Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Carson put his duffel bag into the back seat of his car and drove to the high school. He would leave today for Houston and claim Lily. Though they had only been apart a few days, he had FaceTimed with her each day he was gone.
He pulled up into the parking lot next to the field house and called Rudy, his friend and co-worker who had volunteered to watch Lily while Carson was out of town.
Rudy answered, his usual wide smile lighting his face.
“Hey, Coach. You ready to come home and claim your little princess?”
“That’s the plan,” he said. “I have a few things to handle at school. Hillary Horton texted me that she has the keys to the house. I’ll pick those up before I leave town. That way, Lily and I will able to head straight to the new house when we return to Driftwood Bay in a few days.”
After seeing the Jacobs’ residence, both he and Pete had decided to move Pete’s daughter’s bedroom furniture into the spare bedroom, which had served as a guest room.
While it would be a tight fit cramming the furniture into it, he thought Lily would be more comfortable sleeping in her own bed and having her own dresser and shelves for her toys and books.
That would be the only furniture they would move from Houston. The rest would go into a storage unit.
“Try to be here by dinnertime,” Rudy advised. “Juanita is making tamales.”
“You do know that’s the only reason I hang around you,” Carson teased. “Your wife’s cooking is the best I’ve ever had.”
“Is that Daddy?” he heard Lily ask.
Rudy said, “It sure is. Come here, kiddo.”
Lily climbed into Rudy’s lap and beamed at him. “Hi, Daddy. I miss you.”
“I miss you, too, Peanut. I’ll be coming home today, and then we’ll drive to Driftwood Bay together.”
She wrinkled her nose, still not quite understanding about the move to another city.
“Binky is coming?” she asked anxiously.
“Why, we can’t move anywhere without Binky, can we? He’s part of our family.”
Lily visibly relaxed. “I love Binky. I love you, too, Daddy.”
“I love you, sweetie. I’ll see you by dinner tonight.”
“Okay.”
Lily scrambled off Rudy’s lap, and his friend said, “We’ve really enjoyed having Lily with us. You know Juanita and I adore her. She’s been great with the baby.”
His friends had become first-time parents six months ago, on New Year’s Day, and it made him feel good, hearing that Lily had done well around the newborn.
Carson hadn’t thought about remarrying in the two years Angie had been gone, but it would be nice to give Lily a brother or sister.
He realized how lonely he had been and that he would enjoy the companionship of being in a marriage again someday.
He didn’t know if he had it in him to love again, though.
Angie had been everything to him, and her death had hit him hard.
Still, thoughts of Mila Perry kept circulating through his head.
He just might have to give love another chance.
Or at least dating. Then again, he would technically be Mila’s boss.
With her dad serving as the district’s superintendent, he didn’t think getting into a relationship with one of his coaches would be the best move, especially being new to the job.
Frustration filled him, and he shrugged it off.
“You think you’re going to like this new place?” Rudy asked.
“I really do. I met a few of my basketball players at a pickup game in the park last night. I think I’m going to enjoy working with them.
The AD piece of the puzzle is going to be a work in progress, but I’m excited about putting my stamp on this program across the board.
We’ll also be close to the beach. Lily will definitely enjoy that. ”
He raked a hand through his hair. “I’ll let you go, Rudy. See you by dinner tonight.”
Carson ended the call and went inside the field house. He had thought he would hear from Mila about the interviews she had conducted. Then again, maybe it was taking time for the candidate she wanted to make up his or her mind whether they wanted to come to Driftwood Bay.
Entering his office, he was thankful that Jon Earl had vacated it so quickly.
Carson had spent all of yesterday afternoon reorganizing furniture and files and reading through bios of his coaches, as well as studying the budgets that had been submitted for the upcoming academic year.
He had gone back and looked at won-loss records in every sport for the last three years and was eager to meet with the entire athletic staff and get to know them, both as coaches and people.
Of course, they were all on their brief summer vacations now.
Coaches usually reported back in July, attending coaching clinics and prepping for their upcoming year.
He had a basketball clinic to run at the tail end of June.
It would be for elementary-aged kids to learn basic skills of the sport.
Lisa Thornbach, the girls’ basketball coach, would conduct a corresponding clinic for girls during the same time.
