Page 121 of Zane

Zane turned to Charli. “What about your kids?”

Charli gestured down at the court. “Layla and Amelia are hanging out with their friends, closer to the action. The younger ones are with a babysitter from church, having more fun with her than they’d have here.”

“It’s almost like date night for you,” Zane said.

Blake nodded. “We take date night where we can.”

“Where are Rori and Lee?” Charlie asked. “Are they not coming?”

“They were late getting home from work,” Zane said. “They’ll be here soon.”

“How are you doing, Kelsey?” Janessa asked with a smile.

“I’m doing well. Thank you.” Kelsey returned her smile. “How are you?”

“I’m doing great,” Janessa said. “Glad it’s the weekend.”

“How were the first couple weeks of school, Will? Zane asked.

“It’s going really well,” Will replied. “The first week was a bit of an adjustment for everyone, as usual. But things have settled down this week.”

“Do you miss not going back to school, Charli?” Zane asked his sister.

“Not so much anymore,” she said. “The first year I didn’t go back was the hardest. But now, I’m fine with not having to juggle the kids and daycare and teaching all at the same time.”

“There’s Lee and Rori,” Will said as pointed to the entrance to the gym, then waved at them. Lee lifted a hand in response, before leading Rori through the crowd to reach them.

As the couple reached them, a loud buzzer pierced the air as the clock on the electronic board had hit zero.

Will grinned as he rubbed his hands together. “It’s game time, folks.”

The players on the floor gathered around their coaches and several teenage girls cartwheeled out onto the floor, yelling as they went.

“I would kill myself if I tried to do that,” Rori said

“You and me both,” Kelsey said. “I’ve never been that coordinated.”

“Me either.”

“Kayleigh used to be a cheerleader.” Zane said.

Kelsey had a hard time imagining her polished, always put together, sister-in-law cartwheeling onto the floor and yelling the way these girls were. The picture that came to her mind made her smile a bit.

“So was Skylar,” Janessa said. “And Layla used to love to dress up in her own little uniform and join them as a mini cheerleader when she was younger.”

“Does Amelia not want to join them?” Zane asked

Charlie shook her head. “Nope. Her focus is strictly on ice-skating.”

A whistle sounded then, and several boys from each team filed onto the court to begin their game. Jay stood on the sidelines, calling out encouragement as the ref spoke to the boys from both teams.

The noise factor in the gym rose considerably as the game got underway. Kelsey had a general idea of how the game was played, so she was able to follow the action fairly well.

Everyone around her was very into the game. Many jumped to their feet at different points of the game to yell encouragement at the players.

Lee had mentioned that since this was the first game of the season, the players would probably be a little rough around the edges. But if that was the case, Kelsey couldn’t tell. They played better than she would have.

At half time, the score was close, and low, according to Zane, but the home team had a two-point advantage. As the players disappeared into the locker rooms, people around them stood up.

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