Double Mountain Trouble

by Katerina Cole

  Someone needed to get out here and cut this damn grass and at least set up markers along the field. I didn’t know how to teach kids in these conditions.

  Eventually, they started their version of football. I saw the kid from earlier walk away and hang on the fence. He was the one I had told to get lost. The one that Mia had been protective about. The one that had sent her over the edge. This kid meant a lot to her.

  I sauntered over to him. He had dropped to the ground and was picking through weeds.

  “Hey, do you know how to throw the ball?” I asked.

  He didn’t answer me.

  I took a knee in front of him. “Listen, about earlier … I didn’t mean to be a dick.”

  His eyes popped up. “Miss Bristow says we can’t say that word.”

  “Oh, right.” I rubbed the back of my head. “Sorry I was a jerk. That better?”

  He nodded.

  “Looks like they already have a game started over there. Want to try a few passes with me?” I offered.

  He shrugged his shoulders. “I guess so.”

  I jogged over to the mesh bag full of peeling leather soccer and footballs. I grabbed the one that was the least banged up and handed it to Cameron.

  “I’ll run long and you throw it. Just put your whole body into it. Got it?”

  He looked at the ball in his hands as if I had handed him a bag of candy. I’d seen that look before.

  I took off in the opposite direction. It had been a long time since I had been on this end of a throw. I waited while the boy positioned his fingers on the laces. His chewed his tongue, concentrating on what his move was going to be.

  “I’m open, Cameron,” I called.

  He stepped back and then propelled the ball forward. It spun perfectly, landing against my chest. I gripped it tightly with my swollen fingers and then sent it flying back through the air to him. Kid had one hell of a fucking arm on him.

  I gripped the ball and sent it soaring toward him. He caught it effortlessly with a gigantic grin on his face and jogged to my side. I felt like I had apologized and he accepted it in the lost language of men. But to appease the woman inside and to make sure my ass didn’t end up in jail tonight, I figured I better make it official.

  “Good catch, man.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Everything good between us?”

  “Yeah. Definitely,” he replied, kicking up the dry grass at the field's edge.

  “Sweet. Go long.”

  I backed up a few paces as he darted down the field as fast as he could. After about ten yards he glanced back at me and juked to the left. I sent the ball flying straight to him.

  Some kids have to work every day on a certain gift that they want to pursue later in life. They strive every day to make it better, to become stronger, faster, greater.

  And then you have some that are born with all the talent they will ever need or want already inside of them. All they need is a little guidance and someone to believe in them.

  This kid was born with talent. Pure talent.

  Now he needed guidance and someone to believe in him.

  Ten

  Mia

  I watched from the window in my classroom as Cameron rolled across the ground after being tackled once again by Crawford. I watched as he pointed and directed each kid, yelling over the loud excited noises that come with coaching boys.

  He was a natural with them.

  Which I supposed made sense. He played professional ball after all, but sometimes you can play a certain sport and know everything there is to know about it and still not be able to teach it to a soul.

  Or you could be like my dad and love the sport, but have no athletic ability. I laughed to myself.

  Daddy loved football since he was a little boy, no older than three or four. He liked to joke and said there was a crossfire somewhere in his brain between the stage of knowing what to do and making his body actually do it.

  It didn’t change his love of the game, though. He watched it religiously every single time the Sharks had a game. If the Sharks were home, then he was at the stadium, cheering them on. If they were away, then he had the grill fired up and the television blared pregame to postgame.

  In a way, football had always been a part of my life too. Without my mom, it was how Daddy and I spent our time together. I bet that drunk driver didn’t think about that when he got behind the wheel. He didn’t realize how he would change my life. My dad’s. End my mom’s. My fingers tingled with the anger. I stopped to take three long breaths.

  She had been gone twenty years. My dad did the best he could. He was an awesome dad. An amazing dad. A dad who played both parenting roles and was one of the best judges in DC. But it didn’t make the pain hurt less. It didn’t make the memories fade. I missed her.

  I pulled myself out of my funk when I noticed two of the kids on the field shoving each other over God knows what. I rushed through the main center and down the hall to the back door. When I flung it open, I was surprised to find that Crawford had already handled the situation. Both boys were running a lap around the field, each one holding onto opposite ends of the football.

  I walked across the field, careful not to let my heels sink into the grass, and joined the kids as they observed the two boys jogging inside the perimeter of the fence.

  “What is this?” I asked. I didn’t want him to know that I saw the fight, or that I already guessed at the meaning of his exercise.

  “Something an old coach of mine used to make me do whenever I fought on the field,” he answered. “When we are here on this grass, we are our own family, we look out for one another. We don’t fight. If we have a problem, we talk it out.”

  “I see. Did those two forget how to talk?” I prodded.

  “Temporarily. But after a lap holding the ball, they should remember. That or they will be too exhausted to even care what they were fighting about to begin with.”

  I tried to hide my smile. “And what happens if they drop the ball?”

  “They start over. Like I said, they won’t be worried about fighting when they’re done.”

