He’d make a really great dad someday. That thought did something to me I wasn’t ready for. I was aching to spend some time with him, but I could wait. His brothers needed him. I was fine.
New campers rolled in on Monday, and a never-ending line of kids waited outside the boat rental window when I started my shift after lunch. I checked their wristbands and got them their life jackets, handing them off to Nick for their boat assignments.
The sun rose higher in the sky, music, and the scent of hot fries, and burgers wafting through the air. The line of kids never dwindled. When one made a return, a new one showed up to get a rental.
The heat raged as the lunch hour hit, the line doubling in size. The fan in the window was the only relief we had from the suffocation and hot air. Sweat trickled down my back as I guzzled my ice water and glanced at the clock. 12:08. Nick was supposed to be up here at 12:00 to relieve me. When I turned back to the window, June was there, wiggling her fingers at me.
“Hey, June. What’s up?”
“You on your lunch yet?”
“I’m supposed to be.” I glanced around to see where Nick went, but he was somewhere in the back. “I’m not sure where my coverage is though.”
“I’ll cover you for a few minutes. You have some visitors.”
“Visitors?” I poked my head out the window and saw my parents standing a few yards away, hand-in-hand, looking exactly like tourists. My heart surged at the sight of them. I waved and ducked out, June smiling wide as she took my place.
“Thought that would make you happy.”
“Thanks,” I glanced at the clock. “Be back at twelve-thirty.”
“Take your time.” She turned to the first customer. “The office is super slow today.”
I approached Mom and Dad with a smile, heading toward Dad first. “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I’m seeing you.”
“Baby girl,” Dad said, opening his strong arms.
I tucked myself into his chest, the old musky scent of his cologne tickling my nose. I closed my eyes when he tightened his grip.
“What’re you guys doing here?”
He released me, Mom pulling me in next, her familiar rose petal perfume hovering like a cloud around her body. “You took off so fast, and you’ve been gone so long. We had to make sure you’re okay.”
“It’s been three weeks.” I grinned, and stepped back, shaking my head. “You guys are crazy.”
Dad turned toward the Snack Shop, stroking his scruffy, greying beard. “I hear tell they have the best shakes in town.”
“Yeah. They’re pretty good. I mean. They are the only shakes in town, so . . .”
He chuckled, blue eyes glinting. “There’s my girl.”
“You look good, baby. What’ve you been up to?” Mom’s blue eyes flitted to the Boathouse where Nick was conveniently located, hoisting a set of oars over his shoulder, muscles rippling.
I turned back to face them, mom lifting her brows at me.
I plastered a grin on my face, clearing my throat. “Not much.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You seem pretty peppy for how frazzled you were when you left.”
Dad cleared his throat, lacing his fingers through Mom’s, tugging her toward the Snack Shop. “Come on, Nat. I’m sure you girls can do your chit-chat over an order of hot fries and one of those shakes.”
“Uh-huh,” Mom said, brows still raised as she went along with him.
I breathed a sigh of relief and followed them inside. The staffers danced around behind the counter, the shake machine whirring and metal clinking, someone coming over the intercom to announce an order up for Frank. Mom stepped to the counter to order while I explained the tradition of fry-dipping to Dad.
“What?” Dad asked, his face twisting like I told him he had to shave his beard or something. “You’re telling me I have to dip my fries in my shake to be camp-certified?”
I lifted a shoulder, ordering my shake. “You don’t have to, but all the real men do it.”
He shook his head, busting out a laugh. “That your definition of a real man? ‘Cause I got a thing or two to say about that if those are your standards.”
“Anyway,” Mom said, folding her arms as she took the receipt from the cashier and headed toward a table in the corner. “How are you, really? We were so worried when you left, and then we found out Nick followed you up here.” She pressed her lips together, eyes flashing to Dad’s, a millisecond of transmittal all they needed to communicate whatever it was they agreed on.
