Love at the 20-Yard Line Read online

“I didn’t forget. I was just naming off the things he is good at, not thinks he’s good at.” Haven bit back a squeal when Brody grabbed her leg beneath the table and started pulling her down.

  “I’m kidding, football man. Just kidding.” She giggled and scooted back up in the booth. She lowered her voice and gave him a sideways glance that made him feel overheated. “He happens to be an amazing kisser. I actually never thought someone’s kisses could be so… mesmerizing.”

  “So he puts you in a trance?” Brody asked as he paid the bill and left a generous tip for the waitress.

  “Not exactly. More like enchants.” Haven meshed her fingers with Brody’s as he walked her across the parking lot to his truck. When he opened the door and helped her in, she held onto his hand and looked at his palm in the glow from the streetlight above them. She traced the words he’d written there and smiled. “I love you, too, you know.”

  “I know, doll. And it makes me really happy that you do.”

  Chapter Twenty

  A thumping noise yanked Haven out of her dreams of Brody and brought her wide awake.

  Cautiously getting out of bed, she listened, but all seemed quiet. She quickly decided she’d imagined the sound.

  Climbing back between the sheets, she closed her eyes and rolled onto her side when she heard another thump and what sounded like a muffled voice.

  Haven grabbed a key and small flashlight out of her nightstand drawer and tiptoed across the room. She pulled a gun case from its hidden spot at the back of her closet and quietly unlocked it. After taking out her handgun, she made sure it was loaded and inhaled a deep breath.

  She turned off the flashlight, slowly opened the door, and maneuvered around until she could see into the living room. The front door swung shut as someone exited in the dim early morning light sneaking around the edges of her drapes.

  Something rolled beneath her foot as she stepped into the room. Swiftly jerking back her toes, she listened, but didn’t hear any movement or noise. She sent up a quick prayer and flicked on a light.

  A grin lit her face as she set the gun on a side table by the door and gazed around her living room.

  Apparently, she’d been extra good as far as the Easter Bunny was concerned. A huge basket of treats sat on her coffee table along with three vases filled with fresh flowers. The bright pink plastic egg near her foot must have fallen out of the basket.

  She opened the egg to find a piece of foil-wrapped candy. She unwrapped the treat and popped it in her mouth then searched the basket for a card. She finally found a note, scrawled on a sheet of plain white paper.

  Haven,

  Despite your questionable choices in companions, you’ve been a very good girl. Enjoy your Easter treats and don’t forget to share them with your good-looking, talented, intelligent, completely awesome boyfriend.

  The Easter Bunny

  She laughed aloud then dug through the basket, finding all of her favorite candy and treats. Had Brody paid that much attention to her likes and dislikes? Or had he checked with Allie or her mom to discover her favorites? Whatever the reason, he’d gone to a lot of work and effort to make her Easter morning special.

  Aware Brody was awake, she sent him a text, wishing him a happy Easter.

  He answered back that he’d be at her place in time to go to the sunrise service if she’d still let him go. She answered she would, then hurried to shower and dress before he arrived.

  She heard him come in while she slipped on her shoes. On the way past her dresser, she grabbed her watch then rushed into the front room. Brody looked incredibly handsome in a suit and tie.

  “Wow! You look great.” Haven kissed his cheek, afraid to hug him and wrinkle his pressed shirt.

  “You look amazing.” Brody held her hand and twirled her around, checking out her new dress. The shade of robin’s egg blue accented her eyes while the style highlighted her curves. He swallowed hard. She’d left that mass of golden curls hanging loose and smelled so luscious, he had to force himself to be on his best behavior.

  “Looks like the Easter Bunny thought you were really good this year.” Brody pointed to the huge basket of treats.

  “So it seems. He left a note about sharing this with some good-looking, talented, smart boyfriend. I guess I’ll have to put it all in the freezer until I meet this guy.” Haven grinned at Brody over her shoulder as she dug through the basket for a piece of candy.

