Sugar Crash (3 page)

Darci glanced at her watch, there was just under an hour before it was time to close up. She liked to get the cash-out done quickly so Taylor wasn't home alone too long. Just as she was about to save and send the spreadsheet, the phone rang. She grabbed up the phone and said, "Golden Moon Health, how can I make your day glow?"

"Darci? It's Cam. Coach Cam."

By reflex, her thoughts flew to Taylor and she rechecked her watch. Taylor should be finished soccer practice and be home. "Is everything okay? Is Taylor okay?"

"Taylor? Yeah, she's fine," Cam said. "I'm sorry, Darci, I didn't mean to worry you. Of course she's fine."

"Thank goodness." She relaxed and
 
reached for her bottle of water. "What can I help you with, Cam?"
 

She wasn't blind or stupid and had definitely noticed that Cam spent a little longer talking to her than the other parents. He sought her out to ask her questions or just to talk about the weather. She knew he was interested in her as more than the mother of one of his players, but so far she'd done her best to deflect his advances and keep their relationship friendly. There was nothing wrong with him. Far from it. He was in great shape, handsome enough to make the teenagers giggle, and he always wearing a huge smile. Plus, he was a great guy. Not only was he fantastic with the kids and popular with the adults in town, but he was a successful business man. His sporting goods store was almost an institution in the town of Bayfield. There was no doubt about it, Cam Messner was the most eligible bachelor in town. Darci should have been excited about his interest. Instead of avoiding his advances, she should have been encouraging them. But she wasn't. Not really. Even if she wanted to, which she wasn't sure about, it would be weird if she dated Cam. He was Taylor's coach, and she thought the world of him. Besides, Cam had been the only really strong male role model in Tay's life since her dad died six years earlier. Darci knew she couldn't risk messing that up by going out with him.
 

Up until that moment, they'd danced around the subject, and she'd managed to avoid any direct invitation for a date. But he'd never phoned her before. Let alone at work.
 

"I was hoping that-" Here we go, Darci thought. "- I could talk to you about Taylor."

"I don't think - wait, what?"
 

"Is this a good time?" Darci could hear the confusion in his voice and she almost laughed out loud at her stupidity.

"Sure," she said, struggling to refocus on the conversation. "It's a good time. Go ahead, what's up?"

"It's Taylor."
 

"You just told me everything was okay." Darci took a deep breath and forced herself to stay calm. She didn't want to be one of those moms who got worked up over everything. "Cam, you're scaring me."

"Darci, no, it's nothing," Cam said quickly. "I mean, she's fine and everything. But I am concerned about her. She just doesn't seem like herself lately. I can't put my finger on anything specifically, but she's just not giving it her all lately. Taylor always gives me a hundred and ten percent, but for the last few weeks she's dragging a bit and the-"

"Wait. Slow down." Darci held up her hand, despite the fact that he couldn't see. Monica and the customer were moving towards her to the till, so she took the cordless phone and snuck to the back of the store. "Taylor played fine the other night. You didn't say anything."

"No, I didn't." Cam was quiet for a second, and Darci knew she wasn't going to like what he had to say. "There's more."
 

"Tell me."
 

"I'm only calling because I'm worried," he said. "I wasn't going to say anything at all, and just see if things sorted out on their own, I mean I know girls can go through rough times and this can be a tough age and -"

"Cam, you're rambling. Just tell me."

"She's been giving me attitude."

There was a silence and Darci waited for him to elaborate. When he didn't, she said, "Taylor doesn't give attitude." Sure, Taylor had been a little lippy with her in the last few weeks, but that was just mother daughter stuff. Generally, Taylor was a very polite kid. It was a item of pride for Darci. Everyone complimented her on what a great girl she had. She would never give an adult attitude, especially not Coach Cam. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"Darci, I coach a team full of twelve and thirteen year old girls, I know attitude when it's given to me."

"But Taylor?"

"I know," he said. "So you can see why I'm a bit concerned, right?"

Darci nodded, her mind reeling. Was something going on with Taylor at school? Was she getting mixed up in something she shouldn't? Surely she was too young for boys.

