A/N: Reviews and comments are appreciated.

Chapter Ten

"Something wrong, hon?" Tami asked when her husband returned to the Taylor dinner table. He looked confused.

Eric put his napkin back in his lap.

"Dad?" Julie asked. "Who was on the phone?"

"My father. He said he's coming to the game tomorrow. He never comes up for the games I coach. Ever."

"Oh, he's been three or four times, Eric," Tami insisted as she reached for the salad and refilled her plate. She never understood why Eric always seemed to exaggerate his father's failings. Maybe this was just the way it was between fathers and sons.

"Says he's bringing someone," Eric muttered.

"Ah," Julie said. "A…female someone?"

Eric looked at her warily.

Tami asked, "Is it the woman who owns that winery he keeps sending us wine from?"

Julie chortled.

"You two know about this?" Eric asked.

"We're speculating," Tami said. She glanced at Julie. "At least, I'm speculating. Julie?"

Julie shrugged.

"What are you speculating, exactly?" Eric was holding his fork rather tensely.

"Sweetheart," Tami said, "if he's bringing this woman to your game, he probably wants you to meet her, because it's probably reached a certain stage."

Eric shook his head. "Nah. He said he's bringing her because she's never been to a live football game. There's no way in hell my father is dating a woman who's never been to a live football game."

"How can she live in Texas," Tami asked, "and never have been to a live football game?"

"I don't know," Eric answered. "He says she's only lived here two years, but that's no excuse. Before that she was in New York, and before that, Germany. She just became a U.S. citizen last year. So at least I know she's not after him for that."

Tami shook her head.

"I hope she's not after him for his money," he continued. "He must be worth a million by now, the way he invests."

"She owns a winery, Dad," Julie reminded him. "I don't think she's exactly hard up for cash."

Eric pointed his fork at her, "Maybe the winery is in debt. Maybe it's on the verge of bankruptcy. Maybe that's why he keeps buying the wine."

Tami raised her glass. "Or maybe he buys it because it's actually pretty good." She took a sip. "You know, she doesn't have to be after him for anything other than himself, Eric. Your father can be a very charming man when he wants to be."

"So can I," he grumbled.

"Yes. When you want to be, sugar. It's a shame you don't want to be more often."

He smiled. "You want me to charm you this weekend, babe? Have Julie watch Gracie, go out for a nice dinner, maybe a little dancing, maybe a little late night – "

Julie threw up a hand. "Stop. I don't need the details. Just stop right there."

"Is he staying with us?" Tami asked.

"No." Eric shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "They're staying at the Plaza."

The plaza was the only luxury hotel within thirty miles of Dillon. "Yeah," Tami said with a smirk, "that's where I like to stay with my friends."

[*]

Julie's father had already left for the game by the time Grandpa Taylor and his lady friend arrived at the Taylor house, but they were all planning to go out for a late night dinner late. Dad rarely ate before a game. Julie didn't know why, since he was always famished afterward.

Mom had gone to the kitchen with Grandpa to put away the wine sampler Katrina had brought them. The woman had insisted Julie call her by her first name, which had made both Julie's mother and grandfather frown slightly. To be fair, though, Katrina's last name would have been hard for Julie to say without sounding like she was angry and had a head cold.

Julie was trying to form an opinion of her. Katrina was beautiful, she supposed, for a woman of her age. Her reddish brown hair was thick and luxurious though probably dyed. Julie wasn't sure what generation to put her in – her mother's or her grandfather's – because the woman was right in the middle – ten years older than Mom, but ten years younger than Grandpa. She didn't have Grandpa's classic reserve and formal politeness, but she also lacked Mom's more down-to-earth easy charm. Julie might have called her sophisticated, if she were less open.

"You don't have much of an accent for someone who moved here as an adult, " Julie observed.

"I didn't think the accent was good for business, so I took classes to train it out. Of course, I ended up with something more Midwestern than Texan. I never expected to settle here. I thought I'd stay in New York for a few years and then retire back to Germany."

"So why did you settle in Texas?"

"I got tired of working in corporate management before I was ready to retire. That cute little winery went up for sale in the Hudson Valley, at a bargain price. It's been a steep learning curve, but I love wine, I've got good people working for me, and I couldn't turn down the opportunity."

"Is it really true you've never been to a football game?"

Katrina leaned forward in a conspiratorial gesture and glanced toward the kitchen. "I never even watched football," she admitted, "until I met James. Then I tried to read up on the rules, and I felt like such a fool. I have two graduate degrees and I was still a little bit confused." She leaned back. "Promise you'll tell me what's going on tonight."

"So I get to play Cyrano de Bergerac for both of you?"

Katrina smiled slightly. "What do you mean by that?"

Julie felt suddenly guilty for the slip. She certainly couldn't explain that she'd been interpreting Katrina's favorite poems for Grandpa so he could appear to understand them. "What are your graduate degrees in?"

"I got an M.B.A. while I was still in Germany. And I just finished my Master's in literature. It was something to do."

"Well, then, when we go to the game tonight, you'll be able to see how Moby Dick is a metaphor for this whole town."

"James said you were literary."

Julie shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know. I have no idea what I want to do with myself, and it's not like I'm ever the most gifted person in the room." Her parents expected her to excel academically, and she did, but Julie had never felt truly clever like Landry, or artistic like Matt, or athletically talented like Tim, or ambitious like Lyla.

"My father used to tell me, Katrina, if you're the most gifted person in the room, you're in the wrong room. Sounds to me like maybe you're in the right room most of the time."

Julie had certainly never thought of Dillon as the "right room," but now that she thought about it, she was lucky to know the people she knew. She was lucky to have been with Matt, too. She'd been trying to escape just because the door appeared closed. She'd never really stopped to ask herself if there was a better room on the other side.

[*]

Coach Taylor unbuttoned his jacket despite the chill of the fall wind. The adrenaline rush was sending heat through every nerve in his body. He could feel the eyes of the entire town on the field, and among them, his father's eyes. Thank God they had Brian Williams and that Coach Taylor had built his offense around the boy, because Smash was going to bring them all the way to State.

Coach Taylor was yelling and moving down the sidelines when Brian went down. It didn't worry him at first. It was when Smash Williams didn't get back up that Coach Taylor's stomach cinched in on itself.

They won the game in the end, but they had one more game before they could go to State, and Smash wasn't going to be able to play.

"What's your backup plan?" Those were his father's first words to him in the parking lot.

Well, not really. His father's first words were, "Good game, son. Very close. You made some good calls. Too bad about that boy's knee." But Eric didn't really hear those words. He just heard the concluding question, What's your backup plan?

"Dinner," Eric answered. "Right now, my backup plan is dinner."

"You signed a three-year contract, didn't you?"

"Two." Two years, and then he'd be up for renewal. At least he thought it had said two years when he signed. He hadn't exactly read every line. He'd been in a hurry to get home, and Buddy had given him the verbal overview.

"They'll probably renew, even if you don't make it to State this year," his father said. "Where are we eating? What's nice and open at this hour?"