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Sheila Hanley Vance had just put him in his place again. Something a woman hadn’t done in a long time. Actually not since Sheila had slapped his face the first time he’d kissed her. Women didn’t say no to Caleb Bishop, star athlete. Beautiful women, sexy women, rich women threw themselves at him on a regular basis. And now here he’d just been turned down by a big, rawboned, rather plain woman wearing a pair of faded overalls.
Despite the aching need in his body, he laughed loud and hard and long. Hell, Sheila was right. There had to be a couple of dozen women in Crooked Oak who’d jump at the chance to go to bed with him if he needed a woman so damn bad. But as much as he’d enjoy female companionship, he needed his privacy even more. At least for a while. Until he’d come to terms with being back home. Until he decided what he was going to do with the rest of his life, now that his major league career was over.
Sooner or later he would get tired of being alone out here. Sooner or later he’d want female companionship even more than he did right now. But the thought of bedding some starry-eyed fan didn’t appeal to him. Just once, he’d like to make love to a woman who genuinely cared about him, the way Sheila had cared about him all those years ago.
Sheila increased her pace as soon as she rounded the bend in the road and knew that Caleb could no longer see her. Breaking into a run, she raced homeward, wanting to put as much distance between Caleb Bishop and her as she possibly could.
She hadn’t meant for him to find her at his house; she’d meant to be long gone before he arrived. Now, as the March wind whipped loose strands of her hair against her cheeks and her heartbeat roared in her ears. tears that she could not—would not—shed lodged in her throat.
Breathless and damp with perspiration, she bounded up the steps to her front porch. Slumping down on the top step, she covered her face with her hands and rested her elbows on her knees.
When Tallie had phoned from Nashville to ask her to open up the house for Caleb’s return, she’d wanted to tell her friend no. But she couldn’t refuse. What excuse could she have possibly given Tallie? Even though Tallie had known Sheila had a crush on Caleb twelve years ago, she didn’t know anything about that one night they’d spent together. And she didn’t know the truth about Da
Tallie probably thought she’d play matchmaker and throw Sheila. and Caleb together, giving Sheila a chance with the guy she’d been in love with at eighteen. But the last thing Sheila wanted was Caleb Bishop back in Crooked Oak for any length of time.
If Caleb ever found out exactly how old Da
Sheila stood, dusted her hands off on her hips and went inside the small, wooden house she’d lived in with her husband. She heard the television in Da
She walked down the hall and stopped in front of Da
“Hi, Mom. Did you get Tallie’s house all fixed up for Caleb?”
“Yes.”
“When’s he supposed to get here? Sometime tonight?”
“He’s already here. He came before I left.”
“Did you talk to him? Gosh, Mom, I can’t believe that Caleb Bishop is living down the road from us.” Da
Da
Sheila grasped her son’s shoulder and forced a smile on her face. “We’re not going to bother Caleb while he’s visiting Crooked Oak. He’s come here to recuperate. But if he stays long enough, I’m sure we’ll run into him sooner or later.”
“Ah, gee, Mom, couldn’t I just stop by his house and get his autograph?”
“No, you may not. I don’t want you pestering Caleb.
“Asking a famous person for his autograph isn’t pestering him.”
“Da
“Ah, Mom.”
She had to keep Da
“I’ll tell you what,” Sheila said. “Promise me that you won’t bother Caleb and I’ll make sure you meet him and get his autograph before he leaves Crooked Oak.”
“Okay,” Da
“Go wash up and get ready for supper. We’re having barbecue.”
“Great. Barbecue is my favorite.” Da
Sheila ran her hand lovingly over the baseball glove she’d given Da
Daniel had been a good man. A kind husband and a loving father to a child he’d known wasn’t his. She still missed him, and knew that Da
But Daniel was gone, and she had no one else to count on except herself. She and she alone would have to find a way to protect herself and her son from a man who could bring them nothing but heartache.
Two
Caleb hit the rewind button on the VCR and cursed himself for a fool. Why the hell had he brought along the tape of last season’s final playoffs game—the last baseball game of Caleb Bishop’s illustrious career—when watching himself in top form was an excruciating torment?
“You’re a glutton for punishment, aren’t you, Bishop?” he said to himself. “How many times are you going to watch that damn tape?”
When he stood, he tossed the remote control onto the sofa and headed for the kitchen. His stomach rumbled, as if on cue, the moment he entered the neat, white kitchen. Glancing at the clock on the microwave, he noticed that it was nearly noon. He hadn’t eaten a bite since he’d gotten up nearly four hours ago.