I considered that for a moment. “I guess I can’t put anything past him.”
“Like I said, let me know when you’re ready. I’ve got you.”
Smiling, I resisted the temptation to hug him again. It would have been nice, but I had a feeling I needed to keep some distance. My feelings were getting stirred up in ways that were very inconvenient.
“There’s actually something else I need to talk to you about,” Theo said.
His voice had changed. He sounded hesitant. Maybe even a bit nervous.
That was odd. Theo never seemed to get nervous about anything. Oh, no. Was he about to tell me I had to find a different place to live?
“Sure, what’s up?”
“I’ve been offered a job as the offensive coordinator at the University of South Carolina. It’s obviously a big move, but it’s a great opportunity. And I decided to accept.”
It felt as if the floor opened and swallowed me whole. I stared at him in disbelief. He was leaving? Moving away? Across the country?
My lips parted, but I couldn’t seem to get a word out. I needed to say something. Congratulate him and tell him I was happy for him. That it really was an amazing opportunity.
His expression shifted from hopeful to bleak.
This was bad. So bad. I was failing. Big fat F on this test of friendship. I sucked in a lungful of air and finally regained the use of language.
“Oh my goodness! That’s incredible. Theo, I’m so happy for you.”
His look of worry transformed into a big, dimpled smile. “Thanks, Pen. I’m really excited about it.”
Friend crisis averted.
“Wow, offensive coordinator. And that’s a big university.”
“It is. They have a solid program, too. It’s going to be great.”
“So great. You’ll be amazing at it. You’re such a gifted coach. When do you go?”
“Next summer. So I’ll be able to finish out the school year here. And don’t worry about the house. I thought about keeping it as a rental anyway, so if you like living here, you can stay.”
“Thanks, I appreciate that.” I gave him my best everything-is-great smile. “What have you done to celebrate?”
He shrugged. “Took my mom to coffee. Had dinner with my family. We had champagne, although that was because my brother Luke got engaged.”
“Lots of big news in your family.”
“Yeah. Now that I think about it, I’m kind of surprised no one announced another baby on the way.”
I laughed a little, but the wordsengagedandbabybounced around in my head. Or maybe it was my heart.
They both hurt.
Because I was not engaged. And although I would have loved it, I was definitely not expecting a baby. I wanted a husband and a family, and I wasn’t exactly getting any younger.
Realizing my smile had faded and I probably looked stricken, I turned away before Theo could see. My lackluster life was not his problem.
“You know what this means, though?” he asked.
Smoothing my expression, I looked at him and schooled my voice to sound cheerful. “What?”
“We have to figure out what happened to Morris before I leave.”
