she could decide, Ean turned and jogged back toward the park.
Damn it!
Megan leaned against her front door. What had she been thinking? Ean Fever wasn’t for her. Her roots were planted deep within Trinity Falls, Ohio. Almost from birth, Ean had been searching for other soil. She was too old to be weaving fantasies about the town’s most popular boy falling in love with her and living happily ever after. Fairy tales were for books.
She pushed away from the door and plodded to her upstairs bathroom. Even if Ean had returned to Trinity Falls to stay, he’d come back for Ramona. She’d been rejected in favor of her cousin before. She wouldn’t allow history to repeat itself.
Ean stood in Quincy’s office doorway hours later, watching the former running back review papers. His childhood friend had become a university professor. Very cool.
He knocked twice on Quincy’s open door. “How does it feel to be the one giving the grades instead of getting them?”
Too late, Quincy masked his surprise. “‘It is better to give than to receive.’”
“Good one.” Ean grinned at the glimpse of the old Quincy. “You have a minute?”
“I have to teach a class.” That quickly, the window into their shared past closed.
Ignoring Quincy’s attempt at a brush-off, Ean pulled the door closed behind him and settled into one of the two cushioned chairs in front of the pale modular desk. “We have plenty of time. It’s nine o’clock. Darius said you only have afternoon classes on Wednesdays.”
Quincy scowled. “I have to prepare for those classes.”
Ean leaned into the chair and propped his right ankle onto his left knee. “I only need ten minutes.”
Quincy’s air of resignation was even more puzzling. “What can I do for you, Ean?”
So formal. “You can start by telling me why you’re pissed off that I’ve come home.”
“Why would I be upset?”
“That’s what I’m asking.”
Quincy’s eyes hardened. “I’m sorry if I’m not showing you the right amount of deference, but I don’t have to play follow the leader—follow you—anymore. I walk my own path now.”
Ean’s brows launched up his forehead. “‘Follow the leader’? What the hell are you talking about?”
Quincy remained silent.
Maybe this confrontation hadn’t been a good idea. Ean was more confused today than he’d been Tuesday morning. He dragged both hands over his head as he rose to pace. Unfortunately, Quincy’s office was comfortable but small.
The framed Professor of the Year Award hanging on the off-white wall to his left distracted him. The recognition wasn’t surprising. Quincy was determined to be the best at whatever he chose to do.
A small coffeepot stood on a black metal cabinet in a corner behind Quincy’s chair. Two wall-to-wall bookcases faced each other from opposite sides of the office and were stuffed with books on African and African-American history. On the shelf above his computer, writing references, a dictionary and a thesaurus shared space with framed photos of family and friends.
Ean spotted a photo of him, Quincy and Darius in their grass-and-dirt–stained high school football uniforms. He remembered mugging for that photo. Quincy’s father had taken it shortly after their championship game. Ean had kept a copy of that same picture on his desk at the law firm. The school had nicknamed the friends “the Terrible Trio”: quarterback, running back and tight end. An unstoppable offense.
That picture hardened Ean’s resolve to repair one of the most important relationships in his life. “When I was in New York, we e-mailed or called each other a couple of times a month. Everything seemed fine. Now that I’m back, you’re acting as though I’ve stolen from you. What’s changed?”
Quincy crossed his arms over his chest. “Things can’t go back to the way they were.”
That was a familiar theme in Trinity Falls. “Why not?”
“We aren’t the people we used to be. We’ve grown up. We’ve changed.”
Ean assessed his friend like any witness on the stand. Whatever was eating at him, Quincy wouldn’t give up the information easily. “What are you afraid of going after?”
“What are you talking about?” Quincy’s words snapped with impatience.
“At the bookstore Tuesday, Darius said I’m not afraid to go after what I want. What does he think you’re afraid of?” Ean caught the shift in Quincy’s gaze. A moment of uncertainty that revealed Ean was on the right track.
“I’m not afraid of anything.” Quincy’s mouth tightened as though he didn’t want to divulge more than he already may have.
“We’re all afraid of something.”
“What are you afraid of?”
Ean clenched his teeth. Why had he opened this door? “Right now, I’m afraid I waited too long to come home.”
“Maybe New York is your home now.”
Those words coming from his friend hurt. “What do you want? Maybe I can help.”
Quincy’s expression grew mulish. “I don’t need your help.”
They were at an impasse. Ean stood. “Let me know if you change your mind. Your friendship means a lot to me, Q. It’s one of the reasons I came home.”
Surprise relaxed Quincy’s tight features. Ean turned to leave the office. But he wasn’t calling the game. This was only a time-out. He’d come home to return to the people and the things that mattered most to him. But had he waited too long?
“Dracula is drunk.” Megan chewed the words like rocks in her mouth.
“Stan? Are you sure?” Ramona tapped Megan’s shoulder with the wand she used as part of her witch costume. “Perhaps you should check again.”
“I’m. Positive.” Megan could barely breathe through her anger. She imagined breaking Ramona’s wand into bits.
Ramona waved the wand dismissively. “What do you want me to do about it?”
Megan’s eyes stretched wide. “You hired Stan Crockett—the town drunk—to read Halloween-themed children’s books to our customers’ kids.”
It was the third Saturday of October, the day Books & Bakery hosted its annual Halloween costume party and children’s story time. Megan heard the virtual flushing of her afternoon event as it plunged down the figurative toilet. Ramona either couldn’t hear it or didn’t care.
“Nice costume party, Megan.” Quincy’s comment was barely audible above the angry buzzing in Megan’s ears and the laughter of children enjoying the Halloween games arranged around the store.
Megan
