“But you’ve still got an honest quarterback on the roster,” she said.
Ned followed her gaze to a nearby Jeep, where Randy was digging into a cooler to find sodas for two cheerleaders. “That’s true. And it looks like Danielle hasn’t tarnished his reputation completely,” he added, chuckling.
Nancy laughed. “He really did do a pretty good job in today’s game. Even though the Wildcats lost, they scored seventeen points. The Pirates only beat them by three.”
“Hey, the dogs are ready.” Hopping off the car, he went over to the portable charcoal grill that he and Jerry had set up.
“Good,” Bess said, “because I’m famished.”
Ned returned with a platter of hot dogs loaded with mustard and onions, and they all dug in.
Nancy had just taken a bite of one when she noticed some familiar faces a few cars over.
“Hi, Nancy,” Susannah Carlson called. She looked cute in a pair of tight black jeans and a sweatshirt with Emerson emblazoned on the front.
Nancy waved. “Congratulations on the big win,” she told Zip. He was wearing jeans and a red sweater. Tamara was clinging to his arm.
“Hey, when I make a promise, I deliver,” Zip said with a wide grin.
“We heard about the Mitchells,” Tamara told Nancy, “about how you discovered that they were the ones trying to hurt Randy. I don’t know how you figured it out. They seemed like clean-cut, all-American football heroes.”
“Looks can be deceiving,” Nancy pointed out.
“Hey, Susannah,” Ned called over from Nancy’s Mustang, “nice sweatshirt.”
Susannah glanced down at it and blushed. “Oh, I guess you could say that I’ve come to terms with good old Emerson this weekend. I realized that I’m just bitter because I never got my college diploma. So I’ve decided to go back to school—in Chicago. And this time I’m going to finish.”
“That’s great,” Nancy told her.
“Well, good luck,” Ned said.
“Thank you, Ned.” Susannah smiled. “And if you folks ever need any special spices, call me. Susannah’s Spices. I’m in the Yellow Pages.”
Ned linked his fingers through Nancy’s and gave her hand a squeeze. “Thanks, but with Nancy around, life is spicy enough!”