Counting on Starlight Read online

  What was he expecting, a job offer that evening? Was he prepared to walk out on the team so early in the season? And then, there were Coach Blann’s words to him.

  Top coaching spot in Starlight. He’d prayed about that last night. He had to, like any major decision. He continued the conversation now. “Lord, You know how much I want to coach college ball. To work at that level, even as an assistant coach...”

  Some people wondered why he wasn’t a teacher or even a preacher. A few of the others on the coaching staff called him “Preacher Jake,” and that was fine by him. No, he didn’t feel that calling on his life.

  He heard a vehicle coming toward the end of the trail. As the noise grew louder, he turned to see a late-model sedan approaching at a crawl. Tim Rollins. He parked the car and ambled in his direction.

  “Maddie said you were down here. I tried calling but got your voice mail.”

  “Turned my phone off.” Jake turned back to the river, feeling a tug on his line before it went slack again. Either it was a branch, or something was playing with the bait.

  “Sorry about the game. The Dawgs are tough.” Tim stood at the end of the trail.

  “We knew it would be a tough fight. The Dawgs have made the playoffs and the state finals several times over the last few years.” He tugged on the line. “We’ll go out there and attack it on Monday morning. Shake it off. They outplayed us last night. We’ll look at the films and figure out how they did it.”

  Tim had the fidgets. “Yeah. We’ll do better next Friday.”

  “You won’t just do better. You’ll win. Go out there expecting to win. Don’t expect it to be easy. Ever.” He eyeballed the boy, who flinched as if he were under an interrogation lamp. “So, what brings you here? You never come out to talk the game.”

  “I, uh… I was wondering if I could take Maddie to the play tonight at the high school.”

  “What’s playing?” Oh, wow. He’d never contemplated this when he agreed to keep an eye on Maddie.

  “Into the Woods. A comedy.There's a visiting drama group coming for a performance.” Tim rested a hand on his belt buckle. “Then I wanted to take her to Dairy Queen. My friend Kyle Sanders is going too, with his girlfriend, so we’ll be in a group.”

  “You don’t say.” A good thing, four of them going together. Another thought tickled his brain. “I thought you were seeing Cassandra, on the cheer squad.”

  “We broke up over the summer. Too much drama for me.”

  “I see.” Jake let the silence stretch out like a strand of mozzarella cheese. He had to give Tim credit for showing up here at all. “You spend any amount of time with a teenage girl, you’re going to get drama. How do I know the same won't happen with Maddie?”

  “She’s different.”

  Jake chuckled. “With Maddie, there’s never a dull moment. Occasionally some drama. I’m just warning you.”

  “Well, is it okay if I take her?”

  “I need to check with my father to make sure it’s all right. But, have her home at ten.” Jake gave his best glare.

  “The play’s at seven.”

  “Well, if it gets out at nine, that’ll give you more than enough time to get some ice cream or a burger and head home again. It’s ten, or no deal.”

  “Understood, Coach.” Tim nodded, looked like he was going to say something else, then trotted back to his car.

  Jake set down his fishing pole, picked up his phone, and dialed. “Liann, it’s Jake. What are you doing tonight?”

  #

  “What am I doing tonight?” Right now, she was melting in the parking lot of The Pit, standing beside Matt and his rental car. “Can I call you back?” Of course, her question probably sent Matt’s radar into curiosity mode. Yup, his eyebrows soared upward.

  “Sure,” Jake said. “It’s kind of important.”

  “All right, then. I’ll call you in a few minutes.” She ended the call and turned her full attention back to Matt. “I really need to go. It’s hot out here, if you didn’t notice, and I rode with my aunt.” She was going to find out who told Matt where she was. Probably her mother, who still lamented that she never got to wear her mother-of-the-bride dress. Liann had already suggested her parents go on a cruise so she could have a chance to wear the gown.

  “You’re shocked to see me, but I wanted to talk to you in person.” Matt looked comfortable but a little out of place in his khakis and button-down shirt, especially on a Starlight Saturday morning.

