Love Comes Home: A Collection of Second Chance Short Stories Read online

  Andee nodded, “I do.”

  “Or if they weren’t saying that, then they were accusing me of rebelling because of what Daddy did?”

  “You could never catch a break, that’s for sure. My momma always said that preacher kids have it harder than other kids because they’re always being scrutinized.” Andee began trimming the flowers under running water.

  “Cole never did that. Neither did you, for that matter.” Lorelei looked at her friend and smiled.

  “Well, of course not, honey. Anyone who knew you knew you had a mind of your own and weren’t prone to doing things out of spite.”

  Lorelei stopped whisking eggs and thought about her friend’s words. Had she held onto her hurt to spite Cole?

  “Hey, Bucky and I got to reminiscing last night. Remember that time—we were in seventh grade I think—Bucky had a party and Shawn Fields picked you to spend seven minutes in heaven with him?”

  Lorelei laughed. How could she forget? That night was the first time she’d been kissed and by two boys nonetheless. Those minutes in Bucky’s hall closet had been life changing for her.

  “Yeah, you all started banging on the door early and Shawn got mad.” Lorelei remembered how Cole had hollered through the wood that their time was up not seconds after they’d closed it. Shawn had quickly pressed his lips to hers and Lorelei had felt nothing. Not a single butterfly of excitement.

  “Remember how when y’all came out, Cole announced it was his turn and pulled you into the closet? We were laughing because I remember you telling Cole he better know what he was doing because Shawn Fields had set the bar pretty high.”

  Lorelei tossed back her head and laughed. “I had completely forgotten about that.” Not the kiss of course. The kiss, a simple press of Cole’s lips to hers, had made her knees wobble and her stomach turn inside out. But she’d forgotten she’d challenged Cole like that, knowing it would make him crazy.

  “Later that night when we were lying in bed, I asked you what it was like, remember? I was desperate to be kissed but scared I was gonna make a fool of myself and not know what to do and you said—”

  “That I was gonna marry Cole Williams.” Lorelei sobered instantly. Andee hadn’t been the only person she’d mentioned her aspirations too. She’d told Cole, of course, to which he’d responded, ‘All right, Lore. Just let me play football, too.’

  “Some things just can’t withstand the burden of distance, I suppose.” Andee shrugged.

  Lorelei stepped back to look at the assortment of food ready to be baked or prepped, yet all she could think about were the what if’s. So much about her had changed that summer, enough that even though she dated now she’d never been willing to risk the remaining half of her heart.

  Andee came up from behind and wrapped her in a hug. “Sometimes even when food tastes good, it could always taste a little bit better with seasoning or trying a different ingredient. Isn’t that what you always say?”

  “I have no idea what you are talking about.” Lorelei clasped her hands on her friend’s arms and gave them a squeeze.

  “I’m saying it’s time to be happy, Lorelei, and it’s ok to change the ingredients.”

  With a final squeeze, Andee was off to set up the dining area, leaving Lorelei with her thoughts. Until Cole walked into her diner yesterday, Lorelei had thought she was happy. Or content at least. She had a very full life.

  Lorelei chuffed at that last thought. Yeah, she had such a full life that two conversations with Cole and she was rethinking her actions of the last fourteen years.

  SECOND CHANCES

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “Now this is how you make a croissant, Lorelei,” Mr. Jenkins said as he cut open his second ham and cheddar croissant.

  “God forbid you stretch out your palate.” She topped off his coffee.

  “Don’t you think the croissant is real good, Cole?” Mr. Jenkins shouted around her to where Cole was sitting and had been fielding questions for the last two hours.

  “Oh no. I’m not getting in the middle of this. I think anything Lorelei makes is delicious.”

  “What would you know about what I make? This is the second time you’ve eaten here.” She turned to face him and quirked a brow.

  “Not true. My mom has been overnighting me crumpets and scones and all sorts of pastries since y’all opened the diner.” He returned her expression with a matching one.

