Daddy Wanted

“Need help finding what you’re looking for?” Phillip asked.

“No.” Brodie tossed envelope after envelope until, at the bottom of the stack, he saw Willow’s letter. He clutched it like a lifeline, or more accurately, like a mistake he desperately needed to fix. He’d wronged a friend and ended up losing two in the process. He’d never heard from Savvy after that night either, and he had no doubt why.

She knew what he’d done.

He stuffed the letter in his jacket pocket. “I won’t make workouts tonight.” Brodie glanced up to see Phillip frowning, undeniably confused at the lack of commitment shown by the college’s new head coach. Brodie was committed to the Stockville baseball program, but if he wanted a relationship with Marissa, he had to grow up. Change. Become the father she deserved.

During the entire drive home from that Knoxville hospital, he’d begged God to show him how to do that. And God had put Willow’s letter on his heart.

“I’ve got something I need to do, but then I’ll be back with the team 24/7.” He didn’t know why he offered an explanation. He was the head coach, after all, and as such, he didn’t have to justify himself to any of the assistant coaches. But Phillip Stone was a great coach and a good guy, too, and Brodie wasn’t going to do good people wrong, not anymore.

Understanding dawned on the young man’s face. “Unfinished business with the family emergency. I gotcha. Don’t worry about the team, Coach. We’ll have them ready for you tomorrow.” Then he left Brodie’s office and disappeared through the locker room.

Exhaling slowly, Brodie withdrew the letter from his jacket, opened it and read Willow’s words again. She needed to talk to him. Her son was having a tough time in school, and she wanted Brodie to tutor him.

He hadn’t even realized she still lived in Claremont, or that she knew he coached at Stockville. But she mentioned an article from the Claremont paper. There wasn’t a lot of stuff that happened in or around Claremont, Alabama. A local boy who’d semi made it coming back to take the head coaching job at the nearest college was apparently front-page news. And evidently, the article also discussed the fact that he was part of a mentorship program with local community kids that involved tutoring and recreational activities.

So Willow asked if Brodie could tutor her boy, but Brodie didn’t know how he would face her after the way he’d left her in Knoxville.

Closing his eyes, he prayed, God, please, forgive me for ignoring this for the past three weeks. Help me find the strength to see Willow again, and to apologize for being such a— The word that came to mind didn’t belong in a prayer. Such a jerk back then. And, Lord, if it be Your will, let me fix my past mistakes. Let me have some small place in my daughter’s life.

He opened his eyes, folded the letter and slid it back in the envelope. Willow needed his help. Three weeks ago, he’d avoided her, but now he wanted to make amends. And he’d start with words he’d never uttered before. But he’d say them today.

I’m sorry. And then... Forgive me.

* * *

To keep her mind off Willow, the children and Brodie Evans, Savvy delved into the boxes and itemized lists defining the new shipments her grandparents had received over the past week. She didn’t stop for lunch or for breaks. And when her phone buzzed loudly in her jeans, she was so preoccupied, she almost fell off the tiny stool she used while sorting through the bins.

She slid it out of her pocket and answered, “Hello?”

“Savvy, hey, it’s Mandy.” Mandy Brantley had kept Willow’s children until Savvy arrived in town yesterday afternoon, and she’d helped Savvy get them ready for bed last night before heading to her own home.

Savvy’s pulse started racing, probably because the last time the other woman had called, she’d informed Savvy that her friend was dead and that Savvy was now responsible for her three children. “Mandy, is everything okay?”

“I believe so,” she replied. “But I’m just wondering... Where are you?”

“I’m at the sporting-goods store,” she said. “Remember, my job started today?” She was certain she’d told her about it last night.

“I remember,” Mandy said, “but you’re only working until the kids get out of school, right? When I asked if you needed me to help you with them in the afternoons, you said you’d be home by the time they get off the bus each day.”

Savvy took the phone from her ear and glanced at the time on the display. “Uh, what time do they get home, again?” She’d arrived in town late yesterday after they’d already gotten home from school, and Mandy had been there.

“The bus drops them off at two forty-five.”

