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“EVEN A FOOL, WHEN HE HOLDETH HIS PEACE, IS COUNTED WISE.”—PROVERBS 17:28

F all came swiftly to Stoney Creek. Not that Sydney minded. She’d forgotten how beautiful the change of the season was in the Southeast. It was as if Mother Nature took pity on the suffocating, listless terrain and decided to brush a leaf here and there with a smidgen of scarlet or gold. Before long the mystical process caught like wildfire and the whole mountainside became ablaze with brilliant color. The air was so crisp that it gave wings to the soul. It was a day for healing. The kind of day that made you believe you could accomplish anything.

Sydney opened one of her bedroom windows. The wind felt good on her face. She turned her attention away from the window to the closet. Sydney’s small closet was stuffed so full that she grabbed a handful of hanging clothes and put them on her bed, just so she could sift through what she had. She sighed. With all these clothes, it shouldn’t be that hard to find one outfit. She tried on one thing and then another, tossing the rejects in a heap on her bed.

The plan was to meet Kendall at football practice and then they were going to dinner with a few of his friends. She knew that Emma would be there with her boyfriend, Chuck Lingerfelt. The only memory Sydney had of Chuck was that he was very quiet and had so many pimples that he’d been nicknamed “pizza face” by some of the meaner kids in school. Sydney wasn’t sure who else would be there.

She pulled out a pair of linen pants and tried them on. Too dressy. She took them off and tossed them on the bed, reaching for a pair of jeans when her cordless phone rang. She searched frantically under the mountain of clothes to get to the sound. “Hello? Hi, Kendall … yes, I’m meeting you at practice. I promise I’ll be on time.”

She ended the call and then tried to squelch the irritation that surfaced. Why would Kendall assume she would be late? It was only practice. Why was it so important for her to be there for the whole thing? Kendall had been wound up tight as a toy soldier now that football season was getting ready to start. The pressure he was under must be incredible. She just needed to overlook his moodiness. Things would settle down once the season got under way.

The entire town of Stoney Creek, it seemed, had come out to see the first official practice of the season. Kendall had been holding practices for two weeks now, but this was the time when it became serious. Practice was held on a side field where the grass was splotchy and beaten down. The football stadium was reserved for game nights only. All summer long the grass on the main field had been nurtured and was now a thick carpet of green.

Sydney parked along the street because the parking lot adjacent to the field was full. She made her way up to the field and saw the spectators, mostly men, leaning against their cars and discussing the players. All of them, no doubt, had strong opinions about the plays Kendall was running and which players he should put in various positions. She scoped the crowd, thinking she might see Walter, but no such luck. She found a spot to stand and noticed an attractive black woman leaning against a green Mercury Sable. The woman gave Sydney a polite smile. Sydney returned the gesture and then turned her focus to the field.

She spotted Kendall right away. He was hard to miss and looked every bit the head coach in his tight gray pants and white shirt that clung to his muscular chest and arms. A burgundy cap was pulled down over his eyes, and a whistle was wedged in his mouth like an extra tooth. He was blowing it in rhythm. The players were lined up, performing drills. Sydney remembered seeing the players do this particular one when she was younger. They would run in place as fast as they could until Kendall blew the whistle, at which point they would hit the ground and then come back up to repeat the same process over and over.

Nostalgia swept over her as she caught a faint whiff of sulfur from the paper mill. Avery and Walter used to watch the practices just like the men who were here now. Sometimes Avery would take her with him, and if she behaved he would treat her to an ice cream at Randall’s Diner afterwards.

“Who are you here to see?”

It took Sydney a moment to realize that someone had spoken to her. She looked at the woman she’d noticed earlier.

“Are you here to see one of the players?” The woman repeated.

“Not exactly.”

The woman waited for Sydney to explain. Sydney stepped closer to the woman so she wouldn’t have to yell. “Coach Fletcher’s a friend of mine.” Her face warmed and she braced herself for the woman to make some insinuating comment. Why did she feel like she was sixteen again?

“Oh.” The woman pointed to the field. “Do you see that guy on the end of the first row?”

Sydney looked. “The tall one?”

The woman nodded and smiled proudly. “That’s my son, Reginald.”

