Page 8 of Making the Call
Luke
“Uh, it’s Fallon.”Dani suddenly looks sheepish. “But you won’t find my books under that name. My pen name’s Charlotte Ann.”
I raise an eyebrow, looking for further clarification. “Okay…” I await her explanation.
“There’s a lot of crazies out there. Other than my family and close friends, I don’t tell a lot of people my real name. It’s easier that way.”
Boy, do I know about the crazies. This is the first woman in forever to know me as just Luke. I haven’t mentioned what I do for a living, because it’s so refreshing to just be myself and not worry about any expectations she may have about me. Besides, I never know if the women I meet, who also happen to be fans, want to be with me or the man who coaches the Renegades. Even as an assistant coach, I’ve always had wanna-be WAGs, trying to go through me to get to the players. Dani seems different, she doesn’t appear to want to be wife or girlfriend material to members of the team, but I’m not pressing my luck. Besides, the season’s just starting, and I hardly have time for more right now.
There’s something about her that I don’t want to let go of though, and I can’t explain it. Perhaps that’s why I asked her where I could find her books.Who the fuck knows what I was thinking?All I know is that I couldn’t let her go, without trying to get to know her more.
“Well, your secret’s safe with me, Dani,” I assure her. Anonymity’s priceless in the world we live in. It’s part of the reason I chose to live on this island for the past six years. For the most part, I’d met most of my neighbors when I first started working for the Renegades. Now they think nothing of it. Occasionally, someone will mention how we did on our last game, but they’re not fame chasers and respect my privacy, which I appreciate.
“Thanks.” She pulls in her bottom lip and slightly appears shy. Her phone suddenly rings, and she shakes her head. “I have to take this and knowing it’s Nancy, it’ll be a while.” She answers the call with a “Hey, Nancy. Can you hold on a sec?” She then looks in my direction and whispers, “Thanks again for your help and the ride home. Hopefully we’ll run into each other under better circumstances next time.”
“It’s no problem. I’ll let you get to your call.” I gesture to the phone she’s covering with one hand. “I’m sure I’ll see you around.” With that, I make my way back to my Jeep, back out of her driveway to head back to my place.
The entire ride home, I replay our easy conversations from earlier. Dani seems genuine. She has a strong head on her shoulders and is following her dreams. If I had time for anyone, she would be someone who’d pique my interest.Who am I kidding? When was the last time I even thought twice about someone in any way? Obviously, she’s piqued my interest, but with the season just getting started, I don’t have time to start anything near what she deserves.
When I park my Jeep in the garage, my thoughts are still on Dani. I pull out my phone and suddenly find myself looking at bike repair shops. I easily recall the model of her bike and before I have time to think twice about it, I’m ordering a new wheel for her. With a simple phone call, I’m talking with the manager of the store and convince them to deliver it to the ferry terminal later this afternoon. I’ll just hop a ride over as a passenger and pick it up in Steilacoom. Sure, it’ll take an hour out of my day, but it also means I’ll see Dani again.
To pass the time until the ferry arrives, I spend the day tinkering out in my garage. My pet project these days when I’m not working, is restoring a ’66 Mustang convertible. I bought it on a whim from an older woman who lived here on the island. Her husband purchased it in the early seventies and kept it in one of their outbuildings after it stopped working, nearly thirty years ago. She didn’t even realize it was still on their property until he died, and she had to go through his things to downsize and move off the island.
Knowing that money was an issue for her, I paid a reasonable price and had it moved to my garage. I’ve had it for a few years and am slowly rebuilding the engine. It’s in good shape, hardly any rust, and only some minor body work needs to be done. I would have had it up and running instantly if I’d sent it to a shop, but there’s something to be said about doing things for yourself. Unfortunately, my time’s been limited, and I’ve hardly had the chance to work on it, due to my chaotic schedule. But I hope to finish up the engine this week while I’m off. Then all I’ll have to do is some minor dent repair and send it to a shop to be repainted its original color, nightmist blue. Who knows, by the end of the season, I might have it finished.
Time flies while I’m in the shop working. Though my mind drifts to Dani often, I manage to get a bit done. Evelyn hears me tinkering and stops in to say hello. She catches me up on her grandkids as well as things that have been going on around the island, while I’ve been gone at camp these past few weeks. She asks if there’s anything I need at the store to put on her shopping list, as she’s going to head to the mainland tomorrow to do her weekly shopping. I make my request of a few things, but nothing out of the ordinary.
By five p.m., I find myself on the ferry as a passenger to the mainland. It’s a thirty-minute ride and only takes me a few minutes to find the delivery guy for the wheel I ordered. I reward him with a generous tip before making my way back to the line of passengers to get on the ferry once again. Within the hour, I find myself back in my Jeep that I left at the ferry terminal. As I try to decide which way to go, I realize I’m left with a dilemma. How the hell am I going to give this to her? Do I just show up and act like it is no big deal, or should I wait a day or two to deliver it?Sure, I’ve been busy all day, but if I’m being honest, Dani hasn’t been far from my mind. Hell, I have no business taking any interest in her, not with the season just getting underway, but I can pass this off as a Good Samaritan, right?
Without allowing myself time to think about it more, I pull out my phone and bring up her contact information. When given the option to call or text, I immediately press the green button. Before I know it, there’s ringing coming from the line. A flash of adrenaline courses through me, that I haven’t experienced in years. I take a deep breath and steady myself.Christ, it’s not like I haven’t called a girl before? What the hell is wrong with me?
After three agonizing rings, I hear the line pick up, then a slight thud before a nearly breathless, “Hello?”
“Hey there,” I open without thought again.What am I, back in college?
“Luke?” she asks in a clarifying tone.
“Yeah, it’s me.”Real smooth, dumbass. Get to the point or at least stop sounding like an idiot.“Um, I’m just checking on you to see how you’re doing?”
“Oh.” There’s silence on the line for a moment, that seems to last for an eternity. Dani clears her throat. “I’m doing okay.”
“Are you sure? You took one hell of a hit this morning,” I say in disbelief, knowing she must be hurting to some extent.
“I’m a little rough for wear, but not as bad as I thought it might be,” she sheepishly admits. Then after a pause, her voice sounds stronger on the other end of the line. “I’m getting better though. I’ve stayed on top of the ibuprofen as best as I could since this morning.”
“That’s good to hear,” I say, more relieved than I would’ve thought for just meeting someone.
“Yeah, Nancy’s relieved. I won’t be down for too long. Thankfully I’m in the middle of edits this week and not having to finish a manuscript. There’s a lot more reading than typing at this point.”
Ah, her editor. “When’s your next deadline?” My curiosity gets the best of me.
“I have three weeks to fully complete the edits and have it ready for release date. My cover reveal is later this week, and I must spend time in book groups promoting my upcoming release as well as in my own reader’s group. Now that I can afford it, I at least can hire a promo company to help deliver ARCs, as well as everything else needed for release date, so that’s one less thing on my plate,” she says in a blur. Once she stops, there’s an audible huff as if she’s overwhelmed by her list of things to do.
I follow most of what she says, but some things aren’t clear. “ARCs?”
“Advance Review Copies to blogs and people who will promote me by leaving reviews on the retail sites.”
“Oh.” I’m still not completely following her, and thankfully she continues, so I start to understand.
