Page 31 of When It Burns

“I hope so, but I don’t know. It could have been a one time thing. I haven’t gotten to really talk to him about it,” I say, trying to keep from getting my hopes up.

“Caroline, are you for real? That man is looking at you like you’re a five-course meal and he hasn’t eaten in weeks. I’m pretty sure he’ll let you saddle him up,” Hannah says quietly with a laugh.

I let out a chuckle at the thought before shrugging and saying, “I guess we’ll see.” I turn my attention back to the cheerleaders and shout to Maggie, “Hey, is that all of the chants we needed to go over?”

The captain looks up at me before replying, “Yes ma’am! Are you ready for us to run through our halftime cheer?”

I nod my head and say, “Let’s do it, ladies!” I reach over to the bleachers beside me where the cheer signs for the performance are sitting and lean over the side of the railing to hand them to Maggie. She passes them out as the girls transition into their formation.

Once the stunt groups are set and the girls in the front have their signs ready, Maggie calls out, “Let’s Go Blue!”

The rest of the squad joins in with “Springside, you know what to do!” as the stunt groups load in and press up to single base extensions. “Yell it out, Let’s Go Blue!”

Hannah and I yell along with the squad as they continue through the cheer and take notes on any problems we may need to fix before next week. Overall, I am proud of their performance. All of the fliers look solid in the air, and the sign girls in the front are hitting their marks right on time. Once they finish and the stunts have cradled down to the ground, I smile widely at the girls standing in front of me. “Great job ladies. Let’s work on making sure we don’t lose our volume during the stunt transitions. Top girls, I know you have poms, but make sure you are still making those motions really sharp. Let’s run it a few more times before we call it.”

The team nods and gets set to run through the cheer again. After three more times, I bring everyone up to the bleachers to sit with Hannah and me. “Great practice today ladies. This is our last week without a game until December if the team plays as well as they should. I hope you are all ready to buckle down. Maggie, do we have a theme for the first pep rally?”

“Well Crestview’s mascot is the Colts, so we were thinking about making it a cowgirl theme. We could do a line dance mashup with ‘Cotton Eyed Joe’ and ‘Copperhead Road’. Plus bandanas and cowgirl hats will look so cute with our new uniform,” Maggie replies.

Hannah looks at me and winks, knowing my mind immediately went to our conversation about Theo. I shake my head at her and turn my attention back to the squad. “That sounds great. Type me up a tentative schedule before Monday’s practice so I can make sure that we are ready to go.”

Maggie nods her head, and I run through the schedule for next week before saying, “Okay ladies, I think that’s everything. Does anyone have any questions?”

One of the sophomores named Samantha raises her hand. “Okay Miss Caroline, don’t kill me but why is the new fire chief staring at you? I am pretty sure he hasn’t stopped looking at you since we got here.”

The squad breaks out into a chorus of giggles before Sarah, one of the youngest members asks, “Yeah, is he your boooyyyfffrriiieennndd?”

I manage not to laugh at their silly antics and bite my lip to compose myself. “Ladies, this is inappropriate. Chief Johnson and I are friends. He’s a coach so the same rules will apply to him as Coach Will. If I hear any more of this, y’all will earn a whole practice of conditioning.”

The girls laugh, remembering the time last year Hannah and I had gotten so sick of hearing the girls talk about how dreamy Coach Will was, we’d created a killer workout circuit. Between the burpees, sprints, planks, and mountain climbers, we hadn’t heard much else about the coach.

“Okay, ladies. Good work today! We will see you on Monday! Have a good weekend!” I say as the girls huddle up to end practice. I make eye contact with Theo again across the field and a shiver of desire runs through me. I know I just told the girls he and I were friends, but the thoughts I am having about the man standing across from me are way more than friendly.

* * *

It’sclose to seven that evening before I pull up in front of Theo and Margaret’s farmhouse. I’d run home after practice to shower and change clothes, and it seemed like the weight of the day had decided to settle in over me. Between the confrontation with Michael this morning, a full day of teaching, practice, and the texts from Theo, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed. I couldn’t help drying my hair and throwing on my favorite shorts even though Margaret had already said her brother wouldn’t be home tonight.

I grab my phone out of my bag and shoot Theo a text before going inside.

Me: Having dinner at your house without you… Don’t worry, I’ll give Bear lots of kisses for you ??

Theo: Bear is such a little bastard. I can think of some better places for those lips of yours.

Me: Is that right? I can’t imagine what you might be talking about.

Theo: If you’re still there when I get home I’ll show you.

Me: Yes sir ;)

Smiling to myself I throw my phone into my pocket and make my way inside. Bear meets me at the door and gives me a small tail wag when I bend down to pet the pup beside his ears. As I make my way into the house, I’m hit with the most incredible smells. I follow my nose into the kitchen and find Margaret with an apron on, pulling out a pan of her cookies from the oven. A large pan of chicken spaghetti sits on the counter, and there’s a tray of garlic bread sitting beside it. My stomach growls as I take in the meal Margaret has pulled together.

“Hey, friend!” She takes her AirPods out of her ear and smiles at me. “Oh my God, it smells amazing in here,” I tell her, snagging a piece of bread off the top of the pile.

Margaret gives me a wide smile before she responds, “Oh thanks, girl! I am so glad y’all could come. Theo is over at Will’s watching film for next week, and I hate cooking for just me. Have a seat and I’ll grab you a drink while we wait on Hannah.” She turns and digs through the fridge before pulling out a bottle of peach Moscato. She pops the top and pours me a small glass before asking, “How are you holding up?”

I collapse onto the sofa that is on the other side of the bar, and Bear immediately jumps onto my lap and rests his large head on my leg. I blow out a breath and grab the glass Margaret’s holding in my direction. “Girl, it’s been a day. But I am okay! I just wish I could figure out how to help him,” I tell her. I know without saying anything that she knows I am referring to Michael. “People are always telling teachers we can’t save them all, and they are totally right. But I can’t stop asking myself, what if I’m supposed to save this one?”

Margaret takes a sip of wine and says, “You know I haven’t known you that long, but I am starting to think you have a way with broken things.”

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