Page 56 of Full Coverage (Boys of Fall)

“He’s in love with you,” Teresa said.

Randi nodded. “Yes.” No matter what else, she believed that.

“He’s never been in love before. Not with a woman, anyway,” Teresa told her. “He’s been in love with his work for years.”

Randi nodded again.

“Don’t make him choose,” Teresa said. “Don’t make him pick between you and his work.”

Randi understood what Teresawasn’tsaying. And it warmed her, even as it made her stomach hurt. Teresa thought Nolan would choose Randi. Over his work, over his passion.

She’d never been that important to someone before. She’d never been the thing that was the biggest and best part of someone’s life. But she couldn’t just absorb all of that and enjoy it. Because she loved him too. And she couldn’t ask him to give up what he loved.

Teresa continued when Randi didn’t respond. “So just go to San Antonio with him. Let him have both.”

“I…” Randi shifted her weight. “My work is here. This is my home. My family and friends are here.”

That was when Teresa’s eyes hardened. “You’re a mechanic in a backward hick town in the middle of nowhere. This is your chance to get out and do something great too. Please tell me that my son is smart enough to fall in love with a woman who is smart enough to recognize an opportunity when she sees it.”

Randi had to admit that it seemed like Teresa had a point. But Randi was in Quinn because she wanted to be. The irony was that over the past two weeks, talking with Nolan and telling him the stories of Quinn, had made her love her hometown all over again. And had made her sure that this was where she wanted to be. For good.

She wanted to live here. She wanted to be a part of this community. She wanted to watch the cars and trucks drive up and down Main from the window at the Lone Bean and know she was the one who kept them running. She wanted to teach her kids to throw spirals and what a blitz was. She wanted to sit with Lela and Annabelle and Lacey and Paige and Lorelei and Charlene in Football Mama T-shirts, and yell at the refs, and holler for their sons and watch their daughters cheer on the sidelines in Nicholas Carr Stadium. She wanted to attend every Valentine’s Day dance from here on, and she wanted to be doing Cupid’s Cock shots with the girls when she was eighty.

She didn’t want New York or San Antonio. She wanted Quinn.

And Nolan.

She wasn’t sure what to do about that last part, but she did know that Quinn was where she belonged. And she was not just okay with that, she was proud of that. She wasn’t writing great novels or traveling the world or influencing the masses. But she was contributing to a town where good people were living good lives and were learning about and passing on things like love and community and loyalty and fun and the appreciation of the simple things. There was a lot of good going on in Quinn. And it might be simple,shemight be simple, but she was happy. Because she belonged here.

She looked at Teresa. “We’re a ranching community. The world needs ranching communities. And I’m a part of that. The cars and trucks I work on help the ranchers and truckers to get to work and do their jobs,” she said. She was taking a risk. She was taking on the biggest bitch in town. But just like the sixth-grade girls had been willing to come to blows over their team, Randi was willing to come to blows—verbal and otherwise—over her town. “The ranchers have to get out to their pastures and livestock. The truckers transport the livestock and bring back supplies. But it’s even bigger than that. I also help the teachers and the nurses and the waitresses and the cops and everyone else get to work and to their jobs. They all contribute to this community, and to what the people from here turn out to be, whether it’s ranching with their dads or becoming a lawyer in Dallas. It’s all important and we’re all needed. Like the workyoudo.”

Teresa’s spine straightened and she narrowed her eyes. “What?”

“You contribute too. Dr. Weston has been the dentist here in Quinn for forty years. He’s a huge part of this town and everyone knows that his office would fall apart if it wasn’t for you keeping things running. You’re a part of his success.”

Teresa crossed her arms tightly. “We work on teeth. It’s not exactly saving the world.”

“Well, I think the people who want to chew the steaks we produce here would disagree,” Randi said with a smile. “As would the ranchers who want all of those people buying and chewing the steaks. But you help keep the community healthy. You help them when they’re in pain. And even more than teeth, Doc donates huge amounts of money to the rec program here, which helps keep the walking trail nice and the parks maintained and the baseball program going. All of that not only keeps us healthy, but gives people a lot of enjoyment. Without his successful practice, he wouldn’t be able to do those things.”

Randi took a breath. She was relieved Teresa wasn’t arguing. Yet. So she went on. Into even more treacherous territory. “And you,” she said. “I know that you bring Dr. Weston lunch every day since his wife died because otherwise he would forget to eat. And you make sure he drinks something besides Coke all day.”

“If he keels over, I’m out of a job,” Teresa said.

Randi knew she should have expected something like that. But she smiled instead of sighing. Because she saw something important in Teresa’s eyes—she liked what she was hearing.

Nolan had taught her over the past two weeks that sometimes having someone just say the words “you’re great” or “I like you” could have a profound effect.

“Well, besides keeping Dr. Weston and the practice going, you bring up issues that need attention in Quinn and keep us all on our toes.”

Teresa snorted at that. “People hate when I show up at meetings.”

Randi nodded. “Because you make them accountable for things.”

“You think I’m doing a great job, bitching and moaning?”

Randi chose her words carefully. If she’d learned anything over the past two weeks, it was that words were very powerful. “I think you could approach it all differently, and maybe even get more done because people would be more willing to listen. But yes, overall, I think it’s great that you point out things that we should be aware of.”

Teresa just looked at Randi. Her mouth was pinched and she looked a little suspicious. But she didn’t look as suspicious as she had when they’d started talking. And she didn’t look ready to slap Randi, so she counted that as a win.

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