Sydney wasn’t sure how to answer. “He looks like a fine player.”

“He’s the quarterback.” The woman extended her hand. “I’m Jarilyn Kelly.”

“Sydney Lassiter.”

Jarilyn flashed a brilliant smile. “You must be new to Stoney Creek.”

“I moved here this summer from Ft. Worth. I’m the safety coordinator for the sawmill,” Sydney said. She guessed Jarilyn to be in her late thirties. Her ebony hair was soft and rounded on her shoulders. Her large almond eyes were friendly. She was dressed in white slacks and a matching tailored jacket. A pale blue silk shirt underneath the jacket was the perfect complement for her chocolate honey skin.

“I work at First Federal Bank next to the Piggly Wiggly,” Jarilyn said.

There was something warm and approachable about Jarilyn that put Sydney completely at ease. She learned that Reginald was Jarilyn’s only son and the center of her life. Reginald’s father had left the picture years ago, shortly after Jarilyn became pregnant. Jarilyn had moved from Birmingham to Stoney Creek because she knew it would be a good place to raise her son.

They made small talk until they heard Kendall blow the whistle long and hard, a signal for the players to huddle around him.

“It looks like practice is over,” Jarilyn said.

“Yeah.” Sydney wasn’t sure where Kendall was going to meet her.

“I hope you’ll come to practice again. It’s nice to have someone to talk to.”

More than you know, Sydney thought. Jarilyn couldn’t possibly guess how much her friendliness meant. Sydney smiled and turned to leave. “It was nice meeting you.”

“Wait—don’t leave yet. I want you to meet Reginald.”

The women watched Reginald approach them, carrying his helmet in one hand. His curly hair had soaked up his perspiration like a sponge and left drops glistening on the ends. A few drops broke loose and trickled down his face. There were deep smudges of dirt on his elbows and grass stains on his knees. When he got next to them, Sydney noticed how he towered over his petite mother. “Son, I want you to meet Sydney Lassiter. She’s a friend of Coach Fletcher.”

Sydney extended her hand. “Reginald, it’s nice to meet you.”

He smiled broadly, accentuating his clean even features. His handshake was firm and sure. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Lassiter. Any friend of coach’s is a friend of mine.”

“I hear you’re quite the football player.”

Reginald shifted uncomfortably under the praise, and that made Sydney like him even more. He looked at his mother. “I see Mama’s been talkin’ to you.”

“I’ve just been tellin’ the truth.” Jarilyn pulled her jacket together and jutted out her chin.

“I’m gonna go to the field house and get my stuff, Mama.”

“Hurry, Son. I’m sure you’ve got lots of homework.”

He waved at Sydney before trotting off. “Nice meetin’ you, Miss Lassiter.”

Sydney looked at Jarilyn. “You have a fine son.”

“Thank you. It’s been hard raising Reginald without a father. Coach Fletcher’s been a real blessing to him—a father figure for Reginald to look up to.”

Sydney’s heart glowed warm. Just when she thought she had Kendall figured out, there seemed to be another facet to his personality.

“I’m real glad Coach Fletcher has you. It’s about time he started going with someone nice for a change.”

The words broadsided Sydney, leaving her speechless. She would replay them a hundred times in her mind and would berate herself for not asking Jarilyn to explain what she meant. But at that moment, no words came. She just stood there.

“Can I give you a ride to the field house?” Jarilyn asked. The practice field and field house were at opposite ends of the school. Even so, it was a short walk between the two because the players could take the path between the cafeteria and agricultural building, but cars had to drive all the way around.

“No, thank you. I’ll just wait here for Kendall.”

“You might as well get comfortable. It looks like he’s gonna be a while.”

Sydney looked at the field. Kendall was walking away from her to the field house. A tight cluster of men surrounded him.

“You sure you don’t want a ride?”

Sydney shook her head. “I parked my jeep on the side of the road. I need to go get it, and then I’ll just drive down to the field house.” She forced a smile. “See you next time.”

Sydney couldn’t help but feel hurt. Kendall had asked her to come but hadn’t bothered to see if she was waiting for him. Why would he go to the trouble of calling to make sure she was coming if he wasn’t even going to notice?

