The Hero (Thunder Point #3)(54)

“Spencer? Are you planning to break my heart? Because I’m starting to care about you enough to take risks that a month ago I swore I would never take.”

He shook his head. “Here’s the thing—I don’t want you to take risks. I’m a sure thing. You can put a stop to this anytime you want to. I’m not pretending anything, honey. I didn’t think this would happen. But I’m glad it did.”

“Well, there’s no stopping it now,” she whispered. She put her arms around his neck and held him fiercely while she kissed him for a while longer. Reluctantly they finally broke apart, knowing it was time to get Mercy into her own bed. He followed her home to make sure there were no problems. Once the doors were locked behind them, Spencer made his way home.

He was an angel. Not just a very nice man, but he was almost perfect. He was the best of sweet and gentle. He was a fierce warrior who drove his team hard, while nurturing them at the same time. He pushed those teenage boys to the limit, but he also drove himself just as hard

But they were both skirting the issue—they both really wanted to make love.

But she was very nervous. It didn’t exactly just dawn on her that she hadn’t had a normal relationship with a man yet, even though she was twenty-eight and a single mother. There had been some high school and college romances, some of them quite satisfying even if they weren’t real long-lasting.

And then Jacob came along.

Her genuine worry was—what if she didn’t know how to have a normal relationship now? What if she had this lovely, sexy man and screwed it up? The temptation to back off, to run, was always so strong in her. She knew it came from a lack of confidence and she had been trying to overcome it for the past few years.

Although Spencer had been through so much himself, he was so much braver and surer of himself. He knew what he wanted. He wasn’t afraid of taking a leap of faith. And he didn’t seem to be worried that she wasn’t quite there yet.

She was nervous all day, anticipating her evening with Spencer. Scott Grant asked her if anything was wrong and she said no, only that they were so busy and she didn’t want to get behind.

Finally the big night arrived and, as promised, Landon showed up with Eve and a couple of old board games. Devon wore her best jeans for their date and was so relieved that Spencer showed up in jeans, as well. She hoped he didn’t notice her jitters. Something about a babysitter and a date out in public made this seem official and she so hoped he wouldn’t regret it.

She was completely unprepared for the mood at Cliffhanger’s—they greeted Spencer like an old friend. They got a table in the bar, ordered a beer and a wine and that was the end of their date as she had expected it. Just about every person in the bar and the dining room stopped at their table, gave her a friendly hello and then either began questioning Spencer about the football team or giving him advice.

“Oh, hi, Devon. So, Spence, who’s starting?”

“You know who—you saw every one of them last year. Although I do have a sophomore who’s going to really surprise you. With the right encouragement, he could follow in Dupre’s footsteps.”

“Team captain?”

“Landon Dupre—it was unanimous. He’s got strong leadership skills and is completely up to the job.”

“Got a game schedule yet?”

“It’s being posted and published in two days—clear the calendars.”

When their crab legs arrived, they were left briefly alone. Devon said, “Everyone knows.”

“That we’re out to dinner? Yes. That we might make out like rock stars after dinner? Yes. That I hope I have a girlfriend? It’s obvious.”

“They think we’re doing it,” she said.

He leaned toward her and just smiled. “They hope, just like me and you.”

“Spencer!” she said on a laugh.

He took a drink of his beer. “I haven’t been here too long, Devon, but there’s something I know about this town. Unless you’re a really bad person or someone who stirs up a lot of trouble, they just hope things work out. That’s all. They want their kids to be safe and make something out of themselves, they want their neighbors to get by all right, they want their friends to be happy and they want to be blessed with work. Everyone around here seems to work real hard. They seem to always be pulling for the good guys. It’s so uncomplicated.”

“If we get together, you think it won’t get complicated?” she asked.

“From time to time it will,” he said. Then he shook his head. “I’m not going to waste a lot of energy worrying about it.”

She sipped her wine. “Why can’t I be more like that?”

He shrugged. “I know you have good reason to worry about things like this, but I think that’s going to pass. Pretty soon you’ll realize there’s no fence around you here. You have nothing but choices—it’s all up to you. Plus, you’re well-liked here. You help the doctor, have a sweet little girl, have friends who care about you—nice friends. You even have old Rawley coming out of his shell. As time passes, you’re going to relax into a new life and things will work out. With any luck, I’ll get to be a part of it.”

It seemed as if the second they were done eating, people were swarming by the table again. Cliff came from behind the bar and actually pulled out a chair, sitting down to talk to Spencer about some of the records that had been set in previous years. And when the waiter brought their coffee, he took a seat, as well. He had some opinions on the team he was sure Spencer would want to hear.