  He grabbed her around her waist and tickled her until they both were breathless. Suddenly, he stopped, staring in shock at the gun on the side table.

  “What are you doing with the gun?” Brody pointed to the weapon, taken aback by the sight of it.

  “Oh, I forgot to put it away earlier.” Haven picked it up and took it to her bedroom. When she returned to the living room, Brody continued to glare at her. “What?”

  “Why did you have the gun out?” Brody was glad he knew she had a firearm in her apartment. He definitely wouldn’t ever sneak in again.

  “I heard a noise out here and thought someone broke in.”

  “Seriously? You were going to kill the Easter Bunny?” Shocked, he realized she could have shot him or Marcus when they left her morning surprises.

  “No,” she said with a smile. “If I’d known it was you, I wouldn’t have felt it necessary to protect myself.”

  “Did you see us?” Brody stood and wondered when, exactly, she had opened her bedroom door. Marcus had bumped into the coffee table in the dark. That was what most likely awakened Haven.

  “Us? Who else was with you? And no, when I opened the bedroom door, the front door was just closing.” She took another piece of candy from the basket and held it out to Brody. He shook his head, too focused on Haven’s gun to think about candy.

  “Marcus helped me. We left some stuff for his girlfriend, too.”

  “Oh, that’s so sweet.” Haven was unaware of the turmoil she’d set off in Brody.

  He started to say something about her being more careful, but realized she really could take care of herself. However, he needed to be careful about prowling around her apartment in the dark.

  In no rush or hurry to do anything else, he gently took her lips with his. She tasted rich, dark, and sweet, like the chocolate candy she’d been eating, making a deep hunger gnaw at him.

  Haven pulled back and tugged him toward the door. “We better hurry it up or we’re going to be late.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Brody took her hand and rushed across the parking lot to his pickup.

  After church, they returned to Haven’s place. She gave Brody a basket filled with things she thought he’d enjoy like jerky and a movie he mentioned he’d really liked when he was in high school. They indulged in a few more treats, then drove out to the farm for a big brunch.

  While the women worked in the kitchen, Brody joined the men outside where they hid eggs for Mason and Jed then stood watching as the two boys raced around trying to find them all.

  “Remember the year it was raining and you hid the eggs in the house for us, Dad?” Hale asked, grinning at his father.

  “Yeah, I remember, all right. A month later, we kept smelling something odd in the living room and finally found a rotten egg that fell down beneath the couch. After that, your mother forbade any egg hiding activities in the house,” John said, smiling at the memory.

  “A month old hard-boiled egg?” Brody wrinkled his nose, imaging the odor the egg had created. “That had to smell awful.”

  “It was raunchy,” Tom said, remembering he was the one his mom made carry it outside to dispose of it. “Even the dog wouldn’t get close to it.”

  “Did we get them all, Dad?” Mason asked as he and Jed approached the group of men with baskets full of eggs.

  Wes did a quick count and nodded his head. “Yep, you boys found them all. Good job.”

  “Will you hide them for us again?”

  “Sure,” Wes said, telling the boys to go inside the house and not to peek.

  The men waite
d until the boys went in the back door and then Wes checked to see if the boys were peeking. He could see their heads lurking around the edges of the curtain in the family room.

  “The boys are watching our every move. No wonder they found all the eggs so fast the first time,” Wes said, grinning at his dad.

  “Just like you three always did. Poor Haven hardly ever found an egg because you boys would come tearing out here, already knowing where most of them were hid.” John shook his head as he smiled at Wes.

  “She made up for it when she’d sneak eggs out of our baskets,” Tom said, recalling past Easter egg hunts.

  “Haven always was a tough little thing,” John said, thinking about his plucky daughter.

  “She had to be around us,” Hale said, taking one of the baskets Wes held in his hand. “I think we need a distraction while someone hides the eggs on the front lawn.”

  “Good idea,” John said, slapping Hale on the back. While Tom and Wes pretended to have a fist fight, Brody and Hale snuck around the side of the house to the front yard and hid all the eggs.