  “I haven’t changed my mind, Matt.” A vehicle flashed in the sunlight. Aunt Chin Mae’s golden bean was negotiating its way around the holes in The Pit’s parking lot toward the exit. “No—Aunt Chin Mae!” But knowing her aunt, she probably had her Mozart cranked full blast in the car. And she’d forgotten Liann.

  “Looks like you need a ride home.” Matt patted the roof of the car. “And we need to talk.”

  “We can talk here. Really. Plus, I need to make a phone call soon.” She wanted to tear off and chase Aunt Chin Mae down, waving and screaming until her aunt noticed her panicked figure in the rearview mirror.

  “What happened to us? I’m still baffled.”

  “You flew hundreds of miles to ask me this?”

  “I’m moving to Texas, Liann. I’ve applied to several churches looking for youth pastors not far from here. Plus, there’s a college outreach program in Austin that needs a director. I thought of you with that one. I understand if you’re afraid of being a pastor’s wife. Maybe with ministering to students on a college campus, you’ll feel less pressure.” Matt smiled, and for a few seconds, she remembered why she fell in love with him.

  He made her feel as though she were the only person in his world. When he did that, it was easy to go along with almost whatever he proposed. When he had proposed marriage, she’d smiled as tears ran down her cheeks and he slipped the half-carat solitaire on her finger. He hadn’t asked her what kind of ring she wanted. He’d assumed. She should have seen the signs before then, however.

  “You think you know what I want—you’ve got everything figured out.” Liann shook her head. A trail of sweat tickled its way down her back. “I’m not afraid of being a pastor’s wife. That’s not the issue. I’m not called to do that, I’ve realized. Yet you make it sound as if you’re trying to accommodate me, as if I’m not at your level. Do you realize how patronizing this sounds?”

  Matt shook his head and waved her words away. “That's not it at all. I’m trying to protect you and think of your needs before mine.” Matt took her hand, caressing it in both of his. “Isn’t this what you wanted, when you used that metaphor of asking me how you liked your eggs cooked?”

  “No, it’s not.” She heard car doors slamming in the parking lot, the crunch of gravel under tires. She pulled her hand free then reached inside her purse. “Don’t rearrange your life for me. It’s too late for that.” She turned and headed back toward the front door of The Pit.

  “I’m staying at the HoJo Inn for the weekend, and then I’m heading for Austin. But I’m not giving up on us,” Matt called after her.

  Liann wanted to believe him, yet the very idea of going back to him made her feel as if a noose were slowly tightening around her neck. She entered the cool restaurant.

  Tamarind handed some change to a customer. “Your aunt just left, Liann.”

  “I know.” She tried not to sigh and took her phone from her purse.

  Thanks. See you next time,” Tamarind said to the departing customer, who passed Liann and headed out into the heat. Tamarind faced Liann with a frown. “You okay?”

  “See that guy out there in the parking lot, the one who came in a while ago?”

  “The one who kept staring at you while you ate breakfast?”

  “That’s the one.” Liann squinted out through the glass door. “That’s my ex-fiancé.”

  “He’s cute, but him staring like that? Well, that’s just a tad creepy.” Tamarind moved from behind the counter.

  “I really don’t want to t
alk to him anymore, and he won’t listen to no. I’d rather not call the police. He’s more of an annoyance at this point.”

  “And now you’re stranded for the moment, aren’t you?”

  “Sort of. I was going to call my aunt to come back for me. I can’t believe she left without me. I told her I’d be right back after I finished talking to Matt.” Liann raised her hands and shrugged.

  “Follow me. He’s coming back this way.” Tamarind waved her toward the kitchen. “Let me show you where the barbecue pits are. We make the real deal here. You can hang out there for a few while I persuade Mr. Wonderful to go on his merry way.”

  Liann followed Tamarind through the kitchen with its metal prep tables and walk-in fridge and freezer, past an office with a desk strewn with papers. The aroma of smoke and wood chips grew stronger. Tamarind pulled open a wooden door, and they entered yet another back room.