It took Kendall a while to get rid of what he called the “Monday morning quarterbacks”—the well-meaning but intrusive townsfolk who thought they knew more about coaching than he did. In Stoney Creek, pacifying the town was such an integral part of coaching that it should have been included in his job description. He followed the last stragglers into the field house and scanned the room. “Josh, Dave, Sam, y’all come over here.”

“What’s up coach?” Josh wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm.

Kendall gave him a dark look. “You’re going back to the field.”

The player’s eyes grew round and he pointed to himself. “Me?”

“Yeah, you and you and you,” he said, motioning to the other players who, by this time, were standing still like wide-eyed deer caught in headlights. “Let’s go.”

“What’re we doing?” one of the players asked. They quickened their pace to catch up to Kendall. Rather than answering, he marched full speed to the practice field. The boys had no other choice but to follow.

Kendall halted when they reached their destination. “Take a good look. What do you see?” By this time, all of the spectators had left, leaving an empty field.

The boys’ faces looked as blank as a sheet of new paper. “Huh?”

Kendall’s eyes narrowed a fraction and he repeated the question. “What do you see?”

Dave kicked at the ground. “A field?”

Kendall’s hand went to his hip and he glared at the boys. “What else?”

Josh looked down. “Grass?”

This brought a chuckle from his peers. “Dead grass,” one of them added, and then they all snickered.

Kendall’s face turned scarlet, and a marble appeared under his skin where his jaw came together. “This is hallowed ground—my world.” He eyed his players, whose faces had turned the color of chalk. “Do you think this is some big joke?”

“Uh, no sir.”

“What were y’all thinking? I’m trying to get this team in shape and y’all are out here goofing off. Do you think that’s fair when everyone else is busting their butts?”

“But coach,” Dave said, “I wasn’t goofing off.”

Kendall caught Dave by the shirt and pulled his face within an inch of his. “You’re telling me you can’t block any better than that? If that’s what you’re saying, then you’d better step down and let somebody else take your place because you ain’t man enough to be on my team.”

The boy’s chin quivered. “I’m sorry, coach. I’ll do better. I promise.”

Kendall let him go with a push. He turned his attention from Dave to the other two. “What about y’all? You were jumping off sides every play. You know that will cost us five yards every time we turn around. We can’t afford that!”

They spoke in unison. “We’ll do better, coach. We promise.”

“Yeah, and you’ll start right now. Give me twenty-five times up the bleachers. Now!”

Sydney pulled in front of the field house just in time to see a player exiting. She rolled down her window. “Excuse me, have you seen Coach Fletcher?”

"Yes ma’am, he went back to the practice field.”

This was getting ridiculous. For a split second, she thought about leaving. Then again, it wasn’t like she had any other plans. She was here and might as well go and find him.

She neared the field and heard a man yelling. It took her a minute to realize it was Kendall.

“Come on Josh, my mama can run faster than that. What’re you gonna do when you get out in the world? Do you think people are going to care if you’re tired? Now get back up there on those bleachers.”

She watched as one of the boys came off the bleachers. He doubled over and vomited on the grass. Kendall looked her direction, and their eyes met for a brief moment before she turned and began walking back to her jeep.

Kendall came running across the field after her. “Hey, where are you going?”

“I’m leaving.” As if you care, she thought.

He caught up with her. “Why?”

“Because I’m tired of waiting!” She motioned to the field. “And look what you’re doing to your players!” She ran a hand through her hair.

Kendall took hold of her arm. “Look, it’s not as bad as it looked. You only saw the last part. Don’t go anywhere. I promise I’ll just be a few minutes. I’ve got to check on my boys at the field and then I’ll go to the field house and get changed.” He searched her face. “Wait for me?”

“Okay.”

Kendall came out wearing jeans and a button-up shirt. She rolled down the window. A ghost of a smile touched his lips. “You’re still here.”

“Yeah, but don’t think I didn’t consider leaving.”

This won her a full smile and he gave her a peck on the lips.

“Why were you making those players run bleachers after practicing in the heat? Don’t you think that’s a little extreme?”

“I had it under control.”

Her eyebrow arched. “Are you sure about that? You pushed that one player to the breaking point. He was over there puking his guts up.”

