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Lily smiled, looking less like she was here under silent protest and more interested in what might be in store for the next hour.
Clementine had to admit, when it was all over, she hadn’t been prepared for what was in store herself. The workout consisted of rowing, sit-ups on the Glute-Ham Developer, or GHD, and front squats, all of which Lily picked up with ease. The rowing didn’t surprise her—Lily was tall and rowing was all about the legs. Neither did the front squats, now that she thought about it, which were all core strength and mobility in the hips and ankles. The GHD sit-ups were something that were almost never encouraged for newbies, but Hobbs had allowed Lily to try, and once she’d got the hang of using her legs to shoot herself up, she’d been good to go for half the scheduled reps.
“What’d I tell you?” Hobbs’s face spread into his typical big, infectious grin. “Strong core wins the day. Great job, Lil.” He gave her a high five. They were about the same height, so they nailed it, their palms loud enough to make a smacking sound.
A lot of people gave Lily high fives, many of them shaking their heads, saying things like, “I still can’t do GHD sit-ups,” and, “Wow, your flexibility is amazing.”
“See?” Clementine wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her wrist. “I knew you’d crush it. With just a little bit of time you’ll be nailing everything in here.”
“Mom.” Lily rolled her eyes. “Calm down. I came this once because you made me. That doesn’t mean I’m going to join.”
“I know.” Clementine tried to mask her disappointment. She’d tried hard to never make her passions her daughter’s, to force her to do things she hated or, God forbid, make her hate exercise. She’d learned long ago that Lily loved ballet and yoga—things Clementine was marginal at, at best—and wasn’t partial to running, the one thing Clementine loved above all others. As long as they were both moving on a regular basis, she figured she was being a good mom.
Hannah, who’d scaled everything and moved pretty slowly, still had popped a sweat and her skin had gone pale, with rosy splotches at the outer edges of her cheekbones. “I am so out of shape,” she moaned. The aura of sadness was still there, had never once left her during the workout, her body like it moved through mud.
“Hey, give yourself a chance.” Clementine tried a smile. “This was only one workout.”
“Plus, you just traveled over a thousand miles,” Hobbs added.
Hannah sank down on one of the wooden boxes and sighed. “Yeah,” she agreed. “But I’m still way out of shape. I can’t remember the last time I exercised, other than going for a walk.”
The woman seemed truly beat. Clementine wondered how old she was—she looked about Tabitha’s age, maybe a little younger. She also wondered why Hannah had just traveled over a thousand miles to visit her brother. It seemed kind of sudden, but then again, what did Clementine know? Whatever the case, Clementine certainly wasn’t going to pry, so tried the one thing that had made Hannah perk up earlier. “I’m going to go get George and Gracie, now that everyone is leaving. That was the last class for the night, right?”
“Yep. Good idea.” Hobbs gave her a grateful smile. “I’ll lock up after you bring them in.”
Lily came out to the car to help, silent but willing, and decided to carry George while Clementine leashed up Gracie. Once they were back inside, and saw the gym was closed up and empty of everyone but Hannah and Hobbs, Clementine let Gracie loose.
“Oh my goodness!” A huge smile split Hannah’s face, but it was all for the puppy that went barreling toward her like they’d known each other all their lives. Hannah dropped to her knees and opened her arms and Gracie tore into them. Her big paws landed on Hannah’s chest and nearly tipped her over backward. “Look at you, you big, sweet thing!” Gracie licked all over Hannah’s face. She laughed and rubbed her ears. “She does look just like Gemma.” Hannah turned to Hobbs, who was watching the pair with a quiet intensity that Clementine had never seen on the boisterous coach.
Lily knew better than to hang on to a wiggling cat, so she set George down, and he came flying over to Gracie. He did circles around the Lab mix puppy, who was plopped down a foot away from Hannah, joy all over her canine face. “That’s George,” Lily said. “He thinks he’s Gracie’s bodyguard. If you get too close, he might slap you. He keeps his claws in, most of the time, but his behavior unnerves people.” Lily offered her wrists and forearms as proof, showing off the handful of tiny scratches there.
Hannah, still on her knees, burst into laughter. “George is a cat?”
“Yep.”
“A hairless cat?”
“Yep.”
“That’s just—” Hannah’s body shook with her mirth “—the funniest thing I have ever seen. Oh my gosh.”
“I wish more people reacted like you,” Lily said. “This is why nobody will take Gracie. They’re a bonded pair and nobody wants George.”
“Nonsense.” Hannah shifted and settled on the floor with her legs crossed. “He just needs a little patience.”
“Exactly.” Lily’s eyes lit up in that way that happened only when she was talking about animals. “He’s learned to tolerate me and we make a little progress every day. George just needs someone who will understand him. His previous owners abandoned him and now he’s lost and insecure. Gracie makes him feel needed.”
“Everybody should feel needed.” Hannah’s voice softened.
Gracie gave a little woof, tossed her head and then jumped into Hannah’s lap. Lily pulled a rope bone she’d stuffed in the side pocket of her leggings and tossed it to Hannah, who caught it with one hand. George trotted over and slunk around Hannah, circumambulating and rubbing his body against Gracie’s head.
“You don’t know how glad I am you brought them tonight,” Hobbs said as he and Clementine watched Lily and Hannah navigate the animals and the oddities of everyone’s personalities.
“The dog really seemed to perk your sister up.” The weird animals and her daughter’s offbeat patience with them were not a new sight to Clementine, but she knew how all this must look to the likes of Hobbs. “Who was Gemma?”
Hobbs cleared his throat, maybe caught off guard. “Dog from when we were kids. Hannah is quite a bit younger than I am. I was a teenager when Gemma came around, but Hannah was only seven or so. Man, she loved that dog.” He looked like he was going to say more, but stopped.
“Look—George is actually settling down next to her,” Clementine mused, noting how sweet the puppy looked curled around Hannah’s abdomen. George didn’t actually touch Hannah, but he did sit near her feet and offer a glare. And, at least for now, he kept his paws to himself.
