Trevor Gaylen didn't want to answer the ringing phone. He knew it was the boss,
and he was sure the boss had also heard about the incident in Miami. The boss was
going to be pissed and take it out on him. After all, he was in charge of recruitment.
He was upper management, and with a nice share of the profits also came the
responsibility of having control over middle management.
Miami had sales that were skyrocketing in the last six months. Just last month
he'd gotten praise for it, but now some street soldier had messed things up for him.
Hopefully, Boss would know he had nothing to do with this and let him live.
"Gaylen," he said into the phone.
"What the hell happened in Miami?" the digitally disguised voice asked. Yup,
Boss was pissed.
"I don't know. The reports I'm getting from management is that a soldier sold S2
in front of a DEA agent and then sold her drugs. When she went to arrest him, he
clocked her, and then there was something about sexually assaulting her, but no one
is really clear on that."
"How much did he know?"
"Management swears he only knew the name of his supplier."
"I don't want to risk it. Order a clean sweep of the Miami franchise. No one left
alive. For God's sake and yours, find a stronger manager who knows how to handle
his soldiers."
"Done. I have had my eye on someone for expansion, but he'll do well as a new
manager. He has a strong cocaine ring that's been running for seven years. He's
stable and knows his business."
"Good. Make sure everyone is gone by the end of the night. And, Gaylen?"
"Yes?"
"I don't want any more screw-ups or I will hold you personally responsible,
understand?"
"Yes, Boss."
* * *
Cade Davies couldn't decide when to teach meiosis in his freshman biology class.
He sat at his desk at Keeneston High School and stared at his lesson plan. He ran
his fingers through his dark blonde hair and decided to teach it with photosynthesis
before he tackled Mendel. Football camp started Monday and he wanted to use
these two days to get all his teaching plans for the year ready.
He looked up from his desk when he heard a grunt from his bearded collie Justin,
then noticed his friend Will Ashton trying to push the door to his classroom open.
Justin liked to lie against doors, and fifty-eight pounds of dog was hard to move.
Will pushed harder, and because of Justin's long black and white coat on the slick
tiles, Justin slid along the floor like a mop as the door opened.
"Hi, Will. Am I missing a coaches' meeting?"
"Nope. But, I did want to talk to you about the team."
"Sure, what's up?" Cade asked his longtime friend.
Will Ashton had played football at Keeneston High and then went on full
scholarship to the University of Kentucky. He was a standout quarterback who got
drafted into the NFL and played for years before his father had a heart attack. He
left the NFL at the end of the season, as the number one quarterback in the country,
in order to run the family thoroughbred farm. He had succeeded at that too, with
back-to-back Kentucky Derby winners in his stable. On top of running the farm, he
was also the volunteer head football coach at the high school. Having grown up in
the same town, they had known each other since they were knee high.
"Well, now that the trial is done, I want to focus on Kenna. You know she is due
in six months, and what with recovering from the shooting and all, I just really want
to help her out with getting ready for the baby. She's trying to do it all: working full
time, helping out with the farm, and getting the nursery ready. I'm telling you she's
out of control."
Poor Will. He was frantic over the prospect of having a child. After having his
wife shot and then having her as the star witness at the center of a major corruption
and murder trial, he didn't want her more than five feet away from him. It didn't
matter that McKenna was perfectly capable of taking care of herself.
"So, I am resigning at head coach."
"What? You can't do that."
"I know I will be letting the kids down, Cade. We have a very young, very
inexperienced team this year, but I can't give them my full attention. It wouldn't be
fair to them. I have talked to Margaret, and as principal she agreed to the new hire
already."
"New hire? Who is it?" He watched Will straighten up to his full six feet two
inches and smile.
"I'm here to officially offer you the position as head coach."
"Me? But, I'm not qualified. I've only been an assistant for a couple of years and
no head coaching experience." Cade was overwhelmed. He had just started getting
the hang of being the offensive coordinator, but to take over the whole team…he
wasn't ready for this.
