Page 48 of Redemption
Placing my hands on the tailgate, I heave myself up, sitting on it and settling in for a long conversation. Silas leans against the side, slipping his hands into his pocket. He’s a mountain of a man, but if you watch him closely, you can see the aches in his body that he tries to hide from years of playing professionalfootball. His time in the league is not a story that he tells to a lot of people. The way he left was less than ideal, but he felt I was worthy enough to know his story. Maybe it’s because my own football career burned out in a blaze of glory.
“You’ve got yourself a heck of a mess with those kids,” Silas says, shaking his head and taking a cigarette out of his pocket.
“I thought you quit that?” I chide.
The man has no sense of self-preservation.
“Nah, gotta go out someway. Might as well enjoy it.”
I shake my head but choose not to push him on the topic. I’ll hide his cigarettes later—it will at least stop him for a couple of weeks. “The board waited until the last minute to even pursue hiring someone, yet they made it clear at the meeting that they expect miracles with this team. Several board members even went so far as to threaten my coaching position if I don’t make it to at least districts this year—not that it would hurt my feelings. I wasn’t sure about this position in the first place. But it gets under my skin that they are expecting miracles here. Those kids had zero summer practices. I kind of figured I was walking into a mess when I took the job, but this—I don’t even know what to say about this.”
Smoke rings float through the air as he puffs them out between his lips. Between the rings, he lets out a dry chuckle. “That’s more than a mess you’ve got, Hayes. It’s a disaster.”
I shove my hand through my hair, tightening my jaw then releasing it. He’s not telling me anything I don’t already know. “Yeah, that seems to be the theme of my life here lately.”
This time, his chuckle is real. “I can see that. Saw a pretty redhead leave the field at the beginning of practice.”
“Can we not talk about her?” I ask, turning my head so I’m facing him.
His smile turns almost wolfish. “Well, now we have to talk about her. What’s her name again?”
In addition to gossiping, Silas’s favorite hobby is getting under my skin, and he knows that any mention of MJ is a sure way to do it.
Flattening my lips, I glare at him. He ignores it and puffs on his cigarette again, waiting for my answer.
“It’s Mallorie Jade Harrison—and you know it.”
“Oh yeah, now I remember. She’s the girl in the picture you have hidden in the top drawer of your desk at work.”
My head jerks back. “What have you been doing snooping through my desk?”
“That’s not the point,” he says, waving me off. “The point is she’s back in town, you received a black eye from her, and you’ve got a hidden picture of her. Seems to be quite the story there. One I’m wondering why you haven’t told me about.”
I shrug. “Not all stories are meant to be shared.”
“See now, I don’t think that’s true. You just have to find the right person to share them with—someone who won’t judge you for it.”
“Are you that person?”
“I’ve always been that person, Son, but I won’t force you into it. I’ll wait until you’re ready. But at least tell me what she was doing on the field today.
“She’s the school nurse.”
To his credit, Silas at least tries to act like he’s surprised by that. We both know he already knew, though. That gossip was all over town the day the board voted yes.
“That may be so,” he says, rubbing his chin. “But that still doesn’t explain what she was doing on the field. Or does the school nurse pay visits to the head football coach often now?”
There’s a glimmer in his eye when he asks, and I groan, knowing if I don’t put a stop to it, he will try to play matchmaker. I already have my mom for that. I don’t need him added to the antics.
“No, Silas. The school nurse doesn’t just pay visits to the football coach—at least not this one. I can’t say I know a lot about what MJ does in her free time nowadays. She was worried about one of my players and wanted to let me know.”
“Which one?”
“Tanner Sylvis.”
“Which one was he at practice today?”
“The quarterback.”
