Page 40 of When We Were Young
But Noah was determined, and since they’d found their way to a lasting friendship, Emily could do nothing but support him. Clara, too. They prayed for Noah before every practice. And they prayed before every game all summer and into the regular season, when Noah made headlines for leading the team to its best record in a decade.
Noah Carter was back.
But in his limited off time he still belonged to Emily and Clara. He’d come to their house after practice, spend time with them on campus, and whenever he could, Noah would find his way to Emily’s dance rehearsals. His entire sophomore year Noah didn’t have even the slightest injury. He was healthy and strong and he played so well Emily actually forgot to worry about him. Stopped thinking he was even vulnerable to another hit like the one he’d taken his freshman year.
He was that good, that strong.
But in his junior year, halfway through the second quarter of the fourth game, Emily and Clara were watching Noah run the ball when the unthinkable happened again. Flying at him from the left side was a linebacker Noah didn’t see coming until... the horrible, terrible blow.
The hit that made a sickening sound through the entire stadium. Again.
And just like that, Noah was on the ground. And all at once, life and time and existence stopped for Emily. Because Noah was in trouble. Deep trouble. He wasn’t moving, and ten minutes later he still hadn’t moved. All Emily could think was: what if this was it? What if Noah was dying out there on the field?
“Wait here,” she told Clara.
Tears ran down her sister’s face like before, and Clara only pointed to the field. “Go!”
Emily didn’t hesitate. She scrambled down the stairs and onto the sidelines until a security guard stopped her from running onto the field. “Please... let me see him!” Emily cried out. She couldn’t help herself. “He needs me. I have to see him.”
The man wouldn’t let her pass by, but somehow Noah must’ve heard her. Because through the crowd of coaches and paramedics circled around him, Emily saw Noah do something he hadn’t done until that moment.
He moved.
13
Kari rolled onto her side and checked her phone for the tenth time in an hour. Emily was done texting her. And now it was just after midnight. She sighed and flipped onto her back. Trying to sleep was a waste of time.
She sat up and looked at Ryan. He was completely out, like none of the recent news was weighing on him at all. She studied him a minute longer. The changes ahead were so big Kari couldn’t get her mind around them. Couldn’t imagine life in the next six months.
And not a bit of it seemed to bother Ryan.
Kari scooted out of bed and eased into her robe. More thunder sounded in the distance. Kari shivered. The house was chilly. Or maybe it was just the cool draft deep inside her heart. The cold air of uncertainty and sorrow borrowed from a time soon to come.
A sigh came from her aching soul. Today the pain of what was ahead felt heavier, sadder than she could bear. She pulled her robe tighter around her and found her slippers.
With the light of her phone, Kari took quiet steps into the hallway and upstairs to Jessie’s room. Their daughter had been up late studying. One more semester and she’d be off to college. Kari watched her sleep. Poor girl thought she was going to live at home.
Ryan’s changes ahead were bound to affect Jessie more than RJ and Annie. The youngest two would have time to build a new world, time to make new friends. But Jessie would feel like she’d lost her place. Like she had nowhere familiar to return to on college breaks or summers.
Jessie’s room was dark, her door open. Kari peered inside and looked for a long time at her oldest.Beautiful girl,Kari thought.
Ryan wasn’t her biological father, of course. But he had come back into their lives when Jessie was a newborn. He was the only daddy their daughter had ever known. And always Ryan had gone out of his way to love Jessie, to look out for her needs and emotions.
Which made his news even harder to understand.
Kari leaned on the doorframe and closed her eyes. They would tell the kids in the next few weeks, but even now Kari was sure no one would believe it. The truth was this:
Last week Ryan had accepted a job coaching football at University of Arizona in Tucson.
Kari remembered the night he found her in the study to tell her about the offer. His face looked pale, his expression tight. But even then his eyes sparkled with excitement.
“Kari, girl... love. I have something to tell you.”
Her very heartbeat worked in rhythm with his, so Kari knew immediately that whatever it was, the ramifications were significant. She swallowed hard and closed down her computer. Email could clearly wait.
Ryan held out his hand. “Come on. Let’s go out front.”
That night had been warmer than usual. But a chill had worked its way through Kari all the same. She found a jacket in the front closet and followed him onto the porch. They sat in the swing and for a long moment Ryan didn’t say anything.