"You'll do great," Will said.
Cade looked at his friend and thought he actually meant it. "I guess I have a lot of
work to do this weekend." Cade sat back down in his chair and stared at his lesson
plans. He now had to finish his lesson plans and figure out a coaching strategy by
Monday.
"Don't worry. You'll be fine. Call if you have any problems." Will gave him a
thump on the back and headed out the door.
Cade pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose and sighed. This was a hell of a
year to start out as a coach. The whole offensive line was empty because of
graduation. The quarterback Austin Colby was good but lazy, and the only wide
receiver worth mentioning was Ryan Hall, and he was a freshman! At least he had
senior Trey Everett at running back. The defense was small, but they had Corey
Bonner coming off an all-state season as linebacker.
To make matters worse, spring practice had been a nightmare. It was like the
whole team, except Trey, quit. They were lazy and acted as if they didn't care. This
was definitely a rebuilding year.
"Come on, Justin. Let's get home for dinner. It's going to be a very long night."
Cade stood up, packed up his folders, and grabbed the team's playbook. Justin
jumped up at the mention of food and trotted out of the room ahead of Cade.
Cade dug into the pocket of his jeans for the keys to unlock the doors to his
Highlander SUV. Justin leaped into the front seat and pressed his black nose to the
window. His pink tongue hung out as the hot sun warmed him up.
"Is your dog wearing a bow in his hair?" Cade turned and saw Principal Margaret
Lopez standing behind him, staring at Justin with a goofy little grin on her face.
"The groomer put it in. He can't see without it. His hair falls into his eyes."
"Well, maybe next time ask for another color besides pink. Poor boy, he looks
embarrassed."
Cade agreed. Justin did seem embarrassed by the tiny pink bow on top of his head.
He kept pawing at it and even growled at himself when he saw it in the mirror.
"Well, let me be the first to congratulate you, Coach," Margaret said as she patted
him on the back. "I know you'll do a great job."
"I hope so, even though it's a rebuilding year." Might as well make sure everyone
knows not to expect miracles.
Keeneston wasn't known as a football powerhouse. It was better known as a rifle
club powerhouse. While everyone bled blue for the University of Kentucky
basketball and football teams, they just didn't have the population to support a
strong program in those major sports at the high school level. Even though they
weren't a power house, he hated to disappoint his town. They may not be the best,
but they definitely had the most hometown pride. People closed businesses for big
games, parades were given for Homecoming, and most of the town showed up to
support "their boys" at the football games.
"Will warned me about that. The town will support you, especially with your
knowledge and talent. All the kids love you. You just take good care of those boys
and do the best you can. Well, I'm off to Bluegrass Airport to pick up our new
guidance counselor. I am so glad we finally got that position filled. I was afraid I
was going to have to ask you to do it!" she joked.
"Where is the new counselor coming from?"
"Miami. Has a great resume and references. Gosh knows I haven't found anyone I
liked so far. She's on a one year probation, and then we'll offer her tenure track if
she works out."
"Good. I hope she does. See you Monday for orientation and football camp. Are
you planning on giving your normal talk to the team before practice?"
"Yes. But then the new counselor will be coming and getting smaller groups of
freshmen throughout the day as their names are called for the smaller orientation
groups. If that's okay?"
"Of course it is. See you then."
Cade jumped into the car and rolled the window down for Justin, who enjoyed the
wind blowing back his hair as they drove down the country road surrounded by
rolling hills, black fences, and hungry cows. It was going to be a very long
weekend, and he needed to get home fast to finish up those plans and then pretend
he knew what it meant to be a head coach.
Annie walked off the plane and into a small, neat airport. There were no signs in
Spanish. There were no lines at a Starbucks. And there were no noisy people
yelling the finer points of LeBron James' game. It was so foreign. It made her
nervous that everyone she passed smiled as they went on their way. From the plane
she saw large tracts of land surrounded by white and black fences. The land was not
covered with tall buildings or sprawling apartment complexes. Was there even a
downtown? Looking at the artwork on the walls as she waited for her bags, she
guessed there was a small one at least with one very tall blue building.
