âSometimes I feel like
I donât know what Iâm doing.â
Keri recognized her mistake almost as soon as the words left her mouth. âI shouldnât have said that. Especially to you.â
âWhy especially to me?â Grady leaned closer to her. He smelled clean and masculine.
âYouâll think I donât know how to handle Bryan. But thatâs not true. He never gives me any trouble. Heâs a very good kid. I wish I could make you see that.â
Gradyâs eyes didnât leave her face. âI see a woman two kids are very lucky to have in their lives,â he said softly, touching her cheek.
The interior of the car created a cocoon containing just the two of them, their warm breath already starting to fog the windows. The air was a heady smell of warm skin and man. He moved imperceptibly toward her. He was going to kiss her. And she was going to let him.
Dear Reader,
How can a book that takes place in the world of high school basketball not be about sports? I hope Anything for Her Children answers that question.
Yes, the heroâs a basketball coach. And yes, the heroineâs son is the teamâs star player. But what happens off the court is so much more important and character defining than any of the games athletes play.
Anything for Her Children is about honor and integrity and doing the right thing. Those are the invaluable qualities that can be imparted through sports, qualities I hope both of my basketball-playing children are developing.
But most of all, the book is about love. Because, in the end, nothing is more important.
All my best,
Darlene Gardner
I F THE FANS PACKING the Springhill High gymnasium had known about the Carolina State College scandal, they might have given Grady Quinlan an even icier reception.
They greeted the basketball players who ran single file onto the court with raucous cheers worthy of an undefeated team, but the ovation abruptly quieted to a murmur when Grady walked onto the hardwood.
Grady kept his expression carefully blank, a triumph considering heâd already weathered the resignation of his assistant coach earlier that evening.
âYou got nothinâ on Fuzz,â Dan Cahill had said, referring to the longtime Springhill coach whoâd suffered a heart attack over the Christmas holiday. âI canât work with someone I donât respect.â
Grady had only taken over the job as the Springhill Cougarsâ head coach two weeks ago, but the crowd about to witness his debut didnât think much of him, either.
All because word had spread that Grady had suspended Bryan Charleton, the best player to come through Springhill High in a decade.
Grady looked over his shoulder, expecting to see Bryan bringing up the rear. The seventeen-year-old junior had shown up for the pregame talk wearing khaki pants and a dress shirt, demonstrating he knew the drill. A suspended player couldnât suit up but was expected to support his teammates from the bench.
âYou know where Bryan is?â Grady asked the short, skinny ninth-grade boy acting as the teamâs manager.
The boyâs eyes darted away from Gradyâs. âNo,â he said, then went back to filling a tray of paper cups with water.
Rap music from the schoolâs PA system blared. Gradyâs head pounded and beads of sweat formed on his forehead. He fiddled with the tie he wore with one of the suits heâd bought after being named an assistant coach at Carolina State. The tie felt like a noose.
On court the Springhill players and their opponents went through layup and shooting drills. The illuminated numbers on the overhead scoreboard clock counted down the minutes remaining in the allotted warm-up period.
Nineteen. Eighteen. Seventeen.
And still no Bryan.
âIâll be right back,â Grady told Sid Humphries, the very young junior-varsity coach heâd asked to act as his bench assistant during the game. âHave them do passing drills next.â