Dad nodded. “I saw he’s working the same job as you. Need me to bust his teeth in? You know my offer still stands, and I’d—”
“Dad,” I said, in a hushed tone. “Shh. No. I don’t want that. He’s talking to someone new anyway. We just ended up in the same department. I was working Maintenance before that.”
“He has a new girlfriend already?” Mom asked, as one of the staffers came over with our shakes.
“No. Well, I don’t know.” I peeled the lid off my shake and glanced at Dad. I pulled a fry from the bag and swirled it around my shake, grinning as he cringed. “I don’t really care.”
“That should be illegal,” Dad said, watching me with a grimace.
Mom sighed. “Well. I feel like I should call Deb and give her a piece of my mind about it all.”
“We’re adults, Mom,” I shook my head. “Deb would just make excuses for him anyway.”
She sighed. “I just feel so horrible for you, honey. After what he did to you, and now you have to face him every day up here. I don’t know if it’s healthy for you to be here like this.”
“Won’t be for long anyway, Nat,” Dad said.
The door jingled, a tall frame passing by my periphery. My heart swooned when Tucker approached the counter, Walker tagging along behind him. I told my heart to calm down, but it wouldn’t.
“Emery?” Mom said, frowning. “Did you hear my question?”
“Oh. Sorry.” I turned back to my shake. “What was that?”
Dad took a deep breath and pulled a fry from the stack, dipping it in his shake once, trying it with one eye closed.
“I asked if you’ve talked to your coach yet. We’re getting a little worried.”
“Oh,” I swallowed, my cheeks warming because they knew the three-week timeline. So, did I, but I needed more time. “Not yet.”
-Tucker-
It had been a long, hot day working on the rec field’s sprinkler system, Walker at my side. I woke him up early and took him to the cafeteria with me for breakfast, and we headed out to investigate. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do with him. As much as he needed a dad, I wasn’t his dad. Even if I was, I wasn’t sure what the right move would be.
The rec field was taped off, half the sprinkler heads malfunctioning. We had to dig up a quarter of the line to get to the root of the problem. A gopher had chewed a hole through one of the connections. Replacing the line was going to take the rest of the day, so we stopped for lunch.
I thought I’d stop by the Boathouse to see how Emery’s day was going, but she wasn’t there when I showed up, and jerk-face made a point to stonewall me about it. I tried to wait and ask June, but she was slammed with campers.
We grabbed our lunch at the Snack Shop and I headed to a table near the back. Walk split off from me and sat by the window alone. I decided not to fight it. Maybe he needed some space to clear his head a little. I took a sip of my shake and started in on my fries.
“I told coach I’d call him after three weeks. I’m hoping he’ll okay me to stay for the rest of the summer.” I knew that voice. I was about to turn around to see her, but then a low-pitched grunt hit my ears.
“Well, he called a couple days ago to see if he could convince you to come back yet,” the deep voice said. “When I told him you were still gone, he was saying something about needing to recruit another wing.”
“Wait. What?” Emery’s voice again. Straight panic.
My gut tightened. She didn’t tell me sh
e was missing summer ball to come up here.
“We agreed on at least three weeks. It’s an optional program. He didn’t say anything about risking my spot by missing it. What’s his problem? I’m up here for a reason.”
“Oh, Emery. Don’t let Nick ruin this for you,” a female voice, the lower echo of Emery’s, came next. “You have so much riding on this.”
“He didn’t ruin it. I just. I had to get away for a while, and I’m already committed up here.” I heard the desperation in her voice. It matched the anxiety forming in my gut.
She couldn’t give up her full-ride to be here. There was no way I’d let her.
“Dad and I think you might be making a mistake.”
No kidding. What was she thinking?
“Well, thanks for driving three hours to tell me, but you could’ve just left a message.”
The man grunted again. “I could beat that kid to a pulp for what he did to you, Emery.”
“Dale. You’re not helping.”
