Karissa held tighter to Paul’s hand as they slid into the bleachers at the basketball game Friday night. Marsh had mentioned that turnout to the games had been pretty good, but she had expected the stands to be a little emptier after the news of the boys being dropped from the team. Instead, the room was nearly bursting at the seams.
She wondered if it was curiosity about how the team would do, now that half of it had been changed.
Paul plopped down when they came to an empty spot on the bench and she slid in beside him. The other team was ahead 18-12, but they were still in the first quarter, so anything could change.
She watched the game through the rest of the quarter, studying the players and trying to keep her eyes on the game. But she couldn’t help herself; she regularly found her eyes straying to study Marsh instead. He was tense, focused, and irritated. She could tell from the way he clenched his jaw. The soothing note to his voice that she’d heard in practice was gone now, and though he wasn’t being overly harsh with the boys, his impatience shone through.
During the break between quarters he pulled the boys in for a huddle. Marsh was turned away from Karissa, so she couldn’t see his face, but he held his back and shoulders stiffly. Then the bell rang and half of the boys ran back onto the floor. The others sat on the bench, intently watching the play.
While they waited for the referee to put the ball back in play, Marsh’s eyes lifted to the stands, scanning them for a second, then stopped on Karissa and Paul. Paul stood and waved, calling out to Marsh. Karissa smiled and winked, and Marsh’s shoulders relaxed slightly as he returned the smile, lifted a finger in acknowledgement, then turned back to the court.
“Wow,” a woman said from behind Karissa. “I didn’t realize you had something going with Marsh.”
Karissa turned and looked at Alanna Jenkins. The two of them had only been a year apart in school and hadn’t known each other well. It had been years since they’d run into each other. “Something going,” she responded, keeping it vague. “How have you been? Don’t you have a little girl?”
“Yes. She’s a doll. How long have you been back in town? Or are you just visiting Marsh?” Her brows wiggled.
“I’ve been back a couple of months. I’m dispatching for the Sherriff’s Office now.”
The two of them continued the exchange for a few minutes, talking a little about their kids and things going on in town.
“So, you and Marsh, huh?” Alanna brought the subject back around to her original topic. “I guess it makes sense, since he and your brothers were so tight.”
“Yeah. They still are.”
“What does he think about this whole mess?” She nodded toward the court.
Karissa looked down in time to see one of the opposing players snag the ball when it was passed and head back for his own basket. Her eyes landed on Marsh, who, impossibly, seemed even tenser than before. “It’s been a challenge, but he’s determined to do the best he can for the team. It’s unfortunate something like this had to happen the year that they were doing so well.” She paused and amended her statement. “No, it would be awful no matter how good the team was, but it just makes it hurt a little more, you know?”
“You wish the boys hadn’t been caught?” Alanna asked. Her brows lifted incrementally and her eyes drilled into Karissa.
Karissa blinked in surprise. “No, I wish the boys hadn’t been using. Considering the side-effects those kinds of drugs have, they were lucky to get caught so early. Before it had time to do permanent damage.”
“Any idea who their dealer is?” Alanna was less careful to mask her prying now.
“Not yet. If the detectives know, they’re keeping it quiet, but last I heard, the boys aren’t talking.” Karissa shrugged, wanting to get back to the game, uncomfortable with the conversation. She did have a few details that would make any busy-body salivate, but she wasn’t about to divulge them—it was police business. “I guess we’ll find out eventually.” She turned back to the game, signaling that the conversation was over.
“I hope so.”
Karissa had turned back in time to catch Marsh glaring at her. She gave him a look that asked what was wrong, but he just turned back to the game.
***
Marsh could not believe Karissa had been talking to that reporter. Didn’t she have any brains? And what was Alanna asking, anyway? He’d assumed from the way he’d seen her gesture toward the court that it was about the boys. She had contacted him several times, trying to get an interview, but he’d stuck firmly to ‘no comment’. Apparently she wasn’t dissuaded, since she was here tonight. He didn’t recall seeing her at any games before the drug tests.
He tried to keep all of his attention on the floor, but whenever there was a penalty shot, or the ball went out of bounds, his gaze was dragged back to Karissa, even if only for a quick peek. He still couldn’t believe that she was in his life again, and that she’d told him she loved him—or rather that she thought she might be falling in love with him. But that was still a step in the right direction.
