Page 55 of Once Upon a Summer Night

As the bookstore fell silent once more, though, her thoughts shifted back to the phone conversation she’d had with her father. She’d appreciated the heads up, just not the tone he’d taken when delivering it. Hopefully, it was just his nerves talking; she’d call him out if he did it again. Because the last thing she needed with everything else going on was her father backsliding into his smothering ways.

*

Chase led Hannahand a bouncing, happy Noah out to the picnic table on his back patio after practice Thursday night. The kid had done great interacting with the other kids on Chase’s team, and was already outperforming some of his weaker players. Hannah, however, was more subdued than usual. Were the guys still giving her a hard time at the station, or was it something else? He planned to find out one way or another before they left tonight.

“You did awesome tonight, champ,” Chase told Noah, giving him a high five with one hand and an ice cream sandwich with the other.

“Thanks!” Noah unpeeled its wrapper and took a big bite. “It waf sho uch fun.”

Hannah shook her head at him talking with his mouth full, but Chase just laughed. The kid was happy, and right now, that’s all that mattered.

“Oh! There’s Smokey! Can I go in and see him really quick?”

“Yes, but no sharing your ice cream, okay? Chocolate isn’t good for animals.”

The words were barely out of Hannah’s mouth before he was dashing inside. Oh, to have that kind of energy again. Chase snuck in a quick kiss while it was just the two of them.

“You’re welcome to bring him to as many practices as you’d like,” he said. “Not sure I’ll be able to get him into an actual game this season, but I may be able to pull a few strings.”

“Let’s stick with practices for now and see how that goes. I don’t want to cause waves with the other parents.” She ran a hand through her hair. “Speaking of which, you didn’t tell me our attorney’s son was on your team!”

“You didn’t ask.” He winked. “But I did see you sitting with his wife, Jenn, tonight. Good move.”

“Us sitting together was completely by accident. The moms in matching pink set up camp at the far end without bothering to say hello. Jenn sat closer to Chuck, which put her by me.”

Ah, maybe that was why she wasn’t as chipper tonight. The sports mom scene was no cakewalk. Chase leaned forward on his elbows. “Listen to you, rattling off names like an old pro. Also, Jenn sits closer to Chuck because she doesn’t care for the catty conversations that go on at the other end. She’s good people. So is Chuck, when he actually gets his nose out of his phone.”

“Yeah, they were both super cool.” She shrugged. “And supportive. They helped shield me when that Lexus SUV started making slow circles around the parking lot.”

“Lexus SUV? You think that was the PI Bradley warned you all about?”

“Yep.”

Chase worked not to crush his ice cream sandwich. “It’s good I didn’t see him, or I might have ‘accidentally’ cracked a few pop flies toward the lot.”

“And risk hitting the other cars? I don’t think so.” Hannah smirked. “Besides, there was no need. No sooner did Chuck notice the car than Nancy Harrington appeared on the sidewalk with this tiny little dog of hers, blocking the driver’s view of us. She kept walking at the same pace as his driving, pretending it was the dog changing directions. And just as the SUV sped up, Margaret Harper flew into the parking lot in her car. She parked all cattywampus, completely blocking him from making another loop, then rolled the window down and proceeded to get into a loud debate with Nancy over the best denture cleaner. The look of frustration on the guy’s face was priceless.”

Chase pulled her into his side, glad to see her smiling again. “See? I told you the town would handle this for you. Still don’t like the idea of you being followed. And how would he even know where to find you?”

They thought for a moment, then both answered at the same time:

“The Jeep.”

“You may need to park it at the farm and hitch a ride for a few days, Han. At least until this yahoo stops coming around.”

Noah returned, ice cream from his melting sandwich now running down his arm, and asked for a napkin. As Hannah worked to clean him off, Chase worked to contain his protective side. No one was getting to Hannah or Noah, not on his watch.

“So, when do I get to play in a game?” a cleaner Noah asked, dropping into a seat across from them.

“After you do some more practicing with the team, to make sure you’ve got the rules down pat. It would probably be a good idea to come and watch a game, too, so you’ll know what to expect. We have one Sunday afternoon, if you’d like to come and cheer for us.”

“Sure,” Noah said with a shrug, his enthusiasm waning.

“If, of course, it’s okay with Hannah.”

“I think we can make that work,” she said.

Chase nodded. “You don’t even have to stay the whole time. Just for an inning or two, so you understand how the game will go.”

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