“I did that. And by the way, they have a coach. Several, in fact.”
“No, the Riverdown Cougars have coaches. What about the kids who don’t have any money? Who don’t have any place to try football or excel in a sport they like? Where do they go?”
“I have no idea.”
“Nowhere. In this town, our parks department runs the athletics. For the most part, they do a good job, but there are so many children who don’t have access to money or equipment or even transportation to get to and from sports. I know this because Simon has grown up playing just about every sport there is. Now that he’s settled on football, we’ve spent a good bit on equipment and team fees.”
“Huh. I hadn’t thought about that.”
“You’re a natural with the kids.”
“I don’t know about that. The other day three of them cornered me with personal problems, and I thought about running away.”
She smiled. “But I bet you still talked to them and tried to help.”
“That’s what coaches are supposed to do.”
“Exactly. Maybe try doing what you’re already good at. And if it doesn’t work, try something else. You don’t have to have all the answers right away, you know. No one is grading you on a pass or fail if coaching kids—or whatever you decide to try—doesn’t work out. You said you have money.”
“Not to brag, but I do. More than I’ll ever need.” He felt embarrassed telling her that.
“So, put it to good use. You said you wanted to be a part of the community. Here’s your shot.”
“I’ve been looking into a few charities around town as well.” Two in particular stood out to him. A halfway house that helped teenagers with no place to go, and a local animal shelter that needed serious funding. Mitch had always been drawn to helping those who couldn’t help themselves.
But throwing money at a problem didn’t make it go away. Maybe Becca was on to something when she’d mentioned a way to organize athletics for kids needing assistance.
“We didn’t have a lot of money growing up,” he told her. “But my parents worked hard to give us what they could. I remember PB&Js for dinner when the heater went out and we had to get a new one. Or wearing all of Deacon’s hand-me-downs. I didn’t mind. It just was. But now I don’t have to worry about any of that, and sometimes I feel like a big pretender.” Great. Now he sounded like a lame whiner. Pathetic and all woe-is-me.
But Mitch couldn’t talk about this stuff with his family. His parents would worry about him, and now was their time to live life to the fullest. Deacon had been through bad times. He didn’t need his nose rubbed in the fact that his pitiable littlerichbrother needed direction. And God knew he couldn’t talk to anyone else about his issues. He could too easily envision his face on the news or in the paper. Not at all how he wanted to live the rest of his life. Mitch would be too happy to blend into the woodwork and just be.
Becca reached out to pat his knee. “You’re no pretender, Mitch. You worked hard to earn a good living. Enjoy it. I like seeing you smile, and I saw you smile a lot when you worked with the high school team. And again when you came back from playing with Simon the other night.”
He tugged her into his lap and caged her there. “Yeah? How about when I played with you? Did you see me smile a lot then?”
“I’m trying to be serious.”
“Oddly enough, so am I.” Mitch looked into her eyes. “I’m going to get my head on straight. I swear.”
“I believe you.”
“Believe that I mentioned this because I trust you. And Becca, I don’t trust many people.” He took a chance. “I feel something for you. Something special. And I think, maybe, you feel something for me, too.”
“You know I do.”
“No.” He shook his head. “I’m not talking about sex. That’s just incredible. I’m talking about the butterflies in my stomach when I see you. Or the hope I get when a woman who looks like you is near. Because I get that buzz of hope it’s you.” He took her face by the chin when she looked away and forced her to meet his gaze. “I’m not trying to freak you out or anything, but I wanted you to know how much I care for you. You’re different than the others.”
She stiffened. “Others?”
He bit back a smile. “From before I moved here. Remember I told you about Danielle? My last ex? She was beautiful, smart, and sadly, more interested in my name than in me. I tried, I really did.”
“Oh?” She toyed with his hair, and he wanted to curl up around her and never let her go.
“I was never very interested in her, because I couldn’t find a part of her that was real. Hell, maybe it was me. I was in a different place then, dealing with pressure from the team, the coaches, the need to break records and be better than the best. But you know, I would have killed to have a woman like you beside me then.”
“Oh. Wow.” She stared into his eyes, and he swore he saw something more than mere affection.
“I’m not trying to pressure you. I just wanted you to know that I…care about you.” Love? Did he love her?
