Nothing But Trouble

“I’m talking about the fact that, underneath those blue jeans and grease, there’s quite a woman. Smart, caring, sensitive and pretty. You seem to be one of the few men around these parts who hasn’t realized there’s a sexy woman hiding behind that grease-monkey facade of Tallie’s. Now, I wonder why that is?”

Peyton didn’t want to answer his brother’s question. To find the answer would involve some deep soul-searching where his relationship with Tallie was concerned, and that wasn’t something he intended doing. He had too many mixed emotions when it came to that damned irritating female. A part of him wished that she’d simply disappear off the face of the earth. Then another part of him couldn’t imagine his life without her—without thinking about her, worrying about her, taking care of her...wanting her.

The customer ahead of Peyton and Spence paid for his food, leaving them first in line at the concession stand window. Spence placed their order, then waved at someone two lines over. Peyton’s glance followed his brother’s. The bottom dropped out of his stomach. Tallie Bishop, her hands filled with a tray of food and drinks, walked toward them, a warm smile of greeting on her face. Solomon stood at her side, and accompanying them was Mike Hanley, her muscle-bound business partner.

“Hi, there.” Tallie rushed over to Peyton, Solomon following her. “You here to watch J.J.’s game?”

“Yes, Donna and I came with Spence and Pattie.” Peyton wasn’t sure why he wanted Tallie to know that Donna was with him. Maybe it was because of the way Mike stood so close to her, as if he was proclaiming ownership.

“Well, Danny’s game will be over soon. I just might drop by and watch the rest of the varsity game.” When Peyton made no comment, she turned to Spence. “Eric Miller is here, and he’s been drinking. I thought about calling Lowell and seeing if he’d send over a deputy, but he’d just tell me he couldn’t arrest Eric unless he caused a problem.”

“I wish that man would stay home when he’s drinking. He’s such an embarrassment to Tony.” Pulling his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans, Spence took out several bills to pay for his order and laid the money down on the counter. “If he gives you any trouble, Tallie, let me know.”

“I can handle Miller if he starts bothering Tallie.” Mike draped a protective arm around her shoulders.

“Who is Eric Miller and what’s this all about?” Never taking his eyes off Tallie, Peyton reached out and picked up one of the cardboard food trays.

“Eric’s son Tony plays varsity ball with J.J. Half the time, Eric shows up at the games three sheets to the wind,” Tallie said. “He harasses the umpire, curses the players and creates problems for his son. At the first game of the season, Miller caused such a ruckus, he wound up spending the night in jail.”

“Yeah, and even after he found out that Tallie was the one who called the sheriff, he wouldn’t leave her alone,” Mike said.

“What do you mean he wouldn’t leave her alone?” Peyton asked.

“Well, it seems Miller has the hots for our Tallie. He’s been giving her a rough time lately,” Spence said. “The guy doesn’t want to take no for an answer.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about Miller?” Peyton glared at Tallie.

“There was no reason to bother you.” Tallie tightened her hold on her food tray. “Solomon acts as a deterrent. Believe me, even Eric Miller doesn’t want to take him on. Besides, at that first game when he got really obnoxious, I called Lowell and he took care of things.”

“Couldn’t you avoid the man?” Peyton asked. “You could stay away from these games. You’re not a parent.”

“Neither are you! Besides, I’m not going to let the likes of Eric Miller keep me from doing whatever I want to do and going wherever I want to go.”

“Well, that first game when you called Lowell, you could have stayed out of it and allowed the other fathers to handle everything, including calling the sheriff.”

“They were too busy trying to drag Eric off the field,” Tallie said defiantly. “They sort of had their hands full since the man is six foot two and weighs close to two-fifty.”

Peyton took a deep breath, releasing it on a loud sigh. “This food is going to be cold if we don’t get it back to Donna and Pattie,” he told Spence, wondering why he ever bothered trying to talk sense to Tallie. She always had a rational explanation for everything she did, regardless of the consequences.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Spence turned to Tallie. “I’ll keep an eye out for Miller. Come on on over when the Little League game ends. We’ll introduce you to Peyt’s lady friend.”

“I’ll do that.” Thrusting out her chin and sticking her nose in the air, Tallie gave Peyton a see-if-I-care-who-you’re-with smile.

Peyton grumbled under his breath as he and Spence made their way back to the field where the game had just begun.

“What’s the matter, big brother?” Spence asked. “Don’t you think it’s time for the two women in your life to meet?”

