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“Hey, you okay?” Boone’s voice was soothing after the day I’d had, and I turned to him with a smile. Dad wasn’t here tonight, so I didn’t have to act like he had cooties.
“Hi. Yeah, just a flat tire. I handled it except for getting the stupid lug nuts off.”
“They can be brutal,” he agreed, his blue eyes meeting mine. “Make sure you don’t drive on the donut too long—they’re meant to be short-term fixes.”
“I’ll get a new tire tomorrow.”
Hopefully. I had neither the time nor the money, but he didn’t need to know that.
“If you need me to follow you home tonight, just in case, let me know.”
“Thanks. I might take you up on that. It’s supposed to snow again later.”
“I’ll find you once camp is over.”
A tiny flutter of excitement raced through me.
He was soft-spoken and handsome, and I liked the way he interacted with the kids.
Not to mention those damn blue eyes.
Why was I thinking about this?
I didn’t have time for men.
Did I?
Maybe just a little.
“Coach Jolie?” Johanna was tugging on the bottom of my hoodie, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“What’s up, kiddo?”
She looked up at me from beneath her raised mask. “I don’t think I like being goalie. Puckshurt.”
I managed not to laugh.
“I think you should give it more than fifteen minutes before you decide, okay? We’ll try it for a couple of days. If you still don’t like it, we’ll move you back to defense. Is that fair?”
She contemplated it. “I guess so.”
She pushed her mask back into place and skated toward the goal.
“Where do you find the patience?” Jana muttered under her breath. “I just want to give her a spanking.”
“She lost her father last year and never knew her mother. Her great-grandparents, who are in their seventies, are raising her. I don’t know what happened to both sets of grandparents, but she’s had a rough time of it. I think we can find some extra patience for a seven-year-old who needs a little extra love.”
Jana dipped her head. “You’re right. That was a thoughtless thing to say.”
“Don’t get me wrong—there are times I want to strangle the whole bunch of them. But then I remember that most of these kids come from broken homes, single parents, stuff like that. That boy over there talking to Boone? He’s going deaf and the parents don’t have the money to pay for the surgery he needs. I’d like to think we can afford to give them some grace when they act like kids, since that’s what they are.”
“I didn’t know that about Tommy.” Jana followed my gaze.
“It’s all right. Now, let’s whip their butts into shape.”
I grabbed a couple of extra sticks and blew my whistle.
Camp was over before I knew it and I couldn’t wait to get home. I didn’t want to think about new tires or the foot of snow we were supposed to get or anything but that bath waiting for me.
