Page 46 of A Chance at Forever
On Friday morningRusty accompanied Victoria to her classroom. Fifteen minutes remained before the bell rang, so he paused to chat with her. “Tonight’s game is important. It’s a district conference match. If we win, we’ll be ranked number one in our district.”
“Are you worried?” Victoria peered at him. “The team hasn’t lost yet, and I know you’ve driven them hard this week.”
“No. Yes. Well, a little,” he admitted in a voice tinged with gruffness. “The Yuba City Tigers are a tough team and favored to win.”
“So? You’re not going to let a little tough competition defeat you or the Bears, are you?” she demanded with her usual dose of school spirit as she patted his cheek.
“No, of course not, but it’s an away game. We’re playing in Yuba City. Tori, I need you to be there tonight for moral support.”
Victoria heard the doubt and fear in his deep voice and turned from the dry erase board where she’d been writing the day’s assignment. There was no mistaking the look on his rugged face. He was serious. A strange feeling washed through her and warmed her heart. A shattered piece mended. “I’ll be there, Rusty. Count on it.”
Hours later, Victoria hoped Rusty remembered her promise as she sat in traffic on the main highway stretching between Marysville and Yuba City. There had been a car accident earlier, and vehicles were backed up for miles on either side of the road. Victoria checked her watch. The illuminated dial showed seven-thirty-five. The game had already begun, and Rusty would have been looking for her in the near-empty stands on the visitors’ side of the field. When he couldn’t find her, would he assume she’d broken her promise? It mattered for him to know she’d kept her word.
Victoria arrived at the Tigers’ stadium at eight-fifteen. She produced her faculty pass and found a seat on the first row of bleachers. The small crowd consisted mostly of the parents of the boys on the team, the band, the cheerleaders, and the dance squad. With dismay, she saw that the Bears were losing twenty-eight to zero, and it was ten minutes into the second quarter.
Flustered, Rusty paced back and forth along the sidelines. The Bears had just earned a first down by intercepting a pass by the Tigers. Victoria had to do something to let Rusty know she was there.
Cupping her hands, she yelled, “Hey, Coach Sinclair! Don’t give up! Show these chumps what the Bears are made of!”
He must have heard her because he turned around and gazed into the stands for a brief moment before the game claimed his attention. The action had been one-sided until the last exciting minute of second quarter. The Bears began to fight back. During a suspenseful fourth down, Troy threw a forty-yard pass to his receiver who took off like a gazelle down the field and scored the first touchdown of the game for the Bears. The half-time buzzer sounded, and the teams made their way off the field. This time Rusty spotted Victoria, and he waved as a wide grin split his face. She smiled back and lifted a hand. Then she turned around to speak with Troy’s parents.
Victoria didn’t know what Rusty said to his team in the locker room, but when they resumed the game, offense and defense were in top form. The Bears scored another touchdown in the first minute and kept the Tigers from getting within twenty yards of their goal.
“It’s amazing what Coach Sinclair can get these kids to do,” Mr. Williamson commented. “What’s his secret, Ms. Lockridge? Troy insists he’s never known a coach like Sinclair or a better teacher, for that matter.”
Victoria shook her head as Troy threw another touchdown pass. “I don’t know, but it’s obvious to me he loves the kids.”
“Troy says students actuallywantto take chemistry because of Sinclair, even though he studies it every night after practice. If Sinclair ever decides to leave Marysville, it will be a sad day for everyone.”
Victoria murmured her agreement. For the remainder of the game, she watched Rusty coach the Bears to a thirty-five-point victory over the Yuba City Tigers. Pandemonium reigned as the team hopped up and down and yelled at one another. Victoria rushed onto the field to offer her congratulations. When Rusty saw her, he picked her up, spun her around, and kissed her spontaneously on the lips, heedless of the lingering crowd.
His arms were still around her as he met her startled eyes. “We did it! Thanks for being here, Tori. I was afraid you weren’t coming after all.”
“I was stuck in traffic.” She reeled from the delightful pressure of Rusty’s mouth against hers, however brief.
“I feel incredible right now…” Rusty broke off when she shivered in his arms. “You’re cold. You’d better head home. Will I see you when I get back into town?”
“I’ll be waiting in the library with a warm fire and something to eat,” she assured him in a low voice.
“I won’t keep my lovely lady waiting any longer than necessary,” Rusty vowed and leaned down as if he were planning to kiss her again.
At that moment one of the boys shouted, “Come on, Coach!”
Rusty cast a regretful smile, and her heart flipflopped. “Be home soon, Tori.”
CHAPTER 14
Victoria didn’t havemuch time. She changed from her school spirit T-shirt into a pullover that left one shoulder bare and rushed downstairs.
Aware of Rusty’s ravenous appetite, she prepared a tray of fruits, cheese, and crackers and sliced French bread. She removed a container of spaghetti and meatballs from the freezer and placed it in the microwave. Although both she and Rusty were light drinkers, she carried an open bottle of wine and an ice bucket to the library. She built a fire, and soon the chilliness dissipated. After she fetched the tray of appetizers, she arranged cushions in front of the fireplace.
A moment later, she heard Rusty’s familiar footsteps as he entered the room. “Hi.”
Victoria’s pulse raced through her veins. His emerald eyes glittered like stones as they focused on her bare shoulder caught in the firelight.
“Hi. I hope you’re hungry.”
“I’m starving. I had a quick bite to eat earlier before the game, but it didn’t last long.”
