Take a Chance

by Shelley Shepard Gray

  “That’s good.”

  “That’s good, but it ain’t enough.”

  “Hell, she’s not thinking of pulling him now, is she?”

  “Sure she is. And she’s not only thinking about it either. Liz is already looking at condos or something out there.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  Ace’s expression tightened. It was obvious he was trying hard to hold on to the last of his emotions. “Last night Finn came over and I laid it out. Gave him a choice.”

  “Between …”

  “Staying with his mom and going to Reno, or moving in with me.” He paused, then looked directly at Kurt. “Or, maybe even coming here.”

  “What? What about your job?”

  Ace shrugged. “I’m a mechanic, Kurt. I can get in a garage anywhere.”

  “What did Finn say?”

  “He wants to go with me.” Ace shook his head slightly. “Kurt, he didn’t even think twice about it. He just sat there and listened to me give my spiel, then told me he wanted to be wherever I was,” Ace’s voice was thick with emotion. “It surprised the hell out of me, if you want to know the truth. But I have to tell you, it made me real glad, too.”

  “Of course he wanted to be with you. Your life has always been about Finn.”

  “I’ve tried for it to be. Some days don’t go as well as others.”

  Kurt now had a better idea of what Ace had been going through since his boy’s birth. “That’s all you can do, buddy.”

  Ace sighed. “That’s when we really started talking. I told him to tell me what has been going on with his mom. Really.”

  “Did he share?”

  “Yeah.” Looking pained, Ace said, “He’s been having a time of it for the last couple of years, and I haven’t even been aware of it.”

  Hearing that, a lot of things went through Kurt’s mind. He was surprised to hear that Finn was having a hard time. The last time he’d seen the kid, he’d seemed as happy as ever. But more than that, he was surprised by Ace’s statement. He’d always assumed that Ace was more involved with his son than that.

  But he didn’t want to be critical. After all, he didn’t have a kid and had no idea what was involved. Not really.

  That was why he simply sipped his beer.

  Ace raised an eyebrow. “That’s it?”

  “You know I don’t know what to say.”

  “How about what you’re really thinking?”

  “I don’t know jack about raising kids, Ace.”

  Ace stared at him long and hard before nodding. “You’re right. You don’t. It’s hard, man.” When Kurt stayed silent, he continued, throwing out each word as if it was a barb that had been embedded in his skin. “Liz has never been easy, but I always thought she was a decent mom. Finn’s a great kid.”

  “He is. She must have had something to do with that.”

  “I think so. She looked after him and at least did the right stuff. I mean, it wasn’t like she abused him or didn’t make him go to school or anything.” He sighed, rolling his bottle of Bud between his palms before eyeing Kurt again. “But the older he got, the more I took up the slack.”

  Kurt couldn’t get a handle on what point Ace was trying to make. “Did you resent that?”

  “No. Hell, no. But, Finn knew that I was doing more.”

  “Nothing wrong with that.”

  “He also knew why I was.” He shook his head. “But this last move? Liz has really gone off the deep end. And then Finn started telling me about the things she’s been pulling. She’s been leaving him alone at night a couple of times a month.”

  Kurt’s stomach sank. “He’s only fifteen, right?”

  “Yeah. And here’s what makes me so pissed off. I would have been happy to have him on those nights. I’m always home. I could have picked him up. But she just took off.”

  “Why didn’t he call you?” Thinking of something, he said, “Wait a minute, did she not let him?”

  “From what I can tell, she never actually told him to not call me. But it was pretty freaking obvious that she didn’t want him to.”

  “What did she do?”

  “She told him only wussies would do stuff like that.” Ace’s voice turned even more strained. “She made him feel stupid for being scared, Kurt.”

  Kurt was feeling so pissed off, he was half ready to get in Ace’s truck and drive all the way to Spartan that night and get the kid himself.

  Which brought up a good point. “Where is he now? He’s not sitting home alone, is he?”

  “No. He’s with a buddy of his. After tonight’s game, Jackson’s dad is taking the two of them on a fishing trip. Believe me, if I had thought that he’d be home alone with Liz, or by himself, I would have brought him here.”

  So there it was. Ace was moving his kid who he’d never actually lived with for longer than a week at a time out to Ohio. All so he could give him a stable life and something to hold on to.

  It was commendable. But more importantly, it was the right thing to do. Ace was stepping up. “So we have a ton to do this weekend while you’re here.”

  “That’s it? You’re not going to ask me a dozen questions or caution me to think about what I’m doing?”

  “Why would I? You’ve obviously thought it through.” Realizing how excited he was about the possibility, he continued. “Then, of course, there’s the fact that I’m getting something out of this, too.”

  “Another teenager to help raise?”

  Kurt knew Ace was expecting him to make light of that and make a joke right back. And maybe he should do it. But he couldn’t, because right at that moment he was too relieved to have his best friend in the world living in the same town as him. “I’ll have you around again,” he said lightly. “And after the way things have been? I’ll take it.”

  Ace’s expression tightened. “Yeah. All right.”

