Janet (11 page)

She knocked again, and he finally came to the
door, still holding the mop.

“Janet! Come in. I didn’t hear you
knocking.”

She stepped into the hallway and nodded
toward his mop. “Doing a little housecleaning?”

“No. That’s Betty June.”

“Betty June?”

“Actually, it’s Betty June’s substitute. My
sister’s been trying to teach me to dance.” He propped the mop
against the wall. “Here. Let me take your coat.”

He hung her coat on the hall tree and led her
into his den. It was like walking into the arms of a good friend.
Real logs in the fireplace glowed and snapped in welcome, and the
light coming from the lamps was pink and softly diffused by the
Victorian shades. Dan’s idea of home decoration took on an entirely
new meaning to Janet. Some tightly controlled part of herself give
in to the music and the simple graciousness of his house.

“The music,” she said. “It’s Gershwin, isn’t
it?”

“Yes.
Someone to Watch over Me
. It’s
the song my sister selected for my dance lessons. I think she was
trying to tell me something.”

“You don’t enjoy dancing?”

“I’ve never had the patience. I like
activities with a little more excitement.”

“Sports?”

“Yes. All of them. Give me a ball of any
kind, and I’m content.”

“Then why did you consent to the dance
lesson?”

His grin was sheepish. “I did it to impress
you.”

Something warm and pleasurable bloomed inside
her.

“Since you’ve gone to all that trouble, I see
no reason to waste your efforts. I’m sure I lack some of the more
sterling qualities of your mop, but do you think I would be a good
substitute?”

“Do you like to live dangerously?”

“Sometimes.”

“In that case...” He left the fireplace and
held his arms out toward her. “May I have this dance?”

He looked so stiff and uncomfortable standing
there anticipating the dance that she wanted to smile. But there
was something sweet and gentle and humble about him, too. He was a
much more complex man than she had first imagined.

She slid smoothly into his embrace. He took
one awkward step, still moving stiffly as if he had never held a
woman in his arms before.

“I’m not fragile, Dan. I won’t break.”

“It’s not you I’m worried about; it’s your
toes.”

“They’ll survive, too.”

It was lover’s music playing, just right for
cheek-to-cheek dancing and heart-to-heart cuddling. But it wasn’t
cuddling on Dan Albany’s mind; it was that tight little outfit the
good doctor was wearing. How could he count his steps when he kept
getting distracted by the way she filled out her sweater?

With any other woman, Dan would have done
what came naturally, but Janet was not
any other woman.
He’d already made a fool of himself more than once with her, and he
had no intention of blowing this perfect chance to show her that he
was more than a brainless jock.

Holding Janet at a distance, barely touching
her, he began silently counting the steps in the dance. He was born
to win, and conquering the complicated art of the fox trot was just
one more way to show Janet he was a winner.

“Dan.”

He missed a step and almost squashed her toe.
“Oops. Sorry.”

“Dancing is not a nine-inning game.”

“It has rules, though. I know if I get the
moves right I can do this.”

“Think of it as a contact sport.”

Janet made one deft move that put her in
contact with his chest. His arms automatically closed about
her.

“There,” she said. “Isn’t that better?”

“Yes.” He smiled down at her. “But is it
dancing?”

“The best kind.” She swayed to the beat of
the music. “Feel the rhythm, Dan. Move with it.”

“Sideways or backwards?”

“It doesn’t matter. Just forget your feet and
move with the music.”

The stiffness went out of him as he gave
himself up to the pleasure of catching Janet’s rhythm. It felt so
good to him that he exuberantly danced her all the way around the
room. She didn’t have the heart to tell him that if they had been
on a small, crowded dance floor he’d have mowed down six
couples.

“Hey, this isn’t so bad.” He pulled her
closer and began another enthusiastic dancing tour of the room.

“Coach, the object is not necessarily to
cover as much ground as possible.”

“What is the object, Doc?”

“To enjoy the pleasure of the music and the
pleasure of the one in your arms. Like so.”

Suddenly dancing fell into place for Dan. It
was as if his body had always known what to do if it could get past
the stubborn block in his mind. His hands began to caress her back,
and his head lowered itself until his face was quite naturally in
her fragrant hair.

