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There were some things he wanted to say to her before she left. Important things. Private things. Like how he felt about her, despite how crazy it might be. About how he would consider finding a coaching job in California next year if that meant being closer to her.
“Coach?”
Blake turned to find one of his football players, Rex Campbell, standing behind him. The town had enlisted the help of some of the seniors for the event tonight. “Hey, Campbell. Whatcha need?”
“The ladies at the press booth said there’s a journalist who would like to speak with you about the football team and the rebuilding plans. They said he’s a friend with a football scout for LSU that might be interested in coming up to watch us play.”
Blake was surprised. He’d done his share of interviews already this week. Why a reporter would come to the concert right now and want to talk to him, not Ivy, was beyond him. The concert was almost finished. She had two, maybe three songs left. He hated to go this close to the end. “Right now?”
“Right now,” Campbell confirmed. “They said he’s got to leave town as soon as he’s done talking to you, so he’d meet you in your office.”
Blake sighed and glanced at his watch. Maybe they could do a quick chat and he could get back before the show ended. “Okay, thanks, Campbell.”
He looked around for someone to tell, but Ivy’s manager, Kevin, was on the phone and everyone else seemed to be running around madly. With a shrug, he took off toward his office. He could still hear the concert as he went down the hallway of the school, so he could hopefully keep tabs on what was going on and not miss too much.
His office door was shut and no one was outside it when he arrived. Blake opened the door and stepped inside. When he switched on the light and shut the door, he caught a glimpse of his chair turning and someone sitting in it. It was Lydia.
“Lydia? What the hell are you doing in my office?”
She smiled sweetly and stood up. When she rounded the desk, he noticed she was wearing the same pink sundress she’d worn on their first date. He’d complimented her on it, and she obviously hadn’t forgotten. She was all done up tonight. Her long blond hair was pinned up and curled. She was wearing more makeup than usual. She was looking lovely, and if he cared, he’d say so. But he wasn’t encouraging Lydia.
“Blake,” she said as she came toward him, “I wanted to apologize for the way I’ve been acting.”
That’s when he realized there was no reporter. This was all Lydia’s doing. “Jesus, Lydia. I’m missing the end of Ivy’s show. The only reason I left was because I thought I could get a LSU scout to come to one of our games. If there’s not a reporter coming, I’m leaving. You can say what you want tomorrow, when Ivy’s gone.”
The smile faded away for a moment at the mention of Ivy, but she quickly recovered. She put her hand on his arm and leaned into him. “Blake, sit down, please, and let me say what I need to say. It will only take a minute. I just feel awful about everything that has happened recently.”
“I bet you do.” He turned and headed for the door.
His hand was on the doorknob when he heard her shout, “I’m going to turn myself in!”
That was enough to give him pause. He turned around and looked at her with surprise. That was one of the last things he expected to hear. “Turn yourself in? To the police?”
She nodded, her gaze dipping to the floor in a shameful expression. “I know it’s the right thing to do. I hope the judge will understand that I hadn’t intended to hurt anyone and be lenient with the sentencing. I just wanted Ivy to screw something up for a change. Everything she does always works out. She’s bested me at every competition, making me look like a fool. For once, I wanted her to look like a fool. In front of the whole town.”
Some of her words rang true, but not all of them. He didn’t doubt her reasoning for spooking the horses; that was probably right. But wh
y she was turning herself in? He doubted she’d had a sudden attack of conscience.
“Are you being blackmailed?” he asked. That was the only reason he figured she would come clean. Perhaps Nash’s price was getting too high.
“Blackmailed? Of course not.”
“Come on, Lydia. I know about the pictures. Are you worried Nash didn’t keep his promise to give you all the copies, since you didn’t keep your promise to pay the asking price?”
Her lips tightened into a thin line. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Really? Lydia, if you’re going to come clean, come clean. You can’t just admit to the firecracker. You have to admit to paying Nash to keep the photos from getting out. You also have to admit that you cheated the guy and ended up screwing yourself.”
“How did I screw myself? I have the pictures.”
“Sure you do. You have a copy. Do you think Nash was that stupid? Did you think you could smile and flip your hair and he wouldn’t mind that you shorted him a couple hundred bucks?”
“Well, I—”
“No, Lydia. He kept a copy because he was smart. And you know who’s got a copy, too? Hell, a guy like Nash could’ve made a fortune going around selling ‘exclusive’ copies of those pictures to half the town. Your folks, me, Ivy, my grandmother . . .”
She swallowed hard, then shook her head as though that would dismiss the unpleasantness. “It doesn’t matter who has the pictures because I’m going to the police. I feel awful about everything. After the show, I’m going to apologize to Ivy. But while I can, I want to apologize to you. Just give me a few minutes and I’ll leave you alone.”
