Chapter 4 #2
So much for not letting him get under her skin. Tisha suppressed a frustrated sigh and forced herself to keep her composure. She couldn’t let Ethan’s dismissive attitude ruin the progress they had made with Brody and Sadie. But did he have to be so arrogant?
Man, he could not get out of this school fast enough, especially with his conversation with Kaylee still echoing in his head.
“See you, Sadie,” Brody waved.
“Bye, Brody.” Sadie pushed her arms into her coat sleeves.
Wow, that was easy. Ethan stared in disbelief as the kids parted ways in the elementary-school conference room. Maybe they didn’t need all three sessions? They both acted like they’d forgotten their conflict already. He and Tisha, on the other hand, needed an intervention.
“See you around,” Ethan said, waving to Tisha.
“Have a good weekend.” Her thin smile sort of implied that she hoped he would find a nail in his tire later. Whatever.
Okay, so maybe he shouldn’t have been so snippy with her. But she’d only added to his annoyance with people for prying into his past. Why couldn’t Kaylee and Tisha and everyone else just leave him alone?
“How was it?” Aaron stood in the hallway as they all filed out of the room.
“Awesome.” Brody slapped Aaron’s outstretched palm.
“That’s what I like to see. I appreciate the good attitude, my man.” Aaron turned toward Sadie and Tisha. “Sadie, what’d you think?”
“It was a fun puzzle, Mr. Price.” Sadie smiled. “I love puppies.”
“Same.” Aaron smiled. “Mrs. Binford? Everything okay?”
“We’re just fine, thank you. See you next time.” Tisha took Sadie’s hand and walked toward the exit.
Ethan stared after her until she left the building. She had an odd definition of just fine.
“You good?”
Ethan met Aaron’s questioning gaze. “Splendid. Never better.”
Aaron hesitated, then gestured toward the gym at the end of the corridor. “Glad to hear that. Walk with me. Basketball tryouts have started. No pressure. Just thought you might want to see what the local seven- and eight-year-old talent pool is like.”
“Aaron,” Ethan said, tipping his head toward Brody, “he’s not a fan, if you catch my drift.”
“Understood,” Aaron said. “Maybe it’s worth having him at least check it out.”
“But—”
Before Ethan could finish, Aaron turned to Brody. “Hey, Brody, come on down to the gym. Kids your age are trying out for basketball. It’s just for fun. You’ll only practice once a week, and then you’ll get to play a game. It’ll be over in a couple of months.”
“That’s quite a sales pitch,” Ethan said. “Parks and Rec department would be thrilled.”
“I’m pretty good with kids, despite what you might have heard.”
Brody tugged on Ethan’s jacket. “Dad, I don’t really want to stay.”
“I know.” Ethan clapped Brody on the shoulder. “Me neither. But Mr. Price asked us to peek in, so it’ll just be a minute.”
They stepped into the gym, where boys and girls had been divided up into four groups, one at each of the baskets.
“Wow.” Ethan looked around. “New gym?”
“Yep. Had to knock down the old one. Wasn’t up to code.
” Aaron leaned against the wall inside the double doors and tucked his hands into the pockets of his gray slacks.
“This is great. Two full courts, bleachers, space nearby for concessions. When the high school teams host a big regional tournament, we can run games over here as well.”
“Oh my. Ethan McGuire, is that you?” A woman he sort of recognized stopped in front of him. “I can’t believe it. I’d heard you were back. Are you going to coach?”
“Hey, Tammy.” Aaron smiled. “I’m just bringing him by, giving him a little behind-the-scenes tour of the league.”
“Looks like you’ve got a great turnout,” Ethan said.
“This is our largest group for the seven- and eight-year-olds ever,” Tammy said. “At least since I’ve been volunteering.”
“Dad, come on.” Brody tugged his arm. “I’m ready to eat.”
“Just a few more minutes, I promise. Then we’ll go. I know you’re hungry.”
“Hey, Clutch. I thought that was you.” A man Ethan vaguely recognized jogged over. He offered a wide smile and a strong handshake.
“Ethan, you remember my husband, Derek. You probably played against each other in high school. He grew up in Delta.”
He couldn’t come up with a last name but recalled playing against a kid named Derek from Delta who never missed a free throw. “Nice to see you both.”
Derek slid his arm around Tammy’s waist. “We’re going to coach our son’s team. He’s seven.”
