She waited for him to start pulling empty beer cans out of the drawers and crushing them in his fists, but he nodded toward one of the blue and chrome side chairs. She took a seat on the couch instead because it was farther away.

The chair squeaked as he leaned back. “I already had lunch, so you don’t need to look so scared. I’m not going to eat you up.”

She lifted her chin and gave him a smoky smile. “That’s too bad, Coach. I was hoping you were hungry.”

He smiled. “I’m glad I met you when I was thirty-seven instead of seventeen.”

“Why is that?”

“Because I’m a lot smarter now than I was then, and you’re exactly the kind of female my mama warned me about.”

“Smart mama.”

“You been a man-killer all your life, or is it something that happened recently?”

“I bagged my first one when I was only eight. A Cub scout named Kenny.”

“Eight years old.” He gave an admiring whistle. “I don’t even want to contemplate what you were doing to the male population by the time you were seventeen.”

“It wasn’t a pretty sight.” Playing games with this man was nerve-racking, and she searched for a way to change the subject. Remembering the empty practice fields, she nodded toward the window.

“Why aren’t the players practicing? I thought you were losing.”

“It’s Tuesday. That’s the only day of the week players have off. A lot of them use it to make community appearances, speak at luncheons, that sort of thing. The coaches do, too. Last Tuesday, for example, I spent the afternoon taping a public service announcement for United Way at a nursery school the county operates.”

“I see.”

The bantering had disappeared, and he was all business as he slid a manila file folder across the desk toward her. “These are résumés of the three men Steve Kovak and I think are best qualified for the general manager’s job, along with our comments. Why don’t you look this over tonight? You can let us make the final decision, or you might want to talk with Reed.”

“As long as I’m the owner, Coach, I’ll be making my own decisions.”

“Fine. But you need to move quickly.”

She picked up the folder. “What about the current general manager? Has he been fired?”

“Not yet.”

When he didn’t say anything more, her stomach sank. She couldn’t imagine anything worse than firing someone, even a person she didn’t know. “I’m not firing him! I like my men alive and kicking.”

“Normally it’d be the owner’s job, but I figured you’d feel that way so I asked Steve to take care of it for you. He’s probably talking to him now.”

Phoebe gave a sigh of relief.

Dan insisted on showing her around the facilities, and their tour of the two-story, L-shaped building took much of the next hour. She was surprised by the number of classrooms she saw and mentioned this to Dan.