Phoebe glanced at Dan. This had been his idea, and it was a disaster. But instead of looking repentant, he seemed distinctly pleased with himself.
'It sure has been nice to meet you girls. Now y'all have a good time today, y'hear?'
The girls looked at him as if he were a Martian and began to move down the slope toward a group of boys coming along the path.
'You didn't exactly wow them,' she pointed out.
He slipped his sunglasses in his T-shirt pocket. 'Just you wait, honey lamb. I've been impressing females all my life, and I know what I'm doing.'
Molly's face was crimson with embarrassment, and she looked as if she were ready to break into tears. 'I told you I didn't want to come! I hate this! And I hate you!' She started to rash away, but before she could leave, Dan shot out his arm and pulled her to his side.
'Not so fast, Miz Molly. We're just getting to the good part.'
Phoebe immediately saw the cause of Molly's increasing distress. Approaching the group of girls was a gang of four boys, their baseball hats turned backward, oversized T-shirts hanging nearly to the bottoms of their shorts, tongues flapping on big black sneakers.
'Dan, let her go. You've embarrassed her enough.'
'I've got half a mind to leave the two of you to your own pitiful devices, except I'm not that cruel.'
The girls were calling out the boys' names, and at the same time trying to look aloof. The boys jabbed each other in the ribs. One of them gave a loud belch that was obviously intended to impress.
And then they saw Dan.
Their mouths dropped, and for several moments they seemed to have lost the power of movement. The girls, chattering and tossing their hair, had surrounded them, but the boys paid no attention. Their eyes were riveted on the Stars' coach.
And Dan's eyes were riveted on Molly. He grinned at her and chucked her chin. 'Now smile, Miz Molly, and act like you don't have a care in the world.'
Molly saw what was happening. She swallowed hard as the boys all turned her way.
'Do you know any of them?' Dan asked quietly, keeping his eyes on her.
'The one with the long hair has the locker next to mine.'
Phoebe remembered Molly's reference to the cute boy who made guitar noises.
'All right, now. You just lift your hand and give him a little wave.'
Molly looked panicked. 'I can't do that.'
'Right now he's a lot more nervous than you are. Do what I say.'
Dan had been a leader of men since he'd thrown his first football, and an insecure teenage girl was no match for him. Molly gave a short, jerky wave before her arm dropped back to her side and her cheeks turned crimson.
It was all the encouragement the boys needed. Led by Molly's locker neighbor, they rushed forward.
'I stand in awe,' Phoebe whispered to Dan.
'It's about time I got some respect.'
Their leader's face was red with embarrassment as he came to a stop near Molly. He was tall, all knobby knees and bony elbows, well-scrubbed, well-fed, his long hair clean and shiny. The boys shuffled their feet as if they were stomping out ants. Dan still had his arm draped over Molly's shoulders, but he deliberately turned his head toward Phoebe, making it difficult for the boys to address him.
'Beautiful day, isn't it?' he said.
'Lovely,' she replied, understanding immediately what he was doing. 'I hope it doesn't rain.'
'Weatherman said it was going to be nice all week.'
'You don't say.' She watched out of the corner of her eye as the long-haired boy's Adam's apple bobbed in his neck. The boys seemed to realize they could only get to Dan through Molly. Their eyes darted back and forth between him and her.
'I've seen you at school, haven't I?' their leader muttered.
'Uh-huh,' Molly replied.
'Yeah, I guess I have the next locker.'
'Yeah, I guess.'
In Phoebe's opinion, someone with her sister's astronomical IQ could have come up with a more interesting reply. Where was that handy quote from Dostoyevski when it would do some good?
'My name's Jeff.'
'I'm Molly.'
While Jeff was introducing the other boys, Dan began pointing out the sights of the Riverwalk to Phoebe. He commented on the trees. The flowers. The ducks. But he never took his arm from around Molly's shoulders, and the warmth Phoebe had felt for him when she'd opened her front door turned into a soft melting.
The conversation between Molly and the boys was becoming a little less torturous. Phoebe saw the Pom Poms approaching, their mascaraed eyes alive with a wary curiosity.
'Lots of feathers on those critters, aren't there?' Dan kept his eyes on the river.
'Brown ones,' Phoebe replied, 'although the one in the lead seems to have a spot of blue.'
'I believe that's green.'
'Do you? Yes, I think you're right.'
Dan's presence was like a magnet. Several other boys passing along saw who their friends were with and charged through the Pom Poms to approach.
'Hey, Jeff, how's it going, man?'
'Hi, Mark. Hi, Rob. This is Molly. She's new this year.'
Dan and Phoebe traded a few more observations on duck plumage, before Dan finally turned his head to acknowledge the boys.
'Well, hi there, fellas. Are you guys friends of Molly's?'
They all enthusiastically agreed that they were very good friends. Responding to Dan's geniality, they gradually forgot their shyness and began asking questions about the team. The Pom Poms had joined the group and were regarding Molly with new interest. When several of the boys announced they were on their way to get ice cream, they invited Molly to go along.
She turned pleading eyes toward Phoebe. 'May I?'
'Sure.' Phoebe made arrangements to meet Molly at the Riverwalk's dandelion fountain in an hour.
But Dan wasn't done. As the kids began to move away, he called after them. 'Molly, you should bring a few of your friends to a game one of these Sundays. You could introduce them to some of the players afterward.'
The boys' jaws dropped. 'Yeah, Molly!'
'Hey, that'd be neat!'
'Do you know Bobby Tom, Molly?'
'I've met him,' she said.
'Boy, are you lucky!'
As the boisterous gang moved away, Phoebe smiled at Dan. 'That was blatant bribery.'
He grinned. 'I know.'
'I'm not sure about some of those girls, though. A few of them looked as if they'd sell their best friend for lunch money.'
'It doesn't matter. We just gave Molly an even playing field. Now she can make her own choices.'
Pooh, impatient to strut her stuff, tugged on her leash. They walked down the slope of lawn and began to wander through the exhibits, but although Dan had once again donned his hat and sunglasses, too many people had noticed him as he'd talked with the teenagers, and some of them began to call his name, while they gazed at Phoebe with avid curiosity.
He nodded in response to their greetings and spoke to her under his breath. 'Keep moving. Once you stop, it's all over.' He glared at Pooh. 'And would you mind either walking in front of me or behind me? I don't want people to think-'
'Your image as a macho man is more than a match for one small dog. Lord, if you're making this big a fuss over a poodle, I can't imagine what you'd do if Viktor were along.'
