Page 78 of Theirs to Treasure

“I’ll need to talk to your mom, before I can say yes or no, Toby.”

Josie realized it really was a tight-knit community. The more she saw of Fate Harbor, the more she wished she’d been able to raise the twins in such a place.

Before Toby rushed off, he turned to Josie. “Oh yeah, Mr. Booth wanted me to tell you that he was going to be late coming home tonight, Miss Decker, and you weren’t to worry.”

As the boys rushed off to get Toby’s mom, Josie turned to Chance. “It’s hard to wrap my head around our Sam being referred to as ‘Mr. Booth’ and staying so calm when he’s losing a game.”

“Yeah, we forget sometimes that he was in charge of an entire platoon.” Chance stroked his hand down Josie’s hair, and she leaned into the caress.

“How does your son like his coach, Ruth?” Josie asked, turning back to the Neelens.

“I’m sorry, but did I just here you refer to Coach Booth as our Sam?” Ruth asked Josie frostily.

“Ruth—” Chance began, but Josie cut him off.

“Yes, I did, Mrs. Neelens. I’m in a relationship with both Chance and Sam.” Josie didn’t say anything further. She just remained there, eye to eye with Ruth, standing her ground. Josie had known this moment was coming, and she refused to be intimidated, nor was she going to be rude. Finally, Ruth broke the silence.

“I see.” She pulled at her husband’s arm. “Richard, we need to go meet with Toby’s mom.” She led her husband away. When Josie looked up at Chance, she saw hurt and bafflement in his eyes, and she sighed.

“Oh, sweetie, you really weren’t expecting that, were you?” His expression changed from hurt to anger.

“How dare she treat you that way!”

“Chance, she didn’t treat me poorly. As a matter of fact, she was very polite. I respect that. Just because we’re here in Fate Harbor, doesn’t mean everyone is going to approve of our choices.” At that moment, Josie realized Chance had lived a more sheltered life than she and Sam. Hell, she was surprised Ruth hadn’t told them they were all going to hell. The fact that Ruth had expressed her intolerance so politely was a blessing, as far as Josie was concerned.

“Come on, you need to either take me to dinner or fix me something to eat. I’m starved.”

“How can you be starved? We had plenty to eat!” Chance scoffed.

“You had plenty to eat! I was lucky to get that one pretzel. Rooting for Sam’s team gave me an appetite!”

As soon as Sam came through the door that night, Chance told him about the incident with the Neelens. Sam kissed Josie as he headed toward the kitchen to pull out the leftover lasagna from the night before. “What’s the big deal, Chance? It sounds like Ruth was pretty polite,” he said as he put his dinner into the microwave and popped the top off his beer. Josie smothered her grin at Chance’s outraged expression.

“She was a bitch to Josie,” Chance said, handing Sam a napkin as he sat down at the kitchen island.

“No, she wasn’t. She was nice. Hell, Chance, she was nicer than some of the other folks I’ve run into since I began coaching. One father pulled his kid off the team after he found out. Said I was immoral and would tempt his son to sinful ways. Said it right in front of some of the kids on the team.” Sam shook his head sadly.

“Did you hit him?”

“Of course I didn’t hit him. I told you, it was in front of the boys.” Sam frowned. “Instead, I scheduled a parent meeting, wherein I informed them of the facts regarding our lifestyle. Then some of the parents wanted me to answer questions that their boys had asked them. That was kind of awkward, but I think I managed it diplomatically.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Chance demanded.

“Because—I knew you’d react exactly like you are right now. Hell, Chance, what did you expect, that this would be nothing but rainbows and unicorns? We’re lucky we’re doing this in Fate Harbor, where we can do this out in the open. Frankly, I was stunned that they let me coach the team in the first place.” Sam rinsed his dish and put it into the dishwasher.

“Chance, how do you think it was for me, growing up with a white mother and being dark-skinned? How do you think it was raising my two white sisters? There were always a lot of questions. Hell, my own mom said some really nasty things to me growing up. She called me a lot of hateful names.”

“Oh, Zee.” Chance grabbed her into a big hug. “You’re beautiful. You’re wonderful! How could anyone be cruel to you?”

“All I’m saying is that this is nothing new. I went into this with my eyes wide open, and I’m pretty sure Sam did, too.” She looked over at Sam, who was nodding his head. “I’m just sorry that this is hurting you.” She hugged him hard.

“I can handle this, Josie, I just want to wrap you in cotton and protect you.”

“Well you can’t!” She rubbed her cheek against his chest. “But I appreciate the thought. I really am a big girl.”

She saw Chance’s frustration and wished there was something she could do for him, she really did, but this was something that he was going to have to work out on his own. Luckily, she and Sam would be here beside him.

“Still, isn’t there something I could do?” Chance asked again.