"Darci?"
 

"Yeah, sorry. I'm here. I was just thinking." She turned and started straightening bottles of herbal shampoo on the shelf.
 

"It's probably nothing," Cam said. "I shouldn't have said anything."

"No. I'm glad you did," she said. "You know, she's probably just run down. I think she's coming down with something. There's a flu going around, maybe that's it?" Darci looked around the store. "I'll grab her some vitamins before I come home, that should perk her up."
 

"I'm sure it will. Thanks, and I'm really sorry to bother you at work." His voice dipped, and Darci felt what might be butterflies in her stomach. "So, you'll be at the game tomorrow?" he asked.

"Of course."

"Great, maybe we could talk after?"
 

Darci smiled, and she could feel it through her whole body. "Maybe we could."
 

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By the time she'd hung up with Cam, Monica had finished with the customer and was already doing the final cash-out for the day. Darci quickly grabbed some vitamins and a natural sports drink mix that would help give Taylor get her energy back and had Monica ring them in before tossing them into her bag.
 

"I'll close up," Darci said. "You don't have to do that." She moved to finish up at the till. "It's my responsibility."

"No way. I got this one." Monica waved her away and continued the closing procedures. Darci backed away and watched, but couldn't help wondering what Monica was up to. As soon as the thought popped into her head, she felt bad. Just because Monica was trying to help out and do something out of the ordinary, didn't mean she was up to anything. She was probably just trying to be nice. Or, more likely, get a raise.

"I don't know, Monica," she said.
 

"I'm serious, go home." Monica turned around, putting herself between Darci and the till. "It's Friday night. Don't you have some hot plans?"

Darci snorted out a laugh that she quickly stifled. "Um, no. Well, unless you count watching a movie with Taylor. She's got a big game tomorrow, so I'm sure we'll just veg on the couch."

"Wow." Monica rolled her eyes. "Sounds thrilling. Well, at any rate, I can handle this. You run home to your exciting night."

"Thanks." Darci smiled, deciding to accept Monica's generous, albeit out of character offer, and grabbed her tote bag. "I appreciate it. And make fun all you want," Darci said, "but sometimes there's nothing better than putting your jammies on, making a big bowl of popcorn and flopping out on the couch."
 

She walked to the door and flipped the closed sign into place. Darci was looking forward to her relaxing night. Even though she loved her job, the work week could be long and it was nice to spend time with Taylor. A little time together would be good. Maybe she could figure out what was going on with her. If she was giving Cam attitude, maybe there was something bigger Tay needed to talk about.

"I'll take your word for it," Monica called from the desk, "have a good one."
 

"You too. Don't work too hard." They both laughed at the idea and Darci decided that Monica was just trying to be nice. Wasn't Taylor always telling her not to be so suspicious of people who were trying to help? "Thanks again, Monica," Darci said. She pushed her way out the door and decided to bring Monica an extra large iced coffee on Monday as a thank you.

CHAPTER FOUR

The house was dark when Darci pulled into the drive. Strange, because usually, with absolutely no regard for the electricity bill, Taylor had every light blazing.
 

"Tay?" Darci called when she opened the front door. Maybe she'd gone to Abby's house after practice? Normally she'd call and let her know first, but it wouldn't be the first time Taylor had forgotten.
 

Darci made her way through the small living room, turning on lights as she went. She sighed when she saw Taylor's clean laundry, still in a heap, on the couch. In an effort to get her daughter to help out more, Taylor had agreed to take care of her clothing. Of course, that meant they had very different ideas on how it should be done.
 

"Taylor?" she called again. She walked past the pile, trying her best to ignore it and tripped over Taylor's backpack laying in the middle of the hall. Darci cursed under her breath. But at least she knew Tay was home. "How many times have I told you to hang up your bag?" Darci yelled. "You do realize that's what that hook is for, right?"
 

Darci picked up the bag and went down the hall to Taylor's room. She expected to find her daughter either with her head in a book or with her headphones plugged into her ears, listening to whatever pop group was currently cool.
 

