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“Anthony’s Big Brother,” Rebecca mused. “Hmm. Are you sure that’s all he’s going to be?”
“He’s younger than I am,” Angela said lamely.
“How much younger?”
“Three years.”
“That’s nothing.”
“Maybe.”
“Is he single?”
“Oh, yes.”
“What’s he do?”
“He owns a sporting goods store in the same plaza as Felice’s Nieces.”
“This is David Moore we’re talking about?” Rebecca asked, sounding concerned.
“Do you know him?”
Rebecca’s blue eyes clouded. “No, I don’t. But I’ve heard things.”
Trepidation danced up Angela’s spine. “What kind of things?”
“He’s a football coach.”
Angela nodded. “I know that.”
After hesitating a few moments, Rebecca went on, “Now, I wasn’t there, understand. The incident happened before I moved here. But he was involved in some kind of brawl on the football field and ended up with community service because of it.”
Shocked, Angela leaned against the island. “You mean an actual physical fight?”
Rebecca nodded. “Yep, an actual fight between him and another coach.”
“I don’t understand. How could he keep his coaching position? Why would the community center put him on a list to be a mentor?”
“I don’t know the ins and outs of it. How did Anthony relate to him?”
“By the time David left tonight, they were talking football. I think he’s coming around. But now I don’t know if I want David Moore around him.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.”
Rosewood was one of those communities where gossip spread like an epidemic. Their neighborhood was the perfect example. For a long while, Megan had been the butt of it. Everybody had thought her sister was sleeping with Carly’s husband before Carly and Greg had broken up, which hadn’t been true at all. Still, Rebecca didn’t gossip idly, and a brawl on a football field would have had plenty of witnesses.
“I’m going to have to find out what this is all about,” Angela decided soberly. She’d call David tomorrow and ask him to meet her for coffee. They’d get this straightened out one way or another.
Pushing her own concerns aside for the moment, she said to Rebecca, “Now tell me what you want Joe to wear for the wedding.”
When Angela entered Rosewood’s trendy coffee shop, Latte & Lunch, residents on their way to work or up early for whatever reason were drinking lattes, macchiatos and espressos. Angela hadn’t had any caffeine yet so she couldn’t blame her increased heart rate on that. She’d told herself this meeting with David could be a confrontation, and she was simply nervous.
Underneath that, there was something else and she couldn’t deny it. She’d gone through the motions with him on Sunday evening as they’d decorated the tree and then had supper, all the while still tingling from their kiss at the Christmas tree farm.
Now the tingles were anticipatory ones and she simply didn’t know how to shut them off.
He was waiting for her at a table for two in the corner. When he stood, his expression was serious. “I would have ordered for you, but I didn’t know what you’d like.”
She could see he was already nursing a cup of what looked like black coffee.
“I’ll get something and be right back.” Postponing the inevitable, she thought, not really wanting a cup of latte. But she needed something to do with her hands…something to focus on other than him.
Back at the table, the busyness of the place was almost a comfort because no one was paying attention to anyone else.
“Is this about that kiss?” he asked.
That kiss. She hadn’t given him any indication on the phone of why she wanted to meet. “No. I found something out and I thought we should talk about it.”
“You found something out?”
She could feel her cheeks heating up. “I heard gossip—about you.”
“I see. Want to fill me in?” His hazel eyes were steady on hers, not evading her, and she hoped Rebecca was all wrong about what she’d heard.
“One of my neighbors told me something that was disturbing to me. She said you were in a brawl on the football field while you were coaching.”
Time ticked by as conversations and people swirled around them. “I see. The references I gave you didn’t reassure you?”
“They reassured me when I didn’t know about the fighting. But if you’ve got a temper, if you have anger that erupts like that, how can I trust you with Anthony?”
“Have you seen any sign of anger?” he asked. His voice was stiff and defensive.
“No, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there. I’ve only been around you for two days. And men who have anger issues can sometimes keep them well hidden.”
Looking down at his coffee, he turned it around in his hands. Then he met her gaze, his voice crisp. “What happened is a matter of public record. I’ll admit, I was angry after my accident. My life had been torn apart and taken a turn I never expected. But I funneled that anger into recovery, into working in a lumber yard until I had enough money to buy my own store. While I did that, I coached.”
