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Nick no longer had any place in our lives.
Imogene touched her little cousin’s shoulder, then pointed toward us. Eli spun around, a huge smile on his face, and took off, sprinting toward Wes, jumping into his arms.
The first time I picked up Imogene from camp, she did the same. While she may not run toward me like she once did, not wanting to appear as if she missed her mom in front of her friends, her steps were still a bit quicker than normal, bordering on a jog. And when she wrapped her arms around me, her hug was just as tight as when she was a little girl.
“Hey, baby.” I squeezed her to me, inhaling her scent. Fresh air. Powder. And something unique to my little girl. “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too, Mama.” She pulled back, her dark eyes studying my face. “How was Hawaii? Looks like you got some sun.”
“That I did,” I answered, sensing Wes’ amused stare on me. “I’ll tell you all about it when we get home.”
“Can’t wait.” She gave me a smile before looking over my shoulder. “Hiya, Uncle Wes.”
“Hey, peanut.” He lowered Eli to his feet, then pulled her in for a tight squeeze.
“How did you like camp, Eli?” I crouched to my nephew’s level. “Did you do anything exciting?”
“I learned to shoot a bow and arrow.” His brown eyes lit up with the enthusiasm of a six-year-old little boy. “And I rode a horse. And paddled a canoe. And during the soccer clinic, I scored a goal against Mo!”
“Is that right?” Standing, I glanced in Imogene’s direction.
“He’s a natural.” She shrugged, then winked.
I smiled, knowing Imogene let him score against her. She was normally a wall out on the field, barely anything ever getting past her. But the counselors here didn’t focus on winning. Instead, it was all about instilling confidence in each kid, teaching them how to work as a team, regardless of whether they won or lost.
It brought to mind Lachlan’s Little League in Hawaii. How passionate he was about instilling the same thing in every kid who walked onto the baseball diamond bearing his last name.
And like baseball changed those kids’ lives, this camp changed Imogene’s.
“Have you both said your goodbyes?” Wes looked between Eli and Imogene. “We’ve got a bit of a drive home, so we probably should get going.”
“I just need one second.” Imogene hoisted herself onto her toes and looked over dozens of kids and parents.
When someone called her name, her gaze darted toward the right, a blush covering her cheeks as a tall, lanky, dark-haired teenager jogged our way.
“Hey, Mo,” he said, wearing a smile I would have easily swooned over when I was Imogene’s age.
“Hey, Roman,” she replied, pushing a few of her blonde waves behind her ear.
“Hey, Roman,” I repeated, earning me a death glare from my daughter.
Roman turned his attention to me and cleared his throat. “Mrs. Prescott… Ma’am… Nice to meet you. I’m Roman Dean. I go to school with Imogene.”
“So I’ve heard,” I responded, ignoring the fact he’d called me Mrs. Prescott, then ma’am. After all, he was born and raised in the South, where referring to everyone as “sir” or “ma’am” was ingrained in all of us since birth. But being called ma’am mere days after celebrating my fortieth birthday felt different than prior years.
Still, I shrugged it off, taking it for what it was… A young teen who was interested in my daughter trying to be polite.
“She mentioned you were in Hawaii. Did you have a good time?”
“I did. Thank you for asking.” I looked from Roman to Imogene. “And I trust you two had a good time at camp? Imogene mentioned you both helped out in the soccer clinic?”
“Sure did.” He beamed at Imogene, his eyes lighting up.
The way he looked at her was incredibly sweet. Exactly how I’d hoped a boy would look at her one day. Not like she was merely a piece of property.
“She’s a great player.”
Imogene grinned shyly, her fair skin not able to mask her growing blush.
