Finding Love in Ivy Falls

Chapter Thirteen

MANNY

Walking Sunshine

I may have worn a Superman costume for Halloween, but I’d have done anything to turn into the Invisible Man right now.

Two women I didn’t recognize sat in the bleachers two rows below me. More than once I heard the click of the camera button on their phones, and their quiet whispers about where they’d post the pictures.

Who were these people? And a more terrifying question was: how had they known I’d be here?

Blood began to race in my veins. If either of the women mentioned Lou, took a picture anywhere near the field, I wasn’t sure I could hold it together.

The crowd cheered as Lou’s team stole the ball away, and all I could do was tighten my fists at my sides. All this attention was more than confusing to me. It made zero sense. At the moment, I wore two days of scruff, an old MTSU baseball cap and a pair of cargo pants that had seen better days. Why would they want pictures?

I stood to get away from the women when Torran appeared at the bottom of the bleachers. Without a second look at me, she climbed the steps toward the women.

In her sweetest ‘bless your heart’ voice, she asked if they knew anyone playing. When they shook their heads, she politely asked them to leave. The two women agreed as long as she’d take a selfie with them. Torran obliged, and the women scurried away.

‘Eight in the morning, and you’re already causing a stir,’ she teased, sinking onto the row in front of me. Every time one of the little girls on the soccer field shouted or cheered, she flinched. Pushed up the dark sunglasses hiding her eyes.

‘Late night with Beck?’ I taunted.

Her cheeks flamed, probably remembering how I almost walked in on them the first time they were together while we were still renovating Beck’s house on Huckleberry Lane. If I hadn’t noticed her kiss-swollen lips (and the condom wrapper wadded up in the corner of the room), they probably would have gotten away with it.

‘Why do they have to make these soccer games so early?’ she muttered. ‘I didn’t even have time to stop at Sugar Rush and get coffee.’

I reached to my left and grabbed the extra-large cup I’d ordered for her, as well as two of her favorite crullers. When I walked inside the café today, it was teeming with Saturday morning traffic. Things were definitely picking up thanks to our show. Barb was her usually prickly self, but when she saw me, she turned downright surly, like she knew I’d be helping Tess with the coffee bar.

As soon as she saw the to-go cup, Torran swiped it from my hands. ‘God bless you,’ she murmured before taking a giant swallow.

My phone buzzed in my pocket with another social media alert. I would have turned it off, but I was waiting on a call from the roofers about availability of the slate tile we wanted for the old Thomas Place.

I scanned the field for Lou, and my gaze caught on a corner of the park where there was a long line of trees. Pacing between them was a guy dressed in a dark hoodie and black pants. Thick sunglasses covered his eyes. A baseball cap sat low over his brows. There was something familiar about his cocky type of walk too. Shoulders back. Jaw tight. For a minute, I waited to see if his eyes stayed on a specific field, thinking maybe he was watching a child at play, but his head kept swiveling, his stride growing more frantic.

With Meet Me in Ivy Falls regularly playing on the network now, all kinds of strangers were showing up. Another side effect of the show I had not anticipated. I loved our quiet little town. That everyone watched out for each other. Yes, the gossip was annoying, but there was a kind of safety in knowing people had your best interest at heart. That they’d protect your child at all costs. With strangers suddenly appearing, it felt like we were losing that tight-knit feel, and I didn’t like it one damn bit.

‘Where’s Beck? At home still recovering?’ I focused back on Torran, needing to steer my mind in a new direction.

‘Get your mind out of the gutter, Mr Parks.’ She could act tough, but there was no hiding the blush in her cheeks. ‘He and Pete are meeting with Teddy Ray in Knoxville to look at the new restaurant. Talk over media plans for its grand opening.’ She held my gaze. ‘And just so you know, Teddy Ray is still asking about a meeting.’

I let out an irritated huff at the reminder, and she held up her hands.

