She paused, wondering what all this was about. Kenny was a good guy. Charming, easygoing. He was genuinely nice and kind. He called his mother regularly, paid his bills on time and rarely experienced the dark moods that Jack sometimes wrestled with.

He was also six feet four inches of pure speed. With his size, he could have played nearly anywhere on the football field, but Kenny loved to catch footballs and when they were around him, footballs loved to be caught.

All in all, the perfect man, she thought as he watched her carefully. Handsome, successful, rich. She was sure women everywhere wondered why he wasn’t married. There must be a simple explanation, but it wasn’t one he’d ever talked about to her.

So why was he worried about her?

“Jack,” she said suddenly, feeling her cheeks heat up. “And my mother.”

“Are they a thing? I didn’t know.”

Her mouth twisted. “Very funny. You know what I mean. He told you what my mom said.”

Kenny nodded. “And about the kiss.”

The heat grew until Larissa was sure she was bright red. This was when wearing makeup would be a good thing, she thought. Something to conceal her body’s reaction to conflicting emotions.

“It didn’t mean anything,” she said.

“That’s what Jack told me and I don’t believe you, either.”

She stared up into Kenny’s blue eyes. “My mother said some stuff and now we’re dealing. It’ll pass.”

“I want to believe that, but I’m not sure I can. Larissa, you’re one of us. We’re family. Jack shouldn’t mess with that. If you two get involved and then it goes badly...”

He didn’t finish the sentence, but then he didn’t have to. Larissa knew what would happen. Jack was an owner, she was an employee. It wasn’t as if he would be the one to leave.

“We’re not involved,” she said firmly. “I promise.”

“You’re not in love with him?”

“What? No. I like Jack a lot. Just like I like you a lot. It’s not more than that.” At least she hoped it wasn’t. Because as much as she adored Kenny, she had no desire to kiss him. Or Sam. In fact, there wasn’t anyone she wanted to kiss except, of course, Jack.

“Kenny, I’m okay. This will get worked out and things will go back to normal.”

He nodded slowly. “If you’re sure. But if that changes and you get in trouble, let me know.”

Because he would be there for her. “Thank you,” she said, stepping forward and hugging him.

He held her for a second, then released her. “Did you get the extra-meat lasagna? Because if I have to eat pasta, it better have some protein on it.”

She grinned. “Seriously? After all this time you’re questioning my ordering skills?”

Thirty minutes later the five of them were sitting down to dinner. Angelo’s had delivered football-player-size portions of double-meat lasagna for the guys, along with two normal servings for Taryn and Larissa. There was salad, garlic bread and tiramisu for dessert. As they would all be walking home—except for Taryn, who would be picked up later by an adoring Angel—wine flowed freely.

“Where’s Percy?” Taryn asked as she lightly sprinkled dressing on her salad. “Didn’t he want to join us?”

“Have dinner with a bunch of old people?” Jack asked. “No way. I offered, but he said he’d rather eat by himself. And here I thought we were an interesting bunch.”

“We are,” Taryn assured him. “He’s just too young to appreciate us.”

Sam raised his glass of wine. “To old friends. The best kind.”

Taryn winced. “I’m not fond of the old part of that statement, but I’ll drink to the rest of it.”

They clinked glasses, then drank.

Taryn sat at the head of the table. Larissa was to her right, next to Jack. Kenny and Sam were on the other side. She glanced at Kenny and he winked at her. A simple act that made her able to relax enough to enjoy the meal. Because she wanted things normal between them.

She didn’t know what was happening with Jack. None of it made sense. Not the attraction, not the kissing. She only knew that he was a constant in her world and she never wanted that to change.

“The last thing we need is another alcohol-based client,” Taryn was saying. “Isn’t what we have enough?”

“There’s a Polish vodka producer looking for a presence in America,” Jack told her. “That would be good for us.”

Taryn glared at him. “You’re just saying that because you’re hoping to plan a business meeting in mid-January. I know how you all love to torment me.”

“Poland is relatively close to France,” Sam said. “We could meet in Paris.”

“Uh-huh. You’re all in on this.” She turned to Larissa. “You’re the only one I can depend on.”

“I wouldn’t mind going to Poland,” Larissa admitted. “In any month.”

Kenny chuckled. “Imagine what you could rescue there.”

As if listening to the conversation, Larissa’s cell phone chirped. Everyone burst out laughing. Kenny pointed at Jack.

“Five bucks says you’re screwed.”

Jack rolled his eyes. “I’m not taking that bet.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Larissa said primly as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and glanced at the text message on the screen.

It was from a wildlife organization. They needed a place to keep an injured wild Northern Spotted Owl. She turned to Jack.

“Can I keep a bird at your place?”

The table went silent as everyone waited.

Jack looked at her. “In a cage?”

“Yes.”

“Just one bird?”

She nodded.

“For how long?”

“Less than a week.”

“Okay, sure.” He looked at Kenny. “It’s a bird. I’m fine. You owe me five bucks.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Larissa quickly texted back agreement to take the bird, then excused herself to get the rest of the information. When she was done with the call, she texted Percy to let him know what was going on, then returned to the conference room.

Jack and Kenny were arguing about a play from a game from who knew how many years ago. As she walked back in, Jack stood and walked to the microwave. He hit a couple of buttons while explaining to Kenny why he was wrong.

Because in the few minutes she’d been gone, he’d put her dinner in the microwave for her. So it wouldn’t be cold. Taryn grabbed the open bottle of wine and topped off Larissa’s glass while Sam put another slice of garlic bread on her side plate.

She smiled and took her place at the family table.