If only she would keep her mouth shut and stop talking to that reporter!
Halftime came and went with the requisite encouraging speech to the boys, who were doing better than expected against the opposing team, even though they were still trailing in points. They were really pulling together, and he couldn’t ask for more than their best.
The second half went well, with his team actually pulling ahead by two points, before the other team took the lead again. In the end, Marsh’s team lost by only three points. It was a little disappointing, but gave him hope that the rest of the season would be better than he thought.
“Sorry we let you down, Coach,” Craig said when they had returned to the locker room and Marsh had tried to give them kudos for doing their best.
“You didn’t let me down. You played hard out there. I can’t ask for more than that.” Marsh set a hand on his shoulder in comfort, though he wanted out of the room so he could talk to Karissa and find out what she had said to the reporter.
“We could have won, if it hadn’t been for that pass I missed.” Craig sat on the bench, discouragement written in the way his shoulders sagged and the sadness in his eyes. “We could have won.”
“Don’t beat yourself up over every little mistake. Everyone missed something they might have nailed, but weren’t perfect on. You played hard and next time you’ll work even harder for the win.” Marsh looked around at all of the guys, and saw they were equally unhappy.
“But we were supposed to beat them. They’re only winning half of their games this season,” Jerry said.
“Yeah. That was before. This is now.” Marsh considered his words, not wanting to discourage the boys or make them think that they couldn’t do it, even if he had his own doubts. “This week has been a hard one. We lost some of our best players, and we’ve had to change things up. I know you’re all upset about what happened, and I’m sure some of you aren’t too happy with me for kicking the other boys off the team, but that’s the way real life works. You get caught cheating, you lose out. I hate it as much as you do.”
He paced a few steps, then turned back. “You’ve all worked your guts out this week preparing for this game, getting to know each other better so you can be a cohesive team. That takes dedication and determination. I’m proud of you all.”
He put his hands on his hips and scanned the room, bypassing his assistant coach when he saw the irritation on Rex’s face. “I know everyone’s saying that our chances for a state title are over. And maybe they are. But maybe you can all prove that you’re better than everyone thinks. If you all work hard, I know this team will do better than you expect. Those other guys? They’re idiots for trying to take the shortcut. You are the ones who are still in the game. So stay there and make it count.”
“But we lost,” Craig reminded him.
“Yeah, and half a dozen people had the nerve to come up to me this week and tell me you boys were gonna get creamed out there. You didn’t get creamed. You made those other boys fight for every point. They came out ahead, but only barely. You’re already exceeding expectations. Don’t let anyone tell you we can’t make it to state, because no one knows what you can do until you prove it to them.”
Rex rolled his eyes. Marsh fought to keep his irritation at the man’s attitude to himself. “Now hit the showers. And don’t forget to keep up with your homework this week. If your grade reports aren’t good on Wednesday, you won’t get to play until after we come back in January, and that would really suck.”
A couple of the boys chuckled as they turned back to grab their towels and clean clothes.
“Nice speech,” Rex said when the boys had moved to the showers. “It almost made me believe we could still get a state title.” His mouth formed a thin line, his disapproval clear.
“Do you have some notes I should add regarding things we need to work on next week?” Marsh tried not to sound impatient, but wasn’t sure if he succeeded. He wanted to get back out there and see if Karissa was waiting or had already left.
“Nothing that can’t wait. I’ll catch you next week.” He grabbed his bag and headed for the door.
Marsh let him go and waited a full sixty second before following. He was pleased to see Karissa and Paul waiting for him by the doors—until he realized she was still talking with the reporter. He caught something about making curls last longer and was a little relieved that they were talking hair care instead of basketball, but he wondered if Alanna had already pumped Karissa for some good quotes.
Paul saw Marsh first and ran to him, throwing his arms out to be picked up, which Marsh did, giving him a big hug.
“Hey.” Karissa looked over at Marsh and grinned, heading toward him.
“Hi. I’m glad you waited.” Mostly. “Are you having a good conversation with the reporter?”
Karissa looked confused for a minute, then recognition slid onto her face. She turned back to Alanna. “You’re a reporter?”
“I thought I mentioned that. Sorry.” Alanna approached, a confident smile in place. “Marsh, I hoped I might get a chance to speak with you. You’re a hard man to pin down.”
