CHAPTER THREE
Ben parked the SUV he’d borrowed from the fleet of cars at the estate, then he and Luca got out and made their way to the entrance to the school that was attached to the church. He was glad to see the church thriving under the new pastor, and it appeared that the school was also doing well.
It had started out as just an elementary and middle school, but two years ago, it had expanded to offer the full range of grades. By all accounts the school had been well-received in the community and the surrounding towns.
If it had been around back when he was in school, Serenity Point Christian Academy would probably have been where he would have attended.
The basketball clinic wasn’t supposed to start for another hour, but the previous afternoon, Cole had asked him to be there for eight. Ben wasn’t a huge fan of early mornings, but he’d gotten up at seven, so he’d had time to eat breakfast before diving into what was sure to be a physical day.
The hallway they walked down wasn’t one he’d passed through as a teen, but there was a sense of familiarity to it, regardless.
The squeak of their shoes on the tiled floor.
The scent of cleaning supplies lingering in the air.
Shafts of sunlight spilling from the long narrow windows facing the parking lot. It all threw him back to another time.
As they neared the gym, Cole spotted a table. He’d been told that Amelia worked at the church and would be helping out with the clinic, so he wondered if she’d be at the table, checking the kids in.
As they approached it, however, he saw that the person seated at the table was a middle-aged woman. He might not have recognized Amelia at the café the day before, but there was no way he was mistaking this woman for Amelia.
“Hello,” she said with a smile as they came to a stop in front of the table. “Are you here to help with the clinic?”
“We sure are,” Ben answered, returning her smile.
“What might your names be?” she asked, briefly turning her attention to a stack of cards attached to lanyards.
“I’m Ben,” he said. “And this is Luca.”
They’d decided that rather than try to explain away Luca’s presence as a bodyguard, they’d use him to help out at the clinic. He’d played high school basketball so he at least knew the basics, even if he hadn’t played as obsessively as Ben had.
“And are you single?” she asked with a guileless smile as she held out his lanyard.
The question took Ben aback, and he just stared at her, his hand hanging in the air. “What?”
“I have a single granddaughter, and if Cole thought you were a good enough man to be here, you might just be good enough to date my granddaughter.” She gestured to his hand. “You’re not wearing a ring, so I thought maybe you were single and ready to mingle.”
Turning his left hand over as if to verify there was no ring there, Ben heard a snort of laughter behind him. He glared over his shoulder at Luca and prepared to throw him under the bus.
“I am, indeed, single,” Ben admitted, taking the lanyard. “However, I’m not currently ready to mingle. On a positive note, Luca is also single.”
The woman’s assessing gaze moved from Ben to Luca, then back to Ben when Luca gave a shake of his head. “And what makes you unavailable to mingle?”
“I have a lot going on at the moment, and I’m also not from around here.”
“I’m sure my granddaughter would be open to moving for the right man,” the woman said.
Ben was a bit flustered. He was used to women flirting with him, but this was the first time a woman was trying to engage him on behalf of her granddaughter.
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to decline,” Ben said as politely as he could. “Though I’m sure she’s a lovely young woman.”
“I also must decline,” Luca tacked on as he took the lanyard that she held out to him.
“What a shame,” the woman said.
Eager to change the subject, Ben said, “Do you know if Amelia Madden is around?”
“Amelia?” The woman stared at him for a long moment, her gaze assessing in a new way. “Do you know Amelia?”
“I do,” Ben said. “We went to high school together.”
He didn’t want to admit the true nature of their high school relationship, because he didn’t think that was information this woman needed to know, given her propensity for matchmaking. Though he wasn’t interested in the woman’s matchmaking skills, he still wanted to connect with Amelia.
When he’d come to Serenity in the past, he’d only been there for a couple of days, so he hadn’t felt like he needed to seek her out. This time was different.
“Amelia is a dear,” the woman said. “And she’s single too.”
Ben couldn’t believe the direction a simple stop to pick up his lanyard had taken.
“Hey there, Ben.”
Relief flooded him as he turned to see Cole heading toward them. “Hey. We’re here, reporting for duty.”
