Nina.

“You could let it slip that he was no good in bed.”

Mallory didn’t bother to answer. Somehow she didn’t think anyone would believe her. The whole town had seen the way they were together. The happy little couple. Ugh!

And now they were more than simple gossip fodder. She could just imagine the conversations taking place since her father’s heart attack.

“I’m sorry I ever let him fool me.” Carolyn was stacking a pile of fashion magazines she’d brought over neatly on the table. They promised quick cures to broken hearts, the top ten ways to get your fantasy man in bed and keep him coming back for more, and how to lose five pounds in thirty minutes.
 

Why her best friend thought they would make her feel better was beyond Mallory at that moment.

Carolyn continued. “I mean I knew he was a horse’s ass way back when we first met him. Sure, a rich horse’s ass, but...”

She trailed off and Mallory finished politely but without spite...”A horse’s ass is a horse’s ass.”

“Exactly.” Carolyn slapped the top of the new stack. “When I think how I encouraged you to pursue a relationship with him.”

It seemed like years ago that she’d sat and debated whether she could handle a relationship with Brenton.

Well, it didn’t matter now. At least her father had survived. She’d put off leaving until the very last second, and even though her head was pounding, she couldn’t very well skip the game.

She followed Carolyn out the door. On the ride over, she tried to smile at Carolyn’s promised retributions. One even made her laugh. The idea of Brenton sitting in the stands covered in mustard went a long way to making her feel better.

At least it did until they drove up to the complex.

It was packed. Sure, summer softball was one of the few entertainment venues in town right now, but that didn’t explain the size of this crowd.

Or it didn’t until she stepped out of the car and felt every pair of eyes on her.

Great. The game was simply the backdrop. She and Brenton were to be the entertainment for the evening.

“Well hell.” Carolyn slammed her door shut. “We can leave if you want. There’s a sale on intrastate air travel right now. You can get to the coast for less than fifty dollars. I’m suddenly feeling the urge to see the Gulf. I bet Toby will even let us stay at his place.”

Sweet, sweet friend. Mallory just shook her head. “You just got back from the cruise.” She stood and closed the door behind her, aware of the surrealistic silence of the masses. “No sense running away now. It just puts off the inevitable.”

They walked to the entrance gate and Mallory fought the urge to smack Mayor Jenkins when he actually waved her through. “Come on in here, Mallory. You too, Carolyn. We can’t have our state champ coach paying to watch a softball game.”

Mallory entered without saying a word, but she couldn’t help laughing when Carolyn sashayed past the man and said loud enough for nearby ears, “Well, thank you Mayor Jenkins. It’s nice you’re letting us in for free when come next season these stands are going to be empty and the whole town’ll know why.”

Leaving the mayor speechless, they walked forward and Mallory was instantly deluged with offers to find them seats. “Come sit up here by us, Coach Baber,” was repeated so many times, Mallory lost count. She was relieved when she saw Celinda standing up, waving her hands like crazy to get their attention.