The Escape Collection: (The Escape Collection) (76 page)

“Cam!”
 

They both turned in the direction of the voice. Cam sighed as Barb, Cam’s sister and mother of Taylor’s best friend, crossed the bleachers towards them.
 

“Hey, sis,” Cam said. “Are you going to give me trouble for pulling Abby out of goal in the last five?”

“I should,” she said and smacked his arm before turning to Darci. “How are you? You know, there’s plenty of room over behind the bench, come sit with us.”
 

“I…was…well…sure, I’d like that.” Darci couldn’t think of an excuse that wouldn’t make her look like a total snob, besides, the little she knew about Barb, she liked.
 

“Great,” Barb turned back to her brother. “Now get to work, coach. Susanna's revving up the fundraising power house, so you better get us to provincials at least. No pressure.”
 

“Oh, I can just imagine,” Cam said. “I’ll admit, it’s nice to know that you all have that much faith in my coaching abilities.”
 

“Of course we do,” Barb said. “Now, go.”
 

“Okay, okay,” he said and then looked to Darci. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Absolutely.”
 

Cam started jogged back to the player’s bench and Barb called out, “Hey, I’m making a lasagna tomorrow, so I expect you there.”

He turned and saluted her before returning to the waiting team.

“Brothers.” Barb shook her head. “They’re so high maintenance. But if I don’t take care of him, who will, right?”
 

Darci shrugged. Without any siblings of her own, she could only imagine what it would be like to have the easy camaraderie that Barb and Cam shared.
 

“Ready?” Barb asked and gestured to Darci’s tote bag.
 

“Oh. I do appreciate you asking me to sit with you but-“

“But nothing,” she said. “We need more voices on our side. I refuse to have the competition out cheer us.” She jabbed her thumb over her shoulder. “Come on.”
 

Out of excuses, Darci grabbed up her bag, pushed away her discomfort and followed Barb along the bench towards the other parents.

Chapter 2

Darci perched on her seat silently encouraging Taylor’s run down the field. Around the center block. A quick dodge past the tall girl. Pass to Abby and then right back as Taylor broke free from her opponents. Darci didn’t breathe as the clock ticked down and her daughter ran faster, nimbly dribbling the ball with her feet until…

Goal!

The crowd was on their feet in one fluid wave. Darci screamed along with all the other parents. She turned to see Barb hugging her husband. There was a flicker of loneliness before she turned back to the field to watch the girls celebrate. They’d done it. Secured another win in what was turning out to be a champion season.
 

“That was awesome,” Barb yelled in Darci’s ear and pulled her into a tight embrace. It took Darci a second to relax and enjoy the moment and when Barb released her, she saw that everyone else was taking turns hugging each other, slapping high fives.
 

She was swept up in the festive atmosphere and when one of the other moms suggested going for pizza to celebrate, Darci didn’t immediately object even though she had to get up early for work the next morning. And, as she barely even knew most of the other parents names, it had the potential to be an awkward night. But for that moment, it didn’t matter because as Darci looked down at the field where the girls were shaking hands with the other team, trying to hide their smiles and celebrations for later, she suddenly couldn’t wait to have pizza.

***

“Really, Mom? We can go?”
 

Darci grabbed the strap of Taylor’s oversized bag and hoisted it onto her shoulder. “Of course we can,” she said with a smile. “We need to eat and besides, that was an amazing goal. You deserve to celebrate.”
 

“Yes!” Taylor jumped up and kissed her mom’s cheek before snagging the bottle of water sticking out of her bag. “It was a wicked game, wasn’t it?”
 

“You were great,” Darci said. “As always. I really liked how you and Abby paired together right at the end. Awesome teamwork, kiddo.”

Taylor stopped walking and stared at her mother. “I always have awesome team work, Mom.” She set her jaw and glared at Darci. Taylor had been moodier than normal lately. Usually such an easy going kid, over the last few weeks, Taylor had reacted unpredictably. Almost as if a switch had been flipped.
 

“Of course you do, Tay,” Darci said, trying to smooth things over. “That’s not what I meant at all. There’s a reason you’re team captain. I know it.”
 

