The Bridge to a Better Life (17 page)

“Too bad you couldn’t find a fake mullet for him,” Zack commented, stroking his chin as he circled Blake. “You could have doubled for Billy Ray Cyrus back in the day.”

Don Johnson was bad enough. “You guys are dead meat,” he ground out.

“Ohhh,” they all cried out, clutching themselves in fake fear.

He was going to unleash practical jokes on the lot of them the likes of which they’d never seen. And lock himself in his bedroom before they could strike back.

“When are we heading to the Irish place?” Sam asked with a way too cheerful smile.

The plan was for them to eat at the bar, but now he was desperate to talk them out of going into town. Like that would work. The mob was hungry for his public humiliation.

“Seven,” he told them.

He glanced over at the bridge, wondering what Natalie was up to tonight. If she saw him like this or heard about the snake, she’d likely fall over laughing. Well, he had to wear the stupid costume all weekend, so she’d see him like this soon enough. Suddenly, the prospect of wearing this Don Johnson throwback outfit in public wasn’t so bad.

Not when it was sure to make her laugh.

Natalie found herself twiddling her thumbs at home on Saturday night. Her sisters were busy this weekend. Moira was at a wedding, and Caroline was hosting an art opening. While they weren’t back to being easy with each other yet, they’d checked in with her a couple of times during the week, which had made her feel better. Though it was awkward not to talk about the giant pink elephant of their argument, both of them had respected her privacy so far, and she appreciated that.

Matt and Jane were out of town at a poker tournament where, according to Matt’s ongoing text updates to the family, she was kicking butt. Her mom was having a girls’ night with her own friends, many of whom she’d reconnected with after moving back into the area. And Andy…well, they hadn’t spoken since their talk at Black Lake.

Around eight o’clock her phone buzzed. Seeing it was Andy, she had the horrible impulse to ignore his call. Which was exactly why she forced herself to answer it.

“Hey, Andy Cakes,” she said, hoping to keep it light.

“Hey. What are you doing right now?”

She glanced at the TV program she’d paused before answering. “Watching an old episode of
Friends.”

“Oh brother.
I’m saving you from Ross and Rachel drama. I decided to be spontaneous and see if the neighbor girl would come over and watch Danny. He’s asleep, so she was happy to agree to take my money to hang out at my place and watch cable. You and I are going out to play some pool or darts. Your choice.”

“Are you hoping I’ll be your wing woman tonight?” she asked, trying to feel out his intentions for this brother-sister outing.

“I
said
I would give it a try, and trying means getting out of the house on the weekends. Are you game?”

“Sure. Why not?” What else was she going to do? Keep listening for more hilarity from next door through the open windows? The screams she’d heard this afternoon had made her very curious.

“Meet me at Hairy’s,” he said. “We’ll see if you’ve lost your magic at the pool table.”

“You wish.” Few could beat her at her favorite game. “See you in twenty?”

That would give her time to put on something more suitable than her blue cotton jammies. If they were playing pool, she didn’t want to wear anything too dressy, maybe just jeans and a simple white T-shirt. She didn’t want to look like she was trying to pick anyone up.

“Perfect. Don’t be late. I hate drinking alone in a bar.”

Walking into a bar alone on a Saturday night could be awkward for anyone, even if you were meeting friends. How much worse would it be for a widower trying to return to the dating scene?

“I’ll swing by and pick you up.”

Was that a relieved sigh she heard? “Thanks, Nat.”

After changing her clothes and refreshing her makeup, she headed out. There was a new bumper sticker on the back of her car, courtesy of her brother, Matt.

Worms Make Me Horny.

Good Lord. Where did he find them? Probably the same place she did. On the Internet. She’d wondered if their ongoing bumper sticker war would continue with all this Blake drama. Apparently their teasing hadn’t changed, and she was glad. She’d have to retaliate tomorrow, and she had the perfect one in reserve:
I Dig Poker Chicks
. She knew Jane would love that one.

The warm glow of the town’s lights made her smile as she made her way down the foothills to the valley. It only took her five minutes to arrive at Andy’s house, which was one of the things she loved about small towns. Andy was already letting himself out of the house and jogging to her car. When he got in, he turned in his seat to face her.

“I’ll only ask this because…well, hell. Am I dressed okay?”

Ah, his vulnerability was touching. She patted his knee. “Jeans and a navy T-shirt look great on you.”

He eyed her. “Good thing I didn’t wear white. We’d be twins.”

She sped off. “Like we haven’t had people wonder about the whole twins thing before.”

“I thought about asking our cousins to come, but I knew Jill couldn’t since Mia has an ear infection. She and Brian showed up with her at the ER yesterday because she wouldn’t stop screaming.”

“Oh, no,” she said. “Poor baby.”

“And Meredith’s getting way too pregnant to want to hang out in a bar on a Saturday night.”

“Yeah, it would be pretty hard to tote that watermelon she’s carrying through the crush.” Besides, she had sexy Tanner to see to her needs. Why wouldn’t she stay home? “We’ll be fine on our own.”
Don’t be so nervous,
she wanted to tell him.

Finding a parking spot on Main Street proved more difficult than she’d expected, and she had to settle for a spot on Aspen Street near the Justice Center. The night air was cool, and she was glad for her jeans. As soon as they showed their IDs and walked into the pub, she realized her open-toed sandals were less of a good idea.

She’d been to Hairy’s Irish Pub hundreds of times. Tonight it was packed to the gills like she’d never seen it before. It wasn’t surprising that the booths were filled with people eating dinner, but even the bar area and the aisles were jammed with guests. Someone was going to step on her toes. It was a given. She stood on her tippy toes to see what was going on, but all she could see were camera flashes.

A couple of the new Irish sayings above the bar caught her eye as more people pressed in behind her.

