Love Lifted Me (20 page)

“What boys? Who? What's going on?”

“Nothing, Max. Old history,” Hines said. “The question on the table is, are you going to hire Haley.”

“I don't know . . . you've never actually
played
.” Max pressed his hands on the island counter and faced her.

“I've played a lot of football. Not on Friday nights, but with my brothers. I played powder-puff in college. Not the same, sounds wimpy, but I know what it's like to be on the field. We were champions two years running. Not being a guy didn't handicap me in New Mexico. My defense led the division in sacks and forced fumbles. I have an aggressive style and I'm
really
good at reading the offense.”

Max cut a glance at Hines. “Are you trying to get me fired? You're in on this
thing
no one seems to want to talk about.”

“Simmer down, Max. I'll assume that remark came from panic, and I won't hold it against you.” Hines's eyes darkened. “I'm trying to help you pull together a good coaching staff. I got two more
, both men
, who can help with special teams and strength training. Now, what you going to do about Haley?

I'd hire her in a Texas minute.”

Max regarded her, dropping to his stool. “Do you have any questions for me?”

“When do I start?”

“In the morning. Seven a.m. At the field house. Might as well start working on our game.”

Hines popped his hands together. “You won't regret this, Max.”

Yeah? Too late. The sour knot in his gut told him he already did.

Eighteen

“We're going to do nothing, Rick.” Bobby aimed the water hose at the roses blooming in the side yard. “Max is playing into our hands. Even better than I thought. He's going to get himself fired long before we could concoct a case against him. If not by Chevy, then by public opinion.” Bobby moved his hose to the next rose bed. The summer heat brought out the richness of the flowers' bloom. “How's the research into his background going?”

“He had a pain med problem. Went to rehab a few times. The last one was the Outpost.”

“Drug of choice?”

“Percocet.” Rick's answers were clipped and dull.

“I think we can lay our hands on some Percs, don't you?”

“Bobby.” Rick paused with a sigh. “Does coaching at Colby mean this much to you? You can't keep destroying men's careers.”

“Men destroyed my father's career. Specifically, Stebbin Burke. RIP old man. But his daughter, not one of his sons, is assuming his Warrior legacy.”

Bobby looked at Rick. “Isn't there something in the Bible about when a woman takes a man's place? It's like a curse, not a blessing. Max is going to fail. In ways I never imagined. I doubted Chevy when he hired him. But this is a major coup. If I didn't know better, I'd think Chevy was on our side.”

“Our side? Your side. Why do there have to be sides, Bob? We
all
want a winning Warrior program again.”

“But
I
want to be the head coach. Assume
my
father's legacy before Stebbin Burke took it from him. I was to be the next Warrior football coach. Me.”

“Then you should've watched yourself in Plano.”

“Watched what? There were no charges. No evidence.”

“Then why'd you resign?” Rick started for his truck. “Talk to you later, Bob.”

“Thanks for the info, Rick. You're a fine booster.”

The man waved him off. Ah, let him be a bit sore. Bobby had him in his back pocket. His plans to become head coach were finally blooming. Just like the roses in his garden. Plans, like roses, require time and tender care. But in the end came the sweet aroma of victory.

In his office, Max worked on a strength training schedule for the first week of practice. To mix things up, they were running across pastures and tossing bags of seed and bales of hay at the Porter ranch.

In the week since she'd joined the team, Haley had kicked Hines and Max to the curb with her recruiting skills. She charmed a bunch of ranch and farm boys into playing for her. Kids who didn't care about sports politics, who just wanted to legally smash a few heads on Friday night. Maybe along the way, impress a girl.

But Max and Hines struggled to enlist the skilled players like Noah Warren, a talented QB, and Calvin Blue. Max heard this morning that Carter Davis had indeed transferred to another school district. So Max would surely see him on the field this season—as an opponent.

Tucker Walberg came by and said he wanted to play. Tuck was the opposite of Carter. All heart and little skill.
Lord, couldn't he have a mix of both?

“Max, turn on Channel 13.” Hines burst into the office, reaching for the remote on the corner of the desk.

“Coach Benson has been stirring things up in Warrior country. First he cut wide receiver Carter Davis—
”

“I didn't cut Carter. He never showed.”

“Well, you said if the boys didn't show up for that first meeting . . .” Hines upped the volume while Max regretted his first day words.

“Davis was the one player in Colby who showed promise for the Warrior offense. Coach, we want to know how are you going to build a team around . . . no one?
”

Another reporter moved onto the screen. Another slick-haired, perfecttoothed young buck who looked like he'd just left a fraternity party.

“That's not all, Chip. Coach Benson opened his season by firing his assistants. Stirred up quite a controversy in Warrior Country. Channel 13 Sports has learned that Benson brought in retired coach Howard Hines to run his offense, leaving Warrior fans scratching their heads. Insiders at the school tell us the phone lines have been lighting up ever since. It looks like the hope for the Warriors' return to glory will have to wait for another season
.”

Images flashed on the screen, a composite of past Warrior championships, winning touchdowns, and trophy ceremonies.

“As if things weren't hot enough in Colby, Coach Benson added fuel to the fire when he announced his coach to run the defense. This time, it's not a retiree. Or even a young coach out of college. This time he picked Coach Burke's daughter, Haley Porter
.”

Max sighed, rocking back in his chair, shoving off the elephant smashing down on his chest. A clip of Haley played. She ran across the screen in a powder-puff uniform. Max pressed his hand to his back. Haley appeared on the sidelines with the New Mexico team.

“This seems like a crazy decision to me, Chip. Haley can't know what it's like to get mowed over by a two-hundred-pound lineman. Coach Burke's daughter or not. And we all know New Mexico football is not Texas football
.”

