Free Counting on Starlight by Lynette Sowell Page A

trotted over to where Aunt Chin Mae’s golden bean was parked. Footsteps followed her. She didn’t need to turn around to know they were Jake’s.
    “Are you okay?” He put one hand on the car’s roof.
    “I’m okay.” She tugged the flag from the car window then reached inside to pull out the saber and rifle. “Really, I am.”
    “I wanted to make sure.”
    “It’s probably best we pretend the whole thing never happened.” She hugged the equipment to her chest. “We’ve got a busy fall ahead of us, and truthfully, neither of us knows what lies ahead. I prayed about coming here and thought every door opened. But it seems nothing’s turned out like I thought it would.”
    Jake dug his toe in the dirt, turning over a rock. “I know. Life has a way of doing that. I thought I would have moved away from here sooner. Then Billy was injured in Iraq—nearly died. I stayed around to help when he came home. Then my dad got sick. Then Mom and Dad moved to Colorado because of his heart. I thought it would be easy to keep an eye on Maddie. She’s a good kid. But I feel like I’ve been on hold here, waiting on everyone else. Doing the right thing.”
    “I know God will honor you for that. The right opportunity will come up for you, I’m sure. Like Kansas Tech.” Now she understood his sense of urgency. “I imagine it seems like everyone else is moving on with their lives except you.”
    He shrugged. “Maybe. I know God does things in His time. Not sure what that means sometimes. Just when I think I’ll have my chance, I hit another roadblock.”
    “I’m sorry. It must be hard.” She started walking back toward the porch, minding the uneven ground.
    “I pray and push through.” He gave her half a grin as they reached the others.
    Maddie stood in the yard, facing the porch. “Okay, y’all. I can’t wait to show you what I’ve been learning. I have a lot to work on, but it’s been fun.”
    “I’m glad you think so,” Liann said as she stepped up next to Maddie. She laid the rifle and saber a safe distance away on the ground. “Let’s start from the beginning. We’ll go straight through from ‘Belle’ to ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ and then if you’re game, I’ll show you ‘The Battle Scene.’ We haven’t gone over that in class yet, because it features the rifles and sabers.”
    Maddie started the music, and she and Liann started the first movement while Billy, Justine, and Jake watched from the porch. Liann kept an eye on Maddie, who only dropped the flag once during the peppy number.              
    “Good job!” Liann said, and Maddie glowed. The music transitioned to the slower song, a good chance for them to catch their breath and do some of the pretty flag work. At the crescendo, Maddie sent the flag arcing high above her, as did Liann.
    Then Maddie missed the flag and it hit the ground, pole end first. The flag flipped end over end and lay in the grass. Maddie glared at it, and Liann  punched the Off button on the CD player.
    “I’ll never get this.” Maddie  stamped her foot on the grass.
    “Don’t worry about it, sweetie,” Justine called out from the porch. “Liann is here to help you. Besides, what I saw was really pretty.”
    “That’s right,” Liann said. “Tell you what. Let’s turn the music off and do some drills. You all might find this a little boring, since there’s no choreography and no music. Just giving you a warning.” She smiled at the audience on the porch.
    Maddie stomped over to get her flag. “Okay, I’ll try.”
    “That’s the spirit,” said Jake. He nodded at Liann. She was glad he knew the importance of pushing kids when they didn’t think they were good. So often people gave up before their big breakthrough.
    The realization hit her, even now. No, she wouldn’t give up on Starlight. She’d see the fall season through, for the girls. Especially Maddie. Then, she’d see what came her way in the spring, after the football and