Taylor stared at her before her face transformed into her usual high wattage smile. “Thanks, Mom.” She darted a few feet ahead before turning and calling, “Come on, we want to get good seats.”
 

Oh no, Darci thought. I’m not ready to handle teenage hormones. Not yet.

Darci made a mental note to look into some vitamins and herbs that might settle Taylor’s mood and shaking her head, she followed her daughter to the car.

***

By the time they got to Peppi’s Pizza, there was no sign of Taylor’s earlier mood swing. She slid right into the center of the pack and was instantly surrounding by friends, laughing and talking over each other. It had always been that way, even as a preschooler, the other kids wanted to be around Taylor. Darci often marveled at how her daughter could be so social and outgoing when she herself couldn’t remember the last time she’d had anything resembling a social life.
 

With Taylor sitting with the girls, Darci hovered in the doorway before looking at the table that had been commandeered by the parents. She shifted the strap of her tote bag higher on her shoulder and looked around for an empty chair.

“Hey, Darci,” Cam said, when he spotted her. “Glad you made it.” He jumped up and offered her his seat. “I’ll just grab another chair. There’s lots of room.”

There wasn’t. But Darci didn’t protest as everyone wiggled their chairs over to make room for her to sit down in the extra chair Cam produced.
 

“Thanks.”
 

“We just ordered,” Barb said once she was settled.

“A deluxe,” Tom, her husband, groaned. “Is it really too much to ask for all meat once in awhile? I don’t understand why they even put vegetables on pizza. Green peppers take up too much room. Leave space for the pepperoni, that’s what I say. Am I right, Cam?”
 

“I’ll drink to that.” Cam raised his glass of water before taking a healthy swallow.
 

Darci laughed and soon swept up in the conversations swirling around her. The topic on everyone’s mind was the upcoming games that would put the Chargers’ in position to head to Provincials.
 

The father of a girl Darci knew as Sheri, said, “You know you’ll take them to provincials again, Cam.”

“And I for one, can’t wait,” Barb added, raising her glass. “The girls will love it.”

“And that’s what matters, right?” Another mom asked. “The girls love the game,” she continued. “Thanks to you, Cam. You’re the best thing that’s happened to this team.”

A course of cheers went up and everyone toasted Cam as dinner arrived.

The pizza smelled delicious, Darci’s mouth watered and she pulled a pepper out of the cheese and popped it into her mouth. Sparing a quick glance over at the table of girls, she couldn’t help but notice that they were all digging into their pizza. Plain old pepperoni and mushroom for the kids. She didn’t normally like to encourage greasy food and soda for dinner, but a treat now and then wasn’t going to stunt Taylor’s growth. However, it didn’t look like Taylor was even eating. The piece on her plate, only had a few bites out of it. Darci watched as Taylor reached for the jug of soda that sat on the table, and poured herself another glass.
 

“Hey, Tay,” she called to her daughter. “Aren’t you hungry? You’ve barely touched your pizza.”

Taylor shook her head. “I guess not.”
 

“Do you want a piece of deluxe instead?” Darci held up her own piece to which Taylor shook her head again.
 

“If she’s not eating the pepperoni, I’ll take it,” Tom said. Barb smacked him on the arm and everyone broke out laughing.
 

Everyone but Darci. She watched as Taylor turned back toward the table of girls and picked at her dinner. Taylor had always had a healthy appetite. Darci never had reason to worry about what her daughter was or was not eating. First the moodiness, now she wasn’t eating. She was probably coming down with something. The flu was going around. Lots of people had come into the store stocking up on Vitamin C and Echinacea trying to ward off the germs.
 
Darci made a mental note to load Taylor up with vitamins when they got home.

“Is everything okay?” Cam asked.

“Oh, yes.” Realizing she’d been staring at her daughter, Darci forced a smile and turned to him. “I guess I just got lost in a thought for a moment. Everything’s fine.”
 

And everything was fine, she told herself. Taylor was a normal, healthy kid. She’d never given her a reason to worry before. Besides, if there was something really wrong, she’d know about it. It was probably just a bug. Nothing that couldn’t be handled with a little rest and TLC.

