“I know it.” He offers her an appreciative smile. “I’m sorry your season didn’t end the way we all hoped, but it was nice to see the teams coming together for something bigger than them.”
“There’s always next year,” Ainsley says. She loops her arm through the crook of my elbow. “Ready to go?”
I tap my knuckles on the secretary’s desk. “It was good to see you, Mrs. Lepski.”
“Oh, you can come visit any time.” She beams up at Ainsley. “Your boyfriend is a sweetheart, Ms. Morgan.”
Ainsley rolls her eyes as she grins. “Yes, he’s a charmer.”
In the hallway, she jabs me in the side. “Still flirting with the secretary, huh?”
I scoff. “I never flirted with her. I was just nice to her because she let us sneak out of school.”
She purses her lips. “She never let me sneak out.”
“Maybe you weren’t nice to her.”
She chuckles as we step outside of the building together, her shoulders visibly dropping. “I am so relieved this is over.”
“Me too.” I lace our fingers together as I lead her around the side of the building. “Did he say anything about Jayden’s mother?”
“All he said was that she won’t be a problem for me anymore.” She glances up at me, worry etched into her face. “I don’t know what that means for Jayden though.”
We approach her Jeep in the parking lot, but I tug her arm past it. “Why don’t you ask Jayden yourself?”
Ainsley’s eyes narrow as she spots both teams waiting for her past the gates on the field. “What are they all doing here?”
“I wanted them to be the first to congratulate you on being reinstated.”
“And what if I got fired?”
I hike a shoulder. “Then they would’ve been here to help you raise hell.”
As if on cue, our teams run toward us, shouting like wild animals.
“Did you get your job back?”
“Are you still our coach?”
“Did you get fired?”
Ainsley laughs, and her wide smile takes my breath away. She looks genuinely happy for the first time in a long time. She’s been through so much, lost so much. I’m glad I get to be here to witness something good happening for her.
Jayden steps forward, wringing his hands in front of him. “Is everything okay, Coach Ainsley?”
“Everything is fine.” Ainsley opens her arms and wraps them around Jayden. “I’m so glad to see you again.”
Jayden grips onto Ainsley, tears streaming down his cheeks. “I’m sorry about everything. I’m sorry you got in trouble because of me.”
“Hey.” Ainsley pulls back and holds Jayden at arm’s distance to look into his eyes. “None of this was your fault, do you understand me? You did the right thing and confided in a trusted adult. You did nothing wrong. All I care about is that you’re okay.”
Jayden sniffles as he nods. “My mom is still really angry, but my dad convinced her to go to therapy with me so we can talk.”
My shoulders drop, relief flooding my muscles. “That’s really good, Jayden. Going to therapy is a great first step for all of you.”
It’s something I wish my parents would have done a long time ago, though I’m not sure my father could’ve been helped.
“What you did was really brave,” Ainsley says. “And you have your team supporting you all the way.”
