Page 45 of Agent of the Heart (Hearts in Hawthorne #3)
DALLAS—THE NEXT FEbrUARY
J ace said, “It’s out of your hands now. The girls have practiced for hours. Muscle memory will take over. That, and adrenaline. They’ll probably come off the stage and not even remember being out there.”
“I know you’re right,” Darby said. “I just want this for them so badly.”
The Hawthorne combined cheerleading squads had performed both Thursday night and Friday afternoon and night.
They had made it to the finals and were currently ranked second in their division.
This final outing would include everything they had prepared for.
It would start with a cheer. Continue with a dance which she and the seniors on varsity had created.
From there, they would begin a chant, segueing into various stunts, from one-handed cartwheels to backflips to two large human pyramids.
She wanted this more than anything, especially since Peggy Mortimer, her former boss at Cheer USA, was here.
“I’m sorry Kay didn’t come down for the competition.”
Jace had offered to fly the former cheer coach from Chicago to Dallas, but Kay had turned down the generous offer for two reasons.
First, she said this was Darby’s group now, not hers.
Kay didn’t want to be a distraction to the girls.
Second, she was eight weeks pregnant and nauseous for about four hours in the mornings.
She told Darby that even the thought of being on an airplane made her stomach queasy.
“One more group, and then HHS is up,” Kelby told them. Her friend sported a baby bump and was five months along. She glowed even more than she usually did.
“I’ll go out to my seat now,” her husband said, giving Darby a sweet kiss. “Whatever happens, you’re the best cheer coach ever, and HHS is lucky to have you.”
She watched him leave, and Kelby said, “Get that goofy, lovestruck smile off your face and go give your squad a final pep talk.”
Darby laughed, heading toward where her girls were gathering. She looked at this group, and they grew quiet.
“You have heart,” she told them, bumping her fist against her chest. “Each of you loves the sport of cheerleading.
You put your heart and soul into it. You are selfless.
You put the group first. Always. I am so proud to be the coach of such a loving, caring, compassionate group of young women. Such dedication is rare.
“Take a look around you. These girls will most likely be lifelong friends to you. And you will all remember this moment when you went out in front of that audience and competed for a national title. If you win it, we’ll certainly celebrate.
” Darby paused. “But I believe in our hearts, we are already winners. Do your best. Have fun out there. We’ll be the last group to compete.
Good luck. Hawks on three. One, two, three. ”
“Hawks!” cried the group.
Carrie motioned for the girls to line up. From the music, Darby knew the group performing still had about ninety seconds to go. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
Coming home to Hawthorne had been the best decision of her life.
She had found her place at HHS, teaching and coaching.
More importantly, returning to Texas had allowed Jace into her life.
He’d been good to his word, finding temporary office space with Sawyer in his office on the town square.
Jace had kept his Dallas condo for the times he was working in town, and they had rented an apartment to live in while their home was being constructed, their property adjacent to Kelby and West. They had wed in a small, intimate wedding over the Christmas break, and Jace had promised to take her on a honeymoon over spring break next month.
She had no idea where they would go, but it didn’t matter.
All that mattered was that they were together.
The audience cheered as the group on stage finished, and Darby flashed a thumbs up at her cheerleaders, her gaze meeting Carrie’s.
They had talked several times about Carrie’s future, but their focus the past few weeks had been on nationals.
Carrie wanted to bring home the grand prize trophy, just as Darby and Kelby had done during their own days of cheering for the Hawks.
She winked at Carrie, and the captain signaled for the team to follow her to the floor.
Darby heard cheers erupt from the crowd, knowing so many she loved had turned out to support her.
Sawyer was there, along with West. Autumn and Eli had come with her aunt and uncle.
Many of her students and residents of Hawthorne had also made the trek to Dallas to watch the competition.
Glancing over, she saw one of her photographers snapping pictures from backstage. Another one would be out front, capturing pictures. Carrie’s dad was going to video the finals, so the girls would be able to watch their own performance and see how it stacked up against their fellow competitors.
Darby’s lips moved silently, mouthing the words to the cheers and chants.
The music was loud, and she could see much of the crowd was on its feet, clapping along as her girls moved to the beat.
She watched, bursting with pride, as the stunt portion played out.
Darby had been a flyer, one of the girls lifted into the air for stunts, and she knew how much rode on a flyer’s performance.
The HHS flyers moved from thigh stands to split-lifts to liberty and single base stunts flawlessly.
Holding her breath, she waited for the grand finale, a double, two-high pyramid.
Both pyramids had the flyers connecting with other flyers, with half holding another flyer’s hand and the other half holding a different flyer’s extended leg.
Darby held her breath, watching the girls get into place—and holding their positions for the required amount of time.
The flyers dismounted, and all the HHS cheerleaders beamed as they jumped, doing pikes, herkies, and toe touches, while others did choreographed backflips and roundoffs in unison. The girls finished in one long, straight line, their fists raised in triumph.
“Yes!” Darby and Kelby squealed, grabbing one another, jumping up and down, tears streaming down their faces.
She could hear the enthusiasm of the crowd and then the sound of ‘Hawks, Hawks, Hawks’ began echoing throughout the arena.
Dean Baker, who had been standing backstage supervising, looked at Darby. “I don’t need to see the scores. I think we already know which team just claimed the national title.”
Her squads poured backstage, joy on their faces, breathing heavily from all the exertion. They were falling into one another’s arms, laughing, crying, babbling.
Carrie found her and hugged Darby tightly.
“Thank you, Mrs. Tanner. Whatever happens, we feel like winners.”
More girls came over, hugging both her and Kelby, and Darby steered them to some steps which led from the stage to the floor of the arena. They huddled in a group on the side, waiting for the results to be tabulated.
When Peggy came onto the stage, a hush fell over the crowd. Darby’s girls all held hands—and their breaths—as Peggy began to speak.
“Cheer USA is thrilled at the turnout for this year’s national competition. It’s been the best year yet, and we hope to see you next year in Phoenix. Now, here’s what you’ve been waiting for.”
Peggy announced fifth, fourth, and third place. It came down to Hawthorne and Ezby, a team from West Texas. The moment Ezby came from Peggy’s mouth, her team broke out in shouts, bouncing up and down, knowing they had been named national champions.
In the pandemonium, Peggy motioned for Darby to come to the stage, and she waved for her entire group to follow her. Peggy handed over a large trophy, and Darby held it in one hand, balancing the base against her hip.
At the microphone, Darby said, “I have been so blessed to work with these cheerleaders from Hawthorne High School. They were originally coached by Kay Timmons, and she deserves to share in this success.”
She turned and looked at the glowing faces of the combined JV and varsity squads and said, “I have never seen a squad which works so diligently, one which is dedicated to being the best they can be. I also have never known another group which loves one another the way these young ladies do.”
Raising the trophy high, she concluded with, “Here’s to the Hawthorne Hawks cheerleading squad, your national champions!”
The girls mobbed her while the raucous crowd shouted their support at the top of their lungs.
Jace found her, pulling her from the sea surrounding her. He captured her face in his hands.
“I am so proud of you,” he said.
Smiling, she told him, “I just followed my heart to Hawthorne. And you.”
Her husband kissed her, and Darby knew that they had so much to look forward to as their lives unfolded in Hawthorne, the place of her heart.