Claire's Story: Chapter 2

It was February. Claire was counting the junior high girls on the bus as they squealed and giggled, excited for the last road game of the season. She couldn’t help but smile as well, for their delight was contagious. She was excited too: not only was it the last game of the season, but it was the deciding game for the district championship and a chance at an undefeated season. Her competitive fire still burned, even if she was just coaching from the sideline and not on the court playing. Claire finished her headcount and sat down in the front seat, reached for a book, and began to read as the bus pulled out of the parking lot.

The four hour bus ride passed rather quickly. Claire had been engrossed in her romance novel and was rather surprised to see the Borger city limit sign so soon. As she gazed out the window at the rolling, mesquite covered hills, a black truck pulling a massive white horse trailer passed the bus. The horse trailer made Claire think of her own horses and how she would love to ride to the tops of those mesquite covered bluffs.

The game had been intense, with both teams deserving of being crowned district champions. Flatland had eventually prevailed, maintaining an eight point lead throughout the final minutes. However, the game was not devoid of more drama. With less than thirty seconds to play, two players had careened into each other after a loose ball. Flatland’s scrappy guard had run head first into Borger’s center, and both players were laid out flat on the hardwood. The Flatland trainers rushed onto the court and pressed a towel to their player’s bloody forehead, and Claire was the first to reach the tall Borger player, who lay motionless. Afraid of a spinal injury, Claire didn’t dare move the girl. Instead she put a hand on her head and calmly spoke to her in case she did awaken. As the Borger training staff quickly approached, the girl had indeed begun to blink her eyes and stir. Claire stepped aside, somewhat in shock herself, and after a few minutes both players were loaded into an ambulance and taken to the hospital. The game ended shortly thereafter, a bittersweet victory due to the scary accident that had occurred.

After congratulating her team and reassuring them that their friend would be fine, Claire rode to the hospital with the Borger head coach to meet the distraught families of their players. Claire was taken to see the family of her player, and asked how the girl was doing. They told her that the doctors had taken x-rays, which were thankfully negative, and that she would only need a few stitches. With relief, Claire headed back towards the waiting room, curious to know how the opposing team’s player was faring.

As Claire turned the corner of the hospital hallway, she ran directly into someone coming from the opposite direction. Claire was promptly knocked backwards as the two tangled and lost their balance. The large man swiftly recovered, and firmly grasped Claire’s forearms to both regain his balance and prevent her from falling. They did a few steps of what must have looked like a ridiculous dance shuffle until both recovered and stood upright.

Claire hurriedly began to apologize, as did the tall, muscular cowboy. As she looked up at the man, she suddenly recognized him as that cowboy from the opposing team’s stands: “Cowboy from Borger!” she mentally exclaimed.

“Uhh,” she fumbled. “The Borger girl is your daughter? Is she ok?”

“Yes,” he replied, “She’s going to be fine. And no, she’s not my daughter, she’s my niece.”

“Ohh,” Claire mustered, both surprised and joyful to hear that he was not the girl’s father. “I’m so glad she’s doing ok, she took a hard hit.”

“Yeah, but she’s a tough kid. Uh, you’re the Flatland coach right?” “Cowboy” continued.

“Right. Sorry for the clumsy introduction. It’s Claire actually, Claire Williams.” she said, offering her hand.

He extended his huge, work roughened hand and took hers pleasantly, their hands clasped as he made his introductions.

“Sean Burnett. Nice to meet you Claire.”

Their handshake extended to the point of awkwardness while silence filled their ears and their eyes remained locked. A voice beside them broke the tension, and Claire willed her eyes to break the gaze of his beautiful, ocean turquoise eyes as she felt Sean almost reluctantly release her hand. It was the Borger coach, holding out a cell phone.

“Claire, it’s your athletic director. He wants to talk to you.” she said.

“Oh, thanks.” Claire muttered.

After a few minutes Claire hung up and returned the borrowed cell phone. The A.D. had told her that the team bus was already headed home, and Claire was expected to use the school’s credit card for a taxi to the Amarillo airport, and take the redeye flight that had been booked for her. She was due in Lubbock the next afternoon to sit on the bench for a varsity game.

Claire walked to the emergency room waiting area, and saw that Sean was the only one there. He was exactly as she had remembered from seeing him at a distance more than two months prior: massive and solid. Standing almost 6’6” and pushing 250 pounds, he was more of a man than most. Even the color of his pale lavender shirt failed to make him seem less imposing. His Cinch jeans were heavily pressed and likely triple starched. They hugged his waist and rear perfectly, but were loose down to his clean Anderson Bean boots. Sean’s thick waves of almost black hair fell just above his heavy brows, and his nose was straight and perfectly proportioned. His mouth was wide with full, pink lips that hid his flawless white teeth. Even without smiling she could see where the dimples sat in his cheeks. His long, defined jaw was unshaven, adding an even more rugged appeal to his strong cowboy persona.

Without the hat to shade his eyes, Claire had seen that his eyes were not only exquisite, but warm, reflective, and seemingly full of understanding. “How could I see so much in a stranger’s eyes?” she questioned. But there had definitely been something unique about their first formal meeting. With their eyes and hands locked, Claire had felt something jump inside of her. She was unable to explain the feeling though. Was it just nervousness of meeting a crush? Or was it a spark, a flicker of instant attraction between them?