Goody Goody Gunshots Read Online Free PDF Page A

believe me.”
    Karen laughed and pulled the key from its hook beneath the register. “Jawarski doesn’t have to do anything, Abby,” she said as she headed for the front door. “By the way, how did your evening with the boys go last night?”
    Reluctantly, I abandoned the shooting, real or imagined, and moved on. “It was fine. Brody scored eight points, and Caleb actually pulled down a rebound. The whole team did well, as a matter of fact. They seem to like their coach.”
    “Really?” She looked surprised. “Didn’t you say that Kerry Hendrix is coaching their team?”
    I boxed up another piece of cake. “Yeah, why?”
    “You probably don’t remember him, do you?”
    I shook my head. “He can’t be more than thirty, can he? I think he was about ten when I left town, and I didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to kids when I was eighteen and full of myself. Why, is something wrong with him?”
    Karen laughed and returned the key to its hook. “I wouldn’t say there’s anything wrong . It’s just that he seems a bit . . . intense to be coaching kids that young.”
    “He’s kind of a control freak,” I agreed, “but like I said, the kids seemed to like him.”
    “Well, that’s good then.” Karen tossed a smile at me and hurried off to the supply cupboard.
    When she came back, I said, “Brody and Caleb asked if I would help with the team all season, but I don’t know . . . I don’t remember enough about the game, and I’m not exactly what you’d call athletic anymore.”
    Karen didn’t even look surprised. “I heard that they need another adult on the roster, or the team will fold.”
    “That’s what the boys said, but I don’t think I’m the solution they’re looking for.” Now that I’d said that aloud, I knew how right I was. “Somebody else will step in, and I’ll catch their games when I can.”
    Karen straightened several boxes on a shelf of one-pound Divinity cream-filled chocolates, but I couldn’t help noticing that she was taking care not to look at me. “Don’t you think the boys’ll be disappointed?” she asked casually.
    The image of Brody’s face flashed through my head, but I ignored it. I’d find another way to bond with them— something that would actually work in my world. “They’ll be more disappointed if I say yes. I don’t remember enough about basketball to be an effective coach.”
    “You know enough,” Karen said mildly. “It’s really not about you and your skill level, it’s about the boys.”
    “I don’t know,” I said hesitantly.
    Karen finally made eye contact. “What’s not to know, Abby? It’s a Youth League team, not college ball. Who cares if you’re not the greatest basketball player in town?”
    I laughed, but I wasn’t amused. “You need to work on your powers of persuasion,” I said. “Even if I was interested, which I’m not, I’d just be window dressing. I’d probably end up embarrassing the boys.”
    Karen propped her hands on her hips, a sure sign that she was getting angry. “They asked you, didn’t they? How often do you think kids actually ask an adult to step into their world? Do you have any idea how lucky you are? You should be grabbing this opportunity and running with it.”
    She had me there. Groaning, I slipped another piece of cake into its box and tucked in the flaps to hold it shut. “I know you’re right, but you’re forgetting one tiny thing: I don’t have the time. If I were to agree, I’d be gone three or four evenings out of every seven. I can’t be away from the store that much. You already have more than enough to do.”
    Karen stopped long enough to take a sip of coffee. “You could be if we were more organized.” She lifted the cup again and mumbled something behind it I couldn’t understand.
    “What?”
    She lowered the cup slowly. “I said, you could be gone more if we had some help around here.”
    I stopped working and stared at her. We’d had this discussion a dozen times in