“I need more practice than everyone else. I need to make up for lost time.”
“According to Red, you’ve got more innate talent than anyone in the field.”
“Talent’s only part of it. You’ve got to practice as though you’re not going to get any help whatsoever from Mother Nature. Because you’re not. A player who has been practicing nine hours a day will beat a player with natural ability every time. Got it?”
“Why do I get the feeling that’s not the right attitude to take?” she asked.
“Now you sound like my agent.” He gestured at a bench where he’d parked his street shoes, a thermos and a box of Drake’s Devil Dogs. “I’d offer you coffee,” he said, “but I already know you’d turn me down.”
“I might surprise you one of these days. I might just help myself to coffee and Devil Dogs.”
He grinned. “I’d like to see that,” he said. “I’d like to see you do a lot of things.”
She knew the conversation was headed into dangerous territory, but more and more, she edged closer, even though she knew better. “Like what?”
“I don’t know. All sorts of things.” He sat down and bent to change his shoes. “Get drunk and take your shirt off. I’d like to see that.”
“You and all the seventh-grade boys in America. Grow up, Maguire.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re a grown-up. You should act your age.”
“I like my inner seventh-grade boy.”
“Apparently, so does American Golfer.” Red Corliss arrived from the direction of the parking lot. He held the tabloid-style paper out to Sean. “Front page, my friend. You caught their attention at the match in Park City.”
Sean jumped up, grinning with delight. “Red. I wasn’t expecting you.”
Babe was battling with the impulse to leap at the newcomer and check him out, Lily could tell. Sean seemed to control her with a subtle motion of his hand, which Lily found fascinating.
As she stood up to greet Red, she understood that this was a big deal. Red Corliss was a busy agent who didn’t have time to come to every client’s event.
“Red, you remember Lily.”
“You bet.” They shook hands. “It’s good to meet you under happier circumstances,” he said kindly enough. “How are the kids?”
“We’re taking this summer one day at a time,” Sean said.
His inclusive statement gave Lily a sense of solidarity with him. There was a peculiar intimacy that came from their shared devotion to the children. Maybe that was it, she thought. Maybe that accounted for the chemistry between them. If so, then she was wise to avoid getting tangled up with him. Falling for a man because he was in charge of three children she happened to love was a bad idea.
“Let’s go see if the kids are up yet,” she said.
“This is our newest addition,” Sean told Red, clipping the leash to the dog’s new collar. “Her name’s Babe. Charlie spotted her at the side of the road and we adopted her.”
“Nice,” Red said. “Maybe she’ll get signed by Purina.”
“You old softie,” Sean said.
They walked back to the RV park together. Lily watched Red with some amusement. He was clearly accustomed to a different standard of travel. Crystal would have recognized the brand of his suit and shoes. Lily knew only that they were expensive.
“So what does the sporting press have to say?” asked Lily.
He handed it to her. There was a close-up of Sean after he’d just hit a shot, when his eyes were tracking the flight of the ball. The camera loves this man, she thought, illustrating to best advantage the classic features and crystal-blue eyes, the tension and concentration in his face.
The headline above the fold read, “From Playboy to Family Man.”
She read it aloud and laughed.
“Go ahead and make fun of it,” Red said. “The press is eating it up.” He took the paper and rattled it at Sean. “Just remember, you’re today’s feel-good human-interest story. You screw up the next round and you’ll be tomorrow’s—”
“He’s been playing wonderful practice rounds,” Lily cut in. She was new to the world of professional golf, but she knew instinctively that focusing on the positive was the surest way to a good outcome. “He and Cameron work together like a well-oiled machine.”
“So I hear. I wanted you to have a more experienced caddie, but it’s probably just as well you stick with the kid. Helps with PR, too.”
“That’s not why I’m using him,” Sean said. “I’m using him because he’s good for me.”
chapter 41
Cameron sat in the driver’s seat of the Winnebago, pretending to drive.