Clara June purses her lips and Jackie rolls her eyes. “Okay, the jukebox and cowboys. I like cowboys. Sue me.”
I smile watching the two women laugh together, but whenJackie begs off, promising to call Clara June in the morning but telling her she’s too cold to stay a moment longer, Clara June’s face returns.
The face that saysI wanna talk and it’s not gonna be fun.
I slip my hand into hers, weaving our fingers together, not caring who could see. Leah Mitchell is around here someplace, and I haven’t quite told her that I’ve been seeing a student’s mom. Still, if she finds out this way, so be it. With Clara June’s face like that, I need to touch her. I’d press my lips to her throat and coax it out of her right now if I could.
“You look beautiful tonight,” I let the words fall directly into her ear after pushing her hair back. My free hand goes to her waist as I briefly press my forehead to hers, then kiss the tip of her nose before stepping back. “Tanner had a great game. Absolutely great.”
She nods. “Thank you and yeah, he did. Really great game,” she says, her words trailing off, her eyes distant.
I close the space between us, throwing discretion to the wind as I take her face in my hand. “Clara June, what’s wrong? You’re not yourself.” I pause, studying the way her eyes flit between mine, the way her pupils flare.
“Let’s talk at my house.” She looks around and it makes me beyond nervous. “Not here.”
I nod just as Archie runs up, my hat wobbly as ever on his head. “Mama, Rawley said to tell you he’s going to Jo Jo’s for the night and to call Miss Riley if you need to.”
She swipes her fingers through his soft chestnut hair. “Okay, baby. You ready to head home?”
Archie looks up at me. “You’re comin’ with us, right Coach?”
I fidget with my hat on his head. “Following you there in my truck, yes sir.”
He looks back up to Clara June. “Can I ride with Coach? Please, mama?”
She looks at me, asking me without words if I’m okay with that. I’m not a parent, but I speak wordless parent from my years of teaching. I give her a nod and a smile.
“Sure, Archie.” She kisses his head. “I’m gonna say goodbye to Tanner one last time, then I’ll meet you guys there.”
When she walks away, I try not to worry that she’s gonna call this thing off. Then I take Archie’s hand and lead him through the field, to the parking lot, and into the passenger seat of my truck.
“Think we can have ice cream?” Archie asks as we pull out of the parking lot, gravel pinging and popping against the side of my truck. I flick on my headlights.
“We can surely ask, right?” I smile, not sure if this is too late for ice cream, or if Clara June has a bedtime routine that specifically excludes sugar. It would make sense, but I just don’t know, and I am not gonna be the guy who promises shit to a kid that he can’t deliver on.
Archie nods, fiddling with my hat on his head. “We should get mama to have some. To cheer her up.”
The hair on the back of my neck rises, and I reach backand rub my skin, trying to get rid of the sudden uncomfortable feeling.
I don’t want to learn anything about Clara June from Archie—it feels like reading her diary, tapping into a vein of information that I’m not meant to have. It feels like cheating, but as Archie kicks his feet against the seat, his boots leaving little dark marks against the worn fabric, I can’t help myself. I just can’t. My mind has been reeling all night. So I cheat a little.
“Why does your mom need cheering up?” I turn down the heater to reduce the noise, so I can hear whatever answer he gives me with the utmost clarity. My stomach folds in on itself as he turns in the seat, looking up at my profile.
“She had a phone call that made her feel sad,” he tells me, driving his pointer finger up his nostril, down to the knuckle. I lift one ass cheek from the seat and tug my hankie out, passing it to him.
“Here, use this.” I look out the windshield and notice the moon is full and round, dripping a gorgeous glow onto the tops of the houses, shining on blades of grass. It’s a beautiful night, and it was a damn good game, but the world around me is quiet and colorless as I consider Archie’s response.
A bad phone call?
Rawley already got accepted to the apprenticeship program at Wrench Kings. Archie seems just fine. Tanner had a great game, and before the game, was cleared by West to play. I have no idea what it could be, and the fact that there is still so much about Clara June and her life that I don’t know about doesn’t sit well with me. I want to know her so well that I can read her every expression. I want to know her so well that when she has a bad day, I already know exactly why, and only I can make her better.
But I don’t know yet.I have to be okay with that, becauseassuming she doesn’t break it off with me tonight, we’ve agreed to move slowly. And I have to respect that, for her and her boys sake.
Archie and I talk about the football game, and he asks questions about how a football is made, and if pigs know they lend their skin to the sport. We chat about ice cream and pajamas, how his new peach tree is doing, and then when I pull in the driveway and put my truck in park, he blurts, “It was a real mean voice. A man.”
My brows furrow. “What was?”
Archie pops open the door and slides out, his boots clicking on the cement. “Who my mom was talking to on the phone.” Then he’s gone, leaving the truck door wide open as he runs up the steps and inside the house.
