Chapter Seventeen
All through the following week, she moped. Mourning a little dog that wasn’t even hers. By Friday, she looked forward to visiting the school of Sterling Pines. Hoping the joy on the kids’ faces would alleviate the sadness. Even though Kaiden’s manager, Pace, set it all up, it was Kaiden himself who called people for donations.
Crew texted he was downstairs so they headed out. The quarterback drove them to the school and the large moving truck followed them. Even though they hadn’t informed the press, media was there when they headed inside the school. Crew gave flirty waves.
An African American man, dressed in a suit, buzzed them inside. The cool interior was soothing after the harsh glare of the sun.
“Hello,” the man gushed. Kaiden smiled as they shook hands. “Welcome to Sterling Pines.”
“Thank you. I’m Kaiden Demay and this is Crew Kiles and Romilly Pike.”
“Nice to meet you all. I’m Principal Vogler.”
“Thank you for having us,” Crew said.
“Are you kidding?” Principal Vogler chuckled. “It’s been hard keeping a lid on this. Follow me.”
He led them into the office where a few people working glanced up. They stared at Kaiden, mouths dropping open.
“Everyone,” the principal said loudly. “We have some guests today. Treat them with respect please. Janie, call Bruce and Mickey to the football field so they can help unload things. Frank, go outside and guide the truck to the back.”
The woman nodded and immediately started talking into a walkie-talkie. Frank headed outside. Then the principal gestured with his hand.
“Follow me. I’ll take you to football practice.”
Even though it was after school, the halls had several students lingering. The library door was open and a few students sat at the long tables, bent over schoolbooks. They exited the school through the back and down the hill to the football field where the boys were running drills. Even from here Romilly noticed how threadbare and rundown everything was.
As they approached closer, kids stopped whatever they were doing to stare at them. One boy tore off his cracked helmet and she recognized Joey. He came running over as the principal opened the gate on the wire fence and allowed them to enter.
“Mr. Demay!” Joey called out, waving.
Kaiden walked over and held his hand out. “Nice to see you again, Joey.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Well, your story touched me and I wanted to make sure your school had an upgrade.”
He motioned to the moving truck that was backing up to the large gate on the other side of the field. The coach looked like he didn’t know what to d o— go over to help the truck or to them for a greeting. Kaiden and Crew decided to take the decision into their own hands and jogged across the field. Crew waved his arms.
“Come on, kids!” he called out. “Come help.”
Curious, they followed behind and when the back of the truck opened to reveal all brand-new football equipment, a rush of excitement erupted. There were many hands helping unload the gear and bring it onto the field. From hurdles to padded dummies and everything else, she had no idea what it was called or what it did. She couldn’t stop smiling. When the truck was empty, Kaiden thanked the driver and it quickly departed.
By now, some parents had shown up. Probably from their kids calling them. Everyone was on the field and Kaiden and Crew shook hands, posed for photos, and signed autographs. Then Kaiden borrowed the coach’s megaphone to quiet everyone down.
“Thank you,” he said, his voice amplified. “I met Joey here and he told me about his school. How you missed games because of this or that. Crew and I reached out to several places for donations.”
People clapped.
“But this isn’t all.” He turned and waved with his hand. Then a brand new mini-bus, with sleek lines, tinted windows, and the school’s mascot painted on the side came rolling onto the track. The coach immediately started to cry. Whoops and whistles erupted through the crowd.
Crew took hold of the megaphone.
“Kaiden and I wanted to make sure you were able to get to games,” Crew told them. “And now you’ll get there in style.”
People laughed. Romilly made sure to snap a few pictures of them, of the crowd, and even the kids checking out all the new stuff. They stayed for hours, evening playing a game with the boys until twilight fell and the mosquitos came out. Joey shook both men’s hands one last time and posed for pictures.
Then it was over and they were on their way home. Contentment filled her as she studied Kaiden. He was relaxed and laughing at something Crew said, some football quip she knew nothing about. However, she didn’t mind that. Didn’t feel left out. Just the opposite as she was able to see a side of him she hadn’t seen before. Relaxed. Happy. Free of the weight on his shoulders.
In that moment, she realized she loved him. It hadn’t been a fast slide, more like a slow burn that seemed to blindside her. She wanted to tell him, but something held her back, and she hoped the flash of hesitation proved to be negligible.
****
Early the next morning, his phone buzzed him awake. Reaching over Romilly, Kaiden grabbed his cell and saw Pace was calling. He got up and closed the bedroom door behind him, moving to the living room as he connected the call.
“It’s early,” he muttered into the phone.
“The paparazzi never sleep,” Pace said. “You’ve done it. Congrats.”
“What did I do?”
“Social media is buzzing with pictures of you and Crew at the school yesterday.”
Kaiden rubbed a hand over his face. “Yeah? Good.”
“I also saw you went to a club. We told you no drin k— ”
“I wasn’t drinking. I danced with my girlfriend all night and drank water.”
“Girlfriend, huh? Getting back to the positive press, there were a few comments that popped up here and there calling it a stunt. However, because all the pictures from yesterday were from cell phones and not a media source, people are eating it up. The school principal told the story of you meeting Joey and deciding to help them. Maintaining that you wanted to keep it as a surprise and under wraps.”
“It was one of the best things I’ve ever done.”
“And it showed. Public opinion is turning around.”
“Then your work is done.”
“Not exactly. I have interviews set up, leading to training camp.”
“All right,” he said, yawning around the words. “Listen, I’ve got to piss and there’s a warm woman waiting for me in bed. Text me what I need to know. Bye, Pace.”
He disconnected the call and stood, stretching. After peeing and washing his hands, he headed back to bed, sliding in behind Romilly and burying his face where her neck met her shoulder.
“Everything okay?” she murmured.
“It’s perfect.”
She patted his arm that was wrapped around her. “Good.”