finding poor Herb’s family I wasn’t thinking of anybody else. And upsetting your table was absolutely accidental. I figured at that point, the best thing I could do was to leave. But I really am sorry.”
They circled her, and she felt like a gazelle in the middle of a pride of lions. Ancient lions, but still…
“Who are you?” the man with the glasses demanded, lifting a fist in the air. “And why are you still after us?”
She edged away from the court. “I’m not after you.”
“Then what are you doing here? Who told you we’d be—” The truth must have occurred to him, because he stopped and stared in disbelief. “Tell me it’s not true.”
“Here’s the truth, and really, it’s not so bad. I am the new recreational supervisor, but I had no idea you were the shuffle board. I mean, let’s face it. Palmetto Grove’s not a raging metropolis, but there are more than a few people walking the streets, so I didn’t expect the three of you.”
“Who the hell hired you?”
“The usual suspects.” She smiled brightly, although she remembered as she did how poorly that had gone over before. “So who won the chess game?”
They stared at her.
“I guess it doesn’t matter,” she said, backtracking quickly. “I hope you found all your pieces.”
The skinny man she’d nicknamed the hoverer squinted at her. “I know the Woodleys. I’m going to tell them what you did.”
“Well, you can, but honestly? I think they’re between a rock and a hard place, and they need me to organize your tournament. So they aren’t going to be all that thrilled to fire me on my first day at work. Wouldn’t it be more productive if we just tried to get along?”
“Do you know one end of a cue from the other, girlie, or how long a regulation cue even has to be? Do you know how much a disc has to weigh? What the penalty is if a disc is touching a line? The differences between a hook shot and a hesitation shot?”
She was starting to get annoyed, but she tried to remain pleasant. “I know the basics, but if we work together, I can learn the rest.”
“I bet you think shuffleboard is about as stupid as chess,” Mr. Mustache said, moving closer and pointing his finger at her chest.
She hesitated one heartbeat too long. He nodded with more vigor than she expected. “You do think it’s stupid. The Woodleys went and hired a supervisor who thinks the game is stupid!”
“I never said that!” Tracy stepped backward and found herself on the grass between courts. “I admit, the other day, I was overbearing, because I wanted to help one of your friends. Now, get over it, okay? I apologized. I’ll do everything possible to make your tournament a good one.”
She never got to hear a reply, because suddenly a child came hurtling through the open door of the rec room. His head was turned, as if he were trying to outwit pursuers, and before Tracy could yell a warning, the boy was on the court heading straight toward her. She leaped forward, and, fanning out her arms, she swept the old men to either side, then lunged for the all too familiar boy. Bay saw her just in time, spun around, dodged the stumbling old men and Tracy, and kept running.
Right across the courts, over the hedge and into the outdoor pool.
“Unbelievable!”
Water sprayed everywhere, and the splash befit a whale. Tracy took off after him, sending her sandals flying as she ran. At poolside, she spotted Bay floundering in the deep end. She wasn’t exactly certain whether he was trying to put an end to his miserable little life or simply recovering from the sudden shock of finding himself in the water. Whichever it was, tempting as it was to let him sink to the bottom, it was not a good idea—especially on her first day at work.
Cursing under her breath, she dove in fully clothed, aiming for a spot a few feet away from the place where he struggled. She surfaced, spotted the boy and with, one splashing sweep, hauled him against her and tried to pull him to his back.
“Let go of me!” He kicked out at her, and when that didn’t work, he tried to punch her. Expecting this, she was ready. She’d taken lifesaving at summer camp in the Sierras, a skill that had been required later as part of a class in college. And she knew exactly what