see that the lights were on. Reed was home, so this wouldn't have to be postponed.
As they walked up the drive, he slipped his gloves into his pocket and regarded the men who had come with him. 'Reed's mine. I don't want anybody else to touch him.'
Bobby Tom nodded. 'Just make sure there aren't any leftovers.'
Reed answered the door himself. When he saw Dan, he looked puzzled, and then his eyes widened in alarm as he observed the platoon standing behind him. He immediately tried to slam the door, but he wasn't quick enough, and Dan drove his shoulder into it, sending him flying.
The men crashed into the hallway. Reed scrambled back against the archway that led to the living room. Dan could smell his fear.
'What do you want? Get out of here!'
Dan moved forward. 'I think you know what I want. If you're a religious man, I suggest you start praying.'
'I don't know what you're talking about! She lied to you about me, didn't she? She told you some kind of lie.'
Dan took his first swing, a hard jab to the jaw, and Reed flew back against the couch. He gave a howl of pain and scrambled to his feet, panting with fear.
'You get out of here, Calebow. I'm going to call the police. I'm going to-'
Webster calmly ripped the phone from the wall. 'Too bad, Chandler. Phone's not working.'
'If you touch me, I'll have you arrested!'
'Now how you gonna do that?' Bobby Tom stuck a toothpick in the corner of his mouth. 'Right now the coach is having a drink with all four of us at my apartment. Anybody says different's a liar. Isn't that right?'
'That's right, Bobby Tom.' Darnell wiped his shoe on one of the white damask chairs.
'You guys are crazy! You're fucking maniacs.'
'We're not maniacs,' Dan said. 'We just don't think a slimeball like you. should get away with rape.'
'Is that what she told you? I didn't rape her! She's lying. She wanted it. She-'
Dan's next blow destroyed Reed's nose. He began to whimper and tried to push it back into place as blood poured down his face. 'It wasn't my fault,' he sobbed. 'I was drunk. I didn't mean anything.'
Dan dropped his parka on the back of the couch. 'When I'm done with you tonight, you're gonna be hurt real bad.'
Reed tried to scramble to, his feet. 'No! Stay away! Don't hurt me!'
Dan advanced on him. 'You're gonna be hurt, but unless-I miscalculate, you'll still be alive. If you want to keep it that way, don't ever come close to Phoebe again. If you threaten her in any way, you'd better be prepared to live the rest of your life in a wheelchair.'
'No!'
It was the last word Reed uttered before Dan' took him apart.
Phoebe didn't arrive at the victory party until nine o'clock. Her ordeal, combined with the lengthy press conference, had exhausted her. When she'd finally gotten home, Molly had clucked over her like a mother hen and insisted that she lie down. She'd been so exhausted that she'd immediately fallen asleep.
Several hours later, when she awakened, she was refreshed and eager to see Dan. She'd showered and chatted with Molly as she'd dressed. Her sister had been shaken by the events of the afternoon, but recovered her spirits when Phoebe suggested a last-minute slumber party. Peg consented to chaperone, and by the time Phoebe left, the girls were arriving.
The restaurant Ron had rented for the night had a cozy, rustic interior, complete with brick floor and copper pots hanging from open beams. As she entered, her hair was still a bit damp from her shower and it curled around her head. The temperature had been steadily dropping all evening, and she was wearing a loosely fitting fuchsia sweater over a matching skirt in soft, flowing wool. With the exception of a center slit that climbed to a point just above her knees, it was conservative attire, but it felt right with her curly hair and silver doorknocker earrings.
She had just checked her coat when she heard a group entering the restaurant behind her. She turned to see Dan walking in, along with Jim, Darnell, Webster, and Bobby Tom. Everything inside her grew soft and warm at the sight of him.
'I thought I'd be the last one here.' Her voice sounded breathless.
His expression was so tender she could feel her chest swell. 'We had a hard time getting away.'
They stood in the middle of the entry way gazing at each other as the men began to move away to find their wives and girlfriends.
Bobby Tom coughed. 'The two of you should probably breathe or something so nobody hangs a coat on you.'
Dan didn't take his eyes from Phoebe. 'Don't you have a playbook to study, Denton?'
'Yessir, Coach.' Chuckling, he left them alone.
Phoebe could have looked at him forever, but they had duties to perform. Dan took her arm and began to lead her into the room. 'Half an hour. And then you're all mine.'
Ron met them just inside the door. To Phoebe's surprise,
Sharon Anderson was at his side, and she greeted them both with a warm smile.
Dan didn't even attempt to hide his pleasure at seeing Sharon, and he immediately drew her into his arms for a bear hug. 'Hi, sweetheart. How's Ron treating you? Has he proposed yet?'
Phoebe tried to work up a little jealousy, but his affection for Sharon was so open and honest she couldn't manage it. She realized he treated Sharon exactly as he treated Molly and wondered how on earth he could ever have imagined that they would have been happy together as a married couple. Dan was one of the most intelligent men she had ever met, but he was definitely stupid about some things.
She took pity on Sharon, whose flush had spread out from the roots of her red hair to encompass every one of her freckles. 'Don't let him tease you, Sharon. His idea of good manners is to mortify only those people he likes.'
'I wasn't mortifying her,' Dan protested. 'This is my first serious attempt at matchmaking, and I want to know how it's working out.'
'None of your business,' Ron said mildly. 'Now why don't you tend to your own love life and get Phoebe a drink?' He and Sharon smiled shyly at each other and moved away.
Phoebe giggled as Dan grabbed a beer for himself and a glass of wine for her from a passing waiter, but her smile faded as she saw that his knuckles were scraped and badly bruised. 'What did you do to your hand?'
'I, uh-' He took a sip of beer. 'I sure am glad Ron managed to keep the location of this party a secret from the press.'
'Dan? What happened to your hand?'
He hesitated, and for a moment she thought he wasn't going to answer, but then he brushed a lock of hair from her cheek. 'I went to see Reed. The two of us needed to come to an understanding about what he did to you.'
Her eyes flew over him, but other than his hands, he didn't seem to be hurt. 'What did you do?'
'Let's just say I practiced a little frontier justice. He won't bother you again, sweetheart.'
Phoebe wanted to question him, but at the same time, the shuttered expression on his face told her she wouldn't get far. She decided she wasn't all that anxious to hear the details anyway.
Darnell approached and introduced his new fiancee. Phoebe liked Charmaine Dodd on sight, and she congratulated them. Other players approached with their wives, and she and Dan were separated. She moved from one group to another, greeting everyone and occasionally catching sight of Dan as he did the same.
She was chatting with Bobby Tom and the pair of shapely redheads draped over his arms when she heard someone yell.
'Quiet, people! Quiet!'
Everyone in the crowd was startled to realize that commanding voice was coming from Ron, and they all fell silent. He was standing at one end of the room holding a telephone, his hand cupped over the mouthpiece.
'Phoebe!' He thrust the receiver forward. 'Phoebe, it's for you!'
She regarded him quizzically.
'It's the president!' He spoke the words in a stage whisper that could have been heard in the parking lot.
She had just spoken with the NFL president a few hours earlier, and she didn't understand why Ron was so agitated. 'I thought we had everything settled.'