Max's door burst open. “Chip Mack and that yahoo Wiley Snyder are idiots.” Haley flared, red and hot. “You think I don't know what it's like to get mowed over by a two-hundred-pound lineman? Come on over here, I'll show you what it feels like to get mowed over by a hundred-and-twenty-pound woman.” She steamed in a circle. “They make me so mad.”

“Haley, you knew this would happen.” Hines, always calm. Always wise.

Max massaged his fingers into his back. He knew what happened that night in his bunk—God healed him. But for the first time, his faith was being tested.

Stressed mantled his shoulders. But so far . . . his back remained strong. His taste for pills, a bitter memory.

“Yeah, but it doesn't mean I have to like it.” She hammered Max's desk.

“Max, we're going to go out and kick some football butt this year.”

“Okay, let's do it. But for now, how about watching some film. See what we got to work with.” He liked Haley's intensity. Her feisty determination. A redheaded powder keg. “We need an offense to match your defense.”

“Well, stop sitting in here moping and get out there. I've seen Calvin Blue shadowing the field all week.” With that, Haley flew out of the room.

Hines peered down at Max. “She'll calm down as the season wears on.”

“I hope not.” He came round the desk. “Am I moping?”

“A bit.”

“I didn't think it'd be this hard. I mean—I knew it'd be hard, but—”

“It's just beginning, brother. Listen, let's call it a night. It's only Tuesday. We got all week to work hard. Go home, spend time with that gorgeous wife you got. 'Cause once this machine gets going, you'll be lucky to get a few hours a week with her.”

Max stared toward the field. “Good idea. I'll tell Haley I'm going.”

Hines started out the door. “I'll tell her. I'm going that way. Hey—is Chevy doing okay with all of this?”

“So far. He sent me an e-mail confirming you and Haley were going on the payroll.” Max gathered his gear. “He seems determined to let me do my job.” An evening with Jade would be nice. They could have dinner, take a walk, play with Asa. He felt like he hadn't seen them in days. “Should I give Calvin another call, or will you?”

“This one's on you, Max. I think Calvin wants you to convince him. I'll give Noah another try.”

“Good enough. See you tomorrow.”

Max went to the window and studied the shadows of the field. So, Calvin had been lurking for a week? How long had Haley been keeping that tied up in her ponytail?

The sun moved behind a cloud and Max turned from the window as Jade stepped over the threshold, wild and disheveled, her fine-boned expression drawn and pale. Asa rode low on her hip. Her cheeks were heat-red and her eyes sported a dewy glaze.

“This whole town hates us.” She trembled, right down to the trailing hiss of
us
.

“Not the
whole
town?”

“Yes, the whole town. I've been screamed at, honked at. People drive by our house in the middle of the night, blasting music and yelling obscenities. Women accost me in the grocery store.”

“Women . . . what?” Max took a page from Hines's playbook and remained calm. “What do you mean accost? Like hit you?”

“One crashed into my grocery cart today and told me where you could go, Max. In front of Asa. I can endure the honking and yelling. It's stupid and immature. People need to get a life. But today”—Jade fumed and steamed like Haley—“was the last straw. This insane, outside-her-mind woman let her kid
spit
on your son.”

“What?” Max scooted around the chairs and gripped Jade by the elbows, peering into her face. “Spit on Asa?”

“A big honking kid loogie. Right in front of me. His mother did nothing.

Oh no, wait, she scolded him for spitting on Asa instead of
me
!” Jade shifted into overdrive.

“Did you deck her?”

“Oh, believe me, I wanted to—but no one in the store would've backed me other than Dr. Gelman. She saw the whole thing.” Jade's arms twitched with each syllable. “But I yanked the kid up and told him to never come near my son again. Rotten little brat. And then, she,
monster-mom
, threatens me with assault charges.”

“Whoa.” He'd never signed up for this. “Jade, I am so sorry.”

“Sorry? No, Max. That's not going to cut it. I thought about this the whole way here. If it's this bad now, what's it going to be like when you start losing games?”

“I don't think folks expect a winning season, Jade. They're just ticked about me firing the coaches and hiring Haley.”

“So when you lose, they're going to be happy? No, they'll be livid. If you'd kept the old coaches, they'd have claimed you might have had a shot at winning one game.” Jade gripped his arms. “Max, we can't stay here.”

“What? Not stay?” Was she serious? But the pop-snap in her tone told him she wasn't joking around.

“We're in a no-win situation, Max. Our son was spit on today. Spit. On. My heart broke for him. You know what he did? Ran after the kid. He wanted to play. Is this what you want for him? For his kind, innocent heart to be ruined by crazy people? I love football, you know that, but I hate this. Asa's been through enough. We've been through enough. I was just starting to feel at peace. You might be able to weather all of this because you're focused on doing a job, but I'm not. I feel abandoned, like the prey left behind for the vultures.”

Max captured her. Jade shivered against him. This wasn't a panic moment.

Not even a decision in anger. She was serious about leaving.

“You want me to resign?”

“I'm not okay with our son being spit on, Max.” Jade pushed free of his arms. “If this was a permanent job, something you felt called to do for the rest of your life, then maybe I'd fight to stick it out. But why should we endure this abuse for the next five months only to end up back in Whisper Hollow? This ship is sinking, babe, faster than we can bail the water. I don't want
us
to go down with it.”

Max adjusted his cap, bill in the back.
If you felt called .
. . he didn't know it until now, but he
did
feel called. More every day. He couldn't explain it, but this job made a part of his heart beat that he never knew existed.