Page 61 of Redemption
“I don’t care,” Tanner says, dumping his equipment on the ground. “It’s not like I have any choice in being here.”
To his credit, Hayes doesn’t say anything right away. Instead, he flicks his gaze to the sky as if praying for patience.
This situation is not funny, but I still have to press my lips together to keep from laughing. This kid is going to be a handful, but it might be fun watching someone else besides me press Hayes’s buttons.
When he has himself under control, Hayes looks back at Tanner, but Tanner meets his stare, defiance written on his face.
I’m worried the two will stand here staring at each other all day when a voice calls Tanner’s name from across the field.
“Tanner—hey, Tanner.”
A groan elicits from Tanner’s chest, and I try not to smile when I see Bella running across the field, her long hair blowing behind her and her instrument case in her hand.
“This girl will not leave me alone,” Tanner mutters before Bella closes in on us.
Bella is puffing air by the time she’s in front of us, and she bends over, placing her hands on her knees to catch her breath.
She twists her head to look up at me and smiles. “Oh, hi, MJ. I didn’t realize you were here.”
I grin back at her. “Hi, Bella. How’s it going?”
“Oh, you know, just fulfilling promises,” she says, giving Tanner a quick side eye with her hands still on her knees. “I had band practice this morning and saw you guys on my way out. So, I thought I would stop in and say hi.”
The snort that leaves my nose is anything but ladylike. My mom should be horrified, but Bella has been trying to befriend Tanner since that first day of school.
For the most part, he ignores her, but every once in a while, I catch him looking at her out of the corner of his eye. When I asked Bella why she keeps trying to be his friend, she slapped her hands on her hips and said, “Because God doesn’t give up on the lost, and neither will I.”
That’s how I received a life lesson from a fifteen-year-old. From that day forward, I decided to sit back and watch because maybe if God can find Tanner where he’s at, through the mouth of a girl who believes him without question, he can find me, too.
Bella ignores my snort, and Tanner only glowers harder. Hayes stands beside me, eyes bouncing between the three of us. The tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife.
Instead of letting the awkwardness fester, I say, “Bella, this is my friend Hayes. He coaches the football team.”
Bella wiggles her eyebrows and gives me an exaggerated wink. “Oh, I know who he is.”
Slapping my hand over my mouth, I try to hold back my laugh, but Hayes’s face is too funny. His mouth opens and closes, gaping like a fish, and it only causes me to laugh harder.
I’m holding onto my sides when Hayes mumbles, so only I can hear, “I’m glad you think this is funny.”
At this point, I can’t breathe.
Bella gives us a funny look, like we’ve lost our minds, then turns to Tanner. “Have you been ignoring me?”
“Every chance I get,” Tanner grumbles.
“That’s okay, I’ll wear you down. You just wait. By the end of the year, we are going to be best friends.” She pats him on the arm, her signature smile on her face, then spins on her heel, bouncing off the field the way she came.
Hayes still looks confused and turns to me, asking, “Who was that?”
“That was Bella. She’s—spirited.”
“That’s one way of putting it,” Hayes says at the same time Tanner says, “More like crazy.”
With Bella gone, Hayes’s face turns serious again.
“Well, on that positive note, let’s get started,” Hayes says with false cheer. “You won’t be needing that equipment—not in the way you’re thinking, at least.”
Tanner keeps his face blank, trying to appear bored, but there’s a curiosity stirring beneath it. “What do you mean? I thought I was here to practice?”