Marsh set Paul back on the floor and met Alanna’s gaze. “I’m very busy, and I don’t really have anything to say about the boys leaving the team. No doubt you’ve already heard everything worth knowing.”
“Yes, but I wondered what you thought of the suit being brought against the school for holding drug tests in the first place. I believe you’re being named in the suit.” She pulled a recorder out of her bag. “Do you mind if I record our conversation—so I can get the quotes right?”
“Yes, I mind.” The response had been automatic, but Marsh was reeling from the news of the lawsuit. It must not have been officially filed if he was named in it and still hadn’t heard anything about it. How could anyone blame him for it if he didn’t make the decision? And which parent was twisted enough to blame the school when their kid was caught breaking the rules? He reconsidered. “Hold on. Tell me what you know and I’ll give you a quote. One quote. But I won’t promise that it’ll be juicy.”
“That’s better than I’ve gotten from you so far.” Alanna explained that the suit said the tests were tampered with, that he didn’t like Chris to begin with, and was just looking for a way to drop him and a couple other less-desirable players from the team. That the school board went along with him on it because they wanted to bring in Ryan, the new kid with mad basketball skills who was rumored to be Marsh’s nephew.
Marsh rolled his eyes at that ridiculous comment, but took the rest of it seriously. He considered his words for a moment, wanting to get the quote right, then nodded.
Alanna turned on the tape recorder. “So, Coach Willmore, tell me what you think about the suit Chris Locke’s parents are about to file against the school.”
“All I can say is that the firm who did the drug test is reputable and that I had no hand in choosing them, nor did I know about the drug tests in advance. I applaud the school board for being proactive in ensuring that our athletes understand that they can’t break the rules with impunity. We’re very sorry to have lost any of the boys on our team. They will definitely be missed.”
“And what about the comments regarding Ryan Fitzpatrick?” Alanna prodded.
Marsh had only promised her one quote, but decided it was worth giving her one more. “I’d heard rumors that the kid could play, but I knew nothing about him except his name before he showed up to tryouts this week, and I’d never seen him play before then.” He waved to the recorder and she turned it off.
“So he’s on the team?” Alanna asked.
“We haven’t made any announcements regarding which of the boys we’re going to take on and which are going to be cut. We’ll make that decision over the weekend and announce it at school on Monday. You’ll have to wait until then to find out our decision. Just like everyone else.”
Alanna smiled as she tucked her recorder in her purse. “Fair enough. And I’ll do my best to be fair in my article. I don’t want to drag anyone over the coals, you know. I find the truth is always better than sensationalism.”
“I hope that’s true.” He shook her hand and watched her walk away before turning back to Karissa. “So what did she ask you?”
Karissa shrugged. “Mostly about what I was up to and about Paul. She asked a little about us and what I thought about the drug issue. I was careful not to give up any details, since the last thing you guys need right now is more rumors flying. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize she was a reporter now. I guess I should read the paper more often.” Her smile was a little embarrassed and a lot conciliatory.
“Yeah, maybe.” He reigned in his irritation as best he could, and tensed and released his shoulders, trying to loosen the aching muscles. “Sorry if I was short with you. It’s just a really bad time to not know who you’re talking to.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Her voice was a little clipped and she held herself stiffly in his embrace.
“Can we go for ice cream, Mom? You promised!” Paul said, tugging on her arm.
“I don’t know, it’s getting late,” she started.
Marsh released her. “But you promised,” he teased. “It’s not that late, and I’ll buy.” He didn’t want her to go home still mad at him and hoped to cajole her into a better mood. Was she still upset about her ex having a baby today? He wanted to ask her if she’d heard from him, but didn’t want to remind her if she wasn’t thinking about it. Besides, he didn’t want her thinking about any man but himself when they were together.
Karissa seemed to consider for a long moment, then nodded. “Fine. How long until you can leave?”
One of the boys on his team walked past them on his way out of the locker room, a gym bag thrown over one shoulder. “See you later, Coach.”
“See you.” Marsh waited a few seconds, then turned back to Karissa. “Not too long if they’re already coming out. Can you wait for me?”
She shook her head. “I have to drop some stuff off to Hank. It shouldn’t take long. We’ll meet you there.”
He smiled, relieved he would get a chance to make things up to her.