She snorts.
I shake my head and cut her off before she can argue. “Hey. Listen. How many times did you help one of your teammates shake it off when they got called for offsides or missed a kick? How many times did you step between Bella and Hugh when they were arguing over a play andhelped them find the middle ground? Those two havenevergotten along, but did you see them tonight? Playing like teammates.”
She’s finally listening. Her eyes are fixed on me, getting shiny under the streetlamps.
I clap her on the shoulder. “Youare why we made it as far as we did. You made a massive difference to this team, despite knowing you wouldn’t see much action on the field. You know how many other players in your shoes would’ve done what you’ve done? Not many. You took what you were given, and you made yourself the best damn equipment manager in the history of equipment managers. Andthatis what makes a player great, andthatis why every last one of your teammates inside that building right now has told me you need a place on the team this spring, even if they get cut. Don’t doubt your power. Don’t doubt your value. You’re a damn rock star. Okay?”
She swipes the back of her hand over her nose and steps back. “Okay. Whatever. Mom, can we go home?”
“Of course,” Maisey says quickly.
She shoots a look at me, mouthsThank you, and blinks rapidly herself.
I nod. “Really proud of her. I mean it—not many kids in her situation would’ve stepped up like she did.”
I don’t need June to believe me right now.
But I know she needed to hear how important she’s been. And I know Maisey will find a way to reiterate it in whatever way June needs to hear it again and again.
Maisey flashes me another half smile, this one loaded with complicated emotions and a clear resistance to saying whatever it is she thinks she needs to say, then heads around her truck to join June inside without letting anything slip.
I don’t watch them leave, even though I want to.
No need to push it.
Don’t head right back inside, either, though.
I’m crazy to be thinking about having a fling with Maisey. The last time I got involved with a student’s parent, the situation was completely different, but that doesn’t mean it’s not still a bad idea.
But as far as bad ideas go, it’s my favorite in a long, long time.
She’s the one who’s sticking.
Not because I want in her pants.
But because for the first time in my life, I trust that I’ve found someone who knows what it’s like to be abandoned. Who knows how hard it is to fit in. And who’s still willing to put themselves out there no matter the pain if it ends terribly.
For the first time in my life, I think I’ve found someone Iwantto love.
Chapter 26
Maisey
We’re halfway home before Junie says anything, and when she does, it cracks my heart in two.
“Do you think he meant it?”
I know what she’s asking. I knowexactlywhat she’s asking. “Who meant what, sweetheart?”
“Coach Jackson. That I—that I mattered.”
“He doesn’t strike me as the type to offer up false flattery,” I reply slowly. “I think he genuinely appreciated everything you did for the team this year, and he genuinely believes every word he said.”
“This season sucked.” Her voice cracks. “Do you know how hard it was to stand on the sidelines and tell everyone they were doing a great job when you know—you know—you would’ve been so much more effective on the field? But you also know if you’re on the field, someone else isn’t, and I can say all I want, that I would’ve made that goal or I wouldn’t have been sloppy in my ballhandling, but I don’t know thatfor sure.”
“Junie—”
“I lost us the game tonight,Mom. Sometimes I need to be irrational just to be irrational, butI lost us the game. So I’ve earned this. Okay?”