  When they returned to the back yard, Mason and Jed stood on the back step cheering for Wes while the women shook their heads from the kitchen window.

  “Lick ‘im good, Dad!” Mason yelled.

  “They do know it’s a pretend fight, don’t they?” Brody asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Hale said, watching as Jed threw out his arm, almost hitting Mason as he copied the movements of the adults roughhousing in the yard.

  Hale handed the two boys the empty baskets and told them to go find some eggs.

  Wes and Tom stopped their mock fight and watched the youngsters search high and low, unable to find a single egg.

  “Why don’t you two try the front yard?” Hale suggested. The men followed along as the boys raced around to the front of the house.

  It took a little work and a lot of searching but they finally found all the eggs.

  “Look, Brody, we got all of them.” Jed held his basket out for Brody to admire the brightly colored eggs.

  “You sure did. That was a great job of hunting.”

  The boys turned to their father, pleading for another round egg hunting. Tammy stepped out the door and announced the meal was ready, saving Wes from having to hide the eggs again.

  Gathered around the big dining room table, the conversation was lively as they ate.

  After the food was put away and the dishes done, Rachel announced it was time for the adults to hunt for eggs. She sent the boys out to hide them, telling the two little livewires they couldn’t go beyond the edge of the lawn in any direction.

  She divided the group into three teams.

  “Why do I have to be Hale’s partner,” Tom whined, making them all laugh. Wes and Tammy partnered together while Brody and Haven made the third team.

  “Would you rather be Haven’s?” Rachel asked, arching an eyebrow at her youngest son.

  “No, anything but that,” Tom said, raising his hands in defeat. “What are we searching for and who wins?”

  “You’re searching for the same eggs the boys found earlier. Whoever finds the most eggs, wins a nice prize, if I do say so myself. Oh, and you have five minutes. The finish line is the back door.”

  Rachel handed each of the teams an empty basket. When the boys ran back in after hiding all the eggs, John yelled, “Go!” and the adults hurried outside.

  Tom gave Wes such a hard shove on his way out the door, he fell down the last two steps and rolled across the lawn.

  Undaunted, Wes reached under a bush and came up with an egg, doing a victory dance. Tammy shook her head, but smiled as she dropped the egg into their basket.

  Brody grabbed Haven’s hand and ran around to the backyard. Between the two of them, they found several eggs. Brody was good at running interference and blocking her brothers while she darted in and grabbed eggs. She also snitched a few out of Hale and Tom’s basket when they weren’t paying attention.

  “You’ve got ten seconds to reach the finish line or you’re disqualified,” John yelled from the back door where he’d drawn a line across the cement in chalk.

  On the far side of the lawn, Brody knew they wouldn’t make it with Haven running in the heels she wore to church.

  He swung her up in his arms while she held their basket. She grinned and wrapped an arm around his neck while he sprinted across the grass and crossed the line in the nick of time.

  A quick count of eggs revealed Brody and Haven had the most.

  “She cheated!” Tom said, pointing a finger at Haven. “You know she did. She always does. And she’s got her personal bodyguard on duty helping out.”

  “Oh, quit your bellyachin’ and be a good sport,” Wes said, giving Tom a shove.

  “Yeah, be a good sport, Tommy,” Haven said, sticking her tongue out at him. Brody worked to hide a smirk at the sibling rivalry.

  “What’s the prize, Mom?” Hale asked, anxious to see what the winner would get.

  “Actually, there are three prizes and you all win. Your father and I just wanted to watch you fight over the eggs like old times,” Rachel teased, giving each team a basket.

  Hale and Tom’s basket contained two of everything, including two tickets to a monster truck show and two big chocolate rabbits.

  The baskets she gave the two couples had a few pieces of candy along with movie tickets and gift certificates for dinner at a nice restaurant.

  “These are great, Mom. Thanks so much,” Haven said, hugging Rachel.

  “Thank you, Rachel. This is really nice,” Brody said, hugging the woman who patted his back and made him miss his own mother. “And the egg hunt was fun, too.”

