them on. He really wanted to get those shoes wet.
The area around the booth had gone completely quiet. The crowd had deepened, and people were standing on tiptoe to see.
Jack stepped up to the line, focused for a few seconds and threw the ball. He missed.
J.D.’s smile was practically blinding. “Don’t choke now, Corbin,” he said.
Jack picked up another ball, focused on the target, thought about the look on McCabe’s face yesterday when he’d announced he and Annie were getting back together. He threw again.
This time, he didn’t miss. J.D. hit the water with a satisfying ka-thwunk.
The crowd erupted in a roar of approval.
Jack did not look at Annie. He didn’t dare.
J.D. climbed up, his expression decidedly more somber. “Everybody gets lucky once,” he said.
Jack took aim and threw. Again, J.D. hit the water.
Another roar from the crowd. J.D. climbed back up, looking a lot like the wet rat Jack personally thought him to be.
The fourth throw, Jack missed. J.D. got a little of his confidence back, crossed his arms across his chest and smiled.
“Last throw,” Reverend Landers said. “Make it a good one, son.”
Jack didn’t disappoint. The last throw carried with it every ounce of his frustration that a guy like J. D. McCabe could end up with a woman like Annie.
The ball hit the target with a thump, and J.D. went down.
A simultaneous cheer went up from the crowd. “Whooo, Corbin! Way to go!”
For the first time since his return to Macon’s Point, Jack felt as if he belonged. As if this were his team, and he mattered. He liked the feeling. He understood, then, what Annie had meant about belonging.
He let himself look at her then. Her gaze was pinned on him. She was smiling. He smiled back.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
STILL MANNING the cash register for the bake sale, Clarice missed the excitement at the dunking booth. But she heard all about it from every customer who passed through the tent. Just the thought of seeing J.D. take a bottom-first dip into that booth made her want to go find Jack and hug his neck.
He was as good a guy as she’d pegged him to be from the start. And if she couldn’t have him, she hoped Annie could.
“Last call at the First Baptist tent,” she called out to passersby. “We’ve sold fifty-four cakes this morning. Only two left.”
“I’ll take them.”
Clarice turned around to find a pair of amused brown eyes staring at her. Very nice, amused brown eyes. The rest of the package, at a quick glance, was pretty nice, as well. He looked like someone who spent a good deal of time outdoors, with red cheeks, a nose that had been sunburned a few times. “I have to charge extra if you buy both. They’re all we have left.”
The man let out a choked-sounding laugh. “You are good.”
“I’ve heard that before.”
“No doubt.”
He was flirting with her. Clarice’s face went warm. She was blushing! In a very uncharacteristic moment, she couldn’t think of a thing to say.
“So what kind are they?”
“What?” she asked, distracted again by those brown eyes.
“The cakes.”
“Oh, those. Ah, Myrtle, what were those two last cakes?”
The white-haired lady at the other end of the table scanned the tags on the boxes. “Carrot and white chocolate.”
“Mmm,” he said. “And if I bought them, could I talk you into a slice with some coffee or something?”
“Well, I... There’s an offer I haven’t had this morning. Appealing as it is, I don’t make a habit of sharing cake with strangers.”
“I have references,” he said, palms raised.
“Really?”
“Really. That’s my buddy over there.” He turned and pointed. “He just defended the honor of the town mayor—”
“My sister.”
“Your sister. Two beautiful women in the family.”
Oh, all right, so flattery worked for her. “Jack’s your buddy, huh?”
“He can tell you how harmless I am. When do you get off cake duty?”
“You just bought the last ones. How about now?”
“Now sounds just right.”
* * *
ANNIE CHANGED BACK into her clothes in the ladies’ room of the high-school gymnasium. She stood in front of the mirror drying her hair with the dryer she had thankfully brought with her. She couldn’t get ready fast enough. Not another hour would pass where she let J.D. think they were getting back together. She had done nothing but insult herself for not standing up to him, for not telling him she would fight him tooth and nail for Tommy and that he did not deserve either one of them.
No more games. She had put her heart into making