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night. Overwhelmed and exhausted, Alex’s mom had quickly agreed it would be for the best. After giving her son a hug that left his T-shirt damp from her tears, she’d turned around and walked out.
    Sitting on Coach McDonnell’s front porch, Alex had rolled his eyes as the lecture began. But by the time Coach stopped talking, Alex was too busy swiping at the tears in his eyes to roll them. They’d talked mostly about Alex’s dad and how losing him couldn’t derail his life. And Coach understood how he’d kept himself on the outside as his mother remarried and had more children because he’d felt like the only one who remembered his dad. And now he felt like an outsider and didn’t know how to fix it.
    Alex listened to the older man’s advice and tried out for the football team, and from that day until he graduated, playing defensive tackle for the Stewart Mills Eagles drove him. With a strong mentor, a way to channel his restless energy, and a few teammates who became like brothers to him, he stopped lashing out. He strengthened his relationship with his mother and stepfather, and honored his father’s memory by trying to be a man he’d be proud of.
    It was Mrs. McDonnell who’d first noticed Alex’s favoritething was taking pictures with the ancient camera that had been his dad’s. Alex had fuzzy memories of posing for that camera before the logging accident that made him fatherless, and he had shoeboxes full of the photos his dad had saved.
    It had taken Coach’s wife to help him understand his bond with the camera and those shoeboxes. In capturing images of his wife and son and his town, Alex’s dad was also telling his own story. Alex could see his love for his subjects in the composition, and the connection sparked a passion for photography in his soul. Mrs. McDonnell had helped him turn that passion into his life’s path.
    Alex pushed the memories to the back of his mind as he parked in the driveway and got out, not surprised when Coach met him on the front porch. They exchanged hugs, and then Coach gestured to the rocking chairs. “It’s a nice day. Let’s sit.”
    The creak of the wooden rocker under his weight, in the shade of the farmer’s porch, felt like home to Alex. “It feels really good to be back here.”
    “I was surprised when Kelly told me you were coming back,” Coach said. “I wasn’t sure I’d see you boys again, and then Chase decided to live here, and now you.”
    Chase Sanders, former Eagles running back, had made his decision because he fell in love with the coach’s daughter, and once he tied up all his business in New Jersey, he’d move to Stewart Mills for good. “For a little while, anyway. But when I do leave, I won’t go another fourteen years without visiting.”
    “Good. I’ve missed you boys over the years. Thought about you all the time, wondering how you were.”
    Alex accepted the guilt and sense of shame because he’d earned them. “I thought about you, too, Coach. I’m sorry so many years passed.”
    “I did my best to help you boys become strong men who could go out and be successful. I feel nothing but pride that you all did that, son. And you were here when I needed you. Can’t ask for more than that.”
    “You have no idea how glad I am that I came. And I’m glad it worked out for the team, too. Tryouts are Saturday, huh?”
    “Yup.” Coach rocked back in his chair and got straight to the point in his usual way. “I’ve met with all the parents and there are a few ground rules for you being around the boys.”
    “Okay.” Alex had expected that. He’d even worked with the school and police department by email before he arrived, giving them the info they needed for their mandatory background check.
    “The parents are going to worry when it comes to what’s said about their kids for possibly the whole world to read, but everybody agrees it’s not practical for you to get every word approved by every parent. So anything to do with