The Homecoming. Робин Карр

area. Football was one of the town’s priorities and most of the town was there. As people passed him they said, “Hey, Seth.” Some stopped to talk a minute, shaking his hand. He saw some familiar faces—Mac, Gina and Mac’s younger kids gave him a wave; the coach’s wife, Devon, and their kids, Austin and Mercy, were right behind them. Predictably, there were a few guys he’d played ball with in high school, but it wasn’t the first time he’d seen them—the ice had been broken before he took over the substation.

      He saw Iris climbing up a bleacher aisle to a higher perch. She was followed by Troy and Grace. She looked over her shoulder and laughed at something and it made him smile. That might be the thing he missed most—her wit, her unrestrained laugh. When she forgot she was mad at him, she laughed like old times, like that night they had pizza on Cooper’s deck.

      “Hi,” a voice said.

      He turned and, standing right there, a few inches shorter than him, smiling kind of wistfully, was Sassy. Um, Sue Marie. He smiled at her. He forced himself not to think about a gaping hole in her mouth from a missing tooth.

      “I have a feeling we got off on the wrong foot,” she said.

      “You still come to all these games?” he asked, because surely she wouldn’t know that he’d be here. He didn’t even live around here.

      “I didn’t for years, but my daughter is cheering.” She pointed over to the line of varsity cheerleaders in their short skirts. “Rachel, third from the end.”

      Whew, Seth thought. Little glass of wine before the game, Sassy? Her breath smelled like a winery.

      “She looks just like you,” he said. “Hard to believe you have a daughter that old. You still look sixteen.”

      “Aw. You’re just flattering me. That’s what I remember best about you—you’ve always been such a gentleman. Why don’t we try this again, Seth. Let’s get together for a drink or something. Have a few laughs. We can talk about old times.”

      He gave her a very patient smile. “Tell you what, Sassy. I think we’d be better leaving the past where it is.”

      “Come on,” she said. “We had a few problems. We were kids....”

      He shook his head. “We’ve moved on from high school and I won’t hold a grudge if you won’t. But if we talk about old times, we won’t be laughing. I’m sure I’ll see you around town.”

      “That’s a no, then?”

      “Not that I don’t appreciate the invitation,” he said.

      “I guess you’re seeing someone,” she said.

      “Well, not exactly, Sassy, but I—”

      “Sue Marie!”

      “Sorry,” he said with a chuckle. “You were pretty sassy back then. No, I’m not involved with anyone at the moment. We’ve already tried this and it didn’t work then. I doubt it will work out now.”

      “Did it ever occur to you that I might want to make amends?”

      He looked at her with patience. Or maybe it was tolerance. “I believe we’ve already done that, too.”

      “Oh! I take back what I said about you being a gentleman!”

      They weren’t going to talk about the elephant standing right between them, he thought. They dated, she cheated, they made up, dated some more, she cheated some more. And she had married one of the guys she’d cheated with—Robbie Delaney. Robbie, who had once been Seth’s close friend and teammate, though they’d been competitive. He hadn’t known, until coming home, that Robbie had won.

      And Seth had dodged a bullet.

      “I apologize if I was rude in any way, Sue. Thank you for the invitation. I’m afraid I have to decline the offer. I do wish you the best in everything. Really.”

      Against all good sense, she reached out and gave his biceps a gentle stroke. “I guess I’ll have to be patient. It will take time for you to realize I’m just not the same girl.”

      He stopped himself from saying, I think we’ve done that before, too. Instead he said, “I guess none of us are the same. A lot of stuff happened between then and now.”

      She flashed him a brilliant smile and then turned away. Those jeans of hers couldn’t possibly have gotten any tighter. And he wondered if she found boots with platform soles and four-inch spike heels inconvenient on the dirt track or in the bleachers, but so far she was maneuvering very well.

      He turned to look up at where he’d last seen Iris and met her eyes instantly. She’d been watching. She didn’t look very happy. And he smiled.

      * * *

      This was the problem with never getting over what you were determined to get over. Iris saw Sassy approach Seth and her brain went into rewind, remembering every detail of her senior year. Sassy in her short skirt with her pom-poms, her blond hair flouncing, her blue eyes shining at every male within a twenty-mile radius, her big straddle jumps that showed off her itty-bitty panties. Sassy had been a cheerleader since about the sixth grade while Iris couldn’t even dance, much less leap into the air. She’d probably kill herself trying.

      “God, are you into him?” Troy asked.

      “What?” she replied, turning to look at Troy.

      “The new deputy. He seems to have your complete attention. Crush time?”

      “No! I grew up next door to him, you know that. I’ve known him all my life! We’re barely even friends now—just acquaintances. We’ve hardly seen each other in years. But that woman is Rachel’s mother.”

      Troy squinted toward the track where Seth stood and watched as Sue departed. “Looks like she could be Rachel’s sister.”

      “She’s our age. Up close you can tell she’s not a teenager. Even if she dresses like one. Apparently she’s into him—Seth.”

      “You were watching her?” Troy asked.

      “Shh,” she warned. “Let’s not talk about this in a public place.”

      Of course she’d been watching Seth, but Iris had managed to remain circumspect until she’d seen Sassy saunter over to him. And even though they were quite far away, it looked as if she’d stared up at him with adoring eyes as he’d looked down at her with a sweet smile. And then she’d affectionately rubbed his muscled arm. I’ve been here before, she thought dismally. And she wasn’t entirely surprised to note that it bothered her just as much.

      It was another win for Thunder Point and when the game was over, Iris, Troy and Grace headed out of the stands. “Let’s get something to eat,” Troy said.

      “You had two hot dogs!” Iris reminded him.

      “I’m a growing boy and you girls are starving, I can tell.”

      “I’m getting out of here,” Grace informed them. “Saturday is a work day for me. I have a wedding tomorrow—I’ll be up to my eyeballs in flowers by nine and the wedding is in Coos Bay. See you later.”

      Grace bolted for the parking lot but Iris and Troy were sidetracked by students and teachers who stopped to say hello and talk about the game a little. Out of her peripheral vision, she saw Seth walking away from the field and noted that he didn’t have much of a limp. She frowned. Maybe he wore that lift in regular shoes but not in his running shoes? Then he keyed his radio and jogged away toward the parking lot.

      “Come on, Iris, let’s get something to eat. How about pizza?” Troy said.

      “Do you know what that place is going to be like after the game? It’ll be all night before we get one.”

      “I’ll take you to Cliff’s. We’ll get something light—oysters or crab cakes or something. Come on.”

      She stopped dead in her