“Ahh, Doc. This kind of dancing could lead to
other things.”

“What other things, Coach?”

He chuckled softly. “Is that an invitation
for another demonstration?”

She leaned back slightly so she could look
directly into his eyes. “I’m not sure I could survive another
demonstration with either my sanity or my honor intact.”

“Neither could I. Why don’t we call a simple
truce for the rest of the evening?”

“Agreed.”

Cuddled even closer, they continued their
slow swaying movements in front of the warm winter fire. She
thought he was tender and funny and endearing and enormously,
dangerously sexy. That she had once thought him hopelessly
old-fashioned now seemed a rash judgment. And she was
extraordinarily close to losing her head over him.

He thought she was gorgeous and talented and
sweet and heart-stoppingly desirable. That he had ever considered
her ridiculously modern seemed a foolish notion to him. And he was
dangerously close to losing his heart to her.

When the music ended they slowly drew
apart.

“Thank you for the dance, Doc.”

“Any time, Coach.”

He ran his hands carefully down her arms, as
if he were taking her measure for future reference. Then he stepped
back.

“I think one good turn deserves another,
don’t you?”

She smiled. “That’s a nice old-fashioned
philosophy. But I can go along with it.”

“Since you’ve taught me to dance, I want to
share something with you”

She waited, not knowing what to expect, half
hoping he would suggest some outrageous proposition that would
continue their game, half hoping he wouldn’t.

“Something very important to me.” He paused,
looking deep into her eyes. “Doc, will you go with me to the soccer
game Thursday night?”

“Your team?”

“Yes. The Eagles. We’ll be playing our
archrivals from West Point, The Mastiffs. Can you come, Janet?”

“What time?”

“Six o’clock. Junior-high games always start
early.”

“I’ll be there... unless I have an
emergency.”

“Wear comfortable clothing and be prepared to
do a lot of yelling.”

“Why is that?”

He chucked her under the chin. “Doc, I see I
have a lot to teach you about ball.”

“It has to be easier than baking
cookies.”

From somewhere in Dan’s enormous house, a
grandfather clock struck the hour. Eleven o’clock. Time for a
working physician to be in bed.

Dan helped her on with her coat and walked
her to her car. After he had tucked her inside, he leaned down,
took her hand and pressed a warm kiss into her palm.

She felt the pleasure all the way to her
toes. Still, she was wary. “A game tactic, Coach?” she asked after
he had released her.

“No. A simple kiss between friends.” He
closed her car door and waved. “Good night, Doc.” Then he stood in
his driveway watching until her taillight was merely a tiny flicker
of red in the distance.

It wasn’t until Janet got home that she
spotted Dan’s sweatshirt in the backseat of her car. She snatched
it up, went inside, and wore it to bed. That night she dreamed she
was walking down the aisle in bridal white while Molly and Joanna
sang
Someone to Watch Over Me.

o0o

Thursday took forever to come. Or so it
seemed to Dan. Fortunately he had been too busy with teaching his
classes and getting his team ready for the soccer game to have much
time for worrying about Janet.

That evening, standing on the sidelines of
the soccer field, he finished giving his team their pregame pep
talk and looked up into the bleachers. She wasn’t there. That much
was certain. The fields at Sportsplex weren’t enormous, and with
the bright electric lights flooding the area, it wouldn’t be that
hard to spot one gorgeous auburn-haired female doctor. He scanned
the crowd again. Two minutes to game time and Janet was not there.
To top it all off, it had started to rain—just a light drizzle, but
enough to make the field soggy and the air damp and miserable.

Dan turned back to his team. It wouldn’t do
to let them see his disappointment. Psychology was an important
factor in winning. A positive we-can-win attitude was vital.

“All right, Eagles. Who is going to win this
game?”

“We are, Coach.” The chorus of excited,
enthusiastic voices made him temporarily forget Janet. The game was
about to begin.
His
game.
His
team. The teenagers
in their navy-and-gold uniforms were depending on him for
leadership and guidance. He would not let them down.

