“Black is perfect for me.”
After we sat there for a minute, drinking our coffee, I broke the silence. “Thank you for not benching Cutter. He was rather upset with me when I told him I’d spoken with you.”
“He would have to do something drastic to get benched. Not only is he one of my best players, but he’s also one of my leaders. The other players look up to him. Cutter understands the game. I depend on him a lot.”
I nodded, even though I didn’t understand any of it. All I knew was Cutter had yelled at me, telling me I had no right to tell his coach about his mom. There was no point in arguing with him. Cutter was going to be an angry teen for a very long time.
“Is there anything I can help with?”
What an open-ended question that was. I shook my head. “I don’t know whether I’m coming or going right now. Miri will start treatment next week, and then I guess I’ll figure it out from there.”
“Miri ...” He paused after saying her nickname. “When we first met, she introduced herself as Miriam, and I’ve never heard of anyone calling her Miri. Not even her friends in town.”
“It’s my nickname for her. I had trouble saying her name when I was younger and have always called her Miri.”
“It suits her. She never mentioned that she had a sister.”
“We’re not related,” I told him. “We’ve been best friends since we were little.”
“Ah.” He nodded and took a sip of his coffee.
“Oh, I almost forgot.” I took the carrot off the tray and showed it to Weston. “Can Scout have this?”
He laughed. “I was wondering if that was for him but didn’t want to assume. Scout would love it.”
I called Scout over, and without me asking, he sat and held up his paw for me to shake. I held the vegetable out in front of him, and he took it gently from me. “He’s such a good boy.”
“That he is. I wasn’t looking for a dog until I met him. It was love at first sight.”
“Nova wants a dog,” I said for no other reason than to continue the conversation.
“Having one might help her cope with what’s going on.”
“Yeah, but everything’s so up in the air.”
“Can I ask what happens to the kids when ...” Weston trailed off.
I sighed heavily and took a sip of my coffee. “I don’t know. Miri and I need to sit down and make a plan for them, her house ... everything.” I wiped at my fallen tears. “She’s young. This shouldn’t be happening. Those kids are her life, and they need her. I need her.”
“I know I’m going to sound like a broken record here, but if there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know.”
“Be there for Cutter,” I stated. “My dad and brother are in his life, but they don’t live here. He’s going to need someone close that he can confide in. Guide him.” I glanced at Weston, who met my gaze. His eyes were a warm brown and full of empathy, making me wonder if he’d gone through something like this. Had he lost someone he loved dearly? I continued to stare, which he didn’t seem to care about because he kept his eyes on me the entire time.
And then Brendan popped into my mind, as if I was doing something wrong. I turned away, heat rising to my cheeks, and I cleared my throat.
Weston did as well. “What do you do for work?”
“I find corporations that are on the brink of financial despair and offer to buy them out to save them from bankruptcy.”
“You’re a pirate.”
I looked at him sharply, and he shrugged. “Sorry, slip of the tongue.”
“No, it’s fine.” I didn’t have the energy to argue. “People either think I’m a savior or someone hell-bent on ruining others.”
“Which one are you?”
“It depends on the company.” I looked into my empty cup and sighed. “Sometimes companies need a complete overhaul. You can’t replace the CEO or CFO without replacing other members of management because their ideologies on business all align. If they failed once, they’ll fail again. In this aspect, I guess I am a pirate.”