“Look, I know what I’m doing. Those boys are like my sons. They’ve got to learn to be tough. Do you think the other team is going to care if my guys are hot and tired?” He paused. “Besides, it wouldn’t be fair to the rest of the team if I let them get away with goofing off.”

She grinned. “Are you saying that I should mind my own business?”

“Oh I get lots of advice from people about how to run my team.” He gave her an appraising look, taking in her jeans and simple v-necked red sweater. “But I have to say that none of them look as good as you.”

Kendall wasn’t one to throw around compliments. “Thanks.”

“Why don’t we leave your jeep here and take my truck?”

“Which restaurant are we going to?” Sydney asked.

“We’re not.”

“What?”

Kendall smiled. “We’re having dinner at someone’s house.”

“Oh? Whose?”

“An old friend of mine—Jessica Winters.”

Sydney’s eyes widened. She had to bite her lip to hold back the groan in her throat. Of all the people. She and Jessica had been friends, had hung out together at cheerleading practice, had even spent the night at each other’s houses—until Sydney beat Jessica out of the head cheerleader spot. That’s all it took for Jessica to turn against her and become her fiercest enemy.

“You’ll like Jess. She’s a lot of fun and an excellent cook.”

A wrinkle formed between Sydney’s eyes. So it was Jess instead of Jessica . Sydney’s culinary skills were limited to chicken noodle soup and microwavable pot pies. Her thigh began to ache, and she rubbed it and grimaced. Was it her imagination or was it starting to hurt more often?

“Are you okay?”

Sydney plastered on a smile. “Of course.”

“They left the driveway for us.” Kendall drove in and turned off the engine. Even though it was dark, the headlights from the truck were bright enough for Sydney to detect that the brick house was new.

They got out and went to the door. Kendall knocked once and then opened it and motioned for her to follow. They walked through the living room, decorated in vivid reds and yellows, and into the kitchen. The dining room and kitchen were one large room separated by a bar. It was a cozy floor plan that leant itself well to entertaining.

Kendall put an arm around Sydney’s shoulder. “Everyone, this is Sydney Lassiter.”

From the grand way he announced her, Sydney half expected a drum roll to sound. Kendall’s friends rushed to greet her.

Emma was the first person to her side. Sydney extended her hand, but Emma gave her a bear hug instead. “Hi, Sydney. It’s good to see you again.” The warmth in Emma’s voice helped ease some of Sydney’s tension. “This is Chuck Lingerfelt—the love of my life.” Emma put her arm around his waist and gave him a tight squeeze.

Age had been good to Chuck. He’d filled out to match his height. His pimples were gone but had left pits in his cheeks. “It’s nice to meet you,” he said, giving her hand a swift yank, making Sydney think that Chuck’s bashfulness had vanished with the years. His nose was too large for his face and jumped out at her. However, once she willed it to step back and get in line with his other features, there was something attractive about him. Sydney decided it was the sparkle in his eyes—or it could have been his full lips that looked like they could break into a grin at any given moment.

Sydney looked past Emma and Chuck into the kitchen where Jessica was standing. She was still as beautiful as Sydney remembered in a flashy sort of way. Her shoulder-length curly hair was almost black. She was as tall as Sydney but curvaceous where Sydney was athletic. Her brown eyes were like big balls of chocolate, and she had deep dimples in her cheeks. Jessica wiped her hands on a kitchen towel and then sauntered over to meet Sydney.

“Hello.” Jessica extended her hand, her eyes raking over Sydney.

In the pause that followed, Sydney recognized instinctively where she would stand with Jessica. Jessica’s dark, narrowed eyes were saying what her lips never would—that she was used to being the queen bee, unaccustomed to having any competition. Sydney met her eyes in a quiet challenge. Jessica smiled, but her eyes remained cold.

“Please,” Jessica said in a stately manner. “Make yourself at home.”

Chuck gave Kendall a shove. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Sydney. You’re all Kendall talks about lately, except football of course.”

She looked at Kendall’s face for validation, but it was a blank. What she did notice, however, was the scowl that crossed Jessica’s features. It was quickly replaced with a wooden smile.

“Dinner’s almost ready,” Jessica said.

