Mercy

'No, sir. I got a good job over in St. Claire with the packing company unloading boxes on weekends. We were all just wondering how long-'

'Who exactly is we?' Jake demanded.

'Some of the guys.'

'Are they all underage too?'

'Yes, sir, I guess they are, and the girls too, but they-'

'Shut the door after you, son. You're letting the flies in. You be sure to give my best to your folks, and tell Daryl I'll be over Sunday to pass the time with him.'

Elliott looked confused. 'Yes, sir, I will, but-'

'Get going now.'

'Daddy, don't you think you ought to find out what they want to see you about?' Michelle asked.

Theo started for the door. 'Maybe one of them knows something about the vandalism at your clinic,' he said. 'We ought to talk

to them.'

'Maybe I was too hasty,' Jake admitted. 'Is somebody sick or hurt, Elliott? Mike, maybe you ought to have a look.'

Elliott was frantically shaking his head. 'It's nothing like that,' he said. 'I mean no one's hurt.' He turned around, leaned out the door, and shouted, 'Hey, you guys, he wears a gun. Is that cool or what?'

The teenager whirled around again just as Michelle walked forward. He glanced at her legs and quickly looked away.

'No, ma'am, I mean, no, Dr. Mike, no one needs to see you. I mean we all like looking at you… no, that's not what I mean.

I'm just saying no one's sick or nothing. Honest.'

Elliott had turned three shades of red. Staying coherent in the presence of a beautiful woman was obviously beyond him. Theo

had great empathy for the kid.

'Do you know something about the vandalism?' she asked.

'No, ma'am, I don't, and I did ask around just like your dad told my dad to tell me to do. No one knows anything, and it's kind of odd 'cause usually if kids do something like that, they like to brag. You know what I mean? Only no one's bragging. Nobody I talked to knows anything. Honest.'

'Then why are you here, Elliott?'

He couldn't quite bring himself to stop staring at Michelle, but he was able to point at Theo. 'Uh… we were all just hoping…

uh, that is, if he doesn't mind… uh, maybe Coach Buchanan could come outside now and meet some of the team.'

Michelle was sure she hadn't heard correctly. 'What did you just say?'

'Maybe Coach Buchanan could come out and meet some of the team.'

She blinked. 'Coach Buchanan?'

Theo was at a loss for words. Where in God's name would Elliott get the idea… Then it clicked and he started laughing.

'There was this kid-'

Elliott interrupted his explanation when he shouted outside, 'Coach is coming out. Everybody get ready.'

Jake was nudging Theo between his shoulder blades. 'Might as well step outside, son, and find out what all the ruckus is about.'

'This is all a misunderstanding,' he said as Michelle walked to the door. Theo followed her and was about to explain, but the second he stepped out into the sunlight, a resounding cheer went up. He looked around in amazement. The parking lot was filled with cars and pickups and kids, at least forty of them, and every single one was shouting and whistling.

Four young, perky, blond-haired girls moved forward in unison. They were all wearing the same outfit, white shorts and red T-shirt. One of them had a pair of red-and-white pompoms, and she led the others in a cheer.

'Give me a B,vshe shouted, and was apdy rewarded with a screeching, 'BP 'Give me a U, give me a K, give me an A, give me

an N, give me an A, give me an N. What's that spell?'

'Beats me,' Theo said dryly.

'Bukanan!' the crowd roared.

Michelle burst into laughter. Theo put his hands up, trying to quiet the mob. 'I'm not your coach,' he shouted.

'Listen to me. It's all a misunderstanding. This kid-'

It was hopeless. No one paid any attention to his protest. The exuberant teenagers came running toward him, all shouting at the same time.

How in thunder had this gotten so out of hand? He felt Jake put his hand on his shoulder, and he glanced back at him. ~

The old man was smiling broadly. 'Welcome to Bowen, son.'

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

He tried to clear up the misunderstanding, but the boys, obviously high on testosterone, wouldn't let Theo get a word in as they surrounded him, each shouting to be heard over the others. They wanted Coach to know what their special talents were and

what positions they wanted to play. One boy called Moose shoved his way to the front of the crowd and told Theo he thought

he would make a good linebacker. From the kid's size, Theo thought he could probably handle the entire line.

He kept trying to quiet them down so he could explain, but they were too excited to listen. In the background, the cheerleaders were doing back flips across the parking lot.

Michelle wasn't much help. She couldn't seem to stop laughing. Then one boy thought he might like to get a closer look at

Theo's gun. Theo's reaction was swift, instinctive. He grabbed the kid by the wrist and pushed. The boy landed on his knees.

'Cool reflexes, Coach.' Moose nodded as he shouted his approval.

'You kids back away,' Jake shouted. 'Let Coach and Mike get to his car. Go on now. Move out of the way. They've got to

get over to Mike's clinic so Coach can start investigating.'

Calling Theo 'Coach' was only making the matter worse, and from the grin on Jake's face, Theo knew he was doing it on purpose.

Michelle took Theo's hand and led the way through the throng while Theo continued to try to get the kids to listen to him. The

pair wound their way around the vans and pickups to where he'd parked his rental car. He opened the passenger door for

Michelle and was immediately surrounded again by the high schoolers. Theo was a tall man, but some of the boys towered over him. He couldn't help but think that, with the right training and motivation, they could be one hell of a team.

He gave up trying to explain and simply nodded as he walked around to the driver's side and got in.

'Yeah, right, center,' he said as he pulled the door closed and hit the lock button.