Sweet Blessings (Love Inspired) by Jillian Hart Page A

Four
    W hat a perfectly horrible man! She was still fuming many hours later as she trudged across the school’s back field that had been divided into over a dozen peewee soccer zones. Kids were everywhere, with their parents and siblings streaming from the jammed parking lot. She’d left her reliable sedan parked beside the city street because she knew there was no way she’d find a spot close coming so late.
    Half of the games were in progress. Kids played in groups of six, their primary-colored shirts and shorts bright in the noon sun. Whistles shrieked over the sounds of coaches’ orders rising above the children’s voices.
    A dog barked as he ran from one field to the other, happily evading the grade schooler who ran after him. “Rufus! Rufus, get back here!”
    It was little Allie McKaslin. Her cousin Karen’skid was the same age as her Westin. She wore the red-and-white uniform of the team the diner sponsored. With her fine blond hair flying, she managed to snatch the leash, halting the big golden retriever. Apparently, the match hadn’t started yet.
    â€œHey, Allie!” Amy called to the little girl, circling around a game in progress, hurrying past the orange cones serving as goal posts. “Where’s the rest of your team?”
    â€œOh, hi, Amy!” The blond little sweetheart laughed as the dog gave her a lick across her face. “It’s way, way over there.”
    â€œWant to come over with me?”
    â€œYeah!”
    Girl and dog fell in beside her, the dog swinging at the end of the leash trying to sniff everything and Allie hopping along as if she were playing hopscotch.
    All that energy. Amy sure could use some of that right now. The ice chest was unbelievably heavy—hadn’t she vowed last week not to bring so much stuff? She glanced at the spectators lined up a few feet beyond the foul lines. She saw familiar faces, but it took her a while to spot her family.
    Once she did, it was hard to believe anyone could miss the crowd of McKaslins. Her sisters and cousins were settled into folding canvas chairs, talking, laughing and shouting encouragement at the soccer players as they warmed up. Vaguely she was awareof Allie handing the dog’s leash to someone else and a chorus of greetings, but her gaze shot straight to her son.
    Her little Westin looked handsome in his red shirt and matching shorts and sleek dark suntan. He’d been watching for her, as always, and gave her a quick wave. She sent one back his way, waggling her fingers and losing her grip on the corner of the cooler.
    â€œWhew, I got that just in time.” Rachel came to the rescue, rising smoothly from the nearby chair, and they lowered the chest in unison. “It weighs a ton. What did you put in there? Anything good?”
    â€œOpen it and see.”
    She heard the short blast of the coach’s whistle, one of the high-school girls on the local team, and looked up just in time to see Westin charge the ball. He stumbled but managed to recover. He drew back his foot and sent the ball limping through the orange cones.
    Amy whistled. Rachel shouted. The extended family clapped and hooted. Amy’s heart melted as her little boy held up his fists in victory.
    Linna, the coach, stopped it with the ball of her foot. “All right, Westin! Good job.”
    Amy warmed inside as Westin beamed. They’d worked so hard this past week on that kick. She was so proud of him. He looked more confident as he shot her a winning smile before joining the other children in line, waiting their turns with the ball.
    â€œWow, he’s gotten that kick down good.” Rachelsnapped open the cooler. “What do you have in here—ooh, my very favorite. You shouldn’t have.”
    â€œI couldn’t resist.” It was pleasure to watch the happiness light her sister’s face as she dried off the strawberry soda can on her sweatshirt and popped the top. She owed Rachel