Blinded By Destiny

Chapter 12

Colton's POV

Asher looked up at me, eyes shining bright, patiently waiting as I showed him how to position his weight so he could kick the ball back and forth between his feet. I couldn't help but marvel at how small his shoes were lined up next to mine.

My eyes went to Emery who was sitting on the bleachers behind the sidelines, her hands clasped between her knees. She was several yards away but I could feel the warmth from her smile.

"Alright, little man. Remember, you want to hold your feet like this." I bent down to position his feet correctly. "It's important that when you line up to kick that you don't do it with your toes because you could hurt yourself. Instead, I want you to hit the ball with this part of your foot." I tapped his laces where the top bone met his ankle. "This way you will hit it way farther." I waved my hand in the open field to exaggerate the distance.

Asher jumped excitedly with his chubby cheeks stretched wide in a grin.

I moved the ball until it was sitting in front of him. I frowned when I noticed his feet were lined up incorrectly again. I ran my hand through my hair in concern that I wasn't explaining it well enough in a way he could understand.

So many people made the rookie mistake of kicking a soccer ball with their toes. The bones there are too fragile to handle the impact and this often resulted in broken toes. I didn't want Asher to be one of those people. The thought made me sick. Hell, Emery would kill me. I only needed to look into her eyes when she watched her son to know he was her whole world.

I bent down until I was eye-level with Asher to explain again. He nodded approvingly as if I was telling him brand new information. It made me smile.

After a few more attempts of repositioning his feet, I stepped back, feeling more comfortable with allowing him to make contact with the ball.

I shuffled the ball in between the arches of my feet and lightly kicked it towards Asher. His tongue was hanging out of his mouth as he watched it roll toward him, focusing hard in concentration.

He bent his knee the way I taught him and kicked it back to me using the laces on his cleats.

"Yes!" I fist-pumped. I chased after the ball that went just left of where I was standing. "That is what I am talking about," I praised as I trotted over to him, holding my hand out for a high five. His palm met mine with a loud smack that seemed to heighten his excitement. "Nice job Asher. That was a perfect kick."

"Mom!" he yelled, jumping up and down. "Did you see that?"

I turned to see her beaming at him. The horizon of the sun was like a halo at her back. "I did. That was so good."

I was no coach but I couldn't help the pride growing inside of me regarding Asher. He hadn't given up even though we struggled a bit early on. It was a small accomplishment but I felt it was important to show him encouragement as he stayed patient and continued trying.

"Let's do it again!"

I grinned and got back in position, thinking I might turn Asher into a soccer player after all.

The sun had long since risen and the heat had settled in by the time I was ready to take a break.

As for Asher, I wasn't sure Emery was ever going to convince him to leave the soccer field. The sport was alluring once you got a taste of it. It looked like he had a new hobby in his life.

I walked quietly to sit beside Emery as we watched him run across the grass, laughing and screaming as he went. Did kids have an unlimited supply of energy? You'd have no idea that he had been running around for the last few hours.