  “For the last six years, your momma’s been mailing you my food?”

  “Yup. Though I have to confess. Those goji berry granola bars were not my favorite.”

  Mr. Jenkins exploded with a larger than life laugh. “No one liked those, did they Lorelei? You couldn’t even give them away. Even the ducks at the lake wouldn’t eat them. I tried.”

  Lorelei slid the coffeepot onto the warmer and threw her hands up in defeat. “Why are you even here, Cole? Don’t you have a football to throw, a house to buy, or a cheerleader to woo?” She hated that she was probing into his personal life but her search of the Internet had given her nothing about him but his stats as a coach.

  “Let’s see if I can answer those in order. I’m doing an interview for The Ledger. I’m tossing the football later with Buck. I plan on renting at first to figure what area I want to live in, and I prefer pastry chefs to cheerleaders.”

  The restaurant was suddenly quiet and Lorelei wished she could stop the heat spreading up her chest by sheer willpower alone.

  “If I gave you a free croissant, would you promise to shove it in your mouth and not say something so stupid again?” It was all she had.

  Cole laughed, but before he could say more the ringing of bells indicated the front door opening and Leo, the sports reporter for the local paper, walked in. Lorelei leaned over the counter to give him a high five.

  “I see you signed up for my team again, Leo. We’re gonna take it this year.”

  “That’s the plan, except I have some rather bad news.” He held up his hand quickly. “I don’t want anyone to panic, but I’m actively seeking alternatives.”

  “What’s happened?” Lorelei filled a cup with hot water and offered Leo an assortment of tea bags. He was a regular in her diner and she sometimes thought she might like to date him. He was only two years older, the same age as Cole, and attractive in the smart and literary way. It had always surprised her that he covered the sports beat, but behind his tortoiseshell glasses and oxford shirt was a die-hard fanatic of all sports.

  “Mitch, the guy from my department that we used as the QB last year, quit a few weeks back and I haven’t had any luck in finding a replacement yet.” Leo put a voice recorder and small notebook on the counter before he slid into a seat.

  “Poop.” Andee came up from behind Lorelei. “I’ll have Bucky start looking, too. I really thought we’d take Miller’s Auto Body this year.”

  “What are y’all taking about?” Cole moved to the seat next to Leo.

  “The annual Spring Fling Super Bowl,” Andee answered. “Don’t you remember? Oh wait; you were gone by the time it got started."

  “Spring Fling Super Bowl?” Cole asked.

  “It’s something the city organizes,” Lorelei said. “Fifteen teams sign up and have to be sponsored by a business. It’s an all-day round-robin flag football game and charity event. Each year the city selects a charity to receive all the proceeds. This year’s charity is….”

  “Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation,” finished Leo.

  “And you sponsor a team?” Cole asked Lorelei.

  “We sponsor a team.” She put her arm around Andee.

  “Wow.” Andee blinked. “I just had a flashback to high school. Even then you could never see past Lorelei.” She turned to Leo. “Everyday world events happen and these two—clueless.” She turned back to Cole and rolled her eyes.

  “So you two have history?” Leo asked, flipping open his notebook and setting up his voice recorder.

  “I’ll make it re
al simple for you, Leo. We all grew up together. That’s it. Cole and I lived next door to each other and more from convenience than anything we just stuck together. Until Cole left for college.”

  “Hey, Buck left for college the same time I did,” Cole said.

  The room was quiet and Lorelei knew everyone was waiting for her to answer. Stuck together was the understatement of the century, and convenience? Who was she kidding? They’d been inseparable. Lorelei had even tried out for the dance team in high school so she could be on the football field when he was.

  She pressed her lips into a thin line, picking her words carefully before she said, “Yeah, but Bucky came home every chance he got. Isn’t that right, Andee?”

  Andee nodded and smiled. “Just for those first two years when I was finishing high school. I didn’t even bother applying to a different college.”

  Lorelei pointed her gaze at Cole. Their mutual friends had done what he’d thought was impossible. They’d made it through high school and college in love and intact.