“Good for you.” Ethan smiled, but he couldn’t ignore the twinge of jealousy that snaked through him.
“Hey, man. Hop in on this drill.” Derek motioned for Ethan to join the group of kids on the court. “We’re just doing layups. You’ll give these kids a great example to model.”
“This isn’t the best time,” Ethan said. Brody sighed and flopped on the floor.
“Can I play with your phone, Dad?”
“Sure.” Ethan unlocked his device and handed it over.
Aaron gave him a look that dripped with disapproval.
“Hey, he doesn’t like basketball, plus he’s hungry and doesn’t want to be here. What do you want me to do?”
“I’ll hang with him,” Aaron said. “Go on. Hop into that drill real quick.”
Ethan took off his jacket, left it on the floor beside Brody, then stepped into the end of the line. All the kids stared up at him.
“Hey everybody, this is Ethan McGuire,” Derek said. “He played basketball at the high school a few years ago.”
Ethan laughed, feeling every bit of his thirty-eight years standing in a gym full of seven- and eight-year-olds.
“He’s going to show us how to do a layup.” Tammy smiled, then motioned for him to move to the front of the line.
Ethan took the ball Derek passed him, dribbled it a few times, then jogged toward the hoop. He tried to remember his form, laid the ball up onto the backboard, and thankfully it fell through the net.
The kids clapped. It felt good to have somebody cheering him on after his puzzle-building session followed by a tense conversation with Adeline’s bestie. He’d needed a little confidence booster.
He went through the line again, shot another layup on the left side of the basket this time, and then gave Derek a polite wave.
“Thanks for looping me in. I appreciate it. I need to get my son home.”
“No problem. And your son is welcome to join the league. I’m sure he’s a natural,” Derek said.
“Yeah. Thanks.” He walked off the court.
Grinning, Aaron gave him a high five. “That’s how it’s done. You ready to coach? With forty-eight kids signed up, they’re definitely in need of more parent volunteers.”
“I can’t commit to that, Aaron. Besides, Brody’s not interested.”
“Brody,” Aaron said, glancing down at him. “You want to try out for basketball?”
“No.”
“I saw you last night. Nailed that shot. You look like you were made for hoops.”
“Nope.” Brody went back to playing a bubble-popping game on Ethan’s phone.
“Give him time,” Aaron said. “I’m sure you’re all still getting situated.”
“Yeah, right.” Ethan bit back a terse response. For someone who claimed to be good with kids and spent a lot of time with them, he didn’t seem to be picking up on Brody’s vibe. Or maybe he didn’t want to accept that Brody didn’t like basketball.
Aaron palmed the top of his head and studied Ethan. “You okay?”
Ethan shrugged back into his coat. “There are some loose ends back in Florida that I still need to tie up. I had kind of a tough phone call a few minutes ago. Guess I’m not in the best headspace for a meaningful conversation.”
“I get that,” Aaron said. “Hope everything works out, and I’ll follow up next week. Ms. Strom and I will compare notes, then let you all know what we have planned for your next session.”
“Good. Keep us posted.” Ethan motioned for Brody to stand up. “Come on, pal. Let’s go.”
The warmth of curious stares heated his skin as he and Brody left the building. Man, he’d love to coach. He kind of hated that he was leaving so soon, to be honest, but he’d put Brody through a lot. He couldn’t expect him to play a sport he didn’t like.
Could he?
His internal frustration over Brody’s refusal to join the basketball team mixed with guilt from his phone call with Kaylee. Stubborn didn’t even begin to describe Adeline’s bestie. She’d assured him she’d come to Alaska if she had to because she wasn’t going to let the story fade.
The conversation hadn’t ended well. Tisha had aggravated him with her comments about his being a taskmaster over that silly puzzle, so he’d already been irritated when he took the phone call.
His tone and word choice had been blunt.
Probably a little too blunt, frankly. But the facts hadn’t changed.
Adeline had been lovely and beautiful and an exceptional human.
But why did he and Brody have to share her story now? Why couldn’t Kaylee leave them alone?
Brody got in the car and slammed the door. “I’m not playing basketball, Dad. Just so you know.”
Ethan gripped the steering wheel with both hands and stared at his son, with his sullen expression and arms linked across his chest. Clearly Ethan wasn’t making progress with anybody today.