Page 446 of Ruthless Court

For the first time, Coach Goodwin smiles.

Tiny.

Gone immediately.

“I saw the way she talked about your team.”

“What way?”

“Like she was trying very hard not to talk about your team.”

Fair.

He folds his arms.

“So why wouldn't she bring you home?”

I look toward the photographs.

One catches my attention.

Hannah at maybe fifteen.

Tortoiseshell glasses.

Hair in a ponytail.

Sitting behind the bench with a notebook while ten boys stand in front of her.

“She thinks you wouldn't see her if I walked through your door.”

Coach Goodwin goes still.

I continue before I lose my nerve.

“She thinks you'd see me.”

His jaw shifts.

“The player.”

“Yes, sir.”

Silence.

I look directly at him.

“I don't mean that disrespectfully.”

“Sounds disrespectful.”

“She loves you.”

That stops him.

“More than you understand.”

His eyes move toward the picture.