breathe, I knocked twice on a closed door with the words Head Coach Daisy O’Brien sprawled across it. The answer was immediate. A strong female voice from the other side said, “Come in.”
With one last breath, I opened the door and stepped inside.
The woman’s head had been down as she worked on a few papers, but her eyes met mine as I entered.
“Hi,” she said, smiling, “you must be Honor.”
“Yes.” I noticed her lips and high cheekbones looked just like Archer’s. Unfortunately, this did nothing to calm my racing heart. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. O’Brien. I’m sorry I was almost late. My British Lit class usually ends at 1:45, but it ran over today.”
She gestured to the seat in front of her, which I gladly took. “So you came all the way from the Browning Building? That’s clear across campus.”
I nodded.
“Nice cardio,” she said. “Do you run a lot?”
“Not unless you count running to the bookstore when a new release from one of my favorite authors comes out,” I said.
She laughed, thank goodness. “I’m the same way, and so is my older sister, Genevieve. When a new Patterson book releases, I’m one of the first in line.”
Okay, this I was more comfortable with. I could talk books all day, every day. “I’m more of a romance person myself.”
“Nothing like a good romance,” she said.
“I like happy endings.”
“Who doesn’t? There’s so much sadness in the world.”
“Exactly. Real life has too many tragedies. Happily-ever-after is something to strive for not scoff at. Being happy is one of the bravest things you can be.”
“Amen to that,” she said.
I flushed, knowing I’d gotten carried away—book talk tended to do that to me—but I liked her already. I just hoped the feeling was mutual.
“I hear you have some questions for me.”
“Yes, of course,” I said, giving myself a mental slap. Come on, Honor. Be professional. Just because you’ve got a woman crush on the guy-you-like’s mom is no reason to drop the ball. “It’s just a few interview questions. My boss asked me to profile you and your sons.”
“Well, that should be interesting,” she murmured, more to herself than me. “Bear said you came to one of the practices. What did you think?”
“I was very impressed,” I said, looking around at her walls. She had tons of pictures, most featuring either her family, baseball or both. “You have a talented team, Mrs. O’Brien.”
“Hmm. And have you met my boys?”
Archer’s eyes, the intense focus in them as he leaned forward just before pressing his lips to mine, the feeling of his hands as they brushed the sides of my hips.
I cleared my throat as heat rose to my cheeks. “Yeah, I mean, yes. I met them. Just briefly though, we don’t know each other well or anything.”
Her brows rose at my reaction. “No?”
I shook my head, tried to change the subject. Grabbing my notebook, with my pen in hand, I asked, “So, have you always known you wanted to be a coach?”
“Pretty much,” she said. “There’s magic in this game, a romance about it that no other sport can touch. Before I met my husband, baseball was my first love. Luckily, the kids love it, too.”
“Was that because of you or your husband?”
“Both, I’d imagine. Tyler and I met at a baseball game.”
I smiled. “Oh really? Was it love at first sight?”
“More like hate.” She laughed. “We were rooting for opposite teams. I love my Mets, but he was a Yankees fan. Can you believe that? There are actual people who like the Yankees.”
I smiled, taking notes, as she faked a shiver of disgust.
“Anyway, we met through friends, and he and I had it out, arguing most of the night about which team was better, who would win the game. The loser had to buy the other drinks at the end.”
“And who ended up buying?” I asked.
“He did, of course. My Mets took that game in awesome fashion. It was a beautiful sight. Tyler, though, didn’t seem half as sad as he should’ve been to see his team lose. He was downright happy about it.” She sighed. “He told me later that his Yanks did him a solid that night. That he wanted to take me out to dinner instead of drinks, and by the end of that dinner… Oh Honor, I was a lost cause. A year later, he asked me to be his wife—at a Mets-Yankees game—and then we got married, had a wonderful family. It was such a good life with him.”
I