“Umm. Sure smells good,” Kendall said. “What’s on the menu?”

“Chicken parmesan, mandarin salad, and garlic bread.”

Kendall smiled. “My favorite.”

“I know,” Jessica said.

Kendall’s face turned cherry red. Sydney wondered if there had ever been anything between them.

Jessica called out to everyone, “Y’all go sit down, and I’ll start putting the food on the table.”

Sydney moved to join the group until Jessica stopped her. “Would you mind helping me in the kitchen?”

“Not at all.” Sydney’s mind went back to an incident that occurred when she and Jessica were in the fifth grade.

“Mom, I want that ribbon for my hair,” Jessica said.

“Here, we’ll cut it in half. Then you and Cindy will match.” Mrs. Winters snipped the royal blue ribbon and handed a length to Cindy.

“Thank you, Mrs. Winters.”

Mrs. Winters clucked her tongue. “Cindy, please call me Ruth. I’m much too young to be a Mrs. ”

Jessica’s eyes narrowed. “You cut mine crooked. I’m going to fix it.” She grabbed the scissors and started snipping while Cindy tied her ribbon in a bow around her ponytail.

“Now mine’s too short!” Jessica’s lips formed a pout and her eyes went to Cindy’s hair. “Hers looks good, and mine looks terrible!”

Before Cindy knew what was happening, Ruth reached out with the scissors and snipped the ends of her ribbon so it would look just like Jessica’s.

“What would you like for me to do?” Sydney asked, trying to put the incident back in the past. That was a long time ago. It was possible that Jessica had changed over the years. She should at least give her the benefit of the doubt.

“Put the ice in the glasses, will you?”

Sydney nodded.

Jessica moved close to Sydney, and her voice lowered to a whisper. “I’m so glad you and Kendall are dating.”

“Excuse me?”

Jessica charged on. “Kendall’s been so down in the dumps these past few months. It’s good to see him smiling again.”

Sydney raised an eyebrow. “Why has Kendall been down?”

The corners of Jessica’s full mouth turned down. “Didn’t he tell you? I thought you knew.”

“Knew what?”

At least Jessica had the decency to look embarrassed, whether or not that was truly the case. “Kendall and I were—um—we used to go together.”

Sydney’s mouth went dry.

“I broke Kendall’s heart. I didn’t know whether or not he’d ever get over it.” She looked at Sydney. “I always knew he’d eventually settle … um, find someone else.”

“Hey, what’s takin’ so long?” Chuck’s yelled.

Sydney stepped away from Jessica and began chunking cubes of ice in the glasses.

“We’re coming,” Jessica called back at him. “Just be patient.”

Jessica pulled out cans of Ginger Ale. “I’ll pour, and you take them to the table.” She smiled. “So glad we had our little chat.”

Jessica filled the glasses so full that Sydney had to walk slowly to keep them from spilling on the floor. She finally got all the glasses to the table except for her own. She went back to retrieve it and noticed that there was only an inch of soda in her glass. She looked at Jessica who shrugged and said, “Sorry, that’s all there was left.”

Sydney took a bite of chicken parmesan. The fact that it was indeed very good made Jessica’s earlier comments sting even more.

“Well, how do you like Stoney Creek?” Chuck drawled.

“I like it,” Sydney heard herself say. How else was she supposed to answer that question?

Emma forked a chunk of chicken into her mouth. “That was a pat answer. Now tell us how you really feel.”

Sydney’s cheeks grew warm. “I do like it here. Really.”

Kendall came to her rescue. “Now Sis, you leave Sydney alone. She’s gettin’ along just fine. I’m seeing to that.”

“That’s mighty kind of ya,” Chuck said, and everyone laughed.

“You’ll have to excuse my little sis,” Kendall said to Sydney. “She never takes anything at face value—always has to get to the bottom of everything.”

Emma frowned. “That’s not true.”

Kendall ignored her. “Only problem with that is that if you go sifting through a can of worms, all you find at the bottom is more worms.”

This brought on an explosion of laughter from Chuck. Emma delivered a swift elbow jab to his ribs. She then looked across the table and stuck out her tongue at Kendall.