“That one particular night, I was coaching a game and one of my players got clipped. The two boys started a fight. The other team’s coach got involved, and so did I, shouting back and forth. In the midst of the ruckus, Coach Witherspoon turned on my player, who was mixing it up with his. I told him to move away, and he swung at me. I defended myself by swinging back. It wasn’t the brightest thing I’ve ever done, but I felt I was defending my player.”
Of course, this situation wasn’t cut and dried. Angela sighed, not knowing what to think. Before her divorce she’d thought she was a good judge of character. David’s demeanor toward the kids had told her he was kind and wouldn’t fly off the handle at the drop of a hat. But she’d been wrong in so many ways about Jerome, and she could be wrong about this man, too.
David took her silence as a request for further information. “The chief of police was in the bleachers, and before either of us could throw another punch, he split up the fight. Since practically the whole community had seen what happened, Chief Raymond didn’t feel he could let it drop. So he suggested we both do fifty hours of community service, mentoring needy kids. That’s how I got into the program.”
“That coach shouldn’t have been mentoring kids if he couldn’t keep his temper in check. What was the chief thinking?” Angela asked, outraged.
“He was thinking that sports can sometimes bring out the worst, as well as the best. He was thinking we’d both gotten caught up in the moment, as well as the players. Witherspoon isn’t a bad guy. I got to know him afterwards. He should never have swung in the first place. And I should never have swung back, no question about it.”
She liked the fact David was taking responsibility for what had happened.
“I can’t speak for Witherspoon,” David continued. “I can only tell you about me. I was twenty-three then and trying to find my way. I’ve learned a lot in five years, and my life has stabilized. I’ve kept mentoring kids all that time and not one of them, or their parents, has had a complaint. Other than the references I gave you, you can go to the community center files to check out the recommendations and reports yourself. Most of all, I think you should look at the man I am today, rather than the man I used to be.”
“I don’t know who you are today.”
“You’re a parent, and you don’t want to take anybody else’s word for it. I get that. All I can say is that experience taught me the kids should come first. I think I’ve learned that lesson well. But you’re going to have to take it all into consideration and then make your decision. Anthony’s your son and you don’t want him around anyone who wouldn’t be the best influence.”
Another man might have gotten angry with her because she had listened to gossip. But she could see David wasn’t angry. He’d removed himself from her, though. The lights of desire she’d seen in his eyes were gone. To her surprise he wasn’t trying to convince her to think his way, the way Jerome often had and still did. He was letting the facts stand for themselves and allowing her to make the decision.
The thing was, staring into his hazel eyes, feeling the tug of attraction for him even now, she couldn’t make the decision. “I have to think about all of this.”
David stood, towering over her. “You think about it. The community center can find you another mentor for Anthony, but I want you to remember something. Hard experiences can lead to change, and I’ve changed my life into something I like now. Give me a call if you want me to take Anthony to the movies on Friday.” Taking a business card from his pocket, he laid it on the table next to her coffee. “My cell phone number is on there if you need it.”
Then he left the restaurant, leaving Angela feeling…empty.
On Wednesday afternoon, David was explaining the benefits of the Alpina cross-country skis to a customer when the phone on the cashier’s desk rang and his manager picked it up.
“It’s for you,” Edgar Pawalski said. “An emergency.”
After excusing himself from the customer, letting Edgar take over, David picked up the receiver, trying not to panic. His dad lived alone at the farm and anything could happen.
Instead, he heard a high-pitched woman’s voice. “Coach Moore? I understand you’re a Big Brother to Anthony Buffington?”
Immediately David was taken back to his conversation with Angela the day before yesterday. He’d been unsettled by the fact that she couldn’t seem to put her faith in him, and he hadn’t completely analyzed why. He’d hoped he’d hear from Angela, but he hadn’t, though he hadn’t heard from the community center, either. He was sure he would have if Angela had told them she wanted another mentor.
“Yes, I’m Anthony’s Big Brother.”
“This is the principal of Rosewood Elementary School. I’m in a bit of a pickle. Anthony was playing basketball after school. He fell and injured his arm, but I can’t get hold of his mother or his father. He says he has an aunt, but she’s away on a business trip. He’s in a lot of pain. When I asked him who else he might want me to call, he mentioned you.”
That surprised David. “You can’t reach Ms. Schumacher?” That seemed unbelievable to him because Angela would always be available for her kids. “Have you tried Felice’s Nieces?”
