Beach Lane. Sherryl Woods

want to make it come true before it was too late. “I’ll see to it.”

      “Don’t you worry about an old woman’s daydreams,” Gram chided. “Concentrate on making your own come true.” She took the glass and towel from Susie’s hands. “Now go out there and get into that football game. You could always run as fast as most of the men in this family.” She gave Susie’s hand a squeeze. “Just be sure you don’t run so fast that the right man can’t catch you.”

      Susie had always been a bit of a tomboy, but Mack hadn’t expected her to throw herself into the family’s touch football game with such enthusiasm. In fact, he’d been counting on her staying inside with all the other women, while the men blew off steam. He’d needed some distance. Being caught up in an O’Brien celebration had been a little bit like a fantasy for him. It made him yearn for things that right at this moment seemed out of reach.

      Okay, it was more than that. His wish for her to remain safely inside might hint at a disgustingly sexist attitude, but it was also a matter of self-preservation. Being around her today had stirred up some totally unexpected responses. It was as if all that talk about sex the other night had taken root in his brain—or in his libido—and the only thing he saw when he looked at her was a desirable woman whose clothes he wanted to strip off.

      Now she was out here in the yard in an old pair of snug-fitting jeans she’d apparently borrowed and some kind of soft, touch-me sweater in a shade of red that should have looked ridiculous with her hair, but instead simply looked daring and downright provocative.

      Standing just to the left of one of her brothers, a former college quarterback, she had her hands on her hips, a spark of mischief in her eyes and the kind of challenging expression that was giving Mack all sorts of ideas that had nothing to do with football. He almost regretted playing for the opposing team, since playing behind her with a clear view of her delectable backside held a lot of appeal.

      Trace suddenly nudged him in the ribs. “Hey, pay attention! You do know that you can’t wimp out and go easy on Susie just because she’s a girl, right? If they hand the ball off to her, you take her down. You know that’s what they’re going to do because they think you’ll go easy on her. Do not let them get away with it,” he commanded.

      Mack frowned at him. “I thought we were playing a friendly game of touch football.”

      “We were until ten minutes ago, when Susie joined their team. They’re out to win. So are we.” Trace looked him squarely in the eye. “Do I need to move Will into your position?”

      “Will hasn’t made a tackle since grade school,” Mack scoffed. “Who are you kidding?”

      “Hey!” Will protested. “The game isn’t always about brute force. Sometimes it’s about finesse.”

      “Tell that to the National Football League,” Mack said. “I’m sure the commissioner will be interested in your point of view.”

      Jake joined the huddle. “Are we going to play or not? We can’t let their bringing in a girl psyche us out. Susie’s been playing in these games for years. She can take care of herself.”

      He paused and glanced at Trace. “How about your sister? Maybe Laila would want to play. She’s tall and it would even things up. It would freak Matthew, Luke and Kevin out if the shoe were on the other foot and we had a woman playing for us.”

      Trace frowned. “I am not letting my sister get pummeled by that team. Laila was never the tomboy that Susie was.”

      “Hey, it was just a thought,” Jake said defensively. “You don’t have to go all macho and protective on us.” He turned back to Mack. “Okay, then, you can’t let Susie get past you. The woman runs like the wind. Remember high school? She blew away every other sprinter in the region when she competed in track.”

      Mack frowned at the whole lot of them. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, which one of us made all-American all through high school? No girl is going to get the better of me.”

      “Not even Susie?” Trace asked doubtfully.

      Mack gritted his teeth. “No, not even Susie.”

      “Okay, then,” Trace said as their players fell into position.

      “About time,” Susie’s brother Matthew taunted. “I was starting to think I had enough time to go back inside for more pie.”

      He called a play, the ball was snapped and, sure enough, it was handed off to Susie, who made a remarkable move to her right to avoid Jake’s tackle. Mack streaked after her, picked her up off her feet and fell to the ground, cushioning the fall with his own body. Her expression startled, Susie stared into his eyes.

      “You tackled me,” she said with an indignant huff.

      “Just following directions,” he said. “You okay?”

      She scrambled up. “Of course I’m okay, but this is touch football, you idiot.”

      Mack stared at her. “I was told the rules had changed.”

      She stepped closer until she was toe-to-toe with him. “Is that so?”

      “Swear to God.”

      She looked around at the other players, then nodded. “Okay, then. You won’t catch me off guard again, Mack Franklin, I promise you that.”

      She stomped back across the yard to join her own team. Mack got the distinct impression he’d stirred up her temper in ways he couldn’t possibly envision.

      Fortunately, the last play had been fourth down and his team had the ball back. He took the hike from center and started to run, only to have 110 pounds of fury cut him off at the knees. This time when he hit the ground, Susie rolled with him. She jumped up before he could catch his breath.

      “Okay, now we’re even,” she said. “I feel better. How about you?”

      He stared at her incredulously. “You’re a little crazy. You know that, don’t you?”

      She grinned. “I’ve spent a lot of time being one of the guys. Don’t sell me short, Mack. I have moves you can’t possibly imagine,” she boasted, then grinned. “On and off the field.”

      Suddenly heat flared in Mack’s belly. All of the moves he envisioned were in a bedroom, not in the middle of a yard with her entire family surrounding them. He reached out, snagged her hand and pulled her into his arms, then leaned down to whisper in her ear.

      “Do not taunt me, Susie. You’ll be asking for trouble.”

      Amusement lit her eyes as she stared right back at him. “You don’t scare me. You’re all talk. I have years of experience to testify to that.”

      “I beg your pardon?”

      “All talk,” she taunted again.

      It was Matthew who walked over, gave his sister an odd look, then broke up the standoff. “Hey, guys, we’re playing football.”

      Susie blinked and looked away, her cheeks flushed. Mack dropped his hold on her and walked back to his own team, not sure if he was more disconcerted by her taunt or infuriated by it.

      Will and Jake were grinning. “This O’Brien holiday tradition has just gotten interesting,” Jake commented. “You might want to keep in mind, though, that Jeff and Mick are sitting right up there on the porch watching. I’m not sure how thrilled they’re likely to be if you decide to seduce Susie right here and now. I know Mick, especially, talks a good game, but at heart, they’re pretty old-fashioned guys.”

      “Seducing Susie never crossed my mind,” Mack said with grim determination. Making her take back her words, now, that was something entirely different.

      Jake rolled his eyes. “Just like I didn’t pine away for Bree all those years she was off in Chicago writing plays.”

      Mack just stared him down.

      Across