  That was high praise from Ace.

  CHAPTER 12

  “You get your chips your way, I’ll get my chips mine.”

  —Phil Ivey

  With a wave of her hand and a few clicks on her computer, Emily at last reached the end of the day’s lesson. “So, that, everyone, is why you can’t take a good theme for granted. The theme of friendship and honesty that flows through Cannery Row’s pages is as relatable today as it was when Mr. Steinbeck wrote the story.”

  Looking around at her honors English freshmen, she smiled, hoping to see some answering looks of awareness. Maybe even a couple of eager, outstretched hands.

  Sadly, they seemed more than a little underwhelmed. Or maybe they were just bored.

  Even her three usual brownnosing girls didn’t look particularly interested. One of them was currently doodling flower designs around the edges of her paper.

  “Really, kids?” Emily said, one hand on her hip. “That’s all you’ve got to say?”

  Anna quirked up an eyebrow. “Nobody said anything, Miss Springer.”

  “Which is my point. What’s going on that has your minds elsewhere?”

  Those three girls in the front row looked at each other but said nothing. Neither did Anna. Nor Anna’s best friend, John. Not even the cheerleaders in the back, who usually had a lot to say about everything.

  Just when she was about to start walking the aisles, Edison, the backup quarterback, spoke. “There’s a game tonight, Miss Springer.”

  “There was one last Friday night, too, Edison. And while I can understand why you aren’t all that interested in my lesson, I can’t say the same thing about the rest of the class.”

  Anna spoke up again. “I think everyone’s thinking about Homecoming.”

  “Come now. I know all about Homecoming Week. But that isn’t happening for almost another month.”

  “People are getting asked this week,” Marissa, one of her three brownnose
rs said. “It’s kind of a big deal.”

  “Ah.”

  John looked her over. “Was Homecoming a big deal when you were in high school?”

  He might as well have added, “in the Dark Ages.”

  She nodded. “Yes. It was a big deal, even back then.”

  Anna perked up. “Did you get asked your freshman year?”

  Feeling twenty-four pairs of eyes firmly fixated on her for the first time all hour, Emily nodded. “I did.”

  Now even the cheerleaders were looking at her with new interest. “Who took you?” one of them asked.

  She caught herself before saying Philip’s name. “That was a long time ago. It’s nothing you need to worry about. Now—”

  “Do you have a boyfriend now, Miss Springer?”

  “Now? No.” After all Kurt Holland wasn’t her boyfriend. Not officially. Was he?

  “Do you date?”

  “That’s none of y’all’s business.” But just then, her gaze wandered over to Sam’s. He was half slumped down in his chair, but his blue eyes were fastened on her face. She was probably imagining it, but she felt like he was waiting for her to lie to him, to the whole class.

  Edison perked up. “So does that mean you are?”

  “It means I date. Yes, Edison.”

  Anna looked around at the rest of the class and grinned. “Who are you dating?”

  “Oh, look. The bell is about to ring. We better wrap up the class.” Pointing to the assignment she’d displayed earlier, she said, “Y’all might have distracted me but I’m not going to forget assigning this. We’ll go over these discussion questions on Monday.”

  And … at last the bell rang.

  With a whoosh, the entire class got up. Most rushed out the door like they were afraid she was going to pull them in. Several other kids paused on their way out to say goodbye or wish her a good weekend.

  It had been a frustrating hour, but it had been a pretty amusing one, too.

  Actually, moments like that were why she liked teaching at Bridgeport High so much. The kids still acted like kids. They said hi to her in the hallway, they asked about her dating, they got excited about homecoming and football games. In short, they made her believe that her job was worthwhile and, more importantly, that it might help their future.

  “Hey, Miss Springer?”

  Seeing Sam pause in front of her, she smiled. “Yes?”

  He seemed to gather himself, then blurted, “Do you think you’ll see my brother again?”

  She would have thought talking to Sam about Kurt would’ve been awkward. And maybe it should have been. At the end of the day, she was still a teacher and Sam was still a student.

  But it didn’t feel that way. “I hope so.” She would if he called. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask if Sam thought Kurt was going to call her. At least she had the presence of mind to keep that question to herself.

  Sam didn’t need that burden on his shoulders and she didn’t actually want to know right then if he did or not. It seemed that she got older but inside she was still the same awkward teenaged girl she’d once been.

  “I guess we’ll see what happens,” she murmured, hoping she sounded more lighthearted than she felt.

  Sam shifted his weight. “Kurt has a buddy in town this weekend. His name is Ace.”

  “You know what? He’d told me about that, but I’d forgotten. Ace is here for the poker game, right?”

  “Yeah. I think he would’ve come up no matter what, but Kurt got him here for that.” Sam grinned. “It’s going to be great.”

  “Will you be playing poker, too?”

  “Yep.”

  Sam’s expression reminded Emily of a little boy who was looking forward to playing in the woods all day. It was beyond cute. “I feel like I should be the responsible adult and say something about the dangers of underage gambling, but I think I’ll leave it alone.”

