Man of Her Dreams #sweetromance

Chapter One

Lindsay Swanson turned into the Food Mart parking lot and pulled to a stop near the entrance. Waves of heat shimmered from the hood of the truck, making the near empty parking lot look like a Saharan mirage. Sweat trickled down the side of her temple and she swiped it away before twisting her hair into a Ravenwood Hooligan's ball cap.

She climbed out of the truck and a fluttering movement caught her eye. With a sigh she peeled a rogue piece of drywall tape off her tee-shirt. When you owned your own renovation business, things got messy.

Through the front window she spotted one of the cashiers working a check-out line and groaned. Just her luck, Carla would be working today. Now everyone in town would know how pathetic her life was. She could hear her now.

"Poor Lindsay, she only bought a loaf of bread. No one to cook for..."

For a brief moment, she considered hopping back into her truck and driving to her parent's farm for a home cooked meal. Mom wouldn't mind an extra body at the table, but Lindsay wasn't up for the subtle guilt that would be sprinkled throughout the meal.

Over a savory pot roast, Mom would say, 'A few grandchildren would be nice while we can enjoy them – without assistance from a walker.' Or, 'When are you going to find a nice young man?' Lindsay would always remind her that she had a business to run. Finding a man and having a family wasn't a top priority right now.

The automatic door slid open and Lindsay entered the blissfully cool interior, and made a bee-line for the deli counter. As expected, the store was quiet, the silence broken by piped music from the fifties and sixties. She'd finished ordering sandwich meat when her cell phone played 'Red Neck Woman'.

"Hey, Tina. What's up?"

"Are you coming to practice tonight?"

A pang of guilt sliced through her. The good folk of Ravenwood were fanatical about their slow-pitch team, planning town fairs and community events around the tournaments. Although she loved playing ball, she had no desire to run around the outfield in this heat. Not after taping and mudding Mrs. Henderson's entire kitchen.

"No can do. I'm too tired." She waved a thank-you to the deli clerk and grabbed her package of meat.

"Not again. You only have to come out for a few hours."

"You know I'm busy, and before you ask, I can't make the game tomorrow night either."

She heard muffled whispering. The Hooligan's next game was against the Silver Creek Bullets, their biggest competitor and a minimum of two women was required to play.

"Tell Nick I hear him breathing." Lindsay guessed her brother was eavesdropping.

"How did you—?" Tina sighed. "At least come for drinks after the game."

"I'll be there. See you tomorrow." Lindsay ended the call. Tina was not only her sister-in-law, but also her best friend, and because they'd known each other since they were both in diapers, Tina felt it was her duty to make sure Lindsay had a plus-one for parties. Unfortunately, for both of them, her batting average was a big, fat zero.

However, a boyfriend would be nice. Especially on beautiful days like today where she and her fabulous, make-believe boy toy could water-ski, then invite everybody over for a barbeque and people, like Carla, wouldn't think she had no social life.

Lindsay continued toward the bakery department. She was dangerously low on provisions and swore she'd do a full grocery shop on the weekend. That was, if she had time. If she didn't have another renovation booked. If, if, if... The multitude of ifs piled up, threatening to topple over and crush her.