Cole clapped him on the shoulder. “And I’m glad you are.” He held out his hand to Luca. “Good to see you again, Luca.”
“You too.”
“Ready for the rush, Miss Marian?” Cole asked, turning to the woman at the table.
“Of course, my dear,” she said. “But I’ve enjoyed chatting with these young men. Did you know they are both single?”
Cole chuckled. “Yes. I did, in fact, know that. However, I’m not sure that Suzanne will be happy that you’re once again trying to line up a boyfriend for her.”
Marion waved her hand dismissively. “She clearly needs my help. That last man she picked was terrible! I’m relieved they broke up. Now I need to find a replacement, and I figured if you asked these two men to work alongside you, they must be good.”
“They are good,” Cole agreed with a nod. “But I don’t think either is in the market for a girlfriend.”
“So why did you ask about Amelia?” Marian asked as she looked at Ben.
He glanced at Cole, then back to Marian. “I just wanted to make sure I said hi to her since we were friends in high school.”
“She’ll be here this afternoon,” Cole said. “She’s taking the afternoon shifts at the table.”
“We’re splitting the days. Amelia does better in the afternoons, and I prefer mornings, so it works out well.”
Her statement about Amelia was… odd. She did better in the afternoons? The Amelia he remembered had always been a morning person. Up super early to train.
The sound of energetic conversation drew their attention as three middle-school-aged boys and a woman appeared.
“Well, we’ll leave you to deal with the kids,” Cole said, then motioned for Ben and Luca to follow him.
As they walked through the large doors of the gym, Ben looped his lanyard around his neck, then looked down at it.
The plastic sleeve contained a white card with the name of the organization running the clinic in small print at the top, along with its logo, and Ben’s name was there in large bold print.
Cole led them across the gym floor to where a handful of other men waited. Ben recognized a few of them as retired professional basketball players and one current one. Cole made introductions, then had them gather around for a quick time of prayer, committing the clinic and its participants to God.
Soon, the kids who had registered for the clinic began to trickle into the gym. The morning clinic was set aside for kids who were in middle school, while the afternoon one was devoted to high schoolers.
Though most of the kids who showed up were boys, there were a few girls in the mix. But regardless of gender, their excitement levels were high.
Cole approached the kids, interacting with them with an ease that spoke of his years of fatherhood. Ben held as much admiration for Cole as an adult as he had when he’d been a teen. But as much as he appreciated him as a basketball player, he appreciated him even more as a brother-in-law.
Though Julian had changed a lot over the years and they had a better relationship now than they’d ever had when Ben was a teen, Ben was still closer to Cole.
Once all the kids who had registered were there, Cole had them gather around and introduced all the men who were there to help with the clinic.
The morning was spent going through some exercises, and then they were split into smaller groups, each of which was assigned two of the adults.
He and Luca had six kids in their group.
Five boys and a girl. Cole gave some general instructions to all of them, then they carried them out in the smaller groups.
Ben’s interest in basketball had begun in early middle school, and memories of those days came flooding back as he worked with the kids in his group. He remembered the times when the basketball hoop seemed so far away, and he’d wondered if he’d ever grow tall enough to reach it when he jumped.
The kids were full of energy, and sometimes they lost focus and wanted to just throw the ball wherever. Thankfully, Luca was super patient, and with his help, Ben was able to corral the kids back on track.
When the morning session ended, Ben found that he was more tired than he’d thought he’d be.
“I have lunch catered for us,” Cole said once all the kids were gone. “So we can go to the cafeteria to eat.”
When the group walked into the cafeteria a few minutes later, Ben’s stomach rumbled in anticipation of the food he smelled.
They found seats at the long rectangle tables set up for them, and after Cole said a prayer of thanks for the lunch, a couple of people brought plates of food from the kitchen.
Ben had thought they’d just have a simple meal of sandwiches or burgers, but his plate had a couple of pieces of roast chicken, a generous serving of seasoned rice, a mixture of vegetables, and a helping of salad.
It looked delicious, and he dove right in, grateful for the sustenance after a physically demanding morning.