I sat very still, miserable on the inside that I was pretty sure I knew the cause of Coach’s angst. On our drive home Saturday, Willow had told me that she’d finally admitted her pregnancy to her parents. She’d said that while they’d taken the news much better than she’d expected, she knew that both her mom and dad were still coming to terms with it.
“I’m sorry, sir,” I said finally. “If it helps at all, I think you do a great job of leading us. I know we all appreciate it.”
“Mmmm.” Coach tapped the pen on his blotter. His brows drew together as he stared at the pen before lifting his eyes to me. “Lassiter, you didn’t find yourself a girlfriend after our last talk, did you?”
It was such an abrupt change in topic that I was thrown for a few seconds. “Sir? Oh, no. No, Coach, I didn’t.”
“Hmph,” he grunted. “Remember during that same conversation that I told you there was more to life than football and classes?”
“Um.”Where was he going with this?“Ah, yes, sir. I remember.”
“I was just thinking . . . you met my daughter Willow when you came to dinner at my house.”
“Yes, sir, I did.” It seemed safe to admit that.
“You two got along, didn’t you?” He tapped the pen again.
“Uh, sir, we didn’t really have much conversation at dinner that night.” Again, I wasn’t lying.
“Oh, right. Well, as a rule, Willow doesn’t interact much with the guys on my teams. She grew up with players in and out of the house all the time, and I guess it’s possible she felt like they got more of my attention than she did.” Coach shrugged. “The point is, I think maybe you could help me out.”
“Anything I can do, Coach, I’m happy to do it.”
“Willow . . . she’s going through a rough time right now.” He scowled ferociously, and I thought, not for the first time, that I would hate to be on the receiving end of this man’s wrath. “The truth of the matter is—” Coach’s jaw clenched, as if he didn’t want to say the words. “Willow’s pregnant. It wasn’t planned. The—the, uh, father, isn’t involved at all. And she’s not sure what she’s going to do.”
I felt as though every muscle in my body had turned to stone. Hearing Coach confide this to me, knowing what I knew, made me feel like the worst kind of asshole.
“I’m—sorry, sir.” It was the most honest thing I could say.
“She was upset today before I left for practice. I guess she’d called a couple of her friends from college, and they weren’t exactly supportive. She’s going to be okay, but I think she’s feeling pretty alone. She doesn’t have any friends here, doesn’t know anyone but her mother and me. But maybe you could, I don’t know, take her out for coffee or something? She needs someone closer to her own age right now, I think.”
“Oh, sir . . .” I began. “I don’t know—I mean, between football and classes and training—I’m pretty slammed—” I stopped speaking abruptly as it occurred to me what I was doing. Coach was giving me an excuse to be with Willow, to hang with her without anyone suspecting a thing. I hadn’t been lying about the constraints on my time, but maybe I could work out something. But should I? Was it too risky for both of us?
“I’m not asking you to marry her, Lassiter. But she could use a friend.” He paused. “This isn’t easy for her. She had plans, and now—well, I’ll let her tell you about it, but I trust you, Dean. Can you do this for me?”
Sitting there, I could easily list the reasons that I should say no. I could make a case for both myself and for Coach to explain why being Willow’s new friend was a bad idea.
But I heard myself saying, “Of course, sir. I’m happy to help.”
ChapterEleven
Willow
“Ithought maybe we could go for a walk.”
I stood on the porch with my back to the front door, my arms crossed over my chest as I frowned at Dean.
“Do you really think this is a good idea?”
His blue eyes crinkled, and he shot me a rueful smile. “Well, it wasn’t mine, if that helps you feel any better.”
“Yeah, I know. Daddy told me that he’d asked you to take his sad, knocked-up daughter on a pity date.” I rolled my eyes. “You could’ve said no. You probablyshouldhave said no.”
“Why?” Dean demanded. “It seemed like a perfect opportunity for us to spend time together without raising your parents’ suspicions. You said before your dad might suspect something if we became friends on our own, if we were spending time together suddenly, but since he’s the one who came up with the idea, I figured we’re home free.”
I tilted my head. “Why do you want to spend time with me?”
I expected that his answer would have something to do with guilt and trying to be responsible and so on, but to my surprise, his smile only widened as he replied.
