Page 24 of First Time Coach

“You would?” I ask, feeling a tiny sense of relief amidst the terrible storm of the night. Pete nods.

“You’re a great guy, and I know that,” he says. “Problem is, right now my daughter doesn’t. I don’t know what happened between the two of you tonight, but if you want any chance of saving this situation—and of me not breaking your nose for hurting her—you’d better go into the back yard now and fix this.”

I look at my friend with relief, and put a hand on his shoulder. “I didn’t hurt her. It’s a misunderstanding. I’ll fix it.”

“You better,” he smirks as I push past him and into the house.

“Coach Irons!?” Charlotte stammers. “What are you—?”

“Come here, Charlotte,” Pete calls from the door. “I’ll explain.”

I leave them and stride quickly down the hall into the back yard where Daisy is standing, her eyes red and her cheeks stained with tears. My heart breaks for her. This is Heather’s fault, but I’m just as responsible for not protecting her the way I should have.

“Go,” Daisy tells me, her voice cracked with pain. “Go!”

“Let me explain—”

“You’re married!” she cries. “What is there to explain!?”

“I’m not married,” I say firmly, trying not to yell. “That woman back there—her name is Heather. She’s the reason I left New Zealand.”

“Yeah, to avoid a divorce. I heard her!”

“No!” I reply. “We’re not married. I can prove that. I met her once a long time ago, and ever since then, she’s been basically stalking me. It started online, which is why I don’t have any social media now, and then she found out where I lived. I moved twice but she kept finding me. I couldn’t get rid of her. I didn’t have anything tying me to New Zealand, so I called up your dad and moved here.”

“Bullshit…” she replies, her voice barely a whisper.

“I can prove it all,” I tell her, approaching slowly. “I am not married, Daisy. I never even touched her except when I shook her hand. That’s it. And the cops are at my house now, arresting her.”

“You—you said it was your mother,” she says. I wince.

“I’m sorry I lied,” I tell her. “But I wanted to protect you from this. I thought I’d be able to resolve it all without involving you.”

“Well, I guess not!” she says, exasperated as she wipes her eyes.

“Please believe me, Daisy. Everything I’ve said is true. I love you.”

“It is true.” I turn to see Pete standing by the screen door. He nods to me. “What Dirk says is true, Daisy. He told me all about that crazy bitch before he moved. I warned him that she was a stalker who would follow him here, but he didn’t believe me!”

I can’t help but laugh. Pete is right; he did warn me. I look back at Daisy, my heart pouring out for her, and see her defensiveness start to fade.

“Really, daddy?” she asks.

“Come on,” Pete says as he takes the steps and walks over to her. “Would your father lie to you?”

She looks up at him, then to me. “And you know about us, then?”

“I do,” he chuckles. “And if you’re worried about that, I approve.”

Her eyes light up. “You do?!”

“Of course I do! Dirk’s a great guy. I can’t say much for how the school will feel about it, but as far as I’m concerned, you have my blessing.”

“And mine!” I turn around to see Charlotte coming down the steps toward us. She’s smiling and goes over to her daughter. “But I can’t have any of this sneaking out and lying stuff anymore, okay?”

“Okay!” Daisy says quickly. “Promise!”

“And you,” Charlotte says, turning to face me. “You promise to make an honest woman out of my girl here?”

---