A moment of silence passed and everyone focused their attention on their plates. Jessica was the first to speak. “Sydney, Kendall said you work at the sawmill. Do you know Sean O’Conner?”

“Yes, Sean’s office is next to mine.” Sydney left it at that. She wasn’t about to ask Jessica if she knew Sean, even though she did want to know. No, she didn’t want to know, she told herself. Why did she care if Jessica knew Sean?

“Sean and I are dating,” Jessica said.

“Oh really?” Sydney looked Jessica square in the eyes. “That’s interesting. I don’t think he’s ever mentioned you.”

Jessica’s face grew red. But Sydney wasn’t finished yet. “And since you mentioned being a heartbreaker, I figured it would be too hard to limit yourself to just one man.”

Jessica gasped, and Kendall almost choked on his food. Oops. She’d done it again. When would she learn to keep that snake-fanged tongue of hers in its cage? In Judith’s glitzy magazine cover world, cattiness was an accepted—even admired—trait. How she’d watched Judith and mimicked her. She’d reveled in the flash of approval she saw in Judith’s eyes when she was brave enough to level her own witty remark. But once Sydney opened that part of herself, it became harder and harder to control it. It was a way to expel some of the poison that had seeped into her since the accident. Over the years her claws had grown a little too sharp, even for Judith.

The shocked faces, staring at her around the table, brought home the fact that she wasn’t in Judith’s world any longer but in a more polite society where she would do well to choose her words with care. She caught a glimpse of her parents mirrored in those faces. Would they be shocked to see how coarse she’d become?

She smiled through the chill and hoped her words would sound sincere. Maybe she could repair some of the damage. “Jessica, I would love to get this recipe. You really are a wonderful cook.”

Jessica was too busy stewing from her earlier comment to answer, but at least Kendall seemed to relax.

“How’s the team lookin’?” Chuck asked.

Thank goodness for trusty ol’ Chuck. If Emma hadn’t slung her arm around him to give him a big hug, Sydney would have.

Kendall helped himself to another piece of bread. “Pretty good so far. I’ve got ten returning seniors, including Reggie.”

Sydney’s ears perked up. “Reginald Kelly?”

Kendall cocked his head. “Yeah, he’s our starting quarterback. Do you know him?”

“I met him and his mother at practice this afternoon.”

Kendall and Chuck became immersed in football while Sydney made polite conversation with Emma. Sydney looked across the table with an arched brow and met Jessica’s glare.

“You just remind me of somebody I used to know.” Jessica tucked a wisp of curly hair behind her ear.

Sydney chuckled. “Yeah, I seem to have that face—you know, the one that everyone thinks looks like so and so.” Before Jessica could respond, Sydney turned her attention to Kendall and Chuck.

Chuck rubbed his hands together and shook his head. “I can just taste that state championship.”

Kendall leaned back in his chair and held up his hand. “Whoa now. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We haven’t even played our first game yet.”

“You’ve got all the elements,” Chuck said.

“What do you think about Kendall’s team?” Emma asked.

“I think he’s great.” Sydney laughed and squeezed Kendall’s arm. “Oh—I mean, I think it’s great.” Everyone except Jessica laughed.

Chuck leaned forward. “Ken, do you remember that time we played Bessemer for the state championship?”

A slow grin stole over Kendall’s face as Chuck continued. “The score was tied, fourteen to fourteen, and we were in double overtime. And there were only ten seconds left.” Chuck let out a low whistle. “Right down to the wire, and then Willy kicked that beautiful field goal, smack down the middle. We beat ’em seventeen to fourteen. I’ll never forget it.”

“No, the score was sixteen to thirteen,” Sydney blurted.

All eyes at the table whipped around to Sydney. Kendall spoke first. “She’s right.” He looked thoughtful. “How did you know that?”

It had just come out. Sydney wished she could crawl under the table. She knew her face was beaming like a neon light. “Do you think y’all are the only ones who talk about football? I hear the guys at the mill talking about it all the time.” She knew her explanation sounded flimsy, but it was the best she could come up with at that moment.

“Well, what a coincidence,” Jessica purred and rolled her eyes at the rest of the group. “Our little debutant is just full of surprises.”

Sydney stared numbly at her plate.