She opened her mouth, probably to leap again to Bryan’s defense, but Tony spoke first.
“We seem to have reached an impasse,” Tony said. “But since the team needs Bryan as much as Bryan needs the team, why don’t we compromise? Grady, how about letting Bryan play if he turns in another paper?”
“If Bryan doesn’t turn in another paper—handwritten, so I know he did the work himself—he’ll flunk the class,” Grady said.
Keri edged forward in her seat. “What about the suspension? Is it indefinite?”
“He turns in the paper, he can play in the game this coming Friday. That was my plan all along.”
“Friday? What about Tuesday?” Keri asked. Springhill typically played twice a week, and the Cougars’ next game was at home Tuesday night.
“Friday,” Grady repeated. “I want to impress upon him how serious the offense is.”
“You can’t even be sure he cheated!”
“I’m sure.” He clenched his jaw. “And I’m not going to discuss it anymore. I’ve made up my mind.”
Her face flushed. “But you—”
“You heard the man, Keri,” Tony interrupted. “Take it from me. When Grady digs in his feet, there’s nothing that’ll unearth him.”
In other words, Grady thought, Tony didn’t agree with him, either. Too bad. Tony had entrusted Grady to do what was right. Standing firm on Bryan’s punishment was right.
Tony got to his feet and smoothed down the front of his chinos. “You’ll tell Bryan what we decided. Right, Keri?”
She waited a few sullen beats before she replied, “Right.”
“Then let me walk you to your car,” Tony offered.
Keri sat rigidly in the chair, saying nothing. Grady supposed he could attribute her stiff posture to simmering anger toward him, but he didn’t think that was the only reason.
After a lengthy pause, Keri stood up and preceded Tony out of the office. Tony touched her on the shoulder as she passed by. Had Grady not been watching carefully, he would have missed Keri subtly shrugging off Tony’s hand.
Something was going on between Keri and his cousin, he concluded. And he was curious to know what it was.
K ERI LEFT THE COACH’S office, barely conscious of placing one foot in front of the other, her mind on the thing she most wanted to say to the almighty Coach Grady Quinlan.
You’re an ass for not believing Bryan. Bryan had been through so much—he and Rose—surely he’d never lie about something like this.
“That went okay,” Tony said.
“Which part?” Keri retorted. “When he called Bryan a liar? Or when he said Bryan couldn’t play in the game Tuesday?”
“Look at it this way. It’s not a district game, so it won’t hurt our play-off chances.” Tony didn’t need to explain that only games against district opponents counted in the standings. “And it’s only one more game.”
“A game your cousin could let Bryan play if he chose.”
“True,” Tony said. “I see you’re not a fan of Grady’s.”
“I don’t imagine he has many of those. Arrogance isn’t an attractive trait.”
“He’s not so bad.”
“He’s worse,” Keri muttered.
“I’m surprised you didn’t tell him that. You’ve never been one to hold back your opinions.” He made the observations casually, as though he knew her inside and out. The way he had three years ago.
Before he’d dumped her.
They were nearly to the door leading to the parking lot. She stopped. “I don’t need you to walk me to my car, Tony.”
“I know that.” He smiled at her in the way that used to set her heart racing. “But I want to. You’ve said more to me in the past five minutes than you have in the past few years.”
That wasn’t exactly true. Springhill had a population of fifteen thousand, small enough that town residents ran into one another from time to time. Especially when the basketball player living in the house of one of the residents starred at the school where the other person served as athletic director.
“I’ve never tried to avoid you, Tony,” Keri said.
“You haven’t gone out of your way to talk to me, either.”
“Do you blame me?” As soon as she asked the question, she wished she could take it back. She’d gotten over Tony Marco a long time ago. “Forget I said that. What’s past is past.”
“That’s just it. We never did resolve things. We shouldn’t have left it the way we did.” Tony positioned his body between Keri and the door, then lowered his voice. “Meet me for a drink tonight, Keri. Please.”
Once upon a time Keri couldn’t have refused Tony anything, but she’d grown up in the three years since he’d cast her off. Becoming a mother to two children who depended upon her and her alone had taught her she couldn’t afford to spend time on somebody like Tony.
“No, Tony. I won’t meet you,” she said.
He was already standing too close, but moved a step closer, as though his very presence could convince her to change her mind. He smelled of the same aftershave he’d used when they were dating. Unaffected by the familiar scent, she moved a step back.
“I won’t stop asking until you say yes,” Tony said.
“Then your voice will get hoarse.”
He moved forward again. “C’mon, Keri. You don’t mean—”
“Tony.”
At the sound of his name, Tony sprang away from her. Grady Quinlan strode toward them, stopped a few paces away and slowly slid his gaze from Keri to Tony. She fought to keep from squirming under his inspection. She wasn’t the one who had anything to feel guilty about.
“I hope I’m not interrupting,” Grady said.
“Of course not.” Even to Keri, Tony’s denial sounded unconvincing. Tony cleared his throat, then addressed his cousin. “What is it?”
“Mary Lynn just called looking for you. She didn’t get an answer when she tried your cell.”
Mary Lynn, Tony’s wife. Whom he’d married six months after he’d broken things off with Keri.
Keri watched Tony’s throat muscles constrict as he swallowed. “Reception’s bad in this building.”
“That’s what I told Mary Lynn,” Grady said. “Anyway, she wants you to call home.”
“I will,” Tony said, then nodded toward the exit. “I was just leaving. Keri? Are you coming?”
She hesitated, reluctant to subject herself to more of Tony’s company.
“Before you go, Tony, I need to talk to you,” Grady said, saving Keri from dreaming up an excuse not to walk out of the building with his cousin.
“Uh, sure.” Tony’s syllables were thick with reluctance.
“Then I’ll be going,” Keri said, before moving quickly toward the double doors and escape.
Before