13. Axel
13
AXEL
A xel smiled as he watched the kids start their routine. He’d been hoping to take them outside, but getting a little music playing was probably going to pump them up almost as much as the fresh air would have.
And he was excited for his own reasons now.
Eden Wilder was down here, watching her class like a lot of the other teachers did, but also smiling at him when the kids inadvertently burned him over his musical choices.
He scanned his little group of players again and saw that everything was running smoothly, so he took the opportunity to jog over and say hello.
Eden hadn’t seemed to want to spend a lot of time here the other day, but she didn’t look the least bit uncomfortable as he approached now.
He hoped it was because she’d had fun at the market over the weekend. He knew he sure had. He didn’t mind the looks they were getting from everyone. It was a small town, and he’d been hoping Eden could handle the whispers that were already circulating.
Aunt Annabelle had questioned him excitedly on Sunday after hearing an earful of hopeful gossip at brunch after church that her nephew was falling for that sweet new schoolteacher. It stung to have to tell her that they were just friends, at least for now.
He wondered if anyone had said anything about the rumors to Eden. Maybe it was time to just ask her out and put everyone’s imaginations to rest—including his own.
Take it easy, big guy, he reminded himself.
After all those years in the military, spending what time he had off with family, he was starting to feel like he’d probably lost his cool when it came to women. Or at least when it came to this particular woman, for some reason.
“Hi,” she said softly, looking like she was trying not to smile.
“Hey,” he replied. “What are you doing down here?”
“I wanted to see what the kids were up to,” she said, almost defensively, her eyes suddenly glued to the sight of all those ten-year-olds running around. “Since some of them want to write about football for their creative writing projects.”
“Oh, yeah?” he asked, touched at the idea. “That’s so cool.”
She broke then, turning back to him and letting him have the smile she’d been holding back earlier.
“They really love it,” she told him. “They always come back to the classroom energized after gym class.”
“Wow,” Axel said. It was about the best compliment he could imagine, and it hit him hard how much he really loved working with the kids. “How’s Jack doing? Did you guys throw the ball around yesterday?”
“We did,” she told him excitedly. “He would have stayed out there all night if he could have.”
“Hey, no pressure,” Axel said. “But have you given any more thought to maybe letting him ride his bike to school with me? I think it could up his game a lot to get some extra cardio.”
“He would love that,” Eden said. “I thought when you didn’t text that you had changed your mind.”
“Not at all,” Axel told her honestly. “I got the sense that maybe you weren’t sure about the idea, and I didn’t want to pressure you. I know you don’t want to let Jack ride his bike around with just anyone.”
“You’re not just anyone, Axel,” she said.
He woke up Tuesday morning with those words still in his mind.
You’re not just anyone, Axel…
She had said it in perfect innocence, of course. The two of them had a growing friendship, he was volunteering at the school, and everyone in town knew him—she only meant that he could be trusted.
But his muddled heart couldn’t help hearing it as hope—hope that she could care for him, that the crazy feelings he’d been having for her might lead to something more one day.
He thought about Eden as he drove to town, as he warmed up, and even as he ran through town, turning off Park onto Princeton, and then off Princeton to Rutgers Avenue and a certain little house with a big front porch.
A few days ago, he’d been asking himself if he could even date someone who had a child. Now he was wondering how he would survive it if she turned him down.
Because he was going to ask her out. The more he sat with everything that had happened since he came home, the more certain he was that he had his sign—a sign of why he was home and a sign of what he was supposed to do next.
I have to play this just right , he kept telling himself. I can’t scare her away.
But it was so hard not to shout it to the mountaintops, or just fling himself at her feet. But that wasn’t the way, and he knew it.
Instead, he had to keep doing what he was doing—showing her that he was someone she could depend on—coming to school, doing his best with the kids, and trying hard not to show favoritism to Jack.
Honestly, he was probably failing at that part.
Axel really liked spending time with the children. He’d always liked playing with the little cousins growing up, but his time in the military had changed him in many ways. He’d been looking forward to work that was more solitary.
But now… well, as Beau had pointed out, he did have choices.
And even if he didn’t know yet if he wanted working with kids to be his career, there was one particular kid he really liked hanging out with.
“ Coach ,” a familiar little voice yelled out excitedly.
“Hey, Jackrabbit,” he replied, jogging up the little path to the house.
“My bike is all ready,” Jack replied, scampering down the steps to meet him. “We made sure the tires were nice and full last night.”
“That’s great,” Axel told him. “Don’t forget your helmet.”
Jack darted off to grab the helmet from where it sat on the little porch table.
