Page 49 of Love Everlasting

“Yes, he was.” Lacey squeezed Shannon’s hand. “He likes you, Shan. Didn’t you see that when he asked you to dance at the awards banquet? He kept you laughing and talking through three songs, for crying out loud, till Dr. Love cut in.”

“I thought he was just being nice.” Cat ground a peanut into the wood with her thumb.

“So did I,” Shannon whispered, face reflective. “I mean he’s always taken time to talk and tease with me at volleyball, but then he does that with all of the girls.”

“Not with me.” Cat’s quiet tone sounded more like Shannon than herself. Brushing peanut crumbs from her shorts, she hopped up and retrieved her fishing rod. “Lacey’s right, Shan. Chase and you would be good together.” She whipped her line into the water with a hard snap of her rod. “I mean, he’s not my type, of course,” she said as she popped her cork too quickly, “but that type is just perfect for you.”

Lacey’s heart cramped. You, too, Catfish, if you would just open your eyes.

“So, it’s settled, then, right?” Cat glanced over her shoulder, homing in on Lacey. “Sister-in-law Dearest will handle setting you and the pastor up, right, Lace?”

“Right.” Lacey ducked to assess Shannon’s expression. “If it’s okay with Shan.”

A weary sigh drifted from Shannon’s lips as she stood to her feet. “Sure, Lace, why not? There aren’t many men around who could get me to go out, but Chase is definitely one, so if he’s game, I guess I am too.”

“Great!” Lacey jumped up to give Shannon a hug. “You won’t be sorry, Shan, I promise,” she whispered as Cat slashed her line hard through the air, sinking Lacey’s stomach along with her hook.

But something tells me Cat might be ...

Chapter Twenty-Six

“Oh, goody, just what we need—another hot dog on the boy’s team!” Cat unleashed a mock groan, bobbling a volleyball as Sam strolled into the gym of Hope Church, the smell of fresh varnish and old sneakers taking him back. She grinned, the lust of competition shining in her eyes when she pelted him with the ball. “Jack says you went to nationals in college, hotshot.”

Sam caught the ball in split-second time, returning Cat’s grin with a cocky one of his own while Jack, Lacey, Shan, and Chase broke from a group of people to join her, their welcoming smiles making him feel right at home. “Yeah, but you’ll be happy to know we blew it in the semi-finals, so you can lower that pedestal a few feet.”

“Or dig a hole deep enough for both it and you,” Cat said with an evil smile, giving Sam’s cheek a pinch, “when the girls bury y’all.”

“In your dreams, Catfish.” Jack looped an arm over Sam’s shoulder, relieving him of the volleyball. “In fact, in a show of mercy, I think we should go with mixed teams tonight rather than guys against the girls, don’t you, Rev?”

Chase ambled forward with a smile and hand extended in greeting. “No comment,” he said with an easy grin, his grip firm as he shook Sam’s hand. “Welcome, Sam. It’s good to see you again. I’m the associate pastor here at Hope Church, and at the moment” —he tweaked Cat’s neck, causing her to scrunch her shoulders in a giggle— “the buffer between Jack and his volatile sister.”

Cat slapped him away. “I am not volatile,” she said with a pert thrust of her chin, amazing Sam as always that two women who looked so much alike could be so very different. “I’m what most people would call spirited.”

Jack chuckled as he fired the ball at his “spirited” sister. “And you don’t want to know what I call her.” He left Sam to hook Cat’s waist, giving her an affectionate squeeze. “Trust me, Catfish. Dr. Jock here was on a variety of scholarships in college, not the least of which was volleyball.”

“Good grief, Doc,” Shannon said, giving Sam a side hug. The pretend scowl on her face came off more adorable than threatening. “Are there any sports you don’t do well in?”

He flashed a grin. “Come on, Shan, I’m a ‘player,’ remember?” Draping his arm over her shoulder, he bumped her hip with his own. “It’s what I do.”

Two wins and one loss later, Sam was genuinely surprised how much he was enjoying himself. After sparring with Cat some more, Jack had introduced Sam to the rest of the players, which Chase insisted on dividing into mixed teams of guys and girls.

“To eliminate murder and mayhem in a church gymnasium,” Chase said, eliciting groans from the more athletic female contingent like Cat and several others, who wanted to take the guys head-on. Sam’s gaze had softened when it landed on Shannon, who simply smiled and chatted with two girls while calmly awaiting her team assignment.

All in all, it was a fun evening of tough competition from the girls, confirming Sam’s suspicion that there weren’t many sports Shannon and Cat didn’t do well in either. The two of them were a finely tuned spiking machine, which added yet another layer of respect to Sam’s already high opinion of Jack’s sisters.

The pizza after the game was great, and Sam never even missed the beer he always had with it. He was having too much fun talking trash and sports with Jack and Chase or flirting with the girls to notice that this wasn’t the usual sports-bar gathering he was used to. So when the pizza was gone and several impromptu games of basketball were over, Sam realized he didn’t want the evening to end. And there was nobody he’d rather continue it with than his new best friend. Seeking Shannon out, he watched as she wiped down the patio picnic tables with another girl, reaching across with a wide stretch. And then like a spiked ball out of the blue, she caught him off-guard with a flash of attraction so strong, his gaze roamed from her snug-fitting shorts down her beautiful legs before he was even aware.

“So, you coming back, I hope?” Chase asked, and Sam’s gaze jerked back, heat ringing the collar of his Memorial T-shirt.

“Are you kidding? Athletic dominance and free pizza?” He offered a handshake, suddenly aware Chase Griffin was one of the few pastors he actually liked. “How can I resist?”

Chase slapped him on the back. “Was hoping you’d say that, Sam, although I suspect that killer spike of yours will up my humility a tad.”

“Join the club, Rev.” Sam scratched the back of his neck, smile sheepish. “Jack says you’ve got a pretty mean spike as well, spiritually speaking, that is.”

“Maybe.” The smile in Chase’s eyes tempered somewhat, replaced by a scrutiny that made Sam squirm inside like he’d just missed a free ball. “If you’re looking for deeper meaning in your life.”

Sam laughed. “Uh, more like a deeper relationship, Rev, because Shannon’s convinced me I’m going to need all the help I can get to land the girl that I love.”