FAITH
Isat on the basketball bleachers, sandwiched between Dotty and Rose on one side and Marissa and Scott and James on the other.
Scott leaned forward, his hand in Marissa’s. “So how long have you liked basketball, Faith?” His eyebrows were raised and he had a mischievous smile on his face.
Marissa elbowed him in the side. “Scott!” She tried to scold him, but she couldn’t stay mad at him, so she rolled her eyes.
He laughed.
I still didn’t know more than the basics of the sport, but I knew how important this game was to Adam. He had been distracted for the last several days as he went over game videos, and I could tell his mind was preoccupied. Not too preoccupied for our lunch kisses and stolen conversations though. He promised he would never be too busy for those.
“What happens if they lose?” I refocused on the group of boys running back and forth on the court and forced myself to pry my gaze away from the coach’s backside.
Rose raised an eyebrow at me, and I blushed and shrugged.
Scott looked at the court. “If they lose, I think they might be out. This one is for the district championships.”
We were eight behind. The buzzer sounded at the end of the third quarter. Danny flinched at the sound of the buzzer.
He stood and grabbed the water bottles and rushed toward the players. The team circled around him, half on the bench and half standing. Adam squatted in the middle, holding a little whiteboard and marker. He made different marks on the board and nodded to different boys. The boys gave him all their attention. He smiled and pointed his head toward number 44, and the group laughed.
“The coach is such a frickin’ joke.” A male voice hollered behind me. My back stiffened. And I kept my eyes focused on Danny as one boy helped him put the water bottles away. My heart was so full watching this group of young men. I was in awe of them. The team that Adam had created and the way they all respected one another.
My phone beeped an alarm, along with several people’s phones around me. I grabbed my phone. It held a yellow warning symbol. There was a severe winter weather warning for our area for the next three days.
I cleared the message and refocused on the game. We’d had the warnings before this winter, but usually the storm would blow over pretty quickly.
The team put their hands in the middle and cheered, “Eagles!” A group of boys headed out onto the court, and I caught Adam searching the crowd. As his eyes found mine, he winked at me as I gave him a little wave.
Seven tapped his shoulder, bringing his attention back to the court. Danny had spilled a water bottle, so Adam nodded and handed a towel to him. The boys cleaned up the water.
“That kid spills water every game. I don’t know why they let him even help.” The same grumpy voice from before sounded behind me.
Heat flooded my veins. I was going to rip that man a new one! Iturned and made eye contact with a man with gross, stringy hair and unfocused eyes.
“Excuse me?” My hands shook. I usually shrank away from confrontation, but I didn’t feel fear. At least if I did, it was drowned by my need to protect Adam and Danny.
“What’s the matter? Don’t like me bad-mouthing your lover boy?” The man smirked, showing missing teeth and cold eyes.
I glared at him and wanted to come to Adam’s defense. I cleared my throat and stiffened my spine.
Marissa grabbed my hand, and she leaned toward me. “He’s not worth it,” she whispered. “Tony has filed more complaints at the law office than the whole town put together.” She scoffed. “The man is a terrible excuse for a human and father, and the whole town knows it.” She leaned near me. “Don’t waste your time or energy on him.”
I huffed and tried to calm the fire in my stomach. I faced the game again and took a deep breath and spun my ring.
Danny waved up at me. “Hey, Ms. Faith, did you see me?” He started up the bleachers in my direction.
I nodded. “I did. You did a great job.”
The man behind me scoffed, and it took all my willpower to focus on Danny.
“Thanks.” He stopped in front of me. “Can I sit with you?”
Marissa and Scott scooted farther down the bench and patted a spot for Danny, and he plopped himself down next to me.
“Did you hear we are getting snow tonight?” Danny’s legs swung back and forth as he smiled.
I shook my head. How was he still excited about the snow? It was February, and I was ready to see spring colors and the sun. “Yep. My phone gave an alert. Sounds like it might be a big storm.”
