Read Online The All-Star Antes Up (Wager of Hearts #2) by Nancy Herkness - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Nancy Herkness
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could whisper in her ear. She listened and then nodded. “Yes, but after you eat.”
The boy raced over to Milt and skidded to a stop just in front of him. “Mr. Milt, do you have milk shakes?”
“Chocolate, vanilla, or peanut butter?” Milt asked with a smile.
“After I eat”—Theo threw a glance at Patty—“may I please have a chocolate one?”
“You got it, young man.” Milt looked at the adults.
“How about a beer?” Dennis asked. As Milt recited what he had on tap, in the refrigerator, and what he could get from the lounge, her brother’s face lit up almost as brightly as Theo’s. The circles under his eyes and the lines of fatigue etched around his mouth disappeared. Patty had been right—her brother needed a day off.
Patty and Miranda both opted for white wine, much to Dennis’s disgust. “You don’t drink chardonnay at a football game,” he scoffed good-naturedly.
“So far, I don’t feel like I’m anywhere near a football game.” Miranda sipped the crisp chilled wine.
“Yeah, well, let’s change that.” Dennis gestured for Miranda and Patty to follow Theo past the televisions and the sofas to the glass wall. Tall bar chairs were lined up along a countertop positioned so one could watch the game from inside while eating and drinking. Theo pushed open the frameless glass door, letting in a burst of brisk autumn air.
“Want your coats?” Milt asked.
“No, no, we’re fine,” Miranda said. “Just exploring before we eat.”
The brilliant sunshine made the green of the synthetic turf and the royal blue of the Empire logo blinding. Clumps of early spectators dotted the giant arcs of seating, most of them sporting blue jerseys, but a few stood out in the dark red of the opposing Cardinals.
“We’re on the fifty-yard line,” Dennis murmured in a tone of awe. He turned to Miranda. “Just what did you get for Luke Archer’s brother?”
“You know I can’t answer that.”
“Yeah, that was rhetorical,” her brother said with a wry smile. “It must have been really something, though.”
Miranda was a little overawed herself, especially because Luke had reserved a box that probably accommodated twelve people for their exclusive use. This was far beyond what she’d expected, especially when she considered that she’d received all of this by refusing to get Trevor Archer what he wanted. Luke was trying to buy her silence in a big way.
“Can I have my Empire stuff now?” Theo asked, tugging on Miranda’s elbow.
“Of course, sweetie.” She’d sorted through the boxes and selected jerseys and hats for all of them to wear at the game, packing them in the tote bag she’d brought with her. She also had the autographed football and a fancy commemorative booklet that she figured Theo could get more autographs on after the game. The rest she had shipped to the farm.
They trooped back into the suite, where Miranda distributed her goodies. Father and son handled the football with equal reverence. “We’re going to put this in the china cabinet and never play with it,” Dennis said. Theo nodded as he held the ball by its pointed ends and stared at the scrawl of Luke Archer’s name slashed in black Sharpie across the pigskin.
“Yeah, it will add a nice touch beside my grandmother’s Royal Doulton.” Patty smiled indulgently at her husband.
Dennis returned the smile but with some extra heat. Miranda sighed inwardly. Patty and Dennis had the kind of love that seemed to grow stronger through their struggles with the farm’s finances, the difficulties of conceiving and bearing a child, and the stress of Patty’s mother’s protracted illness and death while she lived with them.
They still used every excuse to touch each other, looked forward to their date night once a month, and indulged each other’s interests, like Dennis’s love of football and Patty’s of square dancing. At an exhibition dance she’d attended, Miranda had been impressed with how light on his
The boy raced over to Milt and skidded to a stop just in front of him. “Mr. Milt, do you have milk shakes?”
“Chocolate, vanilla, or peanut butter?” Milt asked with a smile.
“After I eat”—Theo threw a glance at Patty—“may I please have a chocolate one?”
“You got it, young man.” Milt looked at the adults.
“How about a beer?” Dennis asked. As Milt recited what he had on tap, in the refrigerator, and what he could get from the lounge, her brother’s face lit up almost as brightly as Theo’s. The circles under his eyes and the lines of fatigue etched around his mouth disappeared. Patty had been right—her brother needed a day off.
Patty and Miranda both opted for white wine, much to Dennis’s disgust. “You don’t drink chardonnay at a football game,” he scoffed good-naturedly.
“So far, I don’t feel like I’m anywhere near a football game.” Miranda sipped the crisp chilled wine.
“Yeah, well, let’s change that.” Dennis gestured for Miranda and Patty to follow Theo past the televisions and the sofas to the glass wall. Tall bar chairs were lined up along a countertop positioned so one could watch the game from inside while eating and drinking. Theo pushed open the frameless glass door, letting in a burst of brisk autumn air.
“Want your coats?” Milt asked.
“No, no, we’re fine,” Miranda said. “Just exploring before we eat.”
The brilliant sunshine made the green of the synthetic turf and the royal blue of the Empire logo blinding. Clumps of early spectators dotted the giant arcs of seating, most of them sporting blue jerseys, but a few stood out in the dark red of the opposing Cardinals.
“We’re on the fifty-yard line,” Dennis murmured in a tone of awe. He turned to Miranda. “Just what did you get for Luke Archer’s brother?”
“You know I can’t answer that.”
“Yeah, that was rhetorical,” her brother said with a wry smile. “It must have been really something, though.”
Miranda was a little overawed herself, especially because Luke had reserved a box that probably accommodated twelve people for their exclusive use. This was far beyond what she’d expected, especially when she considered that she’d received all of this by refusing to get Trevor Archer what he wanted. Luke was trying to buy her silence in a big way.
“Can I have my Empire stuff now?” Theo asked, tugging on Miranda’s elbow.
“Of course, sweetie.” She’d sorted through the boxes and selected jerseys and hats for all of them to wear at the game, packing them in the tote bag she’d brought with her. She also had the autographed football and a fancy commemorative booklet that she figured Theo could get more autographs on after the game. The rest she had shipped to the farm.
They trooped back into the suite, where Miranda distributed her goodies. Father and son handled the football with equal reverence. “We’re going to put this in the china cabinet and never play with it,” Dennis said. Theo nodded as he held the ball by its pointed ends and stared at the scrawl of Luke Archer’s name slashed in black Sharpie across the pigskin.
“Yeah, it will add a nice touch beside my grandmother’s Royal Doulton.” Patty smiled indulgently at her husband.
Dennis returned the smile but with some extra heat. Miranda sighed inwardly. Patty and Dennis had the kind of love that seemed to grow stronger through their struggles with the farm’s finances, the difficulties of conceiving and bearing a child, and the stress of Patty’s mother’s protracted illness and death while she lived with them.
They still used every excuse to touch each other, looked forward to their date night once a month, and indulged each other’s interests, like Dennis’s love of football and Patty’s of square dancing. At an exhibition dance she’d attended, Miranda had been impressed with how light on his
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