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James asked Emily to attend practice. “Bring a book. You don’t even have to do anything unless someone has a meltdown.”
“Are you sure you need me?” She wasn’t averse to helping; she just really didn’t think it necessary.
“The school building will be empty, and I don’t think I should be alone with them,” he said matter-of-factly, and she thought he might have a point. This was the man who wouldn’t cross her threshold.
“I wonder if they should’ve asked a woman to finish coaching the season,” she said. “No offense,” she hastily added.
“None taken. And I’m pretty sure they did ask a woman. Or three. I know I wasn’t their first choice. I’m just the one who said yes.”
“You’ve said that before. It seems like everyone would want to coach this team. Doesn’t everyone love basketball? And they all sure seem to know the rules when they’re screaming at the refs. I would think people would’ve been fighting for the job.”
“It was the day before tournaments started. No one wanted to suffer the wrath of the island if they lost.”
“But you don’t mind island wrath?”
He grinned. “I kind of enjoy it.”
She couldn’t tell whether he was kidding.
She did bring a book, The Visitation by Peretti, and the first practice was entirely uneventful. No meltdowns. No one needed her.
Having finished The Visitation, she brought Stardust by Gaiman to the second practice, and found her favorite school board member sitting in the bleachers.
When she and James walked in, he stood. “Why is she here?” PeeWee Hopkins spat.
Emily snuck a look at Sydney. She looked a mile beyond embarrassed. Emily smiled at her.
“It’s an open practice,” James said. “Anyone can be here. You’re welcome to stay as well.”
Emily found her spot on the bleachers and opened her book. She stared down at the page and tried to ignore the burning sensation in her neck and cheeks.
“She’s not even going to have a job by Monday. Doesn’t she know that?”
“She does not know that. And neither do you. And I’d be careful what you say about her. She didn’t do anything wrong, PeeWee. She reported a crime. She did something that made your daughter safer. You should be thanking her.”
“Oh for Pete’s sake. I’ve known Milton his entire life. So have you. He didn’t do anything. You should be standing beside him, not beside your stuck-up girlfriend.”
James began to walk away. “I’ve got to get to practice. You have a nice day.”
Emily felt the man’s eyes on her as he left the gym. A single fat tear landed on the paperback’s page, and she wiped at her eye with the back of her hand.
After practice, James invited her out to lunch. She gratefully accepted. She could use some emotional eating. At lunch though, he asked her if she would go to the Rangeley game with him that night.
She groaned.
“You don’t have to.”
“No, I will. I mean, I want to because I want to spend time with you, but I’m just a little sick of basketball.”
He smiled. “And you’ve only been here for one season. Come with me tonight. I’ll owe you one. I’ll buy the nachos. You can read a book during the game.”
“OK. Sounds like a plan. Why do we even have to go, though?”
“I need to see their offense, and their defense for that matter. We played at Rangeley this year, so I didn’t see them play. I can’t imagine how they beat us the first time, but I’ve got to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“Chloe.”
“What?”
“Chloe is how they beat us last time. MacKenzie had just quit. Chloe wasn’t used to playing point guard. They had an awful press, and Chloe couldn’t get the ball past it.” She took a sip of her water.
James guffawed. “Look at you, Miss Assistant Coach! How do you know all this?”
She shrugged. “I don’t really. I mean, I don’t understand it. I’m just telling you what Chloe told me. But we’ve got MacKenzie back now, right? So she can just dribble through the defense?”
He nodded thoughtfully. “Maybe. I’ve got to see this press.”
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The press was impressive. The Rangeley girls seemed to have boundless amounts of fiery energy and they too seemed able to use telepathy. They weren’t as smooth or organized as the Piercehaven girls, but they made up for their lack of grace with incredible hustle and bustle. All five girls seemed to be everywhere at once. Jumping. Diving. Waving hands in frustrated faces.
“I can see how it happened,” Emily muttered.
“Yep, and I can see how it won’t happen again.”
“How’s that?”
“We can’t let them control the pace. They like it manic. I don’t see how, but they do. We’ve got to slow it down. Frustrate them. Bore them even.”
