came home and cleaned herself up.”
Ean felt sick. He should have been the one watching over his father, waiting until his mother returned from her run. “Thank you for helping my parents.”
“I was happy to do it.” Ms. Helen waved a thin, wrinkled hand dismissively. She glanced out the window toward his house again. “Young man, it’s good that you’re home. Trinity Falls needs the shake-up.”
“I’m not here to shake things up.”
Ms. Helen clucked her tongue. “That doesn’t matter. It’ll happen, anyway. Some people are shuffling around here like they’re afraid to make a move. But you’re not afraid, and you know how to make things happen, just like on the football field. People used to call you ‘Fearless Fever.’ I’m looking forward to the fireworks.”
“There won’t be any fireworks, ma’am. I’m not here to change anything.”
“Then why did you come home, Ean Fever?”
Ean crossed his arms. His stomach was still queasy over the fact he’d been hundreds of miles away when his parents had needed him. “I came home to take care of my mother.”
Ms. Helen’s expression softened. “You’re a good son, Ean. And I’m sure your mother appreciates the sentiment.”
“Thank you, Ms. Helen.”
She continued as though Ean hadn’t spoken. “But Doreen Fever is one woman who doesn’t need anyone to take care of her.”
Ean smiled as he waited for Ms. Helen to stop laughing over her own words. “I want to be here if she needs me.”
“Trinity Falls hasn’t changed much since you’ve been gone, a couple of new shops, a new restaurant, streetlamps in the park. But people change. That’s a good thing. People shouldn’t stay the same. It means they’re not learning. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She gestured toward him with her fragile hands. “Like you. When you were younger, it was always, ‘Hi, Ms. Helen. Bye, Ms. Helen.’ You were always on the go. And I’d call after you, ‘Don’t spend all your time on the field. Hit those books.’”
Ms. Helen’s gaze returned to the window. Why did she keep looking at his home?
“I remember.”
“But now that you’re older, you know you need to slow down. That’s why you’re here, standing in my foyer, taking time to talk with me.”
Ean was irritated with his teenage self. He’d been too wrapped up in what he wanted to spend a few minutes with a charming and interesting old lady. “You’re right, Ms. Helen. And spending time with you is definitely a change for the better.”
“Save those fancy words for your lady friends.” Ms. Helen’s thin cheeks blushed.
“You’re breaking my heart, Ms. Helen.” Ean handed her his empty glass before opening her front door. “I’d better get cleaned up. Enjoy your day.”
“You do the same.” Her gaze drifted toward her window and his home again.
Ean paused on the porch to shove his feet back into his running shoes. He crossed the street and navigated the curving walkway that led to his mother’s front door. After unpinning his key from his running jersey, Ean pushed it into the door’s lock. He swung the front door wide, then froze in the threshold. Shock rattled him at the sight of his mother standing in the center of the living room, wrapped in a stranger’s arms.
“Mom?” Ean’s voice shot across the great room like a bullet before he realized he was going to speak.
Doreen jumped free of the romantic embrace and whirled toward her son. “Ean.”
Ean’s attention jerked to the man beside his mother. Shock rocked him back on his heels. He caught his balance. “Coach?”
“Hello, Ean.” Leonard George’s calm voice didn’t belong in this tumultuous scene.
CHAPTER 3
Ean locked the front door, using the menial task to steady his mind. What was his mother doing in the arms of his former high school math teacher and football coach?
He leaned against the door and faced his parent. “What’s going on?”
“Ean.” Doreen spoke haltingly. “Leo and I . . . are in a relationship.”
His gaze flew to his former coach as the man stood beside his mother on the other side of the family room’s thick, dark pink sofa. He was older. But then, it had been more than fourteen years since he’d quarterbacked Coach George’s football team at Heritage High School.
Ean’s gaze challenged his mother to take back her words. “You’ve been dating Coach George?”
Leonard answered for her. “We’ve been seeing each other for some time now.”
“Please, Leo.” Doreen touched his shoulder. “Let me handle this. There’s no need for you to be here.”
“I won’t let you face this alone.” Leonard took her hand from his shoulder and held on to it.
Ean wanted to drag the other man away from his mother. He fisted his hands to control the impulse.
His coach couldn’t be more different from his father. Whereas Paul Fever had been tall, lean and an introvert, Leonard George was average height, bulky and a clown.
“How long has this been going on?” Ean worked the words through his tense jaw.
Doreen held her son’s eyes. “For a couple of months now.”
Months? “Dad’s only been gone a couple of months.”
His mother’s features softened. “It’s been a little longer than that, Ean.”
His father had died Friday, February 8. It was now Monday, October 14, less than nine months later.
Ean swallowed hard to dislodge the lump of grief from his throat. “Why didn’t you tell me you’d started dating?”
Why hadn’t you told me my father was dying?
Doreen’s gaze dropped to the thick rose carpet. She seemed to brace herself before looking at Ean again. “I thought it was too soon to tell you about my relationship with Leo. And, since you were in New York, I didn’t think there was a rush to address it.”
Was that also the reason she hadn’t told him his father had cancer? Because he’d been in New York?
Ean struggled with his feelings, chief among them resentment. “My decision to return to Trinity Falls must have sent you into a panic.”
Why are you dating so soon after Dad’s death? Why did you choose my former coach?
Ean’s thoughts came to a skidding
