Beckett, pursed his lips. “I was not aware of that.”
“The high school has one, but that’s a few years away. Some fellow students and I thought it would be a good opportunity to start a middle school team so, by the time we get to high school, we already know the basics and can focus more on competition and fine tuning our tactics.”
Ellery returned with heavy tumblers of ice and soda.
“Thank you, Ellery,” Evan said politely.
She grinned, a dark burgundy lipstick smile. “You’re quite welcome.” She left them again and closed the doors, wiggling her eyebrows at Beckett.
“So, you want to start a middle school debate team,” Beckett recapped.
Evan nodded. “Yeah.”
“And there’s something standing in your way?”
“Just one small obstacle. We need an advisor.”
“And your teachers …”
“Already have their activities. And if we don’t find an outside advisor now, we’ll have to wait until the next school year.”
“I see.”
“So, I thought, given your background on the high school debate team and your current prof —”
“How do you know I was on the debate team?” Beckett asked.
“Carter let me look through his old year books. You were president of the Debate Club.”
He’d also been team captain of the cross-country team, but of course Carter wouldn’t have pointed that out to the kid.
“So you’re looking for an advisor.”
“It would only be an hour of your time a week, after school.” Evan leaned in. “You could give us pointers and help us get ready for some events in the spring.”
“And you want me because everyone else said no?”
Evan shook his head earnestly. “You’re the only one we’ve asked. We want the best.”
How the hell was he supposed to say no to that? Beckett wondered.
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “An hour a week?”
Evan nodded. “On Wednesdays. I checked with the library and they have meeting space we can use.”
“How many of you are there?”
“Seven. Eight if you count Oceana, but she’s at some wool-spinning workshop for two weeks after Thanksgiving.”
He slid a piece of paper across the desk. “These are the competitions we want to enter in the spring so we need to be good by then.”
Beckett picked it up and studied the list. “Okay.”
“Okay you’ll do it, or okay you’ll think about it?”
“Okay, I’ll do it,” Beckett clarified.
“Cool,” Evan nodded as if he’d expected the yes. “Meetings start the week after Thanksgiving at the library.” He stood up and extended his hand to Beckett.
Beckett rose and shook the boy’s hand.
“You won’t regret it,” Evan said confidently.
“We’ll see about that.”
“Thanks, Beckett. See ya around,” Evan said, draining his glass before he left.
Beckett sat in his chair feeling slightly manipulated and not the least bit upset about it. He saw Evan close the sunroom door behind him on the porch and break into a victory dance.
Nope, Beckett wasn’t the least bit upset about it.
He called Ellery’s desk. “Can you set a reminder for me to call the middle school principal about this debate team thing?”
“Already on your calendar.”
Beckett answered the evening knock on his front door with a beer in one hand and his phone in the other. Gianna had regretfully turned him down for dinner tonight in favor of getting some magazine work done for Summer. So he’d settled for a sexy text exchange while he caught part of the basketball game on TV.
His brothers ranged themselves in the doorway.
“Haven’t seen you in a while,” Carter said, pushing past him into the house.
Jax followed suit, slugging Beckett in the shoulder on his way through the door.
“Got any more of those?” Carter asked over his shoulder, pointing at the beer.
“Fridge.” He followed his brothers down the hall to the kitchen. It had been a while since he’d seen them.
“Don’t get your beard hair on any of my food,” he warned Carter as his brother started to dig through his fridge.
Carter pulled out two beers and handed one to Jax. He stroked a hand through his thick beard. “Sounds like jealousy to me, Jax.”
Familiar with the game, Jax grinned. “Sounds like it. I bet Beckett couldn’t grow more than a sad, scraggly patch or two in a week.”
“What brings you esteemed gentlemen to my kitchen, besides insulting my face?” Beckett asked, letting his gaze skim between them and through the back window. Lights were on all over Gianna’s house.
“He’s got it bad,” Jax sighed, sliding to the left to block Beckett’s view of the window.
“Who’s got what bad?” Beckett asked, playing it cool.
Carter pulled out his phone, skimmed a thumb over the screen.
“Becket Pierce sends flowers, buys car seat, seen smiling in grocery produce aisle,” he read.
“I like grapefruit. They were on special.”
Jax snorted.
“You two didn’t come all the way over here to talk about me and Gianna, did you?”
Carter and Jax shared a look.