  This one contained two large smokers, with chimneys that extended to the ceiling. A closed exit door stood to their left.

  “Wait back here for a few minutes and relax. If it gets a little too smoky, you can always duck your head out the back door.” Tamarind smiled. “Now, I’ll go deal with this guy. You said his name was Matt?”

  “That’s right.”

  Tamarind scurried away. Within seconds, Liann’s eyes began to water from the smokiness. She had no doubt that The Pit’s barbecue was genuine. She pushed through the back door and found herself outside, looking at a plowed-under field that had once grown corn earlier in the season.

  Her phone started ringing again. Jake!

  “I’m sorry, I meant to call you back,” she said.

  “That’s okay. The reason I called is I’m in a bit of a jam.”

  “What is it?”

  “Tim asked if he could take Maddie to a play at the high school tonight, and I agreed. I talked to my dad, and he said it was fine, as long as they visited public places in small groups. So they’re not going alone. Two other kids will be there. I told him they could go to Dairy Queen too, but to be home by ten.”

  “So how does this mean you’re in a jam?”

  “I’m going to the play, too. I want to make sure she’ll be all right. Tim’s a good kid. He’s in the youth group at Starlight Community Church, but that’s no guarantee of anything.”

  “That’s true.” She could tell him stories of things she’d encountered while supporting Matt’s ministry in the youth group in California. “How can I help you out of this jam you’re in?”

  “Come with me to the play. I don’t want to go alone. My treat at Dairy Queen, too.” He paused for a moment. “Don’t worry, it’s not really a date. I mean...”

  For the second time ever, he stammered again. She decided to rescue him before he made it sound worse. “Of course we can go as friends. That’s perfectly fine with me. No pressure.”

  “I’ll pick you up at six-thirty, then. You can dress casual, too. We don’t get too fancy with the plays at the school.”

  “See you later.” She ended the call and watched a bird soar over the field, then swoop down, probably on a mouse. She never imagined that she’d feel like that little mouse where Matt was concerned. Yet here she was, running to Jake. Sure, he’d called her. But it was so easy for her to say yes...

  “Okay, he’s gone.” Tamarind opened the barbecue shack's back door. She was wiping her hands on a dish cloth. “I told him to buzz off. And when someone says no, they mean no. And if I needed to, I’d call the cops.”

  “Well, thank you so much. But like I said, he’s not dangerous or anything. He’s a youth pastor.” Liann almost wished she’d seen Matt’s face when Tamarind asked him to leave.

  “My point exactly,” said Tamarind. “You should see the relief all over your face.”

  Chapter 9

  The lights of Hattie Hempstead Auditorium grew dim, and the stage looked far away from Liann and Jake’s vantage point. A colorful set created a woodland setting for the play. But Jake focused on four young people in the eighth row to the far right of the stage.

  “So far, he hasn’t tried anything.” Jake tried to keep his voice low as he leaned toward Liann.

  “What if he does? What are you going to do?” Liann flipped through her program and held it up in the dim light. “March down there and pull them apart?”

  “If I have to, I will.” Truthfully, he didn’t know. He tried to think about his own high school years. He’d been busy with the team, and the girls seemed petty, catty, and not worth the hassle. Maybe he’d dodged plenty of bullets all those years. With his family moving so much when his dad was in the Army, though, sometimes made him and Billy hit the popular list in school. The whole new kid thing. Billy brooded more, which also boosted his mystique with the girls. They seemed to like the mysterious type. Jake was just trying to get through school so he could move on to the big time and the fact he could play football well didn't hurt.

  Tim had appeared at six-twenty-five, which was just in time if Jake was going to pick up Liann. As it was, Maddie paused in the entryway for a selfie with Tim. It scared Jake to see his sister as a young woman. If he ever had daughters, he’d resolve to lock them in a box until they were twenty-five, at least.

