Northern Lights by Cathy Parker

Author:Cathy Parker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2019-04-29T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13

WELCOME TO JACKSONVILLE

That’s Brian!

I recognized the assistant coach as soon as I saw him exiting the terminal at the Jacksonville airport. When I had asked Brian for his shirt size ahead of the trip, he’d said, “I’m a big boy—order me that triple XL” in a soft, gentle voice that belied his shirt size.

Carl and I walked toward Brian, and the big ol’ teddy bear of a man introduced himself with a bear hug. Brian was arriving a few days ahead of the others, and it seemed fitting that he would be the first face I could put with one of the voices I had spoken with over the phone.

Trent and Susan had told me how well respected Brian was in the school and community, and he’d proved especially helpful in describing the players we would pair with our kids. The details he knew about his players showed he had good relationships with all of them. I had been drawn to Brian over the course of those calls, and on the way to the Jacksonville airport, I’d told Carl, “There’s something about Brian—he’s really special.”

It took just a couple of minutes of talking as the three of us walked the airport corridor and down the stairs to baggage claim for Carl to agree.

Unfortunately, recognizing Brian out of the passengers leaving the terminal proved easier than picking out his extra-large, black suitcase. As the bags started rolling on the baggage carousel, it seemed as though half of the people on Brian’s flight had also traveled with a large, black suitcase. Brian grabbed one off the carousel. I didn’t see any distinguishing marks on the bag.

“Are you sure that’s yours?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said.

We took Brian first to the Halls’ home, because Gary and Laurie had moved all the backpacks and shaving kits from my dining room to their house so they could distribute them as each coach and player arrived. Each backpack had been stuffed with clothes and each shaving kit with toiletry items.

“Wow,” Brian said when he saw the rows of waiting gifts. “This is for us? These people you’ve never met?”

A friend who lived near us had moved out of her home for the week to allow the coaches to stay there together. Carl offered to take Brian to the house, and I gave them specific directions on where my friend said she left her key. Carl and Brian couldn’t locate the key when they got there, so Carl called me. I explained again where the key should be. When my description didn’t match Carl’s description of the home, we figured out they were outside the wrong house.

Brian laughed. “Man, I was going to jump in the shower and relax. Just think what they would have thought when they got home and saw a big black man sprawled out on their sofa.”

After Carl and Brian found the correct home, Brian discovered that he had indeed picked up the wrong suitcase at the airport. He certainly made a grand

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