Eden slipped out of the house to join them, looking absolutely adorable in a flowing skirt and sweater that were obviously what she was going to wear to work, paired with soft slippers and a fluffy bathrobe.
“Are you sure about this?” she asked, pulling the bathrobe closer around her against the early morning cold.
“Of course,” he told her right away. “And good morning.”
“Good morning,” she said, her shy smile flickering at him again. “Jack, tell me what you’re going to do while you’re on your ride.”
“I’m going to listen to Coach,” Jack said brightly. “And I’m going to do exactly what he tells me. And I’m going to watch out for cars.”
“That’s right,” Eden told him. “Axel, if Jack doesn’t follow your directions, please bring him right back to me.”
“Of course he’ll follow directions,” Axel said, smiling at the boy, who looked a little worried. “He’s got tons of practice following calls from football. Right, Jackrabbit?”
“Right,” Jack said happily, scooting over to where his bike leaned against the side of the house.
“Right,” Eden said, nodding to Axel. “Thank you so much for taking Jack on a morning adventure.”
“I’ll have him to school in time to come find you before class begins,” Axel told her.
The look of relief on her face was all he needed to know what this meant to her. Trusting her son to someone else’s care wasn’t normal for her—this was an honor, and Axel was determined to make her glad she had trusted him.
“Let’s go,” Jack said, wheeling his bike down to the street. “Bye, Mom! See you at school.”
Eden blew him a kiss, then Axel and Jack set off.
“I want you to stay closer to the curb,” Axel told the boy. “And I’ll run out here a bit in the street. If I see a car, I’ll yell to you, okay?”
“Okay,” Jack said.
Axel started running north on Rutgers, and Jack began pumping his legs on his bike, a big smile on his cute little face.
Axel had chosen a slightly uphill route to start with, just to give himself a sense of Jack’s behavior before they got to a place where the kid could take off down a hill faster than Axel could run. But Jack was being very careful to stay close, and Axel could tell right away that they were going to be just fine.
“What would you do if I told you a car was coming?” he asked .
Jack got a puzzled look on his face.
“The main thing we would do is move all the way to the side, to give them room,” Axel explained. “And see how we’re running on the left side?”
“Yeah,” Jack said.
“That’s so that we’re facing the cars as they come toward us,” Axel said. “Then we can’t miss that a car is coming, not even a quiet electric car, like Miss Connell has.”
“Okay,” Jack said.
“But if I tell you to get onto the curb, you do that,” Axel said. “Even if you have to leave your bike behind.”
“That means a big, big car is coming,” Jack guessed.
“Well, it means that I’m afraid the car doesn’t see us,” Axel said carefully, not wanting to scare the boy with the specifics about drunk or distracted drivers.
Jack nodded, seeming to take his statement at face value, and Axel settled into his run.
It actually wasn’t hard to keep an eye on the boy, since he was so well-behaved. Axel was pretty sure he would have flown ahead or gotten distracted by now at Jack’s age.
“This is fun,” Jack said suddenly. “I wish we could listen to ‘Eye of the Tiger,’ like in class.”
“We could do this at the track one afternoon,” Axel suggested. “I could bring my boom box and we could set it up beside the track, as long as no one complained.”
“Yeah,” Jack said, then began to hum out the guitar part. “ BUM…bum-bum-BUM…bum-bum-BUM... bum-bum-BUM. ”
Axel had to smile. That particular song had really made an impression on the kids.
They moved on under the bare-branched trees and past the sleepy houses, as the rising sun slowly painted the edge of the deep blue sky a rosy pink.
As they looped around the village, Axel found himself feeling more and more lighthearted. Exercise, and the sight of all the pretty houses decked out for the holidays, always made him feel better. But there was something special about sharing the early morning with his little friend. He didn’t just feel better , he felt happy —like he was right where he was supposed to be.
When it got to be about time to head to school, he signaled to Jack to turn onto Columbia.
“Jack,” a little voice called out suddenly from up ahead.
“Hey, Jack,” another one exclaimed. “Hey, Coach.”
“Hi Benny and Mara,” Jack yelled out as they came upon two of the fourth graders out front of the doctor’s house. “My mom will come for you in a minute. I’ll see you at school.”
Axel could tell by the looks on their faces that they were pretty impressed with whatever Jack was up to.
“Maybe you can join us tomorrow,” Axel offered. “If it’s okay with your parents.”
The kids cheered and jumped up and down, waving to them as they passed.
Axel wondered suddenly if including the other kids would make this feel less special for Jack. But when he turned to look at the boy, he was beaming.
Axel smiled back at him, feeling like he was on top of the world.
A guy could get used to this feeling…