Page 112

“Unless we need to become stellar goalies to avenge some wrongdoing, we are staying right here with our books and snacks,” Maxwell said.

Lying next to our beach blanket was the foam surfboard we’d found in Cheryl’s shed. We were going to take it out later, try our hand at surfing. Grandma had told us to take her board when we left today as well, but we’d donated that one to the Andrew Lancaster exhibit. That way it could be preserved and appreciated by more people. Grandma had been part of the decision, but she forgot things like that.

“I need to think of a wrongdoing for you to avenge,” Theo said to Max. “Because I would like to see you become stellar goalies.”

“I would like to see that too,” Max said. “But I don’t want to do any of the work.”

“You guys playing?” Deja called from twenty feet away.

“Yes!” I called back.

We joined the game. Watching Theo kick a soccer ball mademe happy. He’d started kicking for fun. Had taken some of the pressure off his shoulders. And doing that opened him up to trying out for a kicker position at the community college next week. He still didn’t feel like he was back to his pre-injury self, but he wasn’t giving up. Not yet. And I was glad because he was a beautiful kicker. I was probably biased, but the way he moved was like dancing on air.

“Stop staring at me,” he said now, passing the ball to Deja and pulling me into a hug.

“But I don’t want to,” I said. “And you were staring too.”

He placed a slow kiss on my lips. “You’re right. Never stop.”