“Really? Coach Hayes?”
I nodded.
She gave me another tender smile. “He’s a good man. He’s a good coach too. Did he talk to you?”
No other foster parent had been interested in my swimming. The fact that she was even asking questions sparked a longing in me that I hadn’t known was there. My voice was hoarse when I said, “Yeah. He invited me to try-outs.”
“Oh good. That’s great, Taryn. Are you going to try-out?”
“No.” I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“I think you should. I think sports are always a good idea. I know you aren’t that fond of Mandy’s friends, and if you’re on the swim team, you might meet other girls like you. Who knows. Maybe they like swimming for the same reason you do.”
“Yeah. Maybe.” My chest was so tight. She seemed so interested. I was having a hard time remembering why I’d been angry at her before.
“Okay, honey.” She came in, smoothed back my hair from my forehead, and pressed a kiss there. “Have a good night. When Mandy gets in, let her know that I have to take Austin to Patrick’s early in the morning. They have a tournament this weekend.”
“I will.” My throat was still so full. I could barely get my words out. She left and I closed my eyes. A tear slid free. I let it go. I never had an adult care before. My chest tightened and then I wiped another tear away. I tried to ignore the fear I was feeling. They adopted me. They must love me. This wasn’t a charade. I kept telling myself that when I got ready for bed and laid there, staring at the ceiling. It wasn’t a charade. They really did love me.
My phone buzzed and distracted me. “Hello?” I didn’t want to analyze why I was glad for the distraction.
“Hey, where are you?” It was Mandy.
“At home.”
“Mom and Dad home?”
“Yeah. Everyone’s in bed. I don’t know where your dad is and your mom said to tell you that she’s taking Austin somewhere early tomorrow morning.”
“Thank God.” She breathed in relief. “Listen, if Mom and Dad ask, tell them I came home late and left early.”
“Are you at Devon’s?”
There was a moment of silence on the other end for a moment. “Are you going to be mad if I say yes?”
“No,” I muttered. “You already know how I feel.”
“Yes, I do,” she said, “but this is my decision.”
“I know, I know. I’m just looking out for you, you know. We’re sisters and all,” I mumbled. All this family stuff was new to me.
“Okay,” she trailed off for a moment. “I thought you’d be at Tray’s.”
“No.” Since we went to the Seven8, things had cooled between Tray and me. I wasn’t sure why, but I hadn’t been ready to tackle that either. We were at a standstill. I hadn’t seen him around other girls and I had kept to myself too. “He wasn’t with you tonight?” Then I heard a muffling sound on her end. “Is that Devon?”
“Yeah. Amber and Erin are here too. We just ordered some food.”
“Who’s Erin?”
“A friend of mine. She’s on the student council with me,” Mandy replied, her voice half-turned from the phone. “If Mom asks, tell her what I said. I came home late and left early. Tell her I went running. She’s all about exercising.”
“Alright, I’ll pass along your lie to Shelly.” I paused a beat, frowning to myself. “Watch Devon. Make sure he doesn’t cheat on you with Amber or that Erin girl tonight.”
“Taryn!”
I hung up, rolled over, and stopped thinking about everything.
*
The next morning Shelly woke me up, a frazzled expression was on her face. “Taryn, I have a huge favor to ask of you.”
I scrambled upright. “Mandy went running this morning. She came home late and left early.”
“Oh, okay,” Shelly mumbled. “Can you give Austin a ride to Patrick’s? He’s packed and ready to go. Kevin called. He’s waiting for me at the airport. He needs me to go to a workshop with him. I won’t have time to take Austin.”
Oh. Relief flooded me. I nodded and got out of bed. “I’ll get dressed and take him.”
“Thank you so much, Taryn. The neighbor will stop in every now and then to check on you guys too.” She pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I don’t know what we would do without you.”
I frowned, but she was gone in an instant. I found Austin outside, waiting on the curb with a sullen look on his face. He was dressed in athletic clothes and his bag was beside him, a basketball in his hands.