"Miss Hill?" Annie turned and saw a short woman with caramel-color skin and
dark brown hair looking at her.
"Yes?"
"I am Margaret Lopez, the principal at Keeneston High. I'm so very glad to meet
you."
Annie shook her hand and smiled. She seemed very nice and very matronly, like
she would feed you in an instant if you said you were hungry.
"Let me help you with your bags. We're really excited to have you join our staff.
We're like a family, so if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask." Margaret
picked up some of her bags and led her to a silver minivan.
Annie looked around and couldn't believe there was so much green space
everywhere. Colorfully painted horse statues stood nearby, and just off in the
distance the real thing ran in pastures surrounded by white fences.
"We're so lucky we found you. I have been interviewing, but no one has been
qualified. We start on Monday with new student orientation. We have ten groups of
kids scheduled. We'll start at nine in the morning and go until three in the
afternoon. We'll show the kids the school, tell them about the services we have and
sign them up for their electives. It doesn't give you much time, but I put together a
folder for you with information about the school and town. I thought we could meet
at seven thirty and I could show you around."
"Thank you. That will be a big help."
"Your principal at your old school, Mr. Cruz, said you were seeking the transfer to
be closer to your family. I believe he said they were in Louisville?"
"Yes, I have a cousin in Louisville."
That much was true at least. It didn't matter that she'd never met her or that she
didn't even know if her aunt was still alive. She'd been raised in a series of foster
homes until she turned eighteen, foster homes filled with fighting and foster parents
who only cared about when the next check was coming. Not all homes were like
that-- she had heard of the good ones, but because she refused to be a victim and
fought back when her foster siblings started beating on her and stood up to an
abusive foster dad, she got labeled a "bad kid" whom the system couldn't help. The
result of being labeled bad was a constant string of houses where the parents were
essentially absent or just turned a blind eye to a boy beating up his sister. Annie
thanked God every day that she had been able to fight. Some of her foster sisters
had not been so lucky. They ended up severely injured, or some ran away never to
be heard from again.
When she turned eighteen and graduated from high school with honors, she
headed to Florida State University on full scholarship. She majored in chemistry,
and upon graduating six years ago, she started working for the DEA after
graduating from DEA Training at Quantico. She had been moved from office to
office ever since. She had never looked back and had never kept in touch with
anyone from her past. As far as she was concerned, her life started when she went
to college. No one knew about her before then. It seemed no one cared, no one until
Chrystal Sharp.
Chrystal had sent her an email two years ago. In it she told Annie that they were
cousins, that she lived in Louisville and was researching the family tree and had
tracked her down. She wanted to get in touch, get to know one another, wanted to
become family. That all sounded nice, but Annie knew it wasn't the truth. If
Chrystal and her mother hadn't cared enough about her when Annie was ten, and
her mother went on a weeklong bender that took them from Indianapolis to Orlando
where she finally died from an overdose in an alley behind Disney World, then
screw them. She had fought and won against staggering odds, and she wasn't about
to forgive and forget.
See, what her social worker didn't know was that Annie had heard her on the
phone with her aunt while at the hospital. Her mother had just been declared dead
and Annie had given the social worker her aunt's name. She heard the social
worker begging her aunt to take Annie, but her aunt had refused. She said she
wanted nothing to do with her sister or her sister's bastard child.
Now, here she was on her way to yet another home, driving through the beautiful
countryside outlined with black and white, four-board wood fences surrounding
horse farms with rolling hills, horses grazing, and grass that appeared slightly blue.
After all these years, she was just two hours away from the only family she had left,
and the only thing she felt was anger.
