CHAPTER2
WillEvans grabbed the clipboard and test strips before heading out his office door. He glanced at his watch and shook his head. He’d told his sister he’d be there for dinner, but he’d have to haul ass to make it. He didn’t allow himself to be late.
After swim team practice, a call from a mother whose eighteen-month-old son had developed a rash after his swim class had derailed his evening. He’d assured the neurotic woman that nothing was wrong with the water. But he’d closed down all swimming and had run tests to be sure.
He ran his hands through his still damp hair and sighed. The clipboard smacked against this leg as he swung it, and he sighed, taking in the two Olympic sized pools and the stands littered with swimmers waiting for the all-clear.
This gym complex had been his parents’ dream, and all he’d ever wanted to do was take it over. And he had, just a lot sooner than he’d planned. Now, over fifteen years later, not only was the gym in the black, but he had expanded to add the pool and the swim team. He’d never give up coaching the team, but the rest was becoming a chore he hated.
“We’re good to go, man,” Will assured Ken, his evening manager, as he jogged across the concrete. “Everything checked out.”
“Just like you said. Although I could have done this. You could have gone home.” Ken smiled before blowing his whistle and making the announcement with the bullhorn.
Will headed back into the locker room to grab his keys, hoping to get out of there quickly. But once again, his night was derailed. This time by his eleven-year-old star swimmer sitting on the bench. The poor kid looked lost. He sat on the hard surface, shoulders slumped, staring at a pair of feet that were too big for his thin frame.
“Andy?” Will came to a halt.
Andy slowly raised his big brown eyes from the floor, but he didn’t respond.
“What are you still doing here?”
The boy scanned the locker room, almost like he was caught in a trap and was looking for a way out. The poor kid had been through a lot this last year. His mother had passed away last winter. Breast cancer. That pulled at Will’s heartstrings in a very personal way.
“What’s going on?” Will asked, taking the seat next to him. Will had been Andy’s swim coach since he was about four years old, and the two had bonded over the years. He tried not to play favorites with his swim team kids, but he couldn’t help but feel closer to him than most.
Andy shrugged. Will had done that a lot too after he lost his parents. Shrugged everything off, shut down. Angry and off-putting—those had been his best traits at the time. “Who was supposed to take you home?”
Andy finally looked up at him, his expression blank.
Practice had been over for thirty minutes, and although Will had asked the question, he already had a good idea of what the answer would be.
He’d heard the stories. According to the team mothers, Andy’s older sister had a legendary reputation for being a slouch. The moms did what they could to help, and they all had soft spots for him, but every single one of those mothers had complained to Will about that older sister from hell. Will hadn’t met the woman. His only experience with Andy’s sister had been when she sent payment and forms in, which she did without a hassle, so he was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.
After all, she’d lost her mother too.
“Do you think maybe she just can’t find you?” Will asked. The kidwassitting in the men’s locker room, after all.
Andy’s brows shot up, and he gave Will a look that said he thought the coach was ridiculous.
“Sheisn’t coming.I’msupposed to get a ride. But we worked on my turns after practice, so when I got out of the pool, everyone was gone.”
Shit. Will sighed. “Is she going to be home for dinner?”
Andy shook his head and glared at the floor.
“You want to come over to the Demodas and eat? That’s where I was heading.” Lucky for Will, Andy and Will’s nephew Steve were good friends.
Andy finally cracked a smile. “Really?”
“You know Mrs. Demoda. She loves a crowd.” He had seven brothers, a few sisters-in-law, and a bunch of nieces and nephews. And Beth Demoda was never happier than when they were all under her roof. But his brother-in-law Marc would expect a text. “I’ll let them know we’re both coming.”
“Awesome.”
Will paused and thought it over for a second. “How about you tell your sister what’s going on, and she and I can catch up when I drop you off at home later?”
“’Kay,” Andy said, but the smile fell from his face.
Will used the Remind app to text the parents about practice and meet updates, but he should probably look up Andy’s sister’s number. They needed to talk directly. It was one thing for the busybody mothers to complain that Andy’s sister never signed up to bring snack, but it was another for the poor kid to be here without a ride.