Kilt. It’s what happened to the last guy who called it a skirt.

I’m Irish. We Don’t Keep Calm and Carry On.

And another kilt joke.
Balls like this don’t fit well in trousers.

She was laughing now despite the crush. “The Rockies aren’t playing, are they?” She couldn’t make out what was on the TVs situated around the bar.

“No.” Andy put his hand on her arm. “Ah…Blake and his friends are here. In the back room. Playing pool and darts. It’s cordoned off, but they’re visible.”

That explained the camera flashes. Great. Blake and his boys were tonight’s spectacle. She hadn’t asked him about their plans. She only knew they hadn’t needed her to cater their dinner.

“Do you want to go?” her brother asked.

The thought crossed her mind, but then she realized it was ridiculous. He and the guys were doing their own thing, and she and Andy could do theirs. If they ever managed to get to the bar.

“No,” she responded. “Let’s see if your people skills can get us some beer.”

Someone put a hand on her shoulder, and she turned her head to see an older man in his sixties grinning at her. Seriously?

“Natalie,” the man said, leaning way too close to her face to be ignored. “I’m Cormack Daly, the head of the school board for Dare Valley.”

“Oh, hi,” she said, edging her head back, waiting for the punch line. “This is my brother, Andy Hale.”

“Yes, I know. I went to school with your mother. She was kind enough to talk with your ex-husband for me about taking over as the new head football coach.”

She had? How could she have interfered like that? Feeling thrown off, she took an unintentional step back and bumped into someone. “Sorry,” she murmured. She’d wondered about Blake’s plans long-term, but so far, he hadn’t mentioned it, and she sure as heck wasn’t going to ask.

“We’re so happy he’s considering it,” Cormack said, sounding like something was stuck in his nose. “He said he needed some more time to decide, and while we understand that, we really need to line up a replacement. You understand. I was hoping you could use your influence over him to nudge him in our direction. I’d planned to talk to him tonight, but they aren’t letting anyone join his private party.”

Andy met her eyes and then looked heavenward. She wasn’t sure if he was praying or feeling as incredibly uncomfortable as she was.

“Cormack, in case you didn’t know, Blake and I are divorced. He makes his own decisions now.”

He sputtered. “But he’s living next door to you.”

“Exactly,” she said. “Excuse us.”

There really wasn’t anywhere to go in the crowd, but she pushed her way through a few feet to be away from that horrible man. Her insides were shaking. If Blake took the coaching job, that meant he’d be here for… She did the calculations. He’d never quit a team after only one season. My God, he could be living next door to her for years.

“Breathe,” Andy said, cupping her elbow. “Don’t let that man get to you.”

How could she not? She wanted Blake to do something that made him happy, but taking a permanent job here? In Dare Valley?

Suddenly, the crowd rippled, and the people in front of them pushed them backward. Andy’s hand clenched on her arm, but they both fell back a few steps, bumping into the people behind them. Sure enough, someone stepped hard on her toes.

“Hey,” she yelled at the people in front of her.

No one cared. Camera flashes blinded her.

Someone called out her name. “Natalie!”

She couldn’t see who it was at first, but then Jordan was coming her way, parting the crowd like Moses through the Red Sea, a giant bouncer of a man beside him fending off requests for selfies and autographs. When he finally reached her, the bouncer stared down his would-be fanatics. More cameras flashed, blinding her.

“Nat! I’m so glad you’re here. You’ve gotta see Blake. He finally won the Smuck Award.”

Her mouth parted in shock. “You’re kidding!” This was monumental enough to make her mind stop turning cartwheels at the thought of Blake’s job offer.

“And
I
dressed him,” he proudly said, pointing to his chest. “Hey, aren’t you Nat’s bro?”

Andy smiled and stuck out his hand. More cameras flashed, and people started whispering and pointing at her.

“She’s Blake’s ex-wife,” a dishwater blond woman whispered, taking a not-so-subtle picture with her smartphone.

Then a tall guy behind Jordan, who looked like he was barely out of college, said, “She’s the reason he left football. I don’t care what the press said about his brother. Why else would Blake move to Dare Valley right after she did?”

Her head started to pound. It took a moment for her to return her focus to her friend and her brother.

“Yes, Andy,” her brother was saying.

“The doctor or the lawyer?” Jordan asked, not caring that everyone around them was listening with prurient interest and snapping pics. God, she’d never been able to tune out this sort of thing.

“Good memory. The doctor.”

“Awesome. Come join us. It’s going to be impossible to get to the bar in this crowd.” He leaned close to her ear. “We have our own waitress.”

“Sure you do,” she said, “but I don’t think...”

Jordan wasn’t even listening anymore. He put a hand on her back to lead her through the crowd with the bouncer. More whispers followed her. She even heard someone boo her. Jordan’s jaw tightened, and she knew he must have heard it too. Andy craned his neck to see who it was, his mouth pressed into a flat line, but it was impossible to tell in such a close crowd.

Maybe this isn’t such a good idea
, she thought. When they reached the closed-off area, another bouncer nodded at Jordan and let them all through. The guys were clustered around the pool table as Logan and Zack squared off. In the corner, trying to be inconspicuous, sat Blake. But there was no way someone in that get-up could avoid attention. She started laughing, all the earlier whispers and boos and worries erased by pure hilarity.

“Guess who I found?” Jordan called out.

Some of the guys tossed out greetings while others nodded to her. Logan winked, that little rascal.

“I had to invite her and her brother, Andy, to join us. I mean, who better to see Blake the Smuck than Nat?”

Blake pushed off the wall and took off the horrible black sunglasses. When he reached them, Jordan clucked his tongue.

“You have to wear the shades, Blake,” the quarterback said. “It’s part of the look.”