Page 17 of The Perfect Deal
“All right you two.” Joshua stood, giving the boys a slight shove. “Go back to your seats, will you?”
They both laughed and took a few steps back to wherever they were sitting, but as they went, Axel said, “Welcome to the team, Miss Liberty. Seriously, though, Coach talks about you all the time.”
“Thank you,” I said, not sure how else to respond. Once they were gone, I turned to Joshua with both eyebrows raised, waiting for him to explain.
“They, uh, are good kids. Usually. I promise. Two great soccer players. Just being silly boys.” He was stammering slightly, obviously embarrassed.
I nodded, not wanting to make him explain further. If what they were saying was true, and he did speak about me to his students, I thought that was pretty amazing, but I knew he never would’ve called me his girlfriend, and I also knew kids could do some silly things.
An older, muscular man climbed the steps looking a little frazzled, and Joshua stood to speak to him. I gathered this was Sam, so I gave them a moment. As they talked about how bad the traffic had been for the older man, I looked around the bus. Nostalgia washed over me as the scent of sunscreen and a mingling of other scents hit my nose. The kids were dressed in bright colors, the girls’ hair pulled back in ponytails and braids. Everyone was smiling and chatting with their friends. Some of them had earbuds in, but the bus was on, and a popular song was playing over the speakers. The excitement was palpable. It was clear these kids were excited about camp, and we were going to have a great couple of weeks. I couldn’t wait to get going.
Joshua assured Sam not to worry about almost being late and returned to his seat. Sam smiled down at me as he began to walk by, and I said, “Nice to see you again, Sam,” happy to put a name and a face together.
“You, too,” he said, leaving out my name. I almost laughed, thinking he probably didn’t remember it and hadn’t benefited from Joshua mentioning it. That was okay. There’d be plenty of time for me to get to know everyone.
Glancing out the window, I saw the line was gone now. I heard the clank of the doors closing and knew Henry was finished with the luggage. Another thrill waved through my body. I felt like I was on a roller coaster, waiting for the first drop.
“Are you ready to go?” Joshua asked me.
“So ready,” I told him, reaching for my seatbelt.
Just then, Karrie approached, stopping short and looking from me to Joshua and back again before she turned to him and said, “Oh.” She cleared her throat and then said, “Well, I got everyone checked in.”
“Thanks, Karrie. Everyone is here?” Joshua reached for the clipboard, and she handed it over.
“Yes, Josh. Everyone’s here.” Her eyes lingered on me again before she added, “Everyone is on time today.” She gave me a curt smile and then returned her attention to Joshua. “Guess I’ll find a seat somewhere else.”
“Thank you, Karrie.” If Joshua caught on to what she was implying, he ignored it, but I felt bad. Had she been expecting to sit here? Maybe she’d been sitting here before she went out to do her duties.
As Karrie headed to another row, Joshua put the clipboard in the back of the seat in front of us, and Henry got on the bus, giving Joshua a thumbs-up. Joshua returned the signal, and we were on our way. As soon as we pulled out, a cheer went up throughout the bus.
I couldn’t help but smile, letting the strange exchange with Karrie go. The two of us would be in a cabin together, so maybe we’d get to know and like each other better then. For now, I turned my attention to Joshua. Thinking of his speech yesterday and how all the kids gravitated toward him, I couldn’t help one thought that came to my mind—he was going to be a great dad one day.
11
JOSHUA
Ordinarily, the trip from the sports complex to camp seemed to take forever, but sitting next to Liberty and chatting about everything and nothing at all made time fly by, and before I knew it, we had arrived at our campsite. Situated out in the woods, a little over an hour from the bustling city of Nashville, it was hard to believe that we were so close to all of that chaos. Out here, in the rolling hills, with a forest of tall trees and all of nature’s creatures around us, the city seemed to be a million miles away.
As much as I would’ve liked to keep talking to Liberty for the rest of my life, now that we were at camp, I had to switch into boss mode and make sure that everyone was taken care of. I’d already designated Karrie with the task of checking the kids into the correct cabins, and she was pretty good at tasks like that, but I still had to make sure that everything went smoothly.
We also had meetings scheduled for this first day. I’d give everyone a chance to get settled, but then, I needed to set the tone for the next two weeks, which was a lot of emotional stress. I was used to it by now, having run the camp for so many years, but with Liberty here, I was nervous for reasons I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
Standing, I said, “Well, here we go.”
I thought I saw a disappointed look cross her face as Liberty asked, “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Nope, just start snapping photos,” I assured her with a smile. I squeezed past her as Karrie got out of her seat and began barking orders. Meanwhile, Henry, our bus driver, had turned the bus off and was out unloading the students’ bags from beneath.
Our second bus had pulled in to park as well. We had a lot of students this year, which was great. I couldn’t wait to start having fun with all of the student-athletes.
“All right, kids!” Karrie shouted in a voice that somehow reminded me of fingernails on a chalkboard. “Listen up!”
I got off the bus and went to talk to Myra, who had been in charge of the kids on the other bus. She was off now, speaking to the bus driver, while one of my other coaches was kindly reminding the students that their room assignments were on the sticker they’d been given at check-in. “How was the ride?” I asked Myra.
“Great. The kids are so excited,” she said, smiling up at me. “We’ll get the kids situated, and then our staff meeting is at eleven, right?”
“That’s right,” I told her with a nod. “Second meeting is at 11:30.” I’d split the group of counselors in half for the initial meetings so that the kids would never be unattended. “I’ll meet you guys at the amphitheater.”