  “Ahh. Great strategy.” I looked up at Hawk. His eyes followed the boys. “I guess you don’t need me, then?”

  He shook his head. “I’ve got this covered.”

  “Ok.” I turned to leave.

  When I got back to the rear door of the building, I heard the other kids on the field start to cheer the two running on.

  “Come on, guys, you can do it. Just a little further.”

  “You got this.”

  “Woohooo!”

  I grinned. This was the first time in almost four years working at the school that I could remember every single child on the field working together toward one goal.

  It was enlightening and heartwarming. I wished I could capture it and save it forever. I realized I could. I ran to my office, grabbed my cell phone, and raced back to the rear exit. I pressed record as the boys passed the field goal posts. The rest of the team jumped and cheered for them. They had less than twenty yards left to go. I followed them all the way, capturing each and every moment until the very end. When I panned out, I caught Crawford Hawkins staring directly at me with a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. His eyes locked onto mine. I could feel the heat in his gaze from across the field.

  I wanted to run from him. I wanted to turn and shut the door behind me, locking it soundly afterward. But I couldn’t move. I was held immobile by his tranquilizing stare. Chills broke out along the flesh of my arms, traveling upward to my chest. My nipples hardened and I shivered.

  I fucking shivered from the top of my head to the bottoms of my feet.

  One look.

  That was all it took, and I knew that if I let that man get his hands on me again I would never be the same.

  So why did I have to fight every single muscle in my body to get it to turn and walk inside instead of back across the field to his side?

  Eleven

  C
rawford

  After a week of volunteering at the center, I started to realize the impact I had on the kids. It was kicking my ass splitting up my time between the Sharks and the kids, but I had a sudden need for both.

  Mia hadn’t made things any easier. Every time I saw her all I could think about was the night at the back of Catch. But she wouldn’t let me get close to her.

  A bell rang in the distance and at least two dozen kids started to rush the field. I watched as Cameron melted into the background, not wanting to be a part of the group.

  For some reason, it bothered me. I’d observed it for days. They were like a pack of dogs, picking on the puppy. If I had a few minutes alone with Cameron, he wasn’t that shy. I’d gotten to know the kid. But as soon as the older kids showed up, he retreated faster than a guy on special teams trying to dodge a tackle.

  One of the older kids picked up the discarded football and the children started to sort teams. I strolled over to Cameron and waited for him to make eye contact with me.

  “Why are you not over there playing?” I asked him.

  “They don’t like it when I play.” His voice was quiet. I wanted to wipe the smudge of dirt from his cheek but I stuffed my hands in my pockets. I knew he had a no-contact policy.

  “Why not?”

  “Because they said only kids with families should play. No one is going to come see me play so there is no point.”

  “The little shits said that?”

  Truth was, I didn’t know Cameron’s story. Not all of it, anyway. But I wasn’t always the star quarterback. I didn’t always play in the AFA. I had a past. One I wasn’t proud of. Only that I had survived it.

  Cameron’s eyes widened.

  “Sorry. Language.” I shrugged. “Don’t tell Miss Bristow.”

  He smiled lightly.

  “Let’s go. If you want to play, you’re getting in that game.” I almost slung my arm around his shoulder.

  “No it’s ok, really. I don’t mind not playing.”

  “Well, I only play with the best so unless you come, I’m not playing.” I smirked. All week, I had been tossing with him. I’d never seen so much natural talent.

  “Really? You think I’m good?”

  “Damn straight kid, now let’s go.”

  He ran ahead of me. Before I even reached the huddle, I already heard the kids telling him they didn’t want him there. That he didn’t need to play. I listened, wanting to hear every word. Every second that passed made my blood run hotter.

  I didn’t get how little kids could be so mean and hateful to each other. What the hell happened to playing together and having a good time? Why did they give two damns about who had what or who was who? These little fuckers had no idea how good they had it. It pissed me off even more.

  “No one wants you, Cameron. Even your family didn’t want you. You can’t even find a new family to want you. You suck. Go away.”

  I saw the poor little guy trying his best to be strong and stay there. He was doing what I asked him to do. It filled me with pride. I wanted to wrap him up in a tight hug and let him know that he had someone in his corner.

  There was a ringleader in gangs. There always was. I walked to the center of their circle. I turned my head to the left and the right as if I was searching the crowd for someone and then I pointed to the oldest kid. I could see Cameron out of the corner of my eye. His shoulders dropped and his whole body looked like the world was sitting on top of them. No eight-year-old deserved that.

  “What’s your name?”

  There was fear in the kid’s face. “J-Jamie.” He swallowed hard. Suddenly the ring leader wasn’t the badass he thought he was.

  “Well, Jamie. We’ve known each other how long?”

  True, I hadn’t memorized their names. The only one I really kept an eye on was Cameron.

  “A week, sir.”

  I nodded. “Yeah. A week. Thought we could scrimmage today.”

  I heard them whisper around me.

  “Ok.” Jamie wasn’t entirely sure where I was going with this.

