Page 61 of Offsides Attraction

“Why?” Maggie asked, and Penny leaned toward them.

“You didn’t tell her?” Cal asked Lucas.

“No,” Lucas groaned.

“What?” Maggie tugged on Lucas’ shirt. She’ll take any excuse to touch him, Penny thought, happy for her sister. Bash had been the same way with her when they’d been alone. For a reserved man, he took any excuse to hold her hand, brush her hair, touch her lower back.

“Bash has this celibacy rule during the season. When he was a rookie, one of the older players had told him to avoid women and sex during the season. They were a distraction. He said chasing skirt took your mind off the game and drained your energy,” Cal said, and the three sisters stared at him.

“What a load of crap,” Harper said.

“So, did you?” Penny asked.

Cal shrugged. “Bash isn’t a big rule follower, so for him to make a rule, well, it seemed like a good idea.”

“All three of you took this no-woman pledge?” Penny asked.

“It wasn’t a no-woman pledge, just no sex during the season.” Lucas said, sounding defensive. No-woman would have meant no-Maggie.

“So that’s why,” Maggie said, sounding as if she’d solved a puzzle. She poked Lucas in the chest and he winced. “You are not taking that pledge.”

“And if I do?”

“I will do everything I can to make you break it.” Maggie crossed her arms under her ample chest and Lucas’s eyes heated.

“Well, Sweet Bean, you’ve given me something to think about.” Lucas dropped a kiss on Maggie’s lips before walking away. Harper and Penny smirked at the hated nickname.

“Let’s get the landscaping fabric cut and laid,” Harper said. Penny and Maggie followed her up the slight incline. They could have magicked this part, but they were saving their strength for laying the stones. The sisters worked in silence as Penny battled emotions. Why would he break his rule for me? And it had been a deliberate break. It wasn’t a heat-of-the-moment situation.

Penny’s heart squeezed. He’d broken his rule and then he’d proposed. Had he loved her? But then she remembered his disdain for people who married for love. While he may have cared for, or possibly loved her, he still had a long journey of emotional growth ahead of him. Penny wanted a man who could say I love you, but Maggie insisted Bash was a doer and not a talker. And given his childhood, he probably didn’t have the emotional intelligence or confidence to express his feelings.

She remembered how he’d organized the Gloria Sebastian book signing, so she had a chance to earn her additional partnership in the store and ensure her spring vacation. He’d risked their relationship, his friendships, and his anonymity for her. And the authors who’d come every month since then. And adopting Tiny and arranging for the dog to stay at Thistlestone while he was away. Ordering and paying for the new fenced-in backyard at the rental house so Tiny could be with him during the season. And Maggie’s chandelier. Bash knew someone who knew someone who’d pulled some strings. He’d bought the former ballroom gem and shipped it to the Goddess Bakes. It had taken four men to install it. When the crystals caught the sun, miniature rainbows danced around the bakery. It was magical.

They worked steadily for the next few hours, only breaking to apply more sunscreen and drink the homemade Arnold Palmers Elspeth kept on ice near them under the tree. Three and Four had joined the women, alternating between napping and calling out helpful suggestions.

“Should we use the lawn tractor or the wheelbarrow to move the stones?” Lucas asked Three as he unwrapped the pallet of rocks.

“What? And deny the birthday girl a show? I don’t think so.” Three leaned back on his elbows, grinning. Elspeth gracefully stood and walked toward them as her skirt blew in the breeze. She looked so regal and elegant, and Penny remembered why she’d wanted to be like Elspeth when she was younger. But now? Not so much. Working side-by-side with her aunt had given her glimpses of the loneliness living behind her cool facade.

“Large ones first?” Elspeth asked Cal, and he nodded before joining the others under the shade of the tree. Elspeth raised her hand at the rocks, and they slowly shifted. “Don’t just stand there, Harper. Give me a hand.”

They watched as the two witches sorted the flagstone rocks into three piles based on size. Elspeth closed her eyes and floated three of the largest rocks into place. Nanna moved to the piles and moved a few stones around. “Mo-om,” Elspeth complained at her interference.

“Hold your horses. There were rocks that looked like hearts. Where are they?” Elspeth rolled her eyes at her mother, but she flicked her wrist obediently. Several rocks wiggled in the piles, and Nanna pointed at them. “I want one at each end. Can you do that?”

“Yes, Mom, we can,” Elspeth sighed as if her mother’s request was beneath her talents, but she moved the stones into place. “How’s that?”

Nanna raced the length of the walkway, but frowned when she looked at the bottom stone. She pointed to it, saying, “A little more to the left…No wait… Higher… Almost there.” Penny bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing at Elspeth’s expression as Nanna kept instructing her on how to move the rock. “Oh, there! That’s perfect! Thank you, honey.” Nanna squeezed Elspeth to her side and gave her a quick kiss. “Now let’s get this done, so you can clean up and we can eat.”

Harper selected and moved several other large stones and carefully nestled them into the sand. “Nice,” Cal called to her, sounding impressed.

“Yeah, how’d you manage that?” Penny asked. “You missed the last ritual.”

Harper blew at her bangs, shrugging. “I don’t know. My gift never varies in strength, no matter where I am. I just lift my face to the full moon and I’m good.”

“Me next,” Maggie said, elbowing in front of her sisters, surprising them. Maggie never volunteered. She placed the last of the large rocks and about half of the medium-sized ones before her arm fell to her side and she exhaled.

“Great job, Sweet Bean,” Lucas called, and Maggie blushed.

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