  “You kids are so predictable,” John said. “Although Brody carrying Haven across the finish line was new. Thanks for throwing in that unexpected touch to the finale.”

  “Anytime. Glad I could be of service.” Brody grinned as John thumped him on the back.

  They visited for a while then the women set out dessert. Brody zeroed in on what appeared to be a chocolate cream pie, one of his favorites.

  After accepting a piece, he ate slowly, lost in sugar-induced bliss. Haven sat beside him and offered him an occasional look or grin as he enjoyed his dessert.

  “Like your pie?” she asked as he forked the very last crumb to his mouth.

  “I think it may be the best I’ve ever eaten.” Brody looked with longing at the few pieces of pie left on the counter. Still full from brunch, he didn’t think he could hold one more bite, but the pie was so good.

  “You can have another piece if you’d like,” Haven said, starting to get up to bring him one.

  “I’d love another one, but I can’t eat another bite right now. I’ll probably kick myself later, but I’m going to pass.”

  “Suit yourself.” Haven shrugged her shoulders and took another bite of her cheesecake.

  “Mom used to make pie when I was a kid. It was kind of a special celebration thing for us. I haven’t had chocolate cream pie in years.” Brody squeezed Haven’s hand beneath the table.

  A short while later, Brody and Haven were on the road back to town. He helped carry her things into her apartment, then they sat and talked for a while about fun memories from their childhood.

  Brody’s childhood was so different than hers had been, without anyone except his mom. Haven wondered what it would have been like to grow up without her rowdy brothers or her dad. All of them could be ornery and teasing, but Haven couldn’t picture life without them in it.

  “Did you talk to your mom yet today?” Haven asked as Brody took a piece of candy from the basket still sitting on her coffee table.

  “I called this morning, but she was working so I left her a message. I’ll call her when I get home.”

  “I have something I thought you might like to send her.” Haven picked up her cell phone and sent a text to Brody.

  He opened it to discover a photo of him carrying Haven with the basket of eggs. Both of them lau
ghed and the photo clearly showed the love they shared as they looked at one another.

  “This is awesome. Mom will love it.” Brody grinned at Haven.

  “Mom said she couldn’t resist taking it. I’m glad she did.” Haven looked at the photo on Brody’s phone as she sat next to him. He moved so he could wrap his arm around her and she cuddled against him. “I’m so glad you came with me today.”

  “Me, too. It was the nicest Easter I’ve ever had.” Brody gave Haven a smile that made her limbs turn languid.

  Her heart hurt to think Brody didn’t have any great Easter memories as a child. She assumed his mom probably spent a lot of them working. She could picture him as a boy, sitting home alone with a tiny little basket of treats, maybe not even that, with no eggs to find or loved ones to keep him company.

  She bit her cheek to keep the tears filling her eyes from spilling then rested her head on Brody’s chest and released a sigh.

  “What’s wrong, doll?” Brody asked, easily reading her emotions. He knew she thought of something that made her sad.

  “It’s just… I was thinking that if today was the best Easter you ever had, how sad the ones you experienced as a boy must have been.” Haven wrapped her arms around Brody and held him tightly.

  He rubbed her back and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Don’t be sad. My holidays weren’t all bad. Mom most always worked, but she usually brought home a bunch of great leftovers. The Easter Bunny always brought me something, even if it was just a package of those marshmallow chicks. I don’t think I’m scarred for life or anything. Today was special because I got to spend it with you.”

  “Brody,” Haven whispered, looking up at him as a few tears rolled down her cheeks. He wiped them away with his thumb then kissed each cheek before he gave her such a soft, tender kiss, she was sure he could hear her heart sigh with contentment.

  “I think I better go home, though.” Brody kissed her forehead before getting to his feet. He pulled her upright and she handed him his Easter basket, walking him to the door.

  “You’ll have to let me know who you’re going to take to dinner and the movies with the certificates you got from your mom.” Brody pointed to the basket sitting on the floor by the couch.