  “And I get to choose the team captains. You know what the Sharks expect out of their QB?”

  The kids around me shook their heads.

  “They want some damn loyalty.” I’d apologize for the cursing later. “They want someone they can count on. A man who will have their back on game day. Not some dick, talking shit about them.”

  I glared at each and every one of them.

  I flicked my hand, beckoning Cameron to come stand next to me. He was slow to push through the crowd. I handed him the ball and then looked out at the rest of kids watching.

  “Cameron is going to be team captain of the blue team,” I announced. “And if I were you, I’d want to be on his team. Because he can throw almost as good as me.” I winked at Cameron. “Almost. So who wants to play on Team Blue?”

  A flock of hands launched into the air immediately. I smiled. I looked at Cameron. “Pick your team, kid. The rest play with me.”

  Cameron stood straight, shoulders square. His voice was sure and confident as he chose his team. I patted him on the shoulder and smiled down at him proudly as the rest of the kids fell in line.

  Maybe tomorrow I could find some way to convince Cal and Joe into coming down here and playing a little with the kids. Hell, I might even be able to get Aaron too, if I got him away from that bitch he was dating long enough. It would help Cameron to know that he had all the DC Sharks backing him up. Maybe all these other little fuckers would start to be nicer.

  Not that I really cared. But he kind of sort of reminded me of myself when I was his age. I sure as shit wished someone had stepped in and offered me a hand up a time or two.

  “All right. Let’s play some football,” I announced.

  She was standing in the doorway. The same place she was every night when the field was more dark than light.

  “How was it, kiddo?” she asked Cameron.

  He grinned. “Awesome.”

  “Ok, get your stuff and I’ll drive you back.”

  I noticed she never called it home. Cameron ducked past her and ran through the halls.

  “He’s really good.” I crossed my arms, leaning on the door opposite of her. My eyes followed her legs up to her hips. Those tight skirts she wore drove me crazy.

  “I’m glad he’s found something he likes. I didn’t know if it would happen.” I heard sadness there.

  Shit. I was going to ask. I knew it.

  “So, what’s the kids’ deal? You always wait for him at the end of the day. Does he stay with you or something?”

  She closed her eyes. “He’s in between foster care homes right now.”

  “Shit,” I muttered.

  “He’s in a home for children waiting to be placed with another family. It’s worse than an adoption center. He has no normal. No security. No one. And when he does get placed, who knows how long he’ll stay there. He’s already been with three different families.” Her eyes misted and I felt something rip through my chest.

  I took a step forward, brushing my hand against her arm.

  “He’s a good kid.”

  She nodded, wiping the tear from her cheek. “He is. I love him. I’m not supposed to do that, but I do. I can’t help it. There’s something about him, you know?”

  She looked up at me with those big blue eyes.

  “I do know.” What the fuck was happening? “Why not you?” I asked. “Why don’t you take him?”

  “Me? Because the court won’t let a single woman on teacher’s salary adopt a child who needs a home.” Her voice was filled with resentment. “I’ve tried. I’ve tried everything and I can’t get past the red tape.”

  “That’s shit,” I muttered. It didn’t seem right. What kind of system was that?

  “I’m ready.” Cameron bumped in between us and I took a quick step back.

  “Hey, buddy.” I ruffled the top of his head and I heard him giggle. It had taken all week for him to let me get that close. It wa
s my own kind of victory.

  “We have to get going,” Mia said, but I didn’t know if she wanted to let me know or Cameron.

  “Right.” I had late practice. The playoffs weren’t going to fucking win themselves.

  “Good night, Hawk.”

  Mia guided Cameron out the door toward the parking lot.

  My first response was to follow her ass as she sashayed on those high heels. But as they walked farther away, and I saw Mia lean down to say something to Cameron, I knew I was in way over my head.

  Twelve

  Mia

  I could barely concentrate on the road. Cameron was buckled in the backseat and I needed to get him to the home before I had to explain why we were late. And why was that? Because I was falling for a notorious playboy? There was no explanation for that error in my judgement. I put the full blame on my raging hormones.

  I sighed, turning onto the dark street where I had to drop off Cameron. It was always the hardest part of my day. The worst. The saddest. The mots heart-wrenching.

  I put the car in park and walked around to Cameron’s side, lugging his bag out for him.

  “Ready?” I asked with a smile on my face.

  He nodded. “I guess.” The happiness he had earlier was gone. He hated this part of the day too.

  I wished things were different. I wished I had a way to adopt him. But I had been down that road. I couldn’t make it happen. I had tried every way possible. I wasn’t even able to foster him. It was one let down after another.

  “I’ll pick you up for school in the morning, ok?”

  I watched him walk up the stairs. His shoulders slouched forward.

  He didn’t answer and I felt the pain in my ribs. I wanted to drag him back to the car and take him home. Tuck him into a soft warm bed. Read him stories. Try to build Lego towers with him. Argue over what was going to happen in the next Star Wars movie. But I couldn’t do any of those things. Instead, I was a single twenty-six year old woman who could barely pay her bills.