Archie was, indeed, happily sprawled across his feet, apparently having concluded that he was no longer going to be allowed to run free, so Aidan shouldn’t be allowed to budge, either. He promptly perked up at the mention of his name. For half an instant, Aidan was actually tempted to say yes, if only to make this woman happy. Fortunately, given his circumstances, common sense kicked in.
“You’re very good at finding new homes for your strays, aren’t you?” he said.
“So it seems,” she said, beaming.
“Sorry. Not this time. I don’t have room in my apartment for a dog this size, and if those paws are the indicators they’re supposed to be, Archie here is bound to get bigger. I may be moving soon, anyway.”
“To Chesapeake Shores, not away,” she said, as if it was a fact he’d already revealed. “You’re going to be the new football coach.”
Aidan just stared at her. “Are you psychic, too?”
“Nope, but the town loves its team, and the word on the street is that an ex-pro player is going to be coaching next season. Everyone has high hopes we’ll stop being the laughingstock of the region. Since you look like a jock and you were standing out here admiring the stadium, I just put two and two together.”
He gave her an amused look. “How does a jock look?”
Color tinted her cheeks. “You know, fit, well toned.”
He laughed. “I see. Well, I am Aidan Mitchell,” he confirmed. “And I’m interviewing for the job, but I don’t have it yet.”
“Oh, you’ll get it,” she said confidently. “Everyone’s very excited. You’ll be the second pro player in town. Of course, Mack Franklin grew up here, and he only played professionally for a season before becoming a sports columnist, but the town loves him. He started a local weekly newspaper a couple of years back. It’s a very tough business, if you know anything about newspapers these days, but he’s beaten the odds because it’s the best way to find out what’s going on in town.” She paused for breath, then amended, “Aside from sitting in Sally’s and listening to the gossip, anyway. At least Mack tries to bring some journalistic credibility into play.”
After growing up in New York, Aidan was astonished by this insight into small-town ways. Or perhaps it was just Liz March, who chattered like a magpie. “Does Mack know that his competition is a local café?”
“Of course he does. Sally’s his best source. But mostly he’d be the first to find out what’s going on, anyway. He’s married to an O’Brien, which makes him practically royalty in Chesapeake Shores.”
Aidan instinctively stiffened at the comment, though he hoped she hadn’t noticed. “Why is that?”
“You don’t know the town’s history?” she asked, looking startled.
“Is it a criteria for living here?” he asked, mostly in jest. “Do they give a test at the Realtor’s office?”
“Not really,” she said, apparently taking him seriously. “It’s just a local legend, so people tend to know it. As I understand it, the land originally belonged to an O’Brien who came here straight from Ireland. His family farmed it for years. A couple of decades ago, three of his descendants—Mick, Jeff and Thomas O’Brien—built Chesapeake Shores from scratch on that land.”
She paused for breath, then added, “Mick’s the famous architect who designed the town. He might not be an elected official, but his word still carries a lot of weight around here. Jeff manages properties and sells real estate.” Eyes twinkling, she gave Aidan a pointed look. “So it wouldn’t really surprise me if he does spread the story himself, though I imagine he’d consider testing potential residents to be ill-mannered.”
Aidan chuckled. “Touché.”
“There’s another brother, too. Thomas is a well-respected environmentalist who runs a foundation that fights to protect the bay.”
Aidan’s brain seemed to shut down at the casual mention of Thomas O’Brien. Maybe coming to Chesapeake Shores had been a huge mistake, after all, if just hearing that name made him flinch. He’d gotten a tip about the coaching job and been drawn here as if fate were stepping in, but now all he felt was the familiar bitterness and anger crawling up the back of his throat. That it might be unwarranted was a concept he struggled with from time to time.
He suddenly realized that Liz was studying him with a worried expression.
“Are you okay? Did I say something that upset you?”
“No, not a thing, I’m fine,” Aidan assured her. “Thanks for the background information.” He deliberately took a quick glance at his watch, then added, “I need to get going.”
He turned and quickly walked off in the direction of his car.
“Aidan!” Liz’s concerned voice carried on the breeze. “The school office is the other way.”
He gave her a wave of acknowledgment and kept right on going, thankful there was no set time for his interview. He’d intentionally scheduled it that way, promising to call once he arrived in town and got settled into the room the school had reserved for him at The Inn at Eagle Point. Maybe after a shower and some food and a little more time to think about what he was doing, he’d be ready to make that call. Or maybe not.
It was a big decision, deciding whether to stay and take a risk, or go. If his friends could see him now, they’d be stunned by his indecisiveness.
On the field, he’d been a quick-thinking quarterback, reading a defense and making split-second adjustments that determined whether a play succeeded or failed. He hadn’t struggled for even a minute with his decision to retire when he’d realized that an injury had slowed him down, ruining his effectiveness on the field. He’d always wanted to coach at the high school level. He’d gotten his teaching credentials in
