She stood at the top of the key, her gaze focused on the boy. Lucca knew by her stance and by his knowledge of her game what she’d do next.
Sure enough, she faked a jump shot, and when the boy went for it, she drove to the bucket for a layup. Damned if the boy didn’t block the shot. Immediately, he took the ball outside the arc to the left of the basket and put up a jumper.
Nothing but net. The boy gleefully crowed “Game!”
Gabi groaned and said, “Two out of three.”
“No way. I’ll play ya PIG.”
Gabi laughed maniacally—PIG was her game—and the sound pierced Lucca’s heart as sure as an arrow. If he wasn’t a chicken, he would stride right into that gym and show his baby sister just who owned PIG.
But Lucca couldn’t make himself step on the gymnasium’s polished wood floor.
“That’s Wade Mitchell.”
Lucca glanced over his shoulder to see Hope standing behind him. He stepped to one side, and she moved forward.
“His father owns Storm Mountain Ranch. They’re an old Eternity Springs family, having owned that property for a hundred years.”
“The kid has game.”
“He only started playing recently. He didn’t get his growth spurt until his sophomore year. He’s a junior this year.”
Lucca’s gaze measured the boy. He had to be six foot two, and if he’d started growing late, he probably wasn’t done. “Looks like he spends time in the weight room.”
“We don’t have a weight room. Storm Mountain is a working ranch, and Wade has helped his dad all his life. Wade is the best player on our team.”
Lucca turned, putting his back toward the gym. He was done with the subject of basketball. “My mom told me you are in charge of this Fun Night event. How is it going? Are you going to meet your fund-raising goals?”
Her eyes went bright and caused Lucca to think about starshine. “We’re going to exceed them by a significant amount. Depending how many of you show up for musical chairs, it could be our best Fun Night ever.”
“Congratulations. Say, since you’re here, I’m curious about something. What’s with all the critters in the science classroom?”
“Critters? What … oh. Our mounted menagerie.”
Lucca blinked. “That sounds sorta kinky, Ms. Montgomery.”
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s downright creepy. But I will say, the kids love it.”
She explained how the collection had been donated to the school by a local taxidermist named Bear. “I never met him. He moved away before I moved to Eternity Springs, but apparently he was quite a character, an old-fashioned mountain man. It’s a lot of fun for me to witness the first look at the collection by our kindergartners. Their little eyes get so round and so big—pure wonder. We go to the science lab once a week, and they just love it. Of course, their favorites are the hockey mice. Have you seen them?”
“I didn’t go inside the classroom.”
“Follow me,” she said. “You have to see this.”
She led him into the science lab to a small desk in the back corner where a quartet of white mice decked out in full hockey gear stood upright on an ice rink model. “Okay, I get a hunter wanting to mount his ten-point elk so he can hang it on the wall of his man cave, and I admit I think mounted fish are cool,” said Lucca. “If I ever was lucky enough to catch a marlin, I’d consider having him stuffed. But hockey mice? That is weird.”
“The really weird stuff is in storage. He did some animal creation—wings of a hawk on the body of a rabbit. It’s disturbing.” Hope glanced up at the clock on the wall and said, “I need to finish my rounds if I’m going to get back in time for the big competition. Do you still plan to enter?”
“Oh, yes. I’ll definitely be there.”
“See you shortly, then.”
Lucca watched her leave, admiring the way her black slacks hugged that spectacular ass of hers. He liked Hope Montgomery. Sure, he found her physically appealing, but it was more than that. Her attitude was attractive, too. She was friendly and confident. She made the day a little brighter for everyone around her. She wasn’t indifferent to him, either.
Maybe he didn’t need to be so guarded where she was concerned. So what if she was friends with Mom and Gabi? She was a single adult. He was a single adult. If they wanted to explore the attraction between them, well, that was their business, wasn’t it? He’d be honest up front and make it clear he wasn’t looking for anything long-term. Maybe she’d shoot him down. Or, maybe that arrangement would suit her just fine.
He wouldn’t know unless he asked.
Lucca shoved his hands into his pockets, shook his head one more time at the hockey-playing mice, and exited the science lab. His gaze drifted toward the gymnasium doorway and for a long moment, he hesitated. Then he blew out a heavy breath and muttered, “Screw it.”
Dad would have kicked his ass if he’d been around to see Lucca afraid to step foot on the hardwood.
He strode toward the gym and straight through the open doors. His sister stood near the basket holding the ball tucked beneath her arm as she spoke to the boy. She casually glanced up and when she identified him, her eyes rounded in surprise.
Lucca grinned and slapped the ball loose, caught it on the bounce, then drove toward the basket and went up for a dunk.
When his heels hit the floor, he smiled, winked at his sister, then walked back out of the gym calling, “It’s your day to lose, Gabriella.”
He headed for the kindergarten class, his step lighter than it had been in months. Having scored a bucket on one of his demons, he was ready for a game of musical chairs.
During her first month of teaching in Eternity Springs, Hope had scored an ancient phonograph and collection of children’s records at the Saint Stephen’s church rummage sale. The songs were familiar, tinny recordings of such classic, beloved tunes as “Old MacDonald” and “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.” Hope had installed the machine in her classroom and once a week, usually after science lab, the kindergartners had an old- fashioned sing-along.
Her students loved it. Ninety percent of the children who entered her classroom had never seen a record player or vinyl records. To them it was just as magical—maybe even more—than the electronic tablets they began learning on long before they were ready to read. From Big Chief tablets to iPads—education had certainly changed.
And yet, some things never changed. Kids liked to sing along with “Old MacDonald,” whether the song came from a piano or a record player or an MP3 player.
And their parents, especially their dads, continued to cringe from repetitive renditions of “With an oink, oink here and an oink, oink there …”
She couldn’t explain why, but the idea of having the big, tough men of Eternity Springs playing musical chairs to “Old MacDonald” made her want to giggle.
“Now that’s a positively evil smile, Hope,” Maggie Romano said as she sailed up beside her. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking about this contest. I take it you’ve heard what’s happening?”
“Yes.” Amusement gleamed in her eyes and a satisfied smile stretched across her face. “Those children of mine. They’re simply ridiculous sometimes. I admit the cake is good, but in my family it took on ridiculous significance—mainly because my mother-in-law made it that way. Care to guess how I finally got the recipe? She passed it along in her will.”
“Really?”
“Oh, yes. My children loved their Nana, but I have to tell you, she was a pain in the patootie as far as mothers-in-law go. Rumor has it there might be as many as ten entrants. Can you believe that? A thousand dollars for one cake!”
“Not to mention a hundred volunteer hours for the school.”
