“Well, that sounds great for you,” I said, trying to fake a little sincerity.
“Yeah, yeah, it will be,” she said. “Moose River Fusion has dominated the NSCO for years. But we’ve got their number this year.” Her mouth flared into a wide grin. “And they’re experiencing a little bit of trouble this year.”
I thought back to my dinner conversation with Brenda. “You mean their missing captain?”
Her eyes narrowed. “So you are familiar with all of this?” She glanced at my purse. “I hope you aren’t here to spy.”
What did she think I had hidden in there? A microphone? A video recorder? A bomb to decimate her gym?
“I told you,” I said. “I’m here to pick up my friend’s daughter. But I’m aware that Amanda Pendleton’s missing. She’s in a play with my daughters and I heard she was also involved in cheerleading.”
Her face soured and she looked like she wanted to spit. “Amanda Pendleton isn’t just involved in cheerleading, alright? She’s probably one of the best cheerleaders in the state of Minnesota. Powerful. Fast. Can tumble like nobody’s business.” She folded her arms across her chest and raised an eyebrow. “And she got her start with me.”
“Is that right?”
“Oh, you better believe it is,” she answered, mistaking my question for some sort of challenge. “Before she trained with me, she didn’t know a cartwheel from a cart of apples. But I got her straightened out. I got her on the right track. I turned her into a cheerleader.” She paused. “She owes me a lot.”
Maddie was finally walking across the gym toward us and I tried not to breathe a sigh of relief. “I’m sure she’s grateful.”
Coach Mathisen snorted again. “You’d think so, wouldn’t you? But, no. She showed her gratitude by jumping ship. This is karma.” She leaned in closer to me. “Karma, I tell you. They stole her from me, she fell for it, and now they’re all dealing with karma. And we’re gonna kick their butts.”
I stood up. “I’m not sure a missing girl is karma. I think there are plenty of people worried about her.”
She cleared her throat. “Oh, right. Right. I’m sure they are. I mean, yes. I hope they find her. I don’t mean that I don’t want them to find her. I just mean...I just mean we are going to kick their tail feathers, and this is what they get for stealing Amanda from me.”
I didn’t really understand what she was getting it and I was really put off by her entire attitude. Being competitive was one thing, but reveling in someone else’s misfortune was something else entirely and I thought it was kind of gross. Her glee over Amanda’s disappearance was pretty apparent because she thought it gave her team a distinct advantage. I hoped she was wrong.
“Well, I hope she’s found soon,” I said smiling at her. “I think it would be terrific if she was back before your competition.”
Her eyes narrowed and she looked like she was about to let me know exactly how she felt about that. But then something flashed through her eyes and it was gone.
“Sure,” she said flatly. “That would be terrific. But I doubt it’ll happen.”
I looked at her. “You don’t think she’ll be found?”
Her face flushed pink. “No. No. I just meant that...I don’t think she’ll be back before the competition. And even if she is, she might not be up to competing.” She looked hurriedly at her watch. “I need to go. Nice meeting you, Moose River.”
She jogged off across the gym floor before I could respond.
SEVENTEEN
“Mom!” Grace yelled. “I can’t find any underwear!”
Twice a month, my three kids went to their father’s house to spend the weekend with him. It was always a weird feeling for me. I was glad they were able to spend some time with their dad, but I didn’t like them being gone. And given that Sophie’s mom lived out of state, it put her in this weird purgatory of being the only kid in the house. This particular weekend, though, she’d been invited to spend the night at a friend’s house, so Jake and I were actually going to have an entire evening and morning to ourselves.
Which meant we needed to find underwear.
“Check your drawer!” I yelled back. “I just put the laundry away!”
Five seconds later, she yelled, “Found it!”
Of course she did.
Every two weeks, we went through the same drill. The kids would wait until the last second to pack and then struggle to find what they needed. I sometimes lost my patience, but I also tried to empathize with them. It was disconcerting to all of them that they had to pack a bag to go to their dad’s. They felt more like visitors than family when they went there, and it led to a certain disconnect that each of them struggled with in different ways.
“Can I borrow your charger?” Emily asked, setting her backpack on the kitchen table. “I left mine in my locker.”
“Yeah, that’s fine. I can use Jake’s,” I said. “It’s in the kitchen.”
She went and grabbed it and zipped it up into the top pocket of her bag. “Thanks. Not exactly sure what I’d do if my phone died over there.”
“Maybe engage a little?”
She rolled her eyes. “Please. I’m going to spend the next two days in my room, doing homework and texting my friends. There’s nothing else to do.”
“That’s a little harsh, isn’t it?”
“We do the same thing every time we’re there,” she told me. She blew a loose strand of hair away from her face. “Eat dinner out. Play some game. Watch some movie. Eat out again. And then something will happen and everyone will get in some big argument.” She shook her head. “It’s a waste of time.”
Emily, in particular, had struggled with the arrangement. She was at the point where she was looking to spend time with her friends on the weekend, but her dad wanted to see her, too. She felt caught in the middle. It didn’t help that she didn’t get along great with Thornton’s new wife, either.
“Maybe this weekend will be better,” I said, glancing out the window and seeing Thornton’s SUV pull into the driveway. “Keep an open mind.”
She rolled her eyes again. “You always say that.”
“I’m an optimist.”
“Well, I’m a realist,” she said, then lowered her voice. “And you don’t have to spend two days with Babette.”
Babette. Thornton’s new wife. Who was having trouble winning over the kids. And who was a constant source of amusement to all three.
Grace came racing down the stairs, her backpack thumping her backside. “I got the underwear.”
“Excellent,” I said. “And your dad just pulled up.”
“Is she with him?” she asked, wrinkling her nose.
“No idea,” I said. “And her name is Babette.”
“Yeah, don’t call her Baboon this time,” Will said, coming down the stairs behind her, his backpack hoisted over one shoulder. It looked almost empty.
“Shut up,” Grace muttered. “I didn’t mean to say it out loud.”
“Mind your manners,” I said, raising an eyebrow at her. “Be polite.”
“I will, I will,” she said.
There was a knock at the back door and Emily went to open it. Thornton shuffled in behind her and waved at me. “Hey, Daisy.”
“Hey,” I said. “I think they’re all ready.”
He nodded. He had on dark denim jeans and a big poofy ski jacket. His hair was all spiked up like usual and it looked like there was a faint outline of a beard on his face. He always looked ill at ease in the house, despite our attempts to make him feel welcome. He and I had forged a decent relationship after the divorce, mainly for the sake of the kids, and Jake had joined in the effort to make him feel welcome. He always made an effort to say hello and make small talk when he saw Thornton, and he never made him feel like an outsider in our home.