The Best Is Yet to Come (68)

* * *



—

Cade couldn’t help wondering what Coach had intended to do to Ben after the game. Once the truth was out, everything would fall apart. Simmons couldn’t allow that to happen. Too much was at stake. He’d lose the right to compete at the state championship, and possibly lose the title Oceanside had won the previous year. And that was only the beginning of the fallout that was sure to follow. Once word got out, the accolades and possible career advancements would all come tumbling down.

One thing was certain: Simmons couldn’t let Ben go free. Coach was backed into a corner, and there was no telling what the man was capable of. Cade didn’t like to think what might have happened if they hadn’t arrived when they did.

Cade couldn’t stop thinking about what Hope had said as the paramedics wheeled her toward the aid car. She’d claimed he’d saved them. The words echoed in his mind with the memories of those he hadn’t been able to save. This was vindication, a release. A heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders and from his heart. It was as if Jeremy and Luke were standing next to him and giving him high fives. Then he recalled how badly he’d blown it with his mother earlier that day. Time was on his side. As Hope had reminded him, the door was open. The next move was up to him. As soon as he learned Hope wasn’t badly hurt, he intended to connect with his family.

“How’d you know something was wrong?” Ben directed the question to his sister.

“Eagle Rock,” Callie told him. “When we couldn’t reach you, Spencer and I went to the creek. You went there, didn’t you?”

Ben nodded. “I needed to think things through. It was hard with both Mom and Dad out of town. What you said this morning about me being responsible as well for what happened to Spencer’s car hit home. I knew Coach giving us those performance enhancers was wrong and the way we had been pledged to secrecy said as much.”

“Spencer and I went there, and I could feel something was really wrong,” Callie said.

Spencer placed his arm around her shoulders, holding her protectively against his side.

Ben smiled, studying the two of them standing side by side. “So you and Spence are an item now?”

Callie looked to Spencer, who only seemed to have eyes for her. “Yeah,” she whispered. “We are.”

Spencer cleared his throat. “We are? I mean, we are. Yes, we most definitely are.”

Cade had to hand it to Ben. It’d taken courage to stand up to Coach, knowing there would be a price to pay.



* * *



—

The sheriff returned, and they were all questioned for what seemed like hours. As soon as Cade could, he broke away and hurried to the hospital where Hope had been taken. By the time he arrived, she had been checked over, given a CT scan to be sure there was no internal bleeding, and released. She sat in the waiting area outside of the emergency room and leaped to her feet, then walked directly into his arms. “I don’t know what would have happened if not for you,” she said, hugging him close.

“I’m no hero,” he said, embarrassed to have what seemed like half the hospital staff watching them.

“You are to me,” she said.

Closing his eyes, he rested his chin on the top of her head. “You’re the only one who thinks so and the only one whose opinion matters to me.”

Then, hand in hand, they headed home.





Chapter 25




The fallout from the drug scandal was the talk of Oceanside for the next few days as shock waves rolled through the tight-knit community. Two of the Seattle television stations sent reporters to town. In an effort to put a positive spin on things, Mayor Dudley claimed any publicity was good for the community. Hope prayed he was right.

A lot of the focus fell on Hope, as she had been in the center of the drama, along with Cade and the three high school students who had stood up against Coach. Channel 13 had specifically asked to interview her. She declined and recommended the reporter talk to Cade, who was the real hero in her eyes. He declined as well, uncomfortable with the attention.

As she entered her U.S. History class and saw the two teenagers who’d been with her that fateful day with Coach Simmons, she couldn’t help but smile. Spencer and Callie were almost always together these days. Where one was, she was sure to find the other. They sat together in the two classes they shared and at the same table in the cafeteria.

It did Hope’s heart good to see them both happy. The way she saw it, the two nicely balanced each other out. From what she’d heard, Spencer had decided against Yale, and they were both planning to attend Washington State University in Pullman following graduation.

As for Scott Pender, with the football program suspended for the rest of the season, his chance at a scholarship was gone. Although he’d played an explicit role in Ben’s kidnapping, he was given a light sentence of community service hours that would take him well into the new year. That and his fall from glory were punishment enough.

Ben Rhodes had been praised by the local newspaper for his willingness to stand up against what he knew was wrong. Even with Coach’s threats hanging over his head, Ben had made a courageous decision to come forward.

Despite declaring it all a misunderstanding, Coach Simmons had been charged on a number of counts and was currently awaiting trial. He hadn’t been able to make bail, and sat in his cell, which Hope personally felt was the best place for him. He’d been smug and delusional to believe he could get away with what he did. His arrogance had led him to believe he was invincible, and no one would dare to stand up against him.