Page 33 of Always Be True: Tino
She checked the time. “I hate to eat and run, but I need to get back to the center. I’m teaching a class in the new computer lab.”
Cyrus sat up straighter and glared at her. “Damn it, Natalie. We talked about that. You shouldn’t be teaching them yourself.”
They’d already covered this ground several times before. “I know, but I’ve actually been looking forward to doing this. I did find a volunteer for the day classes. He’s a great guy, and we’re sharing the workload for coming up with lesson plans. Once we’ve had a chance to go through this first session, I’ll definitely look for a graduate student or two to take on the evening classes.”
“Promise?”
Actually, she’d planned to keep teaching the classes. However, since she’d met Tino, she found herself wanting to free up more of her time. So, she held up her hand to make a sincere vow to both herself and her grandfather. “I promise. Now, I’ve got to get moving or I’ll be late.”
After picking up her purse and briefcase, she kissed her grandfather on the cheek. “You take care, and I’ll be back next week.”
“Bring your young man with you. I want to meet him.”
No way was she going to commit to that quite yet. “I will when the time seems right.”
She should have known a vague answer wouldn’t satisfy the wily old man. “Not good enough, Natalie. I want him here in the next couple of weeks or I will hire someone to track him down and drag him back here to meet me. In fact, it might just be better to have him come by without you. I’ll get more out of him that way. I want to know if he’s good enough for you.”
That idea was a disaster waiting to happen. Better to introduce the two men when she could be there to monitor the conversation.
“Fine, I’ll ask him when he’s got time to come with me.”
“Do that.”
“Do you need anything before I go?”
“No, I’m fine. Besides, that woman will be in here to fuss at me about something soon enough.”
“Be nice to Esther.” Natalie picked up the last two cookies to take with her. “You’d miss her if she ever left.”
Her grandfather only harrumphed, but he didn’t deny she was right. “Take care, little girl, and watch yourself when you leave the center after your class. It’s not the safest place in town.”
“I’m always careful. I’ll see you next week.”
Feeling much better than when she arrived, she let herself out and headed for the center. Despite how her day had started, she was excited about the challenges ahead in teaching the class. The chance to help other people was the reason she’d gotten involved in the foundation in the first place, and she preferred a hands-on approach.
Twenty minutes later, she was walking into the building when she heard a familiar voice coming from down the hall. What was Tino doing there? As far as she knew, there wasn’t any work scheduled to be done that night. Had he left some tools behind or something?
Only one way to find out. She followed the sound of his voice down the hall toward the gym. Sure enough, there he was, standing in the center of the basketball court facing a ragged line of boys holding basketballs. Even though she’d come in mid-conversation, it was clear that he was lecturing the kids on the finer points of dribbling. He’d never said anything about coaching basketball.
More important, didn’t he look seriously hot in those gym shorts and army T-shirt?
She spotted Jay Tobin sitting on the front edge of the stage at the near end of the gym with several other adults. She didn’t recognize all of them but suspected they belonged to the kids out on the court. When the boys started bouncing the balls and walking across the floor toward Tino, she sidled around the edge of the room until she reached Jay.
The former Seal kept his eye on the action in the center of the gym even as he said, “Hey, Natalie. What brings you here this evening?”
She perched on the edge of the stage beside him. “I’ve got my first computer class starting in half an hour. I was walking by when I heard the kids. Looks like you’ve got enough of them to form your team.”
He gave her a sideways glance that made it clear that he suspected it wasn’t the kids who’d drawn her into the gym. At least he didn’t call her on it. “I actually had to put some on a waiting list in case any of this bunch have to drop out or if we get enough to start a second squad.”
“Any luck finding a sponsor?”
She’d asked him to look outside of the foundation for funding first. If necessary, she might be able to help out a little, but her budget would stretch only so far.
“Not yet, but I’ve got some feelers out in the community.”
“I’ll keep my fingers crossed that someone steps forward.”
Then Jay volunteered the information she really wanted to know. “As you can see, I did find someone to assist me with the team. Tino agreed to help out at least until I can find someone else. I’m hoping he’ll actually stick around, though. He’s been great with the kids.”