I was pretty sure that was Emery’s dad talking, and I was pretty sure he was my favorite person in her family so far.
“Anyway,” Emery again. Frustrated. Determined. “I’m committed up here and loving it. I’ll call him to extend my time.”
“You can’t do that,” the mom’s voice again. Three pitches higher than before. A few people in the room glanced over at them.
“Nat,” the dad said. “Calm down.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down, Dale. This isn’t a prom dress we’re talking about, it’s our daughter’s future. She got into one of the top Christian schools in the state—on a full ride scholarship—and you want to just let her blow it on some camp-dream? She can’t do that. I won’t let her.”
“Emery,” Dad cut in. “I know you love it up here, but you have to realize it’s not real life, baby. You have a full-ride waiting for you, but it’s hanging by a thread. You worked your tail off for this dream. And you know as much as I’d love to be able to send you to a school like that, we can’t swing the tuition. Here you are, getting it for free. Don’t tell me that’s not a God-thing. We’re here to bring you back with us. We both took the week off. We’ll take you down there on Saturday, get you all set up. We just can’t let you lose out on this.”
“Did he say I’d lose my scholarship?” Emery again. Angry now.
“He can’t say it legally, but he sounded worried, baby.”
“That’s not what he told me,” she countered. “I’m not ready to leave.”
I wasn’t ready either. We were just edging on the beginning of something amazing. But this was her future on the line.
“I know,” her dad said. “But you might have to.”
“Hey, Emery, time’s up,” a male voice called from the door.
I turned to see her ex, standing like a statue, staring at her parents. “Hey, Mr. And Mrs. Hudson,” he said, fidgeting. “Good to see you again.”
Her dad grunted.
“Hi, Nick,” her mom said.
“Be right there,” Emery said, her footsteps falling behind me. She tapped my table twice as she passed, glancing over her shoulder at me, frustration swirling in her eyes. “See you later.”
“Yeah,” I said, as she made her exit.
“What on earth is she thinking?” her mom’s voice was worn.
“Not sure, baby.”
“She has to come back with us, Dale.”
“I know.”
I swallowed my bite and glanced at Walker, nodding my time-to-go signal. He stood and joined me as we exited, throwing our trash out on the way. I shoved my fists in my pockets and grunted.
“Dang, Tuck. What’s wrong with you?” he asked, frowning.
“Nothing you need to worry about.” My eyes cut to the Boathouse once. Emery stood in the window, gorgeous smile spread wide across her face, in spite of her frustration a few minutes ago.
As much as I wanted to believe it was because of any other reason, I knew exactly what her problem with leaving was.
Me.
TWENTY-SEVEN
-Emery-
I saw Tucker on his lunch with his brother. I hoped to see him again during my shift, but he never stopped by. I didn’t want to put any extra pressure on him, but I was bummed when I realized he wouldn’t have time to hang out on his breaks today. I needed to talk this out with someone, and he’d been my sounding board since I got here.
My shift ended and I headed up the road to figure out what I needed to do. Mom and Dad were here, my coach was going back on what he said, and my basketball dream was somewhere in the middle, hanging in an unfair balance.
How could he recruit someone else when he’d promised the spot to me?
Ready, or not, I told him I’d check in after three weeks, and my time was up. I sighed and re-routed my steps toward the main office.
“She’s back again,” June said, from behind the counter, clicking around on her screen a couple times before she turned and smiled at me. “Having a good time with the ‘rents?”
I shrugged. “Haven’t really had much time with them yet. Do we have any kind of internet connection up here?”
She nodded, slowly. “It’s ancient, but we have dial up in the office. Why?”
“I need to make a call, but I don’t know the number. Is there an extra computer around?”
She directed me to the computer beneath the window behind her and glanced at the clock. “Hannah’s out for the day. You can use hers.”
“Thanks.”