“The two women in my... Tallie Bishop is not a woman in my life. She’s a pest. A nuisance. A thorn in my side. But she is definitely not a woman in my life.”

“Sure. Whatever you say.” Spence grinned from ear to ear.

* * *

Thirty-five minutes later, Tallie waited with Sheila Vance for her son’s coach to finish the after-game pep talk and instructions on when the Little League team would practice next. A cool springtime night breeze reminded the women that summer was nearly two months away. Tallie zipped up her black and yellow jacket.

“Are you planning to go over to the varsity game to meet Donna Fields?” Sheila asked. “I think Mike was hoping you’d leave when we did.”

“Ever since Mike’s divorce, he’s had some crazy notion that the two of us would make a great team. I’ve tried to tell him that being business partners and friends is all there is ever going to be between us.” Tallie ran her fingers through her short, windblown hair, lifting her curly bangs off her forehead.

“Give him time and he’ll get the picture.” Sheila buttoned her beige cardigan sweater. “Even if Mike can’t be the man, I wish someone would come along and wake you up to the fact that Peyton Rand is not the only man in the world.”

“I know he’s not the only man in the world. It’s just that—well, he was the first man I fell in love with...and there hasn’t been anybody else.”

Releasing her indrawn breath on a loud huff, Sheila shook her head. “I don’t understand you, Tallie. If you want Peyton, why don’t you go after him? Use your feminine wiles on him.”

“I didn’t say I wanted him.” Tallie kicked at the ground with the tip of her black tennis shoe. “Besides, I don’t think I have any feminine wiles. Growing up with only a grandfather and three big brothers, I didn’t learn much about being female.”

“Pooh! You don’t have to learn to be female. It’s just something you are. And believe me, honey, you’re all female. What you have to do is go over there and show Peyton Rand that you’re more woman than that Donna Fields could ever be.”

“How do you suggest I do that?”

“First, admit that you want Peyton Rand.”

“I don’t want him.” When Sheila looked at her skeptically, Tallie shook her head. “I can’t want him. He’s all wrong for me, and I’m all wrong for him. You know as well as I do that if he runs for governor, he’ll need a wife like Donna Fields. Someone sophisticated and educated. Someone with the right background.”

“Don’t sell yourself short,” Sheila said.

“I’m not,” Tallie said. “I know that I’m smart and hardworking and have more friends than a person has a right to, but I know my shortcomings just as well. Peyton and I just aren’t right for each other.”

Mike, who’d been waiting at the fence for Danny, walked the boy over to where Sheila and Tallie were talking. “Ready to go, ladies?”

“Tallie’s staying to see the rest of the varsity game.” Accepting the baseball glove her son handed her, Sheila put her arm around him. “I need to get Danny home for a bath and then bed so we won’t be late for Sunday school tomorrow.”

“Are you sure you want to stay?” Mike asked Tallie.

“I’m sure,” Tallie said. “I’ve heard so much about Donna Fields that I think it’s high time I met her.”

Mike shrugged, then turned and walked away with Sheila and Danny, who both gave Tallie farewell waves.

Taking time to shore up her courage, Tallie waited a few minutes before strolling over to the field where the varsity game was being played. She spotted Peyton sitting next to an attractive redhead, who sported a rust leather coat almost the same color as her dark auburn hair.

Standing at a distance, Tallie glanced back and forth from the action on the field to Peyton. Peyton wasn’t exactly sitting in the stadium seat; he lounged in a relaxed position, sort of sprawled out, half sitting, half lying. Feeling her heartbeat quicken, Tallie cursed her stupid weakness. The very sight of Peyton Rand excited her. Of all the men she knew, why did the most unsuitable one have to be the one who gave her butterflies in her stomach?

She and Peyton came from such diverse backgrounds. He from a wealthy, political aristocracy. She from a family of poor blue-collar rednecks. He was a brilliant, sophisticated lawyer; she was a country girl who drove a tow truck. He was a man who played by society’s rules, and she had spent her entire life breaking all those rules, living by her own set of ethics.

So what if she and Peyton Rand were doomed as a couple? That didn’t mean that Donna Fields was the right woman for him. It wouldn’t hurt if she just went over and checked Donna out. After all, she couldn’t call herself a true friend if she let just any woman come along and snag the man she’d always dreamed would someday be hers.

Readjusting the collar on her jacket, Tallie took a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling very slowly. Solomon crawled under the bleachers and lay down in the dirt when Tallie made her way upward, finding an empty spot directly below Peyton and Donna. She spoke to Spence and Pattie, exchanging pleasantries while she settled into place.