"I believe you'll find Keeneston very different from Miami. But, I think it's a
good thing. I grew up in Keeneston, so if you need anything just let me know."
"Thanks, what is Keeneston like?"
Annie looked out the window, and since they were traveling around ten miles per
hour, got to enjoy the scenery that was slowly changing from open fields to houses
on big lots filled with old trees. In front of them on the narrow country road was a
huge green tractor. Unlike the Kenney Chesney song, she did not find the tractor
sexy.
"Well, we're coming up on Main Street. It has everything you need."
Annie tried to see around the tractor but gave up. Within a minute, a picturesque
town with its old buildings painted in whites, yellows, and tans came into view.
Barrels of pink, purple, yellow and white flowers lined Main Street. Some people
stood talking on the corner and waved at Margaret as she drove by. There were
little shops that sold antiques, a stately courthouse and more people waving at her.
"That's the Blossom Café. If you ever need something to eat, their food is
amazing." Margaret pointed to the restaurant on her right where a thin woman in a
flower print dress was sweeping the sidewalk. "That's Daisy Mae Rose. She and
her sister Violet run the Café."
As they drove by, Margaret honked the horn, and Daisy raised her arm to shield
her eyes from the sun. Her eyes narrowed as she looked into the car and saw Annie.
In a split second she called something into the open door of the Café, and people
started walking out to stand on the sidewalk. Some had sandwiches in their hands,
some just had cold drinks, but there were all looking at her.
"What are they looking at?" Annie asked.
"You." Margaret rolled down Annie's window and leaned over. "This is Annie
Hill. She's our new guidance counselor."
Annie felt her eyes go wide as twenty people started saying hello at once. She
didn't really know what to do, so she smiled and waved back. It seemed to placate
them and they turned to hurry back into the Café.
"We are a small town. There is no hotel, but St. Francis just built a new rectory for
Father James, and the Church is renting out the old rectory. I'm sorry, it's very
small. Only has one bedroom, but it's clean, cheap and close to the school."
"Sounds good to me."
Annie watched as they drove past a bank, a law office and a boutique before
finally turning into St. Francis' parking lot. The church was old, with a beautiful
rose window above the old oak front doors. At the far end of the parking lot sat a
tiny little house with a statue of the Virgin Mary out front by the steps that led up to
the wood porch. An elderly priest with graying hair stood on the porch and smiled
at them.
"That's Father James," Margaret said as she got out of the car, "Hello, Father!"
"Hello Margaret. And this must be our new tenant. It's so nice to meet you Miss
Hill."
Annie shook the older man's hand and smiled. It wasn't very often she met
someone she instantly liked, but Father James was one of them. He was kind of
portly, balding on the top of his head and had a smile that made you want to sit
down and tell him your whole life story. He could be trouble.
"It's nice to meet you too, Father."
"I put some groceries in the refrigerator for you. There are clean linens on the bed.
If you need anything, I'm right across the street on the other side of the church.
And, here is your key, young lady."
"Thank you," Annie said, and for once meaning it.
"Well, I better be going too. I have to get dinner on the table for the family. I will
see you at the school on Monday."
Annie stood on the old wooden porch and waved good-bye before heading inside
to check out her new home…for now. She closed the front door and looked around.
It was spotless but sparse. There was a kitchen table for two, the kitchen smaller
than the one in Miami, a living room with a TV that was so old it wasn't flat screen,
and there was no chance of watching sports in high-def. She made her way to the
small bathroom complete with one shower and a tiny pedestal sink. Connected to
the bathroom was her bedroom. A twin bed with a homemade quilt filled the room.
There were only two other pieces of furniture in the room: a small night table and a
chest.
First things first. As soon as her car arrived tomorrow, she would be driving to
Lexington for a high-def TV and some microwaveable meals. The groceries were
great, but she didn't cook. No one had ever taught her so she never bothered to
learn. She walked outside and sat down on the cushioned chair while looking out
over the church parking lot. So, this was to be her life now.