  She swung her gaze to Leo. “You hungry, Leo? You want the usual?”

  “That’d be great. Thanks.” He turned to Cole and flipped on the recorder. “Let’s talk about those college years,” he said as she left the dining room.

  In the kitchen, she took a towel and wet it with cold water, wrung it out, and pressed it to the back of her neck for a few moments before dabbing it up and down the column of her neck.

  Thinking of high school always made her remember the endless nights she and Cole had spent parked off some backcountry dirt road or down by Lake Morton, in the bed of his truck making out or talking about the life they wanted after college. Cole dreamt of coaching an NFL team and Lorelei dreamt of... well, whatever Cole wanted.

  Man, she’d been so pathetically consumed by him. With a shake of her head she forced the past back where it belonged, in the past, and set about filling the orders.

  She carried Leo’s spinach omelet, home fries, and a plate of strawberry scones into the diner and slid Leo’s plate toward him. Reaching under the counter, she snagged a bottle of Tabasco sauce before he could ask for it and handed it to him.

  Cole looked at her and then Leo. “I was thinking, Lore—”

  “Well, please don’t keep us waiting.” She put the plate of scones in the display before coming to rest her hip against the counter.

  Cole sighed and leaned back in his chair, one hand on his hip. “You all need a quarterback for the Spring Fling Super Bowl and I happen to have some experience throwing a football.”

  “He’s got one of the best records for passing yards and you’ve wanted to beat Miller’s Auto Body for the last three years,” Leo said.

  “I feel like this conversation has already happened and if I went to check the website it would show Cole has signed up for the team.” Lorelei picked off a corner from one of the scones and popped it in her mouth.

  “Well, there is that,” Cole said, his finger resting on the screen of his smartphone.

  Lorelei shrugged and swallowed. “Not much I can do now. But we should have someone waiting to take his place in case he doesn’t show.” She gave Cole a pointed look and a smirk.

  "Let's finish up this interview, Cole." Leo flipped on the voice recorder. "How about you tell us why you turned down that offensive coordinator position with the Cowboys for the same job with a smaller university than you've been with so far."

  Lorelei paused, the bite of scone halfway to her mouth, and waited for his answer.

  Cole met her eyes, "I was honored to be offered the opportunity to work for the Cowboys but the chance to grow a team and become the head coach appeals to me more. It's about the bigger picture and, quite frankly, I've been awfully homesick. So this job was darn near perfect."

  Lorelei put down her scone and walked into the kitchen. How many nights had she listened to Cole dream about a future with the NFL, player or coach? He ran scenarios like plays leaving no room for failure. Yet when he finally gets the chance he turns it down? Homesick he said while looking at her with such sincerity it left her breathless.

  She spent the rest of the morning avoiding Cole and Leo, who appeared to have become the best of pals, bonding over her scones and sports stats. In the quiet moments after she and Andee closed the diner, it was not lost on Lorelei that her life had taken an unexpected turn. With Cole now living in the same state and working not fifty minutes away, it was inevitable that their paths would continue to cross. Could she function in the same town with Cole? Become friends again? Watch him date? Marry? Certainly, she’d been dreading listening to his momma talk about it, but listening to talk and watching it happen were two different things indeed.

  SECOND CHANCES

  CHAPTER FIVE

  In hindsight, Andee designing the t-shirts for the Spring Fling Super Bowl had been a mistake. The team now sported hot pink t-shirts with the diner’s logo—two fluffy chicks with long eyelashes sharing a piece of bacon—pressed on the front and the words TEAM TWO CHICKS on the back. On the women, the front logo’s two chicks lined up across the chest in such manner that Lorelei had difficulty meeting the gaze of anyone in the crowd, much less her teammates.

  “I say we just go with plain white t-shirts. Someone can run to Walmart and pick up a few packs.” Leo wiped his glasses clean with the edge of his pink shirt.

