Page 28 of An Overdue Match
He started once more from the top.
A niggle ofsomething’s not rightscratched at his brain. Not the words themselves—although he certainly had thoughts about those—but the penmanship. He often tattooed inspirational words or phrases, so he was familiar with different fonts and styles. He’d even copied the handwriting of loved-ones onto skin. Men tended to write with more blocky letters and sharp corners, pressing down hard on the pen. Women’s writing was a bit neater, with more curves and softness to their letters. If he had to guess, he’d say Stacey’s letter had been written by another woman.
Evangeline hadn’t...
She hadn’t written the letter herself, had she? The evidence pointed to that conclusion, but...
Man, was that woman twisting him up inside. He didn’t want to sound like a narcissistic egomaniac, but he hadn’t been imagining the chemistry sparking between them, and itwasn’tone-sided. She said she didn’t date, but if that was the case, then why in the name of Sam Houston was she writing love letters to Stacey?
Nothing added up.
He lifted his head and handed the letter back, trying to appear nonchalant. “Sorry. Doesn’t look familiar.”
“Yeah, not to me either.” She tucked the letter into her apron pocket. “Not knowing is going to drive me crazy.”
You and me both. “Not a big fan of the secret part of having a secret admirer?”
“I’m flattered, but...” She gave a nervous chuckle. “I don’t know.”
Tai took his smoothie, wished Stacey good luck, and headed toward the baseball fields, his head spinning the entire time. He somehow managed to arrive before the umpire called “Play ball!” Their team was up to bat first, so he took a seat next to Dalton on the bench in the dugout. The big man stared in the direction of the pitcher’s mound, but he seemed a million miles away.
Tai finished off the last of his smoothie and set the plastic cup beneath the bench under him. “What’s up with you?”
Dalton didn’t move. He hadn’t seemed to have heard Tai at all.
Tai bumped him with his shoulder. “What’s up, man? Head not in the game already? We just started.”
Dalton blinked and turned toward him. “Sorry. Something on my mind.”
“Want to talk about it?”
He started to shake his head, then snorted. “Why not? Lord knows I haven’t been able to figure it out.”
Tai prepared himself for a hard punch of news. Hopefully he’d have some nuance of wisdom to help his friend.
A familiar-looking envelope fluttered onto Tai’s lap. A sense of foreboding twisted his insides. He slipped his finger under the flap and pulled out a sheet of paper, unfolding it. The same neat, rounded handwriting marked the page that he’d seen only a little bit ago.
Relief punched out of his lungs, but he covered the quick exhale of breath with a cough. Granted, there could be more than one explanation. Yet even as he tried to think of otherpossibilities, he knew what he held in his hand and he knew where it had come from—or rather, whom. What he didn’t know was why. Why was Evangeline writing love letters to both Stacey and Dalton?
His mind flashed back to the last game. To the papers she’d been pouring over in the stands as she’d observed Dalton on the field. The paper that he’d gotten a glimpse of when the wind had torn it from her possession. Book checkout histories with handwritten notes in the margins. Hadn’t made any sense to him at the time, but now...
A groan and a laugh battled their way up his throat. He shook his head at the evidence in his hand. That meddling, matchmaking, adorable woman. And she’d calledhimtrouble.
“Where’d you find the letter?” Not that it mattered, but Tai was curious.
“In my shop. Sitting pretty as you please in the middle of the sculpture I’m working on for the town square.”
“You don’t happen to have any security cameras in there, do you? Then you’d know who left it.”
Dalton shook his head. “Haven’t needed any cameras before. My place isn’t exactly the most accessible, you know. I kind of live out in the boonies.”
That was an understatement. Evangeline must’ve had quite the undertaking to find Dalton’s property. Without four-wheel drive, she’d have had to abandon her car and make the trek on foot.
“It doesn’t make sense, though. When could anyone develop feelings for me? I’m in my shop working most of the time, and when I do venture into town, I keep to myself. Besides, everyone knows I’m engaged to Rachel.” He groaned, his head hanging low. “What’s Rachel going to think when I tell her about this? She’s going to jump to conclusions, isn’t she?” He lifted his head, his hands reaching out and fistinginto Tai’s shirt with desperation. “I swear I’m not leading any other women on. I love Rachel.”
Tai gently removed Dalton’s hold on him. “Everyone knows you love Rachel. No one is going to think you’ve been cheating, least of all her.”
Dalton gave him a relieved, hope-filled look. “Really?”
