Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 122514 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 613(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 408(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122514 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 613(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 408(@300wpm)
Floor open up. Let me fall through. Please. Now.
Hadley was crying in the corner. She wiped at a tear. “I can’t even imagine. Charlie…”
I couldn’t. I just couldn’t.
I should’ve gone to her, took her in my arms, whispered that it was okay, but I didn’t have it in me. I wanted to disappear, and as if sensing what was going on with me, Reese took my arm once again.
“Maybe, uh, come with me? Yeah?” He looked at Owen, though, who nodded back. Owen was the one to go and take his wife in his arms.
He was the one to comfort her.
He was doing what I should’ve been doing, and Reese, he was being a friend. He pulled me with him, grabbing an extra apple on the way, and I knew that was for me and not him. He stuffed it into his pocket, his hand falling to mine.
He was leading me out, the cafeteria empty, when the back door opened.
Grant stepped in and saw us, his eyes falling to our hands.
Reese didn’t stop. He only dipped his head to Grant, grunting, “What’s up?” Then he tugged me the rest of the way through the cafeteria with him.
I was so beyond thankful for him because he wasn’t letting me make decisions. He knew I wasn’t ready to deal with the aftermath of what Owen and Hadley had just heard. He knew Grant would find out. He knew I wouldn’t want to stand there, feeling completely exposed, all my insides out in the open for them to see. And he wasn’t letting me stay and dwell.
He went into the camp office, where his coach was talking to Keith.
“Coach?”
Our hands came apart.
Keith’s eyebrows bunched together. He was wearing an olive green polo shirt today, the same khaki shorts, though. Could he ever wear something else? I doubted it.
“Charlie?” Keith frowned at me.
Reese’s coach cleared his throat, glancing between Keith and me. “Uh, yeah. Can we have a word? Keith, you have an office we could use real quick?”
Keith brightened and came around the desk. He picked up his Boss mug and held it out to me. “Charlie, wash this for me?”
Reese’s jaw clenched. He took the mug and put it on the counter behind Keith. “Charlie’s going with me to the gym. I asked her to open it early.”
“Yeah?” Keith’s smile was wide. “That’s great. She does a good job. Don’t you, girl? Oh hey. We’re closing up early in three days, so you can make travel arrangements. I’ll cut you a check at the end. It’ll be a little short what I promised, but you did a good job—opening the gyms, taking inventory—a good job. I was just talking with Coach Winston, going over the last of the details.”
I felt Reese’s tension.
He jerked forward, but I grabbed the back of his sleeve. It wasn’t a firm hold, just a reminder.
Coach Winston saw the motion and narrowed his eyes, but he didn’t say anything.
Keith was clueless, as usual. He smiled, nodding. “Since you’re here.” He grabbed a piece of paper from the counter, holding out a pen. “Mind if I get your autograph? My son will be jealous when I show it to him later.”
“You’re kidding me, right?” Reese said, his eyes wide.
Keith’s smile slipped.
Coach Winston stepped forward, moving between the two. “If you don’t mind, Keith, I need to have a word with my player. We can do autographs later.”
“Sure! That’d be great. I could grab some posters, get the whole team to sign them? We do auctions here. That could help support the camp a bit more.”
“Uh-huh. Yeah. Sure.” Coach Winston urged Reese outside. “Hallway.” His eyes flashed.
Reese nodded, turning, his hand going to my hip and moving me ahead of him. Once outside, Coach said, “Upstairs. Your friend too.”
I was in trouble. By Winston Duty.
The old Charlie came to life, just a little. She did a little somersault inside me.
We went upstairs, moving into one of the sitting rooms. Once inside, Reese’s coach shut the door and shook his head. “Hell. That guy.”
“Is he for real?” Reese asked. “He wants my fucking autograph, so his son gets jealous?”
“This place was recommended by a buddy of mine, but now I don’t know.”
“Keith is usually kept away from campers. Owen, he’s the guy that’s been in the kitchen this whole time? His job is usually handling campers. He’s better at it.”
Both looked at me.
Reese asked, “Why’s he in the kitchen then?”
“Keith wanted to keep the staff at a minimum. It’s protocol if celebrities are here, and you guys are special. Keith thinks he’s a big basketball guy. He’d strut around like a rooster if more pro teams came here.”
The two shared a look.
Yeah. I doubted that was going to happen.
“That’s too bad,” Coach Winston said. “I’ve talked with Owen a few times about meals for the team. He seems like a good man.”