Chapter 1

THE WHITE FARMHOUSE with colonial blue trim looked pristine and inviting. The yard was manicured and the hedges were trimmed. The barn and equipment shed had fresh coats of barn red rubberized paint. The field was green with growing timothy that would soon be ready for the second cutting. The first cutting of 4,000 bales was in and half the bales were still stacked on a pallet bed east of the barn, ready to be shipped—a silver tarp was tied over the towering layers of hay to keep rain off of them.

Dennis’s girlfriends had helped with the baling and worked hard on stacking, but they were assisted throughout the day by a dozen other farmers who managed the stacking that rose fifteen layers high. It looked impressive—which was the intent.

Dennis watched a real estate service erect the for sale sign out by the road. Then he went into the house and joined his girlfriends and others in finishing the trim paint throughout. Tomorrow, they would come through the house one last time to remove the last vestiges of tape and paper from the walls, then carpet layers would come in on Wednesday. The first official open house for the property was to be Sunday.

Everyone worked quickly and quietly at their sad task. Abe Abernathy had passed in his sleep on June 30th. Lila had moved almost at once to an assisted living facility in County Seat. The crew had spearheaded the full clean-up and conditioning of the property for the sale, hoping to get the widow top dollar for her property. Mid to late summer was a good time for the property to be listed for sale.

Dennis had farmed the property, maintained the equipment, and supervised the painting as part of his summer job, paid for by the combined men’s group from the three churches in town. The women’s group had checked in on the girls who were working to provide meals and cleaning for the Abernathys, so they could stay in their home as long as possible. Just a couple of days before he passed away, Abe and Lila had sat on the front porch, looking out at their home in its pristine condition, holding hands.

The funeral had been in the Lutheran Church and Peg had sung a beautiful anthem.

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood

This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.

They’d accompanied the casket to the cemetery where Abe was laid to rest in a spot where he could see across the schoolyard to his long-time home. And at the graveside, Peg had sung “Amazing Grace.”

They finished their work for the day and headed to their homes to shower and have dinner before they went back to the school for the evening workout. The July temperatures were just too high in the afternoon to hold comfortable workouts, no matter how people dressed. The temperature had hit 90 in mid-afternoon and was still close to 80 degrees.

The first year girls’ softball team had finished their season the first week of July with an eleven and nineteen record. All told, they considered it to be a pretty good season for their first time playing in the high school circuit. The boys were still in competition with baseball, carrying a twenty-two and four record into the substate semi-final the coming weekend. Baseball had always been a positive sport at Bartley, even when the basketball team lost every year.

With the softball diamond empty, workouts were now being held there to get a little farther from the construction site for the new athletic pavilion. Even in the heat, people showed up for the nightly workouts. Not all people came every night. But nightly attendance averaged close to a hundred. It was still considered as having a positive effect on the community, even by those who attended only once a week.

Dennis and his crew of cheerleaders led the exercises to music piped over the loud speaker system at the field. Two things were consistent about the workouts. The cheerleaders had taken the workouts on as part of their responsibility. Two had graduated in May, but five more had joined the group to try out for the team. Janet had shifted into cheerleader mode as soon as the softball season had ended and was treating July as audition month. The other thing that was consistent was the attendance of all Bartley’s serious athletes. If there was an athlete who wanted a place on any team and wasn’t actively engaged in a game at the time, he or she was at the workout.

That included the scandal-ridden boys’ teams. There had been a huge debate among the coaches and on the school board regarding how the boys would be treated for the coming school year. A few hardliners wanted them banned from sports altogether. Others said they’d already suffered enough and had acted nobly in defending their sisters and girlfriends. It was a hotbed of conflict in the town and everyone had an opinion.

Levi Goodman, Si and Janice’s father, had found an unexpected ally in John Armor, who argued that the boys had been put in an impossible position and may have made bad decisions, but were generally innocent. Si had been the only Wolverine actually charged with misdemeanor assault. After Donnie Oswald identified his assailants, all six of the Bulldogs were charged and one faced a felony assault charge if the judge ruled he could be tried as an adult.