‘I told Beck he had to hold him off. That there was too much on your plate right now. But Teddy Ray, he’s like that piece of popcorn that gets stuck in your teeth and is nearly impossible to be rid of.’

When I’d agreed to Beck’s plan to lure a restauranteur to Ivy Falls as part of his advertising agency’s pitch, I didn’t think the guy would become a permanent pain in my backside.

I ignored Torran’s stare and focused on the only thing that kept me calm.

Lou trapped the ball at midfield and dribbled toward the goal. My heart sped up as she weaved in and out of the little bodies. She took a shot at the corner of the net. The goalkeeper easily snatched it away and kicked it back to the opposing team’s side of the field. Lou hung her head low. Her shoulders hunched in a defeated pose that bothered me. When the referee blew the whistle for halftime, all the girls raced to the sidelines for a water break and orange slices.

‘What’s up with Lou? She’s usually the first one in.’

‘I don’t know. She’s been acting weird lately. Arguing over small things like brushing her teeth. Putting her dinner dishes away.’ I rubbed a hand behind my neck. ‘The other night she said she was too old for bedtime stories. That one punched me in the gut.’

‘She’s growing up, Manny. That’s normal.’

‘There’s more to it though. I know she’s upset about something. She won’t talk about it, and it’s driving me nuts.’

‘Maybe it’s a girl thing. I could talk to her, or Tess could.’

‘No. I want her to be able to come to me if she’s upset.’

‘She’s only eleven,’ Torran offered. ‘Some days she just might be off, but she’ll talk eventually.’

‘I hope you’re right.’

My mind went back to when Lou was ten months old and cutting her first tooth. She’d cry and cry, and Gina would rock her until she fell asleep. When I’d come into the room to help transfer Lou to the crib, Gina would jokingly say, ‘Teething is bad. Puberty will be worse.’

Puberty.

The word shot ice through my veins.

How was I going to do it all without Gina? First heartbreak. First kiss. First period.

‘I can sense you spiraling,’ Torran said. ‘You don’t have to do any of it alone.’

‘Yes, I know, but it still terrifies the crap out of me.’

Torran patted my knee. ‘Enjoy today, Manny. That’s all you can do.’

A laugh burst from my lips. ‘Really? Who turned you into Little Miss Bright and Shiny?’

She smiled into her cup. It was all the sex. It had to be.

I shook my head, trying not to think about the last time I’d been touched or kissed in an intimate way. Like clockwork, Tess filled my field of vision, and I swallowed a groan. She looked like walking sunshine in dark blue jeans and a bright yellow cardigan. Who was I kidding? She could walk across the field in nothing but a garbage bag, and I would still think she was the hottest woman on the planet.

Tess caught my eye and waved in my direction. I jumped off the bleachers and raced to the edge of the field where she was pulling Rose and Iris in a collapsible wagon. Two big camp chairs hung from her arm.

‘Hey, let me take those,’ I said, nodding to the chairs.

She gave me that solid blue stare that made my blood hum. ‘I can do it, Manny.’

‘I get it, but I’m here now, so let me help.’ She begrudgingly let me pull the chairs off her shoulder.

Rose hopped out of the wagon and threw herself at my legs. ‘Mommy brought snacks and juice pouches for the entire team!’

‘Oooh. If there are any leftovers, can I have a juice pouch?’

She stepped back and propped her tiny fists onto her hips. ‘No, Mr Manny. Juice pouches are for kids only!’

I laughed as she took off in the direction of the bleachers. As I watched her speed toward Torran, my gaze caught on the man in black again. He continued to pace until he slid behind a tree like he didn’t want to be seen. A part of me thought I should walk casually by him. Try to act friendly. Find out if he was here to see his child. Make sure he wasn’t someone who didn’t belong.

‘Manny!’ Tess called to me as she pulled the wagon to the field where Iris’ team was playing. ‘Are you coming?’

I rushed after Tess, letting the man, and my dumb worries, disappear.