"Christine, it looks like your boyfriend is going to shatter all the passing records at Highland by midseason," observed Ken Smith as they filed out of the stands. "He's good enough that a lot of colleges Parker be taking a long look at granting him a scholarship. I don't know if schools like Stanford Parker are interested, or not. They play with the big boys for the national championship. Still, he could land a scholarship to a state school and have a free ride in college.""Mr. Smith, I haven't talked to Mitchell about colleges, but believe me, Stanford would be foolish to think he can't play with the "big boys" next year," replied Christine with some emotion. "He'll be able to pick and choose schools by the end of the season. You can take that to your bank."Ken Smith and Dan Leonard exchanged glances with each other at Christine's strong support of Mitchell. Melissa just patted Christine's back and smiled to herself. Her daughter was growing up.The school gym was the setting for
“I never said it would be easy, Theodore,” responded Ms. Metzger. “We are gaining momentum, thanks in large part to your efforts with the internet. We must keep marketing every good deed, every accomplishment, and every newsworthy action by any senior. Then we’ll start hitting the local businesses for contributions, or marketing deals.”Christine heard Theodore observation that the building fund was floundering and decided to raise money proactively. “Ashley, after school today, we’ll stop at some businesses. We have to make them aware of our goals and try to get them to consider helping us somehow, preferably with cash. We’ll stop at the bank first and talk to Tyler’s dad. He should be willing to help since his son is a senior.”“So that’s what we’re trying to do, Mr. Smith,” finished Ashley as she and Christine sat back to listen to Tyler’s dad express his opinion.“Tyler mentioned all this to me a few weeks ago. It’s a very ambitious endeavor. Building wings in hospitals is extreme
“We won’t break up, so don’t worry about it. But if we do, you’ll be first in line to catch him on the rebound. Maybe he’d settle for the younger sister. You’re beautiful, and he already knows your family,” laughed Christine. “Dad won’t have to give him “the talk” again.”“Sis, that’s not funny. If Mitchell dumps your cheating ass, I’ll be all over him and treat him right. That is if he’d have me.” Hailey retorted hotly.Melissa Leonard was torn. She liked Mitchell. She even harbored her secret fantasies after seeing Mitchell in swim trunks at the pool party. He had transformed Christine from an almost reclusive scholar into a confident, lovely young woman. Melissa knew that Mitchell wasn’t responsible for Christine’s beauty or ability but rather for the confidence to show the world some of the many things she was capable of.On the other hand, Cole Baker was educated and financially secure in an excellent position in his family business. Most parents would be quite pleased to have th
“Cole, I just remembered that I’m allergic to garlic. I can’t eat here. Can we go someplace else? Just the smell can trigger it. I’ll wait outside.” promised Christine as she turned and quickly exited the restaurant.Ten minutes later, Cole and Christine were seated at a steak house. “I’m sorry about the garlic thing, Christine. I had no idea you had that condition. I hope this place is okay,” worried Cole.“This is fine, Cole. I should have mentioned it to you. When we entered that restaurant, I thought I could fight off any adverse effects, but I quickly realized it was getting to me. But enough about that. Can you give me any ideas about how you could help the seniors raise substantial sums of money?” quizzed Christine.“I thought of a couple of ideas. It’s too cold this time of year, but I thought you and some of your better built girlfriends could do several weekend car washes in our lot when the weather improves,” suggested Mitchell. “Or we could get a group of the better-lookin
“Mitchell, I am not inviting you in. Please go away. Leave me alone,” insisted Christine loudly as Melissa hurried into the living room to find Mitchell and Christine in a heated exchange.“I want some answers, Christine. Somebody did this to you, and I want to know who,” demanded Mitchell.“Mitchell. Christine. What’s going on? What happened to you, Christine? Are you okay?” asked a perplexed Melissa as Hailey came rushing into the room, followed by her father.Dan took the scene in and started for Mitchell. “Young man, I warned you what would happen if you mistreated my daughter.”With that, Dan pulled a fist back and punched Mitchell in the jaw. For his part, Mitchell never even flinched. He slowly brought his hand up to his jaw and rubbed it. Christine was horrified. This was precisely what she had been hoping to avoid. What a horrible ending to an awful night. Her father had just struck Mitchell. Now there was no doubt that she and Mitchell would never be together again, not that
“If she knew that you were going out with Cole Baker, she may have been thinking you needed the aid of a strong young man who would do anything to keep you safe,” said Melissa. “Is that a possibility? Two young women could still be accosted in the darkness by a deranged suitor. A woman with Mitchell Kays next to her would have no such worries.”“That’s the other problem. Cole took me to Buddy’s for dinner. While waiting to order dinner, a gorgeous red-headed woman around twenty-five walked in. She was shown to a table back in the corner, and guess who her date was?” sniffled Christine. “None other than Hailey’s big brother.”“Oh, no,” gasped Melissa. “Are you sure that Mitchell had a date with her? Did he see you with Cole? What happened then?”“I gave Cole some lame story about being allergic to garlic, and we left and had dinner at the Roadhouse. She hugged him and kissed his cheek, Mom. Unless he has a bunch of girls wanting to be his sister, I’d have to say it was a real date. He’
"Mr. Smith set us up with the Rotary?" repeated Christine. "That would be a great place to network. When is the next meeting, Ms. Metzger?""Wednesday afternoon. I'd have to get permission for you both to leave school so you can attend the luncheon at the Holiday Inn, but that'll be no problem. So, are you two willing to put your best foot forward, pun intended, to move this project further?" quizzed Ms. Metzger.Christine suddenly knew doubt. She had fought with Mitchell the previous evening. He might decide she wasn't worth the trouble or want to get even for her treatment of him after he made an effort to rescue her. Not one to shirk her duties, Christine slowly turned to face Mitchell.For his part, Mitchell was not going to make it easy for Christine. He sat without expression as he waited for Christine to speak."Uh, Mitchell, do you think you want to go to the Rotary luncheon and perform that dance with me if you aren't too busy?" asked Christine. "It could be a great boost to
"My dear, that doesn't have to be a bad thing," laughed Melissa. "Why do men do things for women? Why is society the way it is? Because men want what we have. That gives us power. You just have to learn to wield that power wisely. I've kept your father in line and interested in well over twenty years, and it wasn't just my good cooking that did it.""How do you know whether you have a good guy like Dad, or a letch like Cole?" asked Christine."It doesn't usually take too long, if you watch the clues," assured Melissa. "Mauling you in a parked car against your wishes is an obvious deal breaker. You shouldn't have to experience that to find out what sort of man you're dealing with. Watch how he treats his family, his friends, strangers, and people less fortunate than he is. You'll learn a lot about a person that way.""I seem to have a problem telling the good guys from the bad ones. Cole was a huge mistake every way imaginable. It looks like Mitchell was, too. I guess I'm batting 1000%