Ultimately, the school put all the involved athletes on probationary status, clearing them to participate in school sports, but warning that any infraction of strict guidelines would result in immediate suspension, both from sports and from school. Every one of them participated in the workout every evening, with focus and determination.

Among them was Donnie Oswald, who had been the worst injured Wolverine when he faced six of the Bulldogs by himself. He had started working out with Dennis as soon as he got out of the hospital, though having his arm in a cast and his jaw wired shut affected how well he could do the exercises. Still, he’d made remarkable progress and was determined to return to active participation.

“Are you ready for next week?” Renée Lambert asked Dennis after the workout. The junior high coach and all-round assistant looked exceptionally good in her workout clothes, Dennis thought. Perhaps not as young as Coach Ardith, but still a fine-looking woman. She taught PE and sex ed in the junior high.

“Are we crazy?” he laughed. “I’m just glad you aren’t asking me to do this on my own. With you and Coach Ardith and Coach Pat and Coach Janet all participating, I feel like I might not be completely overwhelmed.”

“This is going to put us way ahead in scoping out the talent for this year’s team,” Ardith said as they walked toward the school. The crew followed close behind. They were among those privileged to use the school locker room and showers because of the work they’d been doing. Not only had they worked with the Abernathys, but they’d managed preparation of the sports fields for fall. Mr. Samuels mowed the baseball and softball diamonds, but he wasn’t the one who’d be maintaining the sports fields and school grounds this fall. The school system was actually hiring a grounds keeper this year. When he wasn’t busy outside the buildings, he would be an assistant janitor inside. Or she. No one knew yet who would be hired.

“And it’s all legal according to the rules, right?” Dennis asked for assurance.

“We’ve checked up one side and down the other,” Ardith said. “The program is based on the same activity of some of the biggest schools in the state. They just don’t have too many Class 2A schools that devote the resources to it.”

“I’m hoping to see some future volleyball players, too,” Pat said. “This month-long girls’ sports camp spans everything. We have nearly fifty girls signed up from grades six through eight. And fifteen new freshmen girls, as well. With our basketball and volleyball teams, we can just about count on controlling the chaos.”

“And the cheerleaders. I’m excited to be a part of it,” Dennis said. “Brenda and I have done a lot of studying this summer on physical training for younger female athletes. We really need to be careful that we don’t put too much stress on young bones and developing bodies.”

“Well, Monday afternoon we’ll see what happens. Have you noticed the eighth grade girls—I mean freshmen now—in your workout sessions? They so much want be like their role models!” Renée said.

“We feel the pressure,” Natalie said as they headed into the locker rooms to shower.

“Set a good example,” Ardith laughed.

“Hello, young women! Welcome to the first Angelines summer sports camp. I’m Coach Dennis and I get to lead you in conditioning and skills training. But don’t go thinking you’re going to be facing some dumb guy all day. If you look around me, you’ll see our returning Angeline varsity volleyball and basketball teams and returning varsity cheerleaders. These are our coaches. They’ve decided to adopt a college form of address and you can call them Coach Ardith for basketball and track. Coach Pat for volleyball. Coach Renee, who many of you already know from PE. And Coach Janet for cheerleading and softball. I’m the student assistant coach for basketball and sports conditioning. And with me is my partner, Coach Brenda, who is interning from DMACC. And our first lesson is to learn the answer to a very important question. Who are we?”

“Angelines!” the combined varsity and coaches shouted. A few of the kids joined.

“Let’s try again. Who are we?” Dennis shouted.

“Angelines!” yelled the girls. Camp was underway.

“I’m exhausted!” Amy said as the crew all collapsed at her house. “Don’t look at me for sex tonight!”

“You must really be exhausted,” Gransy said, coming into the room with bowls of snacks. “Well, I’m available, Dennis,” she added.

“Gransy!” chorused all the girls.