Page 35 of Bidding on a Second Chance
Graham stood in the way, still studying the tablet and muttering to himself. “Can’t be any harder than directing traffic.”
Piper looked at the tablet. Only four options showed on the first screen, but each one after featured another set of options. He might not be ready for this. Then again, even Redemption Ridge had a couple of busy streets. Maybe he’d be okay.
For the sake of her fickle heart, he’d better be. She rolled her scooter forward. “Excuse me.”
“Oh. Sure. Sorry.” He stepped out from behind the counter to let her escape, but she didn’t make a clean getaway because a customer approached the counter, and Graham edged back in around her, brushing against her shoulder and back as they passed each other in the close quarters.
Her shoulder wouldn’t have tingled more if he’d zapped her with a heavy dose of static. She scooted herself away without supervising his first transaction. He could give away merchandise for free for all she cared, as long as he didn’t end up owning her heart.
ChapterTwenty-Three
Graham had to hand it to Piper; she knew how to dress for a basketball game. She’d probably only ever been to high school games before, where face paint was more common. At the fourth-grade level, Graham was just happy the parents had gotten the memo to show up at the high school gymnasium and not the rec center for the first game of the season. But if Piper felt out of place for having painted a “B” on one cheek and a stick-figure alpaca on the other, she didn’t let it affect her clapping and encouragement.
“It’s all right. It’s all right. Next time!” she called when Bryce missed a shot.
She might dream up worst-case scenarios in other circumstances, but here, she looked for nothing but the best. Graham wished he knew how to unlock her positive, peppy side to take on other areas of life.
Coach Kent switched Bryce out for another player. Bryce took a place on the bench, the look on his face matching the one he’d had in the store on Black Friday. Though Coach taking him out of the game hadn’t been about the missed shot, his look had to be.
About a week had passed since Thanksgiving. Since their interactions over the holiday hadn’t been spectacular, Graham had been giving him space in practice. But he had seen the error that led to Bryce’s missed shot.
Graham sat one space away from him on the bleacher. “Nice job out there. Just don’t let those guys intimidate you out of looking at the net. They’ve got nothing on you. It’ll go in if you put your eyes on the prize.”
Without looking for Bryce’s reaction, Graham walked away. Hopefully, the encouragement would shoot the directive right past Bryce’s defenses. If not, Graham wasn’t sure what else to try.
* * *
The determination on Bryce’s face as he returned to the court had Piper’s heart on the edge of its seat. He needed to make a basket, because when such strong determination met disappointment, discouragement and dejection weren’t far behind.
“Let’s go, team! Come on, boys!” She clapped as similar cheers went up from the other parents, who had slowly joined Piper in doling out encouragement.
Maybe next time, someone else would even sport face paint. Or maybe that had been a little extreme, but she couldn’t resist celebrating Bryce and the alpaca farm that sponsored the team. Graham had given her a full-fledged smile and a thumbs up when he’d seen her. She shouldn’t have enjoyed his approval as much as she had.
As the ball moved down the court toward the basket Bryce’s team defended, her focus strayed to Graham. He held a clipboard and occasionally marked a note about some detail of the game. Like Bryce, he stayed focused and serious.
When Bryce’s team snagged possession of the ball and sped it back toward their basket, Graham tucked the clipboard under his arm and clapped. “Nice! Good work, guys!”
Excitement mounted among the other parents, too, as Bryce’s team zeroed in on the basket. The boy closest to the hoop cast a frantic look around. Instead of shooting, he passed it back to Bryce, who was barely inside the three-point line. The long shot was about to become even harder as the other boys hurried over. Determination still written across his features, Bryce lined up his shot. His tongue stuck out the corner of his mouth as he launched the ball.
Piper held her breath. This one shot, halfway through the game, wasn’t the dramatic stuff of sports movies. Not for the team, anyway. But for Bryce, it could impact something much more important than the outcome of a game or a season—his decision to stick with basketball or quit.
Please, Lord. He needs some encouragement.
The ball hit the rim. Bounced. Bounced again. And then fell mercifully through the net.
Piper jumped up with a shout and didn’t even realize she’d done it until her foot stung. Bryce averted his eyes—smiling and blushing. She retook her seat.
For once, she had to admit, a prayer of hers had been answered favorably.
As the game got organized again, Bryce stepped near the sideline, and Graham put an arm around his shoulders. He bent so he didn’t tower over Bryce, and by his hand motions, he said something about the game. As Bryce jogged to take his place among his teammates, he continued to grin. That was a first—Bryce smiling after an encounter with Graham.
She’d tried to manufacture a moment like this by sending them out together on Black Friday. Apparently, she would’ve been better off simply waiting. What if her other prayers and worries were also on the Lord’s radar? What if answers were already in the works?
Her heart soared like the basketball had a moment ago but then fell short. She’d be a fool to think a single basket was a sign God was about to turn her life around.
* * *
Graham ought to help pack up equipment, but he couldn’t resist Piper. When she’d arrived at the game, she’d painstakingly made her way up to the third row of bleachers. The doctor had said that, as long as she wore the boot, she could take a step now and then, but Graham couldn’t guess why she’d leveraged the exception when she could’ve sat at the ground level. Whatever had prompted the decision, he didn’t want her descending alone.
