Page 174 of On His Team

Rowan: Game tomorrow.

Me: Clinic tomorrow.

Rowan: Exactly

I look at the screen.

Me: I’m nervous.

Rowan: Good.

I frown.

Me: Rude.

Rowan: Means you care.

Me: Are you nervous?

His answer takes longer.

Rowan: Little.

I smile.

Me: Good.

Rowan: Rude.

I laugh quietly into my pillow.

Me: Means you care.

Rowan: Go to sleep, G.

Me: Goodnight.

Rowan: Night.

I put my phone on the nightstand and close my eyes. Tomorrow I have forty-eight kids showing up for something that existed in my head six weeks ago. Rowan has Ohio State again tomorrow night.

I roll onto my side, pull the blanket up, and let tomorrow come.

Chapter 16

GIANNA

My first alarm goes off at four-thirty, but I’ve been awake since four. I know this because I have watched the clock change three separate times while lying completely still in the dark, trying to convince myself that resting counts even if my brain is running through the same list it has been running through since yesterday afternoon.

Registration table. Waivers. Volunteer assignments. Rental skates. Jerseys. Name tags. Water. Photos. Locker rooms. First-aid kit. Sponsor banner. Gary’s equipment. The second resurface. Parent viewing area.

The worst part is that I know all of those things are handled. That does absolutely nothing to stop me from thinking about them.

The alarm goes off, and I finally sit upright and immediately check my phone. There are no emergency emails. No volunteer has called out overnight. Lisa has not discovered that all forty-eight children have suddenly developed scheduling conflicts. The rink is still standing.

I put my phone down, take one breath, and then pick it up again to check my email anyway. Nothing.

“Okay,” I whisper to myself. My own voice sounds ridiculous in the dark.