“Then let’s get out there and
play.”

In the first five minutes of play, The
Eagles’ goalie slipped in the wet grass and West Point scored. From
the sideline, Dan cheered his team on.

“That’s all right, boys. The game’s young. We
can do it.”

Revitalized by the pep talk, two of his
forwards did some dazzling footwork, dribbling the ball toward
their goal. Then little Shoeshine Rogers took a headshot, and the
ball slammed past West Point’s goalie.

The crowd stood up and cheered for the
hometown boys. Dan was grateful for the support, and he smiled up
into the stands. That’s when he spotted her, Dr. Janet Hall,
hurrying toward a top-row seat, her green coat open and flapping,
revealing a smart blue wool suit. He couldn’t tell about her shoes,
but judging from the way she was moving she was wearing high heels.
Her head was bare, and her dark red hair shone under the stadium
lights.

She came,
Dan thought. And then,
She’s not dressed for the game. She’ll catch her death of
cold.

“Coach. Coach.” Suddenly he became aware of
the voice. Embarrassed, he turned his attention to the young player
sitting on the bench. He had been standing in the drizzle staring
like some lovesick fool, right in the middle of a game.

“Yes, Bobby?”

“Do you want me to sub for Shoeshine? It
looks like he’s hurt his foot.”

“Yes. And watch out for West Point’s Number
Three. He’s a tough guard.”

While the substitution was being made, he
risked one more glance into the stands. He thought Janet smiled at
him, but at this distance he couldn’t be sure.

In the bleachers, Janet
was
smiling
at Dan. He looked so right in his baseball cap and his navy jacket
that said Coach Albany —as much a part of the soccer field as the
goalposts and the stadium lights and the bleachers and the hot-dog
stand. She couldn’t keep her eyes off him. Vitality simply oozed
from his pores. She could feel it all the way across the field. And
his hair! It was adorably mussed, more so than usual, as if he
hadn’t had time to do more than run his hands through his dark
curls for at least three days. She was so enchanted she forgot how
cold she was. And how wet.

Around her, the crowd stood up and cheered at
intervals. She had no earthly idea what it was all about. The
scrambling on the soccer field was totally incomprehensible to her.
Still, she was seeing Dan at his work, and that made the rushing
and last-minute juggling of her schedule worthwhile.

Suddenly a referee blew a whistle, and most
of the crowd made a mad dash for the hot-dog stand. With the buffer
against the wind gone, Janet shivered.

“You should be wearing a warmer coat and a
hat, and I’ll bet you haven’t had a thing to eat.”

She looked up into the bright blue eyes of
Coach Dan Albany. In the confusion she hadn’t even been aware of
his approach.

“I didn’t have time for any of that.”

“That’s what I thought.” He sat down on the
bleacher beside her. “Here. Hold this.” He handed her a soggy hot
dog and began to button her coat.

She laughed. “What is all this?”

“Food and pampering. I call it taking care of
the doctor.”

“Shouldn’t you be with your team or
something?”

“My assistant is with them. And we’re two
points ahead. Or haven’t you noticed?”

“I can read the scoreboard.”

He laughed. “Someday I’m going to teach you
this game. But right now...” He fastened the last button on her
coat, then took the hot dog from her hand and peeled back the
wrapper. “Eat up, Doc.”

“Do you know what those things are made
of?”

“I never ask. Come on, Doc. Be a good girl
and eat something, so I won’t feel guilty about dragging you out in
the rain with no supper.’’

“My body will never forgive me for this.” She
took a big bite, then smiled. “Actually it’s not so bad... when
you’re starving.”

Dan grinned. “I’m liable to corrupt you yet.”
He pulled his baseball cap off and put it on her head, carefully
arranging her damp hair away from her face. “When the game is over,
Doc, you’re supposed to stand up and yell and throw this cap into
the air. But be sure you catch it. It’s a favorite standby of
mine.”

“Why am I supposed to do all that?”

“It will be a victory celebration.”

“You’re that sure of winning?”

He chucked her under the chin. “I always win,
Doc.”

He left her there in the stands and hurried
back to his team.