She took one more glance at her daughter and the rest of the girls laughing and celebrating their victory. No, Darci thought again before returning to the adult conversation, everything’s just fine.
 

Chapter 3

The next few days were a blur as Darci rushed to get the month end inventory in the shop finished on time. Monica turned out to be a bigger help than usual, which was strange, but since she needed the help, Darci didn’t question it.
 

“We really should start this earlier, so it’s not so crazy,” Monica said as Darci finished typing in the last of the numbers. “Like maybe if we started next month’s count tomorrow? Then it might be done on time.”
 

Darci looked over her shoulder at Monica who was lounging against the counter sipping an iced coffee. She grabbed her own water bottle and took a deep drink before answering. “Are you serious?”

“Of course. It’s a good idea, isn’t it?”

“Monica, it’s a terrible idea,” Darci said. When Monica’s face fell into a frown, she quickly added, “It’s called month end inventory for a reason. It has to be done at the end of the month.”
 

“I was just trying to help.” Monica pushed away from the counter and walked over to a display shelf. She slurped her drink and turned her back to Darci. Monica was the master of moodiness but her manipulative methods never worked on Darci. At the same time though, as the store manager, she was expected to keep employees happy.
 

With a sigh, Darci walked away from the computer and over to Monica. “I appreciate your efforts to make things easier around here.” She put her hand lightly on Monica’s back. “You know you’re a huge asset to me and this store, right?”
 

Monica lifted her head and turned around. She sniffed loudly and wiped at her still dry eyes. “It’s just that sometimes I feel like you don’t appreciate me at all. I work so hard, and it’s never enough.”

Darci bit her tongue against what she really wanted to say. Instead she said what she knew Monica needed to hear. “I’m sorry. I should tell you more what a valuable employee you are. And I really do mean it.”

“You do?” A smile played at the corner of Monica’s lips.

“Of course,” Darci said.

“Thank you. Sometimes that’s all I need, you know? Just a little positive reinforcement.”
 

Darci barely had a chance to look away before she rolled her eyes. Dealing with Monica could be more exhausting than parenting a pre-teen. But, Darci reminded herself, she was the only full time employee she had, and the customers did seem to like her. When she wasn’t being overly dramatic, that was. “Well,” Darci said, eager to change the subject. “Since we’ve sorted that out, do you think you could help that customer over in the
 
bulk section? She seems to be having trouble with the flax seed.” Darci pointed to a woman struggling with a bin. “I have to finish up with the inventory spreadsheet and send it off to Felicity. She needs it before the end of the day or it messes up the books.”

“No problem,” Monica said, putting down her coffee. “Your best employee is on the job.” She winked at Darci and skipped to the back of the store.
 

Darci shook her head and headed back towards the computer. Most days she enjoyed her job, particularly helping the customers make healthier choices and lifestyle changes. But as much as she loved it, the month end business was always a stressful time and it would be a relief when it was taken care of and she could enjoy the weekend. Monica would be in charge of the shop, working with the two high school students Darci had hired a few months ago. They were working out great, most importantly, allowed her to take most weekends off. And just in time too. Taylor’s soccer schedule was starting to gear up and Darci hated to miss a game and leave her daughter without a parent in the stands to cheer for her. Sometimes it was the little things about being a single parent that were the toughest to deal with.

Darci glanced at her watch, there was just under an hour before it was time to close up. She liked to get the cash-out done quickly so Taylor wasn’t home alone too long. Just as she was about to save and send the spreadsheet, the phone rang. She grabbed up the phone and said, “Golden Moon Health, how can I make your day glow?”

“Darci? It’s Cam. Coach Cam.”

By reflex, her thoughts flew to Taylor and she rechecked her watch. Taylor should be finished soccer practice and be home. “Is everything okay? Is Taylor okay?”

“Taylor? Yeah, she’s fine,” Cam said. “I’m sorry, Darci, I didn’t mean to worry you. Of course she’s fine.”

“Thank goodness.” She relaxed and
 
reached for her bottle of water. “What can I help you with, Cam?”