  The play started, and his eyelids grew heavy. He blinked to see Tim whisper something in Maddie’s ear. Then Maddie nodded and glanced over her shoulder. Jake bent as if to tie his shoe. As he did so, Liann reached down for her purse. Their heads nearly cracked together. Her perfume was a little flowery, with a hint of spice that kept it from being too sweet. Just like her. Why did women do things like wearing that kind of perfume? She pushed a button on her cell phone, and it went dark.

  Jake straightened up. Good. Maddie must not have seen him. When intermission came, however, she probably would. Maybe she’d make more of a deal out of him being out with Liann, which was fine by him.

  His eyelids felt heavier, so he decided to close them for a few minutes. He wasn’t much of a theater guy. He heard Liann chuckle at some of the lines. What a pretty laugh she had. But then, so was she....

  Someone was poking his side. “The gig’s up, Coach.” Liann.

  Jake sat up in the auditorium seat, blinking. The lights were at full strength again. He blinked at Liann. “I was only out for a few minutes....”

  “Right.” She poked him again in the ribs. “You snorted once. I had to cough to cover it up.”

  He looked toward Maddie and Tim’s seats, but didn’t see his sister. Tim still sat there, next to Kyle Sanders from the team, and the two boys were talking. “When did Maddie leave?”

  “As soon as the lights came up, she and the other girl left down the other aisle.” Liann glanced toward the doors in the rear corner of the auditorium. “She knows we’re here. She waved at me and started giggling when she saw you with your head tilted back.”

  “Did she look mad?”

  “No. Surprised, but not mad.”

  Chatting female voices grew louder. “Hey, so what are y’all doing here?” Maddie stood at the end of the row, her hands on her hips. “You don’t even like plays.” She glared at him.

  “I...um...” Jake’s brain fumbled then dropped his thought.

  “He invited me....” Liann began.

  “I wanted to make sure you were okay,” he blurted.

  “You’re not Dad.” Maddie frowned.

  “I know, but I told him I’d watch out for you.”

  “You’re here all day when I'm at school, and you don’t see me.” Maddie crossed her arms over her chest. “How do you know I’m not getting into trouble there?”

  “I don’t think you get into trouble at school.”

  “Well then, why can’t I go out with Tim, plus Kyle, plus Bekah, without having my chaperones hovering in the back?” Maddie shot a look at Liann.

  “Watch your tone, Madelynn. I’m not your dad, true. But he asked me to watch out for you. We don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  Maddie lowered her arms, and her shoulders dro
oped. “I know. I’m sorry.... But I’m careful. Tim’s sweet and funny. He got accepted at TSU, did you hear? He just found out today.”

  “No, I didn’t know.”

  “See, he’s a lot like you. Going to your alma mater. He's like Dad, too. He’s a hard worker. He wants to be a teacher, too.” Maddie glanced from him to Liann then back to him again. “Were you planning on going to Dairy Queen after the play?”

  Jake nodded.

  “That figures.” But she smiled at him as she returned to her seat.

  #

  A line of cars snaked its way to the drive-through window at Dairy Queen. Liann studied the menu. She remembered going here when she was a kid, and her aunt and uncle would take her out for an ice cream treat.

  “I’m getting something a little more substantial than ice cream.” Jake patted his stomach. “Maybe a burger and fries, and some ice cream. So order whatever you want.”

  “I think I’ll just have a Blizzard.” She looked at the line of vehicles. Tim’s car was three ahead of them. “I figured the kids were going to eat inside.”

  Jake frowned. “I did, too. I also thought the drive-through would be a faster way to get our food. He’d better not be driving out to the ridge.” He drove out of their place in line and found an empty space at the end of the lot. They left his truck and headed to the restaurant.

  “Liann.”

  She glanced to her right and saw Matt standing beside his parked car. She tried not to gasp, but now she felt like he was following her. She tried not to shiver. But her stomach churned “What are you doing here?”

  Jake stopped and turned to face Matt. “Can we help you with something?”

  “That’s my fiancée you're on a date with tonight. First a play, and now dessert?”

  Liann shook her head. “Matt, I’m not your fiancée. Not anymore. Were you following us?”