The time on Savvy’s phone showed two-forty. “Oh, no! I’m not going to make it. I’ve got to get down there, Mandy!” She grabbed a baseball cap from a box nearby and put it on her head. It wasn’t a foolproof way to disguise her from the nosy folks in Claremont, but she wasn’t in the mood for more stares and whispers as she went about her business. Hurrying, she shuffled through the store aisles toward the entrance and knocked a fishing rod off the wall in the process. She picked it up and quickly returned it to the display hook.

“How could I have forgotten about the kids already?” she asked.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Savvy. These things happen,” Mandy answered.

Savvy made it to the front of the store, pushed the door open and called to her grandmother, “I’ve got to go. It’s time for the bus!”

She glanced down to press the end button on the phone, but halted when she ran face-first into a brick wall. Or rather, a hard-plated chest that felt like a brick wall. “Excuse me.” She looked up, and her heart lodged in her throat.

The newspaper photo didn’t do him justice.

Brodie Evans was taller—a couple of inches taller—than she remembered. His eyes an even more distinctive icy blue. And the five-o’clock shadow only intensified the strength of his jaw.

“Savvy?” he questioned, and she realized he’d grabbed her forearm when she slammed into him and he’d yet to let go, the warmth of his hand seeping into her skin. “You’re back,” he said. “I had no idea.”

“I’ve gotta go.” She pulled her arm away, a mix of panic and anger and disappointment flooding her as she remembered how close they’d been once upon a time, and how he’d thrown it all away.

“But I was coming to your grandparents’ store to find...” he began.

“They can help you with whatever you want.” She forced her feet to move away from the distraction of Brodie Evans and then prayed he got everything he needed from the store today. She didn’t want to talk to him again, didn’t want to see him again. Turning, she sprinted across the square toward her truck, but then heard Mandy yell, “Savvy, wait!”

In the shock of seeing Brodie, she’d forgotten to disconnect the call. “What is it?” she asked breathlessly.

“I’m here, at the trailer. I was bringing a couple more casseroles from the ladies at church, so I’ll wait for the kids to get off the bus, and then I’ll stay until you get here.”

“You’re there?” she asked. But even if she didn’t have to race to the bus stop, she still wanted to leave the square. And the man from her past. “Okay, but I’ll be there soon.” Savvy blinked past the emotions spreading over her like wildfire.

Brodie. After all these years...

A large palm cupped her left shoulder as she reached her truck. She’d been running, her chest pulling in air from the effort, and he wasn’t even breaking a sweat. “Savvy, wait. I’m trying to find Willow.” Brodie turned her to face him. “I have to find her.”

Savvy’s hand squeezed the phone still pressed against her ear. Mandy said something, but she couldn’t make out the words, the jolt from Brodie’s statement drowning out every sound except the thudding of her heart pulsing in her ears. “Willow?” she whispered as visions of her beautiful friend flooded her mind.

Willow standing beneath Jasper Falls, her long dark hair framing a laughing face as she splashed Brodie and Savvy. Willow had died there, at the place they’d all loved. And Brodie had no idea.

“Yes, Willow,” he said. “She wrote to me, said she needed to talk to me about helping...”

Savvy shook her head, didn’t listen to anything else. “You can’t help.” The memory pushed tears forward, and they spilled onto her cheeks. Savvy brushed them away. “Willow’s gone.”

“What do you mean, she’s gone?” He reached into his jacket and withdrew an envelope. “She wrote to me and said she still lived in Claremont and that she wanted to talk to me. She gave me her phone number, but her voice mail box is full. And she didn’t give an address. I thought maybe your grandparents could help me find her.”

“Brodie, you don’t—”

He held up a hand. “Listen, Savvy, I’m sure she told you what happened, and I know you’re probably still angry over what I did. But I know Willow is here, and I’m going to see her.”

“No...you’re not.” Disbelief and shock swirled together to make her light-headed. She grabbed the truck door and took a deep breath.

“Savvy, you can’t keep me from seeing her.”

“I am still angry,” she finally said, wanting to hit him for the way he had hurt Willow back then. She lifted her arm to do just that, but then dropped it to her side. What good would it do?

“I need to talk to her. I need to apologize,” he said thickly, as though either of those things could actually happen.