Page 61 of Tangled with the Tight End

“Really?”

“Yeah. I have something almost every day.”

“So you come here and then you go around Waterford babysitting goats and dressing like a clown?”

“Basically.”

She looks down into her lap.

“Hey,” I say.

She looks up, meeting my eyes.

“I think that’s pretty resourceful. And I don’t know many people who could pull it off.”

“Literally anybody could pull this off,” she says.

“I couldn’t,” I admit.

“Riiiight,” she says, her tone filled with disbelief.

“No. I’m serious. I’m a one-lane guy. I play ball—very well. But I wouldn’t know the first thing about babysitting a goat.”

She chuckles softly. “Well, I can’t say I’m an expert at this point. The goat definitely won that day.”

“Winona for Hire,” I say, looking her in the eyes.

“Don’t get any crazy ideas.”

“I’m not. I’m just thinking.”

“Well, stop thinking.” She stands. “Do you need anything else, besides my dignity on a platter?”

“You didn’t leave your dignity anywhere. I’ve got mad respect for your entrepreneurial spirit.”

“Mad respect, huh?” she tucks a piece of her blonde hair behind her ear.

“Yep. Mad respect.”

“Okay. Well, if you don’t need anything else, I’ll leave you to watch the game. And I'll see you tomorrow for the big day.”

“Big day?”

“You get your cast.” She looks elated on my behalf.

“Oh yeah. The big day. Right.”

“I’ll be here to take you to the practice facility after lunch,” she says.

I look around, hunting for a reason to ask her to stay. But she’s already spent her morning dressed as a clown. She probably has plenty to do.

“Thanks for dropping by when you didn’t even have to.”

“You’re welcome.” She pauses as if she might not go, but then she says, “See you tomorrow,” and walks out.

Just as she promised, Winona pulls into my driveway right after lunch. I’m on my crutches for our trip to the practice facility.

Winona hops out of her car, a big smile on her face.