“Anthony told us she works part-time there, and we’re wondering if her cell phone isn’t charged or if she might have turned it off in transit. He’s pretty miserable and upset. Maybe you could come talk to him until we can reach her? Nothing we say seems to help.”
“How badly is he hurt?”
“I’m no doctor, Coach, but I’ve seen lots of accidents with kids and I think his arm is broken.”
“I’ll be right there.”
“Come to the nurse’s office at the elementary school. You’ll have to stop in at the main office first to get clearance.”
“Will do.”
Ten minutes later David had stopped in the elementary school office, spoken to the secretary, and was walking down the corridor to the nurse’s office. He was familiar with the ins and outs of the high school since he coached there. He’d been to the elementary school gym on a few occasions, but had never entered the recesses of the school itself. Normally, the pictures hanging on the cork strips outside the classrooms would make him smile. With Christmas coming, craft projects seemed to abound—from Christmas trees decorated with popcorn balls to reindeer fashioned from paper plates. But he was too worried about Anthony to appreciate the whimsy of the art projects.
When he entered the nurse’s office, he saw Anthony hunched up in a corner of the cot against the wall. The nurse was sitting at her desk at a computer.
He rapped on the door. “I’m David Moore,” he told the nurse before she could get up.
“Oh, Coach Moore. I just reached Ms. Schumacher. She’s on her way.”
“Mom’s gonna be so mad,” Anthony mumbled, his eyes filling with tears. He was cradling his arm and David went over to sit beside him.
“Why would she be mad? It’s not your fault you fell.”
“She didn’t want me to stay tonight because she was working. She said it would be easier for Zooey if I just came home with Olivia and Michael. But I wanted to stay, and she let me, and now she can’t even work ’cause she has to come get me. She’s going to be mad.”
Not knowing how much comfort Anthony would want, yet following his instincts, he capped the boy’s shoulder. “She’s not going to be mad. She’s going to be worried. All she’s going to care about is that you’re okay.”
“But I’m not. I have to go to the hospital.”
At that moment, Angela rushed into the nurse’s office and came up short when she saw David.
“Anthony asked them to call me when they couldn’t get hold of you,” he said in quiet explanation.
“I forgot to charge my phone last night. When I got to Felice’s Nieces, there was a message to call the school.”
David moved away as she rushed over to Anthony and put her arm around him. “Oh, honey. How are you doing?”
“It hurts, Mom.”
David could see the boy was trying to keep a stiff upper lip for his mother, but it wasn’t working too well. He went on, “I’m sorry I fell. I shouldn’t have stayed. If I had listened to you—”
“It’s okay,” she said soothingly. “The important thing now is to get you taken care of.”
It was easy to see how upset Angela was, even though she was trying to hide it. Her hand was shaking a bit, and David didn’t think she should drive Anthony herself. “Would you like me to drive you to the emergency room?”
Angela’s gaze met his and they both remembered the last conversation they had. “I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You don’t have to ask. I’m offering. I think it would be safer for everyone if I drove.”
She took a deep, calming breath. “I hate to admit it, but I think you’re right. The problem is, I won’t have my van when we’re all finished.”
“I can drive your van and then get a ride back here.”
Her blue eyes asked the question if he was trying to prove she was wrong about him…wrong to doubt him. But that wasn’t why he was doing this. Something about Angela more than interested him. She was trying to take on the world, all by herself, and take care of her kids at the same time. She deserved a little help.
The nurse got up from her chair then. “We keep a wheelchair here just for these kinds of situations. I can wheel Anthony outside.”
“If you give me your keys I’ll bring your van to the front door,” David said to Angela.
After only a moment’s hesitation, she reached into her purse and took out her key ring. About ten keys were on a ring attached to a large rhinestone star. He had to smile.
Fifteen minutes later they were at the hospital. Angela had called the pediatrician, and he’d advised her to take Anthony to the emergency room. An hour had passed until Angela filled out the paperwork and an orthopedic doctor had checked out Anthony, who had insisted David come to the examining room with them.
The doctor told Angela, “I need X-rays. I’ll send someone for your son. Do you want to come along?”
“Can Coach Moore come instead?” Anthony asked the doctor.
Angela’s hurt was evident in the quick sheen that coated her eyes. “You don’t want me to come with you?”