* * *

TWO DAYS LATER, Jack walked through Fool’s Gold on his way to the library to pick up Percy. It was nearly seven on a weeknight, but people were still out. Families strolled together. Neighbors visited over fences. It was a good town, he thought. A place that welcomed strangers and made longtime residents not want to leave.

Taryn had hated the idea of moving here, but even she had come around. Sam was engaged to a local girl. It was just a matter of time until Kenny overcame his past and fell hard for some sweet young thing. Then they’d have roots here and Score would become a part of the Fool’s Gold story.

He wanted that. A sense of belonging was nice—as long as he could keep his distance as it washed over him.

He turned the corner and headed for the library. As he got closer, he saw a tall skinny teen sitting on the front steps. Percy put his laptop away as Jack approached, then stood and walked toward him.

“When did the library close?” he asked.

“It’s open a few more minutes, but I came out here to wait. I wanted to keep working on my reading.” Percy grinned. “It’s going good. Some of the stuff I know and I’m learning the rest of it.”

“Good for you.” Jack and the teen walked along the sidewalk. The sun had set about fifteen minutes before and now the sky darkened quickly.

Percy glanced at him. “There were a couple of guys in the library who were starting at Cal U Fool’s Gold in a couple of weeks. They said they wished the school had a football team.”

“Trying to influence my vote?” Jack asked.

“Maybe.”

“You don’t have to convince me, kid. I think having a football program will enrich the college. But I’m not the decision maker. Besides, starting a team from scratch...” He shook his head. That would be a tough one. “I’m not sure where they’ll find a coach willing to take that on. It would be years before they were decent enough to play in any of the ranked leagues. You’d be giving up maybe a decade of your career to be in the shadows.”

Percy brows drew together. “I thought coaches were in it for the love of the game and teaching their players.”

“A lot are, but you also want to be seen as a winner. It’s hard to win when you don’t get to play.” Jack wondered how long until the program could join the small leagues. Three years? Four? “Plus, it’s going to take some real money to do it right. Scholarships have to be established, equipment bought, staff hired. A job like that would be consuming.”

He knew what he was talking about. Football had consumed him for a couple of decades—but in the best way possible. He’d seen the sport change lives. Having a team on campus would be a good thing—he believed that. But he doubted the university was willing to make the commitment.

Football had saved him, he thought. Had given him a place to belong after his parents had left for Africa. It had been easier to survive that year after Lucas had died. The year of firsts. First Christmas without his brother. First birthday. In a way, the latter had been more difficult. Because he and Lucas were twins—they’d shared a birthday.

“At least they have a good name,” Percy said. “They’re the Warriors. That’s from the town. The Máa-zib tribe that settled here. Larissa was telling me about it.”

“Did she also tell you the Máa-zib are matriarchal?”

Percy looked blank.

Jack grinned. “That means the structure of the tribe was based on women having the power instead of men. A male-dominated society is patriarchal. Like if a boy is born, he’ll be king, but women can’t rule.”

“There’s a queen of England,” Percy said.

“Right. But that’s only because there weren’t any male heirs. Prince Charles, her son, is her oldest child so her daughter will never rule.”

“That sucks.”

A generational comment, Jack thought humorously. He was pretty sure most men over the age of sixty would think nothing of that. But times had changed.

Percy grinned. “So you’re saying the Cal U Fool’s Gold Warriors should have a woman dressed up like a warrior instead of a guy?”

“Yup.”

“Sweet. You gonna tell them?”

“Probably not.”

“If you change your mind, I want to be there,” Percy told him.

“On the fringe of making trouble, but not actually doing it yourself?”

The teen nodded. “All the show and none of the danger.”

“My brother was like that,” Jack said without thinking.

Percy glanced at him. “I didn’t know you had a brother.”

“I did. He died a long time ago.”

Percy’s humor faded. “I’m sorry.”

“Thanks. He was...” Jack hesitated, then figured what the hell. “He was seventeen. We both were. Lucas was my identical twin.” Although not completely identical, he thought. There was the matter of their very different hearts.

“That had to be hard.”

“It was,” Jack admitted. “He was a good guy. He saw the best in people. And he never complained.” Not about all the treatments, the surgeries, the suffering. Not even about whatever twist of fate had landed him with the crappy heart.

“You still miss him.” Percy wasn’t asking a question.

“Every day,” Jack admitted.

The kid nodded. “It’s like that with my mom. Some days are easier, but I never forget her. I guess it’s always like that when someone you love dies.”

They continued to walk toward Jack’s house. They were mostly silent, but it was companionable. He thought of his earlier conversation with Larissa. “So there’s going to be a bird at the house.”

Percy nodded. “Larissa said something about it coming to stay for a few days. It’s nearly healed and they needed room for more injured birds.”

Which was more than Jack knew. No doubt Larissa would have told him the details, but he liked to be as uninformed as possible. It made his life simpler.

“Did she mention how long it was staying?” he asked.

“Three days. By then it should be able to fly. Once it’s ready, it’ll be released in the wild.” He sounded excited. “She’s going to show me how to feed it and everything.”

“I hope it’s not a raptor.”

“You mean like a dinosaur?”

“No. A raptor is a bird of prey. Like an eagle or a hawk.” Because Jack was starting to have a bad feeling about the whole bird rescue-visit thing. No good deed, he reminded himself.

“She wouldn’t do that,” Percy said confidently.

“Uh-huh.” Jack was less sure. After all, she’d left fighting dogs in his living room before.

They approached the house where they lived. From the outside, everything looked normal, but he knew better than to take any chances.