But Taylor's room was dark except for the glow of her bedside lamp. Her daughter, still wearing her soccer clothes, was curled up around her stuffed bear, fast asleep.

Coach Cam must be right, Darci thought. She's just worn down. "Taylor?" Darci rubbed her arm gently. "Sweetie, wake up. We need to have some dinner."

Taylor's eyelids fluttered and she looked up at her mom. "I'm not hungry." Her eyes closed and she pulled her bear closer.
 

"You must be starving, Tay. You just had practice." Darci rubbed a little harder, trying to rouse her. "Plus, you have a big game tomorrow, you need to fuel."
 

Darci picked her way through the clutter on the floor to the dresser. She couldn't be sure, but so much mess created by one girl couldn't be normal. But then again, her own mother might disagree. Darci scooped up a pile of shredded paper and tossed it in the trash bin. At least Taylor came by it honestly. Despite her messiness, Darci had managed to grow into a responsible and tidy adult, maybe there was still hope for her daughter.
 

Darci smiled and picked up the framed photo that Taylor kept on her shelf. It was Darci's favorite picture, taken right before Ryan's accident. It was the day they'd moved into the house and they all posed on the front steps. The house was small but cozy and most importantly, it was theirs, and Ryan couldn't have been prouder of it. Darci remembered the way he'd propped up the camera on a lawn chair, set the timer and ran, diving into the shot right at the last minute. They'd never been happier as a family. Taylor loved her new room and couldn't wait to start school. Ryan had been excited and optimistic about his recent promotion, and she'd just been so full of love for her family that everything was right with the world.
 

Five months later, Ryan was dead. Hit by a drunk driver coming home from the grocery store after Darci had begged him to go out and get ice cream. For a few years, she'd simply been in survival mode doing everything she could to put the pieces of their life back together. Darci promised herself that Taylor would never want for anything, and she hadn't. All by herself, Darci managed to hold it together and it was only in the last year or two that the two of them were starting to break free of the dark cloud that had hung over them.

She put the picture back and turned around. Taylor was still snuggled in her bed. She hadn't moved.
 

"Tay, I'm serious," Darci said. "You need to eat."

"Not hungry."
 

Darci stepped over the toppled laundry hamper and sat on the edge of the bed next to her daughter. "Are you feeling alright?" She placed the back of her hand against Taylor's forehead. She didn't feel warm. "Coach Cam must have put you through a tough practice today, but I got you some vitamins at the store. They'll help you get your energy up." She shook Taylor, a little stronger this time. "And I picked up this new, all natural energy drink. It's supposed to be really good for kids. It has all the nutrients you need and none of that other stuff. Do you want to try some tonight?"

"Mom." Taylor pushed Darci's hands away and struggled to a sitting position. "I told you, I'm fine. Just let me sleep."

Darci swallowed hard. She forced a smile she didn't feel to her face and said, "How about after we eat, we put our jammies on and order a pay-per-view movie?"

Taylor raised her eyebrows. Darci never ordered the pay-per-view movies. She always told Taylor that it was ridiculous to spend almost eight dollars on a movie that they could get for two dollars if they waited a few months when it came to the local video store. "Wasn't there one that you wanted to see?"
 

"The new Twilight?"
 

It was Darci's turn to raise her eyebrows. "I don't know, I haven't seen it yet."

"Come on, Mom. Abby and Jennica saw it in the theatre and Mrs. Turnbull is way strict. I'm the only one who hasn't seen it." Taylor sat up straight, putting energy behind her argument. "It's just a movie."

Darci took a moment, let out a deep breath and smiled. "Okay," she said.
 

"Thank you, Mom," Taylor squealed, and threw her arms around her mother. The burst of energy from her daughter was worth giving in. Plus, even if she didn't admit it, Darci secretly wanted to see the movie too.
 

"But first," she said. "You have to eat something."

###

Dinner didn't take long, especially because Taylor only picked at her food and moved it around on her plate. Darci did her best not to comment on it. She couldn't control what was going in her daughter's mouth, and she knew enough to know that if she pushed too hard, it would become a battle of wills.