Playing for Keeps Read Free Page A

cookies.”
    Chrissie stood behind the counter with a white bag and a tissue paper in her hand and eyed them uncertainly until Mabel stepped in. “Oh, for pity’s sake! Chrissie, divide the cookies between the two of them. They’re on the house.”
    “Mabel, no!” Olivia fisted her hands on her hips and looked at Noah as if he had just committed a crime, when all he was trying to do was be a nice guy.
    What’s up with this chick, anyway?
    “In fact, I’ve changed my mind. I’ll take the elephant ear. And a carton of chocolate milk.” When Chrissie opened her mouth to protest, Olivia pressed her lips together and silenced her with the raise of one hand.
    “Okay, Miss Lawson,” Chrissie said and bent her head to her task.
    “Thank you,” Olivia replied more gently, but she appeared a bit flustered. “How is your essay coming along, Chrissie?”
    Chrissie sighed with the drama of a teenager. “Okay, I guess. But I won’t lie. I hate it.”
    “Writing a good essay is the key to doing well in college. Just remember to back up your thesis. Rough draft is due on Tuesday.”
    Chrissie nodded glumly. “I know.”
    “So, you’re a teacher at Cricket Creek High School?” Noah tilted his head in question.
    “Yes, English and drama,” she answered and then looked at him a bit expectantly. There was something here he wasn’t getting and he was dying to know just what , but she turned her head, dismissing him. He heard Mabel chuckle and looked her way, but she tried to disguise her mirth with a cough and then straightened up some loaves of bread.
    Noah turned his attention back to Olivia, who accepted the white paper bag along with the carton of milk with a smile. For some reason the image of Miss Prim and Proper eating the big, flat, sticky elephant ear and washing it down with chocolate milk from the carton struck him as funny, but he wisely kept his amusement to himself, something he normally didn’t do.
    “You know I’m always willing to stay after school and help or you can e-mail me. Don’t hesitate. Okay, Chrissie?”
    “I won’t,” Chrissie replied. “Thanks, Miss Lawson.”
    “You’re welcome. See you on Monday,” Olivia said and turned to leave.
    “Thanks for stopping in, Olivia,” Mabel said and was rewarded with another warm smile. Noah, however, got a brief polite nod as she breezed past him, leaving behind a sultry floral scent that was even more enticing than the aroma of baking bread.
    Noah watched her walk out the door and then moved to the side and angled his head past a wedding cake in the front display window. He watched Olivia pause and glance at his Corvette, raise her chin, and then sashay across the street. “What? She hates sports cars? Come on, it’s an American classic.”
    “She drives a hybrid,” Chrissie explained.
    “Figures,” Noah mumbled but then watched her until she was out of sight.
    “Somebody sure is smitten,” Mabel observed in a deep singsong voice.
    “Uh . . . ye-ah,” Chrissie echoed with a head bop. “Wait. What is ‘smitten’?”
    Noah turned around to face two smiling women. “I’m not smitten. I’m . . . perplexed.”
    “I think you mean intrigued,” Mabel commented and widened her eyes when Noah gave her a look. She waved her hands in the air as she took a step back. “I’m just sayin’.”
    “Am I wrong or does the woman dislike me for no apparent reason?” He looked from Mabel to Chrissie.
    Chrissie nibbled on the inside of her cheek and wiggled her shoulders back and forth while in thought. She suddenly stopped and pointed at him. “Maybe you knew her, like, you know, when you lived here?”
    Noah rubbed his chin. “Olivia Lawson . . . ? Doesn’t ring a bell, but then again, I was drafted into baseball when I was eighteen. I’ve been away for a long time.” He shook his head. “And my life before that was pretty much consumed with baseball too,” he said, more to himself than to them, but it was true. Everyone thought he