Page 146 of Just Let Go

They grilled Quinn for a while, and Mom pretended to be engrossed in the life of a florist. Grady joked that maybe his community service wasn’t such a bad thing at all, which, of course, Dad didn’t appreciate.

In all, the man had said maybe five words. “Pass the butter” and “No thanks.”

It was Benji who kept the conversation moving forward. Thank God for Benji. “Looks like things are going really well, Gray,” Benji said. “I’m glad for you.”

“How’ve you been?” Grady asked his brother. “Keeping busy? How’s the coaching going?”

Benji took a bite of his chicken sandwich. “Actually, I had an idea I wanted to run by you.”

“Okay.” Grady caught his mom’s eye. She looked almost afraid for whatever Benji was about to say.

“Have you thought at all about what you’re going to do after the games?”

Grady laughed, took a swig of his iced tea. “Considering I just found out there’s going to be an Olympic Games for me, no. I haven’t thought of much else the last few weeks.”

Benji nodded. “I get that. But I was thinking...”

“Oh, Benji, just ask him,” Mom said.

“Ask me what?” Grady glanced at Quinn, who looked as intrigued as he felt.

“I was thinking we should open a training center,” Benji said. “You and me.”

Grady frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“You must’ve thought about coaching,” Benji said. “After you retire.”

Grady shrugged. “I guess, maybe.” After all, he’d really enjoyed coaching Jaden before his wipeout, and Quinnhadsaid he was a good coach. But Benji had limited mobility, and there was only so much good a coach could do without getting out on the slopes himself.

“Think about it—we could have ski camps and training programs and raise up the next generation of skiers,” Benji said.

Grady’s eyes scanned the table. His mother and Quinn were both looking down, but his father—his eyes were fixed squarely on him.

“I’ve already started working with some young skiers, reallypromising kids, Gray—they’re incredible,” Benji said. “We could provide nutrition consulting and strength training. Maybe Happy would come on board. It could be the premier training facility in the country.”

“Benj, I think it’s a great idea, I’m just not sure how it would work.”

Benji shook his head. “What do you mean? With your name recognition? We could really make a go of this. A lot of athletes start coaching after they retire.”

“But I’m not retiring,” Grady said.

“Well, yeah, but after the games?”

Grady didn’t want to think about after the games. He wanted to focus on the next challenge in front of him, take it all one thing at a time.

“I figure while you’re there, you could put some feelers out, get some investors, maybe a sponsor or two.” Benji had certainly put a lot of thought into this.

“Benj, not to state the obvious, but how are you going to coach serious skiers?” Grady hated that he had to ask.

Benji’s face fell. “I understand a lot about the sport, Grady.”

“I know, man. Of course you do.”

“The kids I’ve been coaching, theyareserious skiers. Yeah, they’re disabled, but we’ve got our eyes set on the Paralympics.”

“The Paralympics?” Grady sat with it for a minute, trying to wrap his head around the idea. He’d never considered going into business with his brother.

“It’s a big deal, Grady,” Benji said. “To be able to offer traditional coaching for kids who can walk and a whole para program? There’s nothing out there like it.”

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