Page 19 of Under the Lights
After a final glance at Kelly, who was trying not to laugh, Chase retrieved the card he’d set on the foyer table and went to relive some glory days with Coach. It was one of the better Father’s Days in his life, and he was sorry he and his dad had never been able to connect the way Chase did with Coach.
He glanced at the clock and figured he had about ten minutes left before Mrs. McDonnell broke out the blueberry pie. That was a perfect amount of time for a phone call home. He could tell his mom how Stewart Mills was so far, wish his dad a happy Father’s Day and have a concrete reason for ending the call, rather than letting it die the slow, painful death of awkward pauses as it usually did.
“I’m going to go make a call,” he told Coach, whose head kept tilting sideways in his recliner as he fought a post-dinner nap. “I’ll be right back.”
“Tell your parents I said hello. Especially your old man. We had a lot of conversations about your games back in the day. He was proud of you.”
A lump seemed to settle in Chase’s throat, so all he did was nod before going out onto the front porch to make the call. Maybe if, just once, his dad had toldhimhe was proud, rather than telling Coach, he wouldn’t be planning his exit from a call he hadn’t even made yet.
—
Kelly could see Chase from the window over the sink, and he looked like a man whoreallydidn’t want to be on the phone. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like having a strained relationship with her parents. As he leaned against the porch post and did more listening than talking, she idly wiped at the dirty plate in her hand.
“That boy has more baggage than a luggage carousel at the airport,” her mom said, moving closer to Kelly so she could see him, too.
“Mr. Sanders always seemed nice, but they’re not very close, I guess.”
“His mother told me Chase has made quite a mess of his life lately.”
Kelly rinsed the soapy water from the plate and set it in the dish rack, sudden anger making her shoulders tense. Mrs. Sanders had no business calling up a woman she hadn’t talked to in many years and telling her personal details about her son’s life. Chase had told Kelly enough about what he’d gone through for her to know he’d probably rather keep it private.
“So, after all this time, she just calls you and dumps all Chase’s personal problems on you?”
Her mom did a double take at her tone. “It wasn’t like that at all. We started talking and, needless to say, we talked about you kids, and she’s worried about him.”
“I don’t think Chase would appreciate his mother telling everybody his business. That’s all.”
“So I shouldn’t put a flyer on the bank’s bulletin board?”
Sarcasm from her mom was rare and almost always signaled impatience rather than an attempt at humor, so Kelly didn’t push. It was none of her business, anyway. If Chase had an issue with his mother gossiping about him, that was Chase’s problem. “How’s Dad holding up? Eagles Fest isn’t wearing him out, is it?”
“He’s doing okay, and it means the world to him, the way everybody’s rallied around the team. You know he loves all his boys.”
Kelly probably knew that better than anybody. Growing up, there had always been boys from the football team in and out of their house because her dad was more than just their coach. He was like a mentor, or even a father figure for some of them. There had been times she’d resented the attention they got from him, and spent more time than she should have wondering if Coach had wished she was a son.
But, at the same time, she’d also learned a lot about community and offering a hand when somebody was down and out. The way she went about her job as a Stewart Mills police officer was heavily influenced by the way her dad had coached the team, and she was thankful for that.
“How areyouholding up?” her mom asked. “Even with people volunteering to help, you girls took on a lot with this fund-raising festival.”
“It is a lot,” she admitted. “But, like you said, we have people volunteering to help.”
“Chase certainly dug right in.”
The man in question was still on the phone, rubbing the bridge of his nose between his thumb and middle finger. “Yeah, he did.”
“He was always one of your father’s favorites. It’s sad things have gone so badly for him lately.”
All that mess,Kelly thought as she watched Chase hit a button on his phone and slide it into his pocket. His business life and personal life were almost as messy as the inside of his truck, which was the opposite of how Kelly liked things. When it came right down to it, the attraction she felt for him made no sense because he was everything shedidn’twant in a man.
“Do you have ice cream for the pie?” she asked, changing the subject.
“Of course.” Her mom moved away from the window, leaving Kelly to look out at Chase alone. “French vanilla ice cream on warm blueberry pie is your father’s favorite dessert in the world, you know.”
Judging by the way Chase wolfed his down once they were all seated around the table, he was pretty fond of it, too. The conversation was relaxed, but she could see some of Chase’s tension in the set of his shoulders and lingering tightness around his mouth when he smiled. She didn’t know if his conversation with his parents hadn’t gone well, if he was just tired or if he wasn’t totally comfortable being part of the McDonnell Father’s Day dinner.
He cleaned up, as promised, while Kelly visited with her parents in the living room. It only took him a few minutes, sincehegot away with only four plates, four forks, a pie server and an ice cream scoop.
When her mom tried to hide a yawn behind the shawl she was knitting—and had been knitting for at least three years—Kelly stood up and kissed each of her parents on the cheek. “I’m going to head home. I’m covering some odd hours in the next few days, so I need to get some sleep.”
