43. Chapter 43
Chapter 43
Dylan
S tellar. That’s how every single one of our runners had done today. This was a challenging course, and they had totally rocked it. They needed a win like this after the way the Sea Lions Invitational had turned out a few weeks ago. The kids must have picked up on the crazy energy Elise and I were putting off that day. Combine that with Pete being a homicidal psycho out for blood, and it’s no wonder almost everyone had bombed that race.
Unfortunately, thanks to the boys taking sixth and the girls taking second in that race, there was no way the boys would be ranked in the nation’s top ten, and the girls wouldn’t get any higher than third. Not even their total domination in this last national competition would be enough to bump their standings to where they deserved to be.
Maybe that was okay. Maybe this was a good chance for them to learn that all you can do is your best, and then you have to let the rest go.
“I’m so proud of you all,” Elise said to the team as we gathered around for the last time this season. “You did amazing today. You ran your hearts out. My dad must be so proud of you all right now.” Her voice shook, but she didn’t cry. “Thank you for letting me coach you. It’s been hard and weird filling my dad’s shoes, but it’s also been pretty awesome. I have loved getting to see you stretch to reach your goals and dreams. Even though we might not rank how he had hoped to, every single one of you should be so proud of yourselves right now. You’ve worked your butts off, and because of it, you’re not only faster, you’re better.
“It’s been said that ‘the supreme reward of struggle is strength.’ 1 You guys have struggled a lot this season, and you’re stronger for it.”
That was my sexy poetic woman. I stepped to the side to get a better view of her smoking hotness in all its glory. The golden light of the setting sun lit her up like she was some kind of goddess. What else would you call someone that smart, nice, insanely stubborn, tough, fit, and gorgeous?
Elise cleared her throat. “I’ve learned that it’s okay to go through hard things because they make you better. You’re stronger than you think. I hope running for this team has helped you to see that.”
She’d definitely been forced to be a lot stronger this last year and a half. How cool that she could turn that into a lesson that all these kids could understand.
When she finished her speech, I gave a whoop and almost did a backflip before remembering my useless shoulder and how much pain that would put me in.
A hand clapped on my back. Wincing, I turned to where Austin was standing beside me. “Hey, you ready for me to take you to our gig?”
“Just a few more minutes, I need to say goodbye to everyone.”
“Sounds good.” Austin wandered over to lean against the fence.
I joined Elise who was talking to Rose, Avery, and their family, including Edna, who I’d learned was their great-aunt.
“Rose, you did brilliant today,” Elise said, wearing the biggest smile I’d ever seen on her. “Did you know that you dropped five minutes off your 5k time from the start of the season? That’s incredible.”
How did Elise remember things like Rose’s first race time? She truly was amazing.
Rose flashed a fresh set of braces with her own smile. Her parents each gave her a hug, but the way they both steered clear of each other was so awkward. Hadn’t Avery said they’d talked about getting a divorce?
“Hey, who’s your friend?” Avery asked, nodding to Austin.
“His name’s Austin,” Elise answered. “He plays the drums in a band with Dylan. Are you interested?” She wiggled her eyebrows.
“Maybe. He looks like a bit of a ‘bad boy.'"
“Bad boy?” Avery’s dad didn’t sound too happy about that label.
I glanced back at Austin. Leather jacket, tightly curled black hair, and one earring. I guess he fit the bad boy mold. Kind of. With his broad shoulders, toothpaste-ad-worthy smile, and dimpled cheeks, he could easily pass for some kind of model too.
Thankfully, I’d snagged Elise before she’d gotten to know him too well. Avery could have Austin as long as Elise stayed with me.
“I’m so very sorry about what happened to the both of you last month,” Avery’s mom said. She stared at the sling I was stuck wearing for a few more weeks.
Elise’s eyes glazed over like they usually did when people tried to talk to her about that day.
Giving her hand a squeeze, I said, “It’s been a lot for both of us.”
Most of what people knew was what had been reported in the news, that Pete, Elise and I had gone up to Lake Delilah, that Pete had fallen and died (which technically, he had), and that I’d injured my shoulder badly and had to be life flighted to the hospital. The less they knew, the less uncomfortable questions Elise had to answer.
“Your parents must have been watching out for you that day,” Avery’s mom said.
