Free Defending Hearts by Shannon Stacey Page A

pictures?” she asked, setting the big wooden salad bowl in the middle of the table.
    “I did. And the tryouts were great. The energy level’s ramped up because they’re more excited than usual to get back to football, and the emotion really comes through in pictures. It was a really good day.”
    Gretchen felt the warm glow of pride and satisfaction. The whole town had pulled together to save Eagles football, but it was she and Kelly and Jen who had led the committee. Kelly had come up with the fund-raiser idea and bringing the guys from the first championship team home for alumni events, but where one of them went, they all went together. Gretchen hadn’t been as much help to Kelly as Jen, who spent countless hours on the Internet looking up and applying for grants and donations, but she’d done her part.
    Hearing that the team still felt good about what they’d done and appreciated it made the work all the more satisfying. It had started as Kelly trying to save the team that meant everything to her dad and giving the boys a continued reason to stay out of trouble, but in the end it had been a massive community effort that Gretchen was proud to have been a part of.
    “Oh, and Chase showed up,” Alex continued. He went to the fridge to get the iced tea pitcher. “We went to lunch and caught up since Kelly had to cover Dylan’s shift for a few hours.”
    “It’s a bummer she had to go in. I know she was excited for Chase to come home for the weekend.”
    “If she’s as lovestruck as he seems, I’m not surprised.”
    Gretchen laughed. “She is.”
    They finished setting the table, dancing around each other in the kitchen in a way that already felt strangelyfamiliar. After only a few days, they’d established something of a routine and it was quickly heading toward being comfortable.
    They made small talk during dinner. As usual, Gram and Alex carried most of the conversation, but Gretchen found herself joining in more often than she usually would. They talked about the kids on the team, mostly, and Alex talked a little about how much Coach had meant to him back when he was that age.
    There were things she’d always known about him, even if she couldn’t remember exactly when or how she learned them. His dad had died when he was very young. His mom had remarried a guy Alex didn’t get along with very well, and then she’d given him two half sisters the stepdad spoiled with affection. He’d gotten in a lot of trouble before he joined the football team, though. She remembered that much.
    When they were done, they all worked together to clean up. Gretchen had stopped protesting that Alex was paying extra to have his meals provided, which meant he shouldn’t have to help with the dishes. He wasn’t the kind of man who’d sit around and watch others work while he did nothing, especially if the people doing the work were women.
    She liked that about him. It was one of the many things she liked about him, actually ranking right up there with his smile and his sense of humor and the way he treated Cocoa. She shifted a little away from him as he slid the dish towel through its plastic loop. She also liked the way he smelled and his height and his shoulders and . . .
    “I need to sit my butt down at the computer some more,” she said rather abruptly, in an effort to derail her train of thought. “But first, I’m going to go check on the horses.Cinnamon’s been kicking at her stall and I need to keep an eye on the door. Make sure she’s not weakening the structure. If I can’t figure out why she’s agitated, I’ll have to call Beverly.”
    Beverly Jacobson owned the horses, and Gretchen never made any assumptions when it came to their care. She figured Cinnamon was probably bored or there was a particularly persistent fly bothering her, but she couldn’t be sure. Gretchen gave the Jacobson family frequent updates by email, but if she thought there might be a problem, she called Beverly right