“Excellent.Call if you have questions.Your coaches and manager know the program for players recovering from a concussion.”
Maia stood, pleased with the positive outcome.“Thank you.”
She and Henry left the surgery.
“Do you need any supplies while we’re here?There’s a mall nearby where Megan and London stock up.”
“I’d like to purchase a decent coat—a waterproof one for our walks.”
“Let’s go, then.”
During the next week, Maia kept in contact with her coaches and attended their first team game as a spectator.It rained for the entire match, and she was pleased with her new coat.It kept out rain and cold, as did Henry, who created a barrier.
“Your thoughts?”she asked after they said goodbye and headed to Middlemarch.
“My honest assessment?”
“I expect nothing else.”
“Your team isn’t playing as a unit.They’re talented players, but they’re not gelling.They didn’t pass the ball.It’s like they’re worried a teammate will score instead of them.”
“And because they’re not team players, only the opposition are scoring.”
“Exactly.”Henry cast her a sidelong glance.“Why are you asking if you saw that?”
“I wondered if it was my imagination or if I truly was seeing the problem.”
“It’s the first game.The players need more time.”
“Perhaps,” Maia said.
“Are you attending training next Tuesday?”
“Yes, I’m ready to go.Eager.”She slid him a look.“I should move back to my house.It’s time to attack the lawns and make the place presentable.”
“Already done,” Henry said, sparing her a glance as he navigated traffic.“Jacey, Gerard, and I mowed your lawn yesterday.I meant to tell you, but we got distracted.I enjoy having you in my bed.Are you sure you need to leave?”
“Megan and London are probably tired of having me around.”
“They like you.”
“The funny stuff has ceased.You haven’t discovered more sweet wrappers?”
“Not a one, and I’ve been looking.Laura and Charlie do drive-bys.”
“They do?”
“They’re excellent cops and care about Middlemarch’s residents.”
“My time at Middlemarch wasn’t happy as a child.My aunt—she hated me.Resented me, but everyone has made me welcome.”
“Why?You were just a child.”
“My aunt and her mother disapproved of my parents’ relationship, and they tried to break up my parents.My mother was pregnant when she married my dad, and his family accused my mother of trapping him.I don’t know how much of what I heard was true, but my aunt became bitter.After my parents died, she took her frustration out on me.My dad had possessed money and put it into a trust for me.My aunt couldn’t touch it, and once she learned that, she made my life hell.I’m grateful to my parents for their foresight.The money provided me with an excellent education and kept me, mostly, out of my aunt’s clutches.But the way my parents constructed the trust, she had a say in what courses I took, and she pressured me to take accountancy.I have a degree I don’t use because I hate spreadsheets.”
Henry looked askance as he turned onto the main road.“But she left you her house?”
“She left it to charity, and they put it up for sale.”Her grin felt decidedly impish.“I bought it because I imagined her spinning in her grave.That makes me petty, but she made my life hell.”