Both would take place at the high school, and it would give him an opportunity to start implementing his philosophy regarding sports, as well as preview upcoming talent in the years to come.
Both clinics had a little over one hundred attendees for each session, which he thought was a good number for a town this size.
Carson had reached out to Lisa via email, and she had responded that she was at a family reunion in Iowa. She promised to meet with him as soon as she returned to Texas, and they could talk more about the drills they would run and the skills they would teach at their individual camps.
Looking around, he decided everything in his office was arranged as well as it could be and was about to leave when he received a text from Mila.
Have time to talk about the new hire?
He texted back that he was in his office and she could stop by if she wanted to see him in person. Mila responded she would drop by and fill him in, asking for his coffee order. He texted back:
If you can grab any kind of latte, I’m all in. Hazelnut and vanilla are favorites. Sugar and a splash of cream, please.
She answered, saying she would see him in fifteen minutes.
Giddiness filled him, a feeling he hadn’t known in years.
Carson told himself to watch it. Play it cool.
He and Mila weren’t beginning a romance.
She had expressed no interest in anything beyond friendship.
He needed to let their friendship grow and play out before he approached her about moving beyond that.
If he said anything. His gut told him it would be foolish to become involved in a relationship with a subordinate whose dad was his boss and held Carson’s future in his hands.
He had to do what was best for Lily, not himself.
She was his priority. Maybe Mila had a few friends outside of teaching and could introduce him around.
He might even find someone to ask out on a date.
“Good morning, Coach.”
Carson glanced up and recognized who stood in the doorway from his picture on the school’s website.
“Jackson Rudd. Good to meet you.”
Rudd was twenty-four and would serve as his assistant basketball coach. Already a week into June, Jackson sported a deep tan and sun-bleached blond hair. Carson imagined Jackson caused hearts to flutter wherever he went.
He moved to the doorway, offering a hand. His assistant shook it, and Carson invited him to sit.
“I went down to South Padre for a few days, but I got a ton of texts hearing the news about your hire. It’s good to meet you, Carson.”
“Same. I hope you’re not disappointed that you didn’t get the head coaching job.”
The younger man shook his head. “I didn’t even apply for it.
I’ve only coached two years. Besides, I heard that the gig came with the AD position attached to it.
They never would’ve considered me anyway.
I want to learn everything I can from you, Coach.
I’ll know when the time is right to venture out and run a program of my own. Until then, I’m all yours.”
Having googled his assistant, Carson knew Jackson had played college basketball at Tarleton State and was an outstanding three-point shooter.
“It’s a two-way street,” he said. “I expect I’ll learn things from you, as well. A good coach always does. Give me your input on what you think about the varsity squad for the upcoming year.”
For the next ten minutes, Jackson broke down the makeup of the team, commenting on both the strengths and weaknesses of the projected starters.
“The star of the team will definitely be Drake Duncan. He’s been a starter on varsity since his sophomore year, and Sam named him team captain before he left. Drake’s mom is the principal at the middle school. I would say that Marge is the loudest fan in the stands, hands down.”
“Do you think Drake has any kind of chance at a scholarship?” Carson asked.
“Possibly.” Jackson hesitated and then added, “Drake is pure talent, but his work ethic leaves a lot to be desired. He’s breezed by on that talent, but he could be so much more if he applied himself. Same goes for academics. Drake’s a smart kid, but he barely puts any effort into his classes.”
Carson nodded. “Sounds as if Mr. Duncan and I will be having a come to Jesus meeting.”
Jackson laughed and stood. “I’ll let you get back to it, Coach. Just wanted to stop by and say hi.”
As the two men shook hands, Carson saw Mila appear in the doorway. Jackson turned and grinned at her.
“Hey, Mila. Come bearing gifts to sweet talk your new boss?”
“Hi, Jackson. I hired a new coach for the middle school and came by to let Carson know a little bit about her.”
“It’ll be good to have someone new on board. Hey, guess what? I talked to Sam last night. He’s settling in.”
Carson saw a shadow cross Mila’s face, and then she brightened. “That’s good to hear. I hope he finds a lot of success with his new team.”
“Well, I’ll leave you two. Nice meeting you, Carson.”