Stranger in Town (Dundee, Idaho #5)(68)
Author: Brenda Novak

She nodded, and he put his arm around her to give her shoulders a gentle squeeze. “Do you need to go down there?” he asked.

She gazed at Kenny, then Gabe, and drew a deep breath. Gabe was different from Russ. He wouldn’t let her down. “No.”

“Would you like to come sit with me and Lucky?”

Hannah had never had much of a chance to speak to Lucky. Lucky was younger, so they hadn’t attended school together, and she’d left town for several years. Now that she was back, they only passed on the street occasionally. But Lucky was Gabe’s half sister, and Hannah couldn’t help being drawn to anyone even remotely connected to him. Certainly sitting with Mike and Lucky would be better than watching the rest of the game with Russ.

“Okay,” she said and let Mike lead her back into the bleachers.

AN HOUR LATER, Gabe sat on the empty football field and stared up at the scoreboard, which, like the lights, would probably be shut off any second. The glowing numerals read twenty-one to twenty.

“Can we go yet?” Brent asked, finally growing bored with playing in the mud over by where the team’s water cooler had been.

“In a minute.” Gabe had met Hannah at the door to the locker room when she came to check on Kenny and insisted she leave Brent with him. She had to go to Dr. Hatcher’s to have Kenny’s arm X-rayed and, evidently, Russ wasn’t speaking to her, so she would’ve had to take Brent with her or ask someone else to watch him. Gabe had volunteered for the job because he wanted to help—but he also liked the fact that if he had Brent, he’d definitely get to see Hannah tonight.

Brent followed the line of his gaze to the scoreboard, looking puzzled that Gabe could still be interested in what was posted there when everyone else had gone home. “We won, didn’t we, Coach?”

“We won,” he said. “Thanks to Kenny.” It had come down to the final few seconds, but on third and twenty, Kenny had thrown a long bomb that resulted in a spectacular, game-winning touchdown. The other team got the ball back after the extra kick, of course, but there hadn’t been enough time to do anything. It was over. The clock wound down to the cheers of everyone on the Spartan side, with the band playing the fight song, while the dejected Wildcats dragged themselves off the field.

“How’d Kenny win the game?” Brent asked.

Gabe wasn’t sure how Hannah’s oldest son had even managed to jog out whenever the offense took the field, but Kenny wouldn’t let Gabe pull him. Every time Gabe tried, Kenny rounded on him with determination so fierce it bordered on defiance, letting Gabe know he needed to keep playing.

Obviously, this game meant far more to him than just another matchup against Oakridge. Basically, Kenny had been trying to prove something and, right or wrong, Gabe had given him the opportunity.

“He played with heart,” Gabe answered, then added more softly to himself, “He remained true to his internal compass.”

Before Brent could question him further, Gabe heard someone call his name. Surprised that anyone besides the groundskeeper and he and Brent were still around, he turned to see Mike and Lucky walking toward him.

“Good game,” Mike said, only the bottom of his smile visible beneath the shadow of his cowboy hat.

“Thanks.” Gabe let his eyes flick toward Lucky. She possessed a delicate face and a curvy body, but he’d already known that his half sister was uncommonly pretty. He also knew how much Mike loved her, how happy his friend was in his marriage.

Maybe it would be possible to accept her for that alone….

I like her. I think you would, too, if only you’d give her a chance, Reenie had said.

“I’ll bet you’re proud of Kenny,” she said.

It was rare that Lucky ever spoke directly to him. Gabe could tell by the hesitant smile on her face and the way her hand tightened on Mike’s arm that she wasn’t sure she’d get a response, but he couldn’t ignore her. As much as he didn’t want to have a half sister, his father hadn’t given him a choice. And as his mother said, Lucky wasn’t to blame.

“I am,” he said.

She glanced at Mike, as though getting that much out of him was some sort of victory, and the strain in her face eased slightly.

“You think he’s gonna be okay?” Mike asked.

“We’ll know soon enough. Hannah took him over to Hatcher’s.”

“I hope nothing’s broken.”

“Me, too.” Gabe was worried about Kenny, but he was also sure that the kid would never have forgiven him if Gabe had taken him out.

“Blaine was doing exactly what I thought he was doing, wasn’t he?” Mike asked.

Gabe nodded.

“What are you going to do about it?”

“Make sure he’s permanently removed from coaching.” Gabe had no choice. Especially now that he was leaving. He wouldn’t turn the team, his team, over to anyone as long as Blaine was involved.

“Blaine’s demise has been too long in coming,” Mike said. “He should have been fired after what he did to you twenty years ago.”

“Fortunately, getting rid of him shouldn’t be too hard,” Gabe said. “Moose is willing to talk.”

“Really? Blaine’s nephew?”

“He doesn’t like what his uncle did, and he wants to tell the truth.”

“Good for him! Did Kenny say anything about Blaine?”

“I didn’t get a chance to talk to him after the game.”

Mike adjusted his hat. “It certainly didn’t look as though he was involved.”

“He wasn’t,” Gabe said. He wanted to keep the whole mess as far away from Kenny as possible, but he suspected the situation hadn’t been quite as simple as he’d just stated. There was a reason Kenny and Sly had gotten into a fight. And there was a reason Kenny had played like the devil was after him.

“Will you be glad to have Blaine gone?” It was Lucky again. Gabe sensed her eagerness to befriend him and felt his resistance slip a little.

“In a way,” he said, but even that wasn’t as straightforward as it should have been. Blaine deserved what he was going to get, but Gabe couldn’t help feeling sorry for him. He knew what it was like to lose a cherished career. The fact that Blaine had no one to blame but himself made the loss even worse.

“Do you like coaching?” she asked.

“I do,” he said, realizing just how much.

“Not enough to stick around and finish the job, though, huh?” Mike cocked an eyebrow at him, and Gabe realized that his friend knew about New York. Gabe had told himself numerous times that he needed to call Mike and explain. But the same kind of reluctance that had made it difficult to tell Hannah had kept him from actually picking up the phone.