“There are two words for it: drunk and mean.” He looked into the distance. “You know, last year the booster club actually let that asshole host the Fall Kickoff Barbecue here. They held it right out there—picnic tables, balloons, the works. What a scene that turned out to be.”

“Why, what happened?”

“I’m guessing Thedford had been drinking more than just the lemonade because something set him off good just as the party hit full swing. He started stumbling around, cussing a blue streak, up-ending tables. Brisket, beans, and potato salad flew everywhere.” Cole chuckled at the memory, then his face turned serious again. “I can still remember the look on Willard’s face as he watched his father fly off the handle.”

“Was he angry?”

“No. He was embarrassed.”

“Did you know Willard well?”

Cole shook his head. “Seemed like a good guy, though. He was a damn reliable defenseman in the backfield, I can tell you that.” He paused. “I’ll never forget one conversation we had, though.”

“What about?”

He picked up a twig and began to trace circles through the dirt. “Sophomore year. Late in the fourth quarter, final game of the season … Willard made a rare mistake, missing a coverage assignment that gave the other team a game-winning touchdown. No one put up much of a fuss over it; we were far below five hundred on the season anyway. The playoffs were a pipe dream. Anyway, the next morning Willard came to school with a purple shiner on his left eye. He claimed that he got it slipping down the stairs. I knew that was bullshit and told him so. To this day, I don’t know why I said it.”

“And?”

He tossed the twig away. “Well, all I can say is that at least my dad was a lazy drunk who pretty much left me the hell alone. I think Willard’s old man is the other kind.”

“Drunk and mean?”

He nodded. “Let’s just say I don’t feel too bad about knocking him out, even if it was from behind.”

“I gotta admit I’m glad you did it.”

Cole’s eyes fell to the ground. “After the pep rally Friday, Willard was there for me. He was there in the parking lot with O’Dell and they both tried to help me, to talk sense into me … and I didn’t listen. I blew them off. Just like I’d blown them off for the past four years.”

“It’s in the past now, Cole. You can’t change it.”

“Yeah … well. I guess I wish now that I had gotten to know Willard better. Hell, I wish I’d gotten to know them all better.”

A horse cried a shrill whinny inside the barn. Savannah felt hooves stomping through the wall.