  Sam looked affronted. “We’re not doing anything bad, Miss Springer. It’s just a poker game in our garage.”

  “I hope you have a good time. I know my brother’s looking forward to it.”

  Sam smiled again, then edged toward the door. “I gotta go.”

  “Have a good weekend.”

  After gifting her with another quick smile, he left the room. Emily stayed at her door, watching as the kids darted out, chatting with a few, and joking with a couple of her teacher friends.

  Then, when the hallways had finally cleared a bit, she unlocked her purse from her desk’s drawer and checked her phone.

  She had four text messages, one from her brother and three from Kurt.

  Three from Kurt! He had been thinking of her, too.

  Feeling once again like her sixteen-year-old self, Emily clicked on Kurt’s messages first.

  Was thinking about you.

  How was your day?

  It was certainly better now.

  Feeling a little dreamy—which she would never admit to anyone—she clicked on the next text. It had been sent two hours after the first.

  Hoping you can’t get to your phone and aren’t just creeped out by my messaging you.

  Then, fifteen minutes ago.

  Okay. I’m not great at this, but looks like I need to leave you alone. No worries.

  No worries? Well, now she was worried.

  Quickly she texted him back.

  No! I like your texts. This is the first time I’ve had a chance to look at my phone since lunch.

  Almost immediately, he typed a reply.

  Sure?

  Smiling, she nodded. Then typed,

  Very sure.

  Listen, my buddy came into town. He’s got a situation going with his son. I had hoped to see you again, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. I’m going to need to be with him until Sunday.

  Feeling disappointed, she tamped it down because she could totally understand that he had other commitments.

  I understand.

  She paused, then wrote,

  Thanks for letting me know.

  While she was staring at her screen, waiting for his response, her phone rang.

  She smiled when she saw Kurt’s name. “Hey.”

  “I can only text so much,” he said by way of greeting. “Can you talk now?”

  “I can,” she said as she shut her door. “I mean, I’m still at school but the kids are gone. I’m in my classroom.” The second she said that, she wished she could hang up and have her far more cool-and-collected self replay the last minute. Kurt did not need to know her life story.

  “Good. Listen, do you understand about tonight? If you don’t, I get it. But I hope you do. I didn’t want to treat you like this, but I’m kind of in a tough spot.”

  Taking a seat on one of the desks, she allowed herself to smile. That sweet explanation, combined with that faint West Virginia drawl was a killer combination. “Of course I do,” she said with a smile. “Um, is poker still going on? I know it’s none of my business, but if it isn’t, then I need to call my brother and let him know so he doesn’t show up in your garage with a pack of beer.”

  “Heck, yeah, it’s still going on.” She could practically feel his grin. “Tell Brenden to come over around six thirty, if he still wants to play. I’ll be looking for him.”

  “He left two messages on my phone. I bet they’re about tonight. I know he’s looking forward to it.”

  “Forward them to me if you want and I’ll talk to him about the game.” Sounding sheepish, he added, “You’ve got enough to do without worrying about that.”

  She smiled as she walked around her classroom, picking up pens, books, and someone’s forgotten sweatshirt. “You know, I think I will do that. I feel kind of foolish, passing on information about boys’ night like I’m Brenden’s mother.”

  “I sure don’t think
about you like that,” he teased. “Now, about Sunday night, what time can I pick you up?”

  She sat back down in her chair. “Wait a minute. I thought our date was canceled. I mean, didn’t you just apologize for that? I thought you were going to be busy with your friend?”

  “Ace will be heading back to Spartan on Sunday. He’s got to see his kid and head to work on Monday morning. I know it’ll have to be an early night, but I’d still like to take you out then, Emily.”

  In the safety of the empty classroom, she allowed her grin to grow even wider. “In that case, how does six or seven sound?”

  “That sounds good. I’ll be at your house at six on Sunday. Thanks, Em.”

  “You’re welcome. Have a good time with your buddy.”

  “Yeah, I will. I’m kind of worried about him, if you want to know the truth. He came out here to check on me, but I’m thinking now that it’s me who’s gonna have to do the checking-up-on.”

  “That’s how it goes sometimes. We all have to check on each other.”

  “Maybe so.” He paused. “Crap. I gotta go now. See you soon.”

  He hung up before she could tell him goodbye.

  Shaking her head, she skimmed her brother’s texts and saw that they were all about poker. He was wanting to bring their brother-in-law, Chris, and maybe even another neighbor. What did she think about that?

  Not wanting to get more involved in a boy’s night than she already was, she forwarded them to Kurt.

  Then she leaned back in her chair, smiling at her phone. She had a date. Dreamy Kurt Holland was taking her out on a real date. It was the first one in forever that she’d said yes to and was actually excited about. What was it about this guy that made her melt a little every time she thought about him?

  She wished she knew.

  Her door swung open and Campbell popped her head in, a look of concern in her eyes. “You okay?”

  “Of course. Why?”

  “Your door was shut and you’re sitting by yourself at your desk, staring at your cell phone,” she pointed out as she wandered in. “That’s never a good sign. Did something happen?”