My stomach turned, my lips going numb as I contemplated my options. He was the coach. He got to make the final decision. But, I was his first pick. So, maybe that gave me some influence. Five years passed before the internet logged on. I opened the recruitment notice he sent me and scrolled down until his number came up.
“Pray for me, June,” I said, “I’m tempting fate right now.”
She nodded. “Sure thing, girl.”
I swallowed, jotting the number down and stood. “Where can I make a private call?”
She pointed to the copy room across the hall. “Just make it quick.”
“I’ll try.”
Dialing Coach’s number was like forcing myself to eat Brussel sprouts as a kid. My stomach twisted as the rings sounded, my heart pounding worse than the first time we talked, when I wasn’t sure if he was calling with good news or bad.
“This is Mitch.”
Tucker’s face flashed through my vision, and then Walker’s, and Kyler’s. I didn’t want to leave yet. I wasn’t sure if they were my reason for wanting to stay so bad, but I wanted to stay.
“Hello? This is Mitch.”
Now, or never, Emery.
“Hi, Coach. This is Emery Hudson.”
“Oh. Elusive, Emery. How’s it going, kid?”
I swallowed, blowing a soft breath. “Pretty good. It’s the three-week mark we talked about. I thought I should call and touch base with you.”
“Right. Well, Emery. Listen. I understand your situation’s unique. I want you to know you have my support either way, but I do highly recommend that you be at the conditioning program.”
“I get it. I really appreciate you giving me the last three weeks to think about it. Um. My dad mentioned something about you recruiting a new player for my spot?”
He chuckled.
It wasn’t the happy kind.
“Listen. I’m not going to beat around the bush with you, okay? My buddy in Michigan called me up the other day. He has a freshman on his division one team that needs to transfer to California this year. I looked up her stats and she’s good. Really good. Maybe not as good as you, but if she’s willing to come to the summer program, and you’re not, I’m not sure how I’ll be able to tell who’s better before the season starts. See my problem?”
Okay. So, this wasn’t as minor as I thought it was going to be.
“I promise, I’m committed, Coach. I just want to be able to start in the right headspace. Being here’s really helping me with that
. I’ve been keeping up on conditioning. I’ve been on the court an hour a day, not including pickup games, I—”
“Listen, Emery. I gave you the go-ahead for the three-week deal because I thought you’d choose the program in the end. And, I technically have no way to make the program mandatory. But, let me tell you something else. I have another girl here this summer who just lost her Mom in a car accident a month ago. How’s she dealing with it? On the court. It’s what players do. We can’t live without the game. Now, look. I’m not saying you shouldn’t be up at your camp, and maybe that’s where you really belong. Maybe pick-up games are enough for you. I am saying, you need to think long and hard about what kind of message that’s sending to your teammates. And, quite frankly, your coach.”
Wow. He was really stressing over it. There wasn’t much that made me want to cry, but this did. I tried to fight it, but rebel tears were making a break down my cheeks. I had to figure this out.
I came up here to focus, and I felt like I was starting to. And, even though what I’d found with Tucker was amazing, my hunch about this summer went beyond him. There was something at Bridgeport that drew me, deep inside my bones. And, I wanted to figure it out. I needed to. But, I couldn’t give basketball up to do it.
Not when I knew God had paved the way for me to play. I closed my eyes and swept my tears away, hating what I was about to do. “I feel like I should give my boss at least a week’s notice, if that’s okay with you.” I didn’t want to be saying it, but I didn’t know what else to do. “I’ll come down as soon as I’m done here.”
“That seems fair to me, kid. And, look. I know I’m changing my tune a little on you, but I promise your willingness is going to go a long way.”
“Thanks, Coach.”
“Uh huh. Keep me posted. See you soon.”
“Bye.”
-Tucker-
The rest of the pipe cleanup went about as well as the first half. We finished in time, but we were dead on our feet when we got back to the cabin. I crashed on the couch for a minute, trying to decide whether or not I should try and talk to Emery. Her parents were here, and they didn’t come with the best news.
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