Page 24 of Redemption
“We both know that’s not it, so spill.”
I roll my eyes. “You’re worse than a gossiping teenager.”
“Never claimed otherwise.” He puts the straw between his lips and sips, staring at me over the rim of the cup.
“I was offered a job.”
“Don’t you already have a job?” He asks around the straw.
“Yes. I would still do that job. This would be extra.”
My milkshake is melting in my hand, and the condensation on the plastic cup is dripping through my fingers. Silas eyes it and then looks at me, but I meticulously avoid his gaze.
“Am I going to have to guess what this job is? From the look on your face, I’m starting to wonder if you’re turning to the wrong side of the law.”
Grunting, I say, “Who would keep you from going to jail if that was the case?”
He laughs. It’s a full belly laugh. That’s another thing about Silas—he isn’t afraid to laugh. Even though his world crumbled, too, he doesn’t let it hold him back from experiencing joy. I wish I knew how to be like that.
“Touché, kid. Touché.”
“It’s the head coach position at the high school,” I admit, then shove my straw in my mouth, buying me some time before I have to answer any questions.
Silas, who had been taking a sip of his milkshake, chokes, coughing hard.
Maybe I should have waited until he put the milkshake down.
“Do I need to do the Heimlich on you or something?” I ask, a smile in my voice as I try to hide the one on my lips behind my cup.
He waves me off with his hand when I go to stand, not finding the amusement in the situation like I do.
“Just give me a minute,” he grumbles. “You can’t spring something like that on an old man and expect me not to be surprised.”
There aren’t many people I talk to about football, but Silas is one of them. He knows what it’s like to walk away from something you love. I never told him why I left, and he never asked. But he knows that I vowed never to go back.
“You weren’t the only one. I was pretty surprised myself.”
Sitting the cup on the stand beside him, he leans back in his chair and studies me. “Why don’t you start at the beginning and tell me how this came about.”
My fingers flex around the cup, pushing some of the milkshake to the top. I keep my gaze there, flexing and releasing my fingers, anything to keep from sitting still.
“My mom is the one who told me about the job, but after my talk with Lily, I think there are a lot of players at work here. I should have seen it coming—a lot of the board members like to try and talk about the good old days when they see me around town—but you know me, I don’t like talking about it.”
“Lily’s that girl you went on a date with, right?” Silas asks, leaning forward on the edge of his seat.
Apparently, he hasn’t been on the gossip line today because he acts like I’m feeding his addiction. The man is worse than a middle school girl.
“Yes, but we’re just friends. She is the new principal at the high school, and I told my mom I would talk to Lily about the job. That’s where I was today.”
“And?” He lifts one brow, waiting for my decision.
“I think I have to take it.”
He nods, his mouth firming and the laugh lines disappearing from around his eyes.
“I think so, too.”
Chapter 8