Elise gave a nod and cleared her throat, probably to keep from crying.
“So sad about Tara too,” Avery’s dad added. “We’ve been praying for her family. Hard to believe her husband had been shot around that same time as well.” The guy shook his head.
It wasn’t hard for me to believe. If Pete was sick enough to kill his bestie’s kid, there wasn’t really anything he wouldn’t do. Of course, Pete’s involvement in that murder wasn’t widely known.
Pete’s biggest secret, however, was out. Elise and I had told the police everything, and someone had leaked the doping scandal to the press. Every single picture of him that had hung in the school had been taken down. I wasn’t sure what exactly had happened to Coach Carter. Since there was no way to prove he’d been responsible for Aunt Kelly’s death, they couldn’t pin him for murder. I still hoped they took him into custody for questioning for a long while. Good luck finding a dog sitter for the mistress of evil.
Edna, who had been unusually quiet up to this point, harrumphed. “If you ask me, they’re just lucky to be alive after all that gallivanting after a murderer, and don’t you pretend otherwise,” she said, wagging her cane at me. “I talked to your grandma, so I know what’s what. I also know that poor Clive had to take a month’s vacation just to deal with all the stress you two put him through with all your questions.”
The stress probably had a lot more to do with one of his closest friends murdering his other closest friend, but I wasn’t about to correct the woman.
“Don’t get me wrong,” the old woman in an oversized cat sweatshirt continued, “I know Pete got what was comin’ to him, and I’m not sayin’ it was your fault he fell off the cliff. After all, he did shoot you, so you were entitled to defend yourself.”
I narrowed my gaze at her. Grandma did have a tendency to embellish the truth sometimes, which made me wonder what else she’d told her friend.
“Can’t say I feel bad for the daughter. She deserved to be kicked off the team for dopin’. That is what you kids call it these days, right?”
Every member of Edna’s family stood staring with eyes as wide as dinner plates while Elise kept her gaze fixed on the grass. It was time to end this before she truly cried.
Avery must have sensed Elise’s discomfort as well, because she steered her family in the direction of the parking lot, saying it was time to get Aunt Edna out of the sun. After ducking the cane that swung in her direction, Avery handed me a slip of paper with her phone number on it.
“Give this to your friend,” she said before giving him a smile and wave, which he returned.
Elise and I chatted with some other families and runners for another few minutes before it was time to go, and fortunately, it didn’t take long for her to cheer up once we were done talking about The Pete Incident. She still had her down days, but she seemed to be doing a ton better. Most of the time that she talked about her dad now, she smiled and sometimes even laughed.
When it was time to leave, I led her away from the crowd so we could say a proper goodbye. Wrapping my good arm around her waist, I drew her into a hug.
“You were amazing today, Coach.”
“So were you,” she whispered against my neck.
My skin tingled, and I pulled her closer. “Are you still planning on coming to our concert tonight?”
“That depends. Do you plan to go shirtless and sing in that super sexy voice of yours?”
“Heck yes, I do. If it weren’t for the fact that I’m supposed to look kind of professional here, I’d take this polo off right now. You have a way of making everywhere I go feel a few degrees hotter.”
She laughed against my chest. “Then I’ll be sitting right in the front row.” Her warm, soft lips pressed against mine, and I cursed my bum arm for stopping me from holding her like I wanted to.
Stepping back, she studied me with her crystal blue eyes. “You know, I’m glad Principal Hodges stuck me with you, even though I threatened to quit when he did.”
“You seriously threatened to quit?”
“Maybe, but that didn’t really matter. He knew I wouldn’t leave these kids without a coach. Anyway, the point is that I’m happy that we were stuck together. Actually, I’m happier all around now that you’re in my life.”
I pulled her into another hug. “Thank you for letting me into your life.”
She squeezed me back before moving away. “You better hurry if you’re going to have enough time to set up all your speakers.”
The girl wasn’t wrong.
“Oh,” she said, approaching me again. “I have one request—can you sing ‘Glycerine’ tonight?”
“Definitely.”
I planted one last kiss on Elise before walking back to where Austin stood waiting for me. I don't think I could ever play that song without thinking of her and that first, but definitely not last, time she had looked at me like maybe I could be her everything.
1. Ralph Palette