  “If we only had time, we’re the first team up. In Andee’s defense, her concern was that we’d blend in with all the others on the field. At least there’s no mistaking who our teammates are.” Lorelei shrugged.

  “It happened one time. One. Time,” Mr. Jenkins defended.

  “I wasn’t saying anything, Mr. Jenkins.“ Lorelei held her hands up and began backing up only to collide with a wall of man behind her.

  Cole caught her by her shoulders and steadied her before sliding his hands down her arms and moving one to rest on the small of her back.

  “All right, someone give me the scoop on the first team, Jamison Chevrolet. What do I need to know?” he asked, his thumb stroking her back.

  Lorelei took a tiny step away from his hand and the distraction it brought with it. Even in the hot pink shirt, he was a fine specimen of a man. The fabric stretched across his defined chest and shoulders. When she touched him, the years and distance between them seemed to fade and the familiarity of years together was back, wrapping its arms of time around them, and pulling them together.

  The flash of a memory transported her back to Cole’s seventeenth birthday and the party his mother had thrown for him.

  They’d spent the day tubing behind her parents’ boat with several of their high school friends. Cole, riding the tube beside her, had dared her to switch places with him, a stunt he favored as it allowed him to demonstrate his physical strength. But on this day, as Lorelei was letting go with one hand and reaching for the other handle, the tube caught a wave and bounced high and landed hard, slapping the water and tossing her off, sending her ass over teakettle and her bikini top floating away.

  Coming up for air, trying to tread water while simultaneously keeping her chest below the water line, Lorelei was not surprised to see Cole swimming toward her. Though it was typical practice for the guys to leave those that fell off the tube to tread water or swim their way in.

  “Nice flip, Lore.”

  “I lost my top,” she answered and watched Cole look around for the lost fabric. He pointed to some reeds, the top floating against the tall stalks, and flipped onto his back to stroke his way over to it.

  “Careful. Watch out for gators.” She scanned the water, hoping not to see any swimming toward him. He grabbed the cloth and swam back toward her and when he was close enough, tossed it to her.

  “Thanks. For getting my top and not leaving me out here alone.” Tying on the top as quickly as she could, she swam toward him and home.

  “No sweat. I plan on getting some mileage out of this, like on a day I let you down. I’ll be sure to remind
you of this.”

  “Don’t be stupid. You could never let me down,” she told him before splashing him in the face.

  But he had let her down, at the worst possible time.

  “What’s the plan, coach?” Leo asked, nudging her back to the present.

  “What? I’m not the coach. Cole is.” She handed him the armband coaches were required to wear.

  Cole shook his head. “You or Andee should be the coach. It’s y’all’s business.”

  “For God’s sake, man, take the band, though saying Andee should coach makes me wonder whether you’re in your right mind or not,” Buck mumbled.

  “Hey, I heard that.” Andee punched him in the arm.

  “I love you,” Buck said, patting her on the shoulder. “You’re my wife. You’re my life. But you’d be a terrible coach.”

  “Whatever.” She turned her back to him.

  “Are you sure, Lore?” Cole asked, still not reaching for the band.

  “Why fight the inevitable. People will listen to you before any of us.”

  “Smart woman.” Leo gave her a nudge with his elbow.

  “My daddy didn’t raise no dumb-dumb,” she replied under her breath and the two shared a laugh before she called, “Huddle up.”

  “Hey, I’m the coach.” Cole snatched the band from her hand.

  “Well, start coaching.”

  “I was waiting for you to turn your attention back to the game.” He gave her a pointed look.

  Lorelei cocked her head to the side and searched his face. A flutter of something she hadn’t experienced in years tickled her stomach. For a moment, she thought she might be sick, until she realized what it was she was feeling.

  Could it be possible that Cole still had feelings for her? More than just remorse for his actions all those years ago back? More than obligation or a need to gain her forgiveness?

  Cole leaned forward and brought the whistle that hung from her neck up to his lips. He gave it a quick blow before dropping it, winking at her, and turning to the team.