She nodded. “What do you need?”
“A broom, a trash can, and something large enough to slide under the trash can.” He was already looking around the gym.
Annabeth pulled a ring of keys off her hip. “Broom’s in the janitor’s closet, over there.” She pointed in the direction the rat had run.
“Great.” He chuckled. “Anyone else wearing boots?” he asked.
“Me,” Jim volunteered. “Anyone not wearing boots might as well climb on the tables or get out of the gym. Those bastards bite, and they carry all sorts of bacteria and disease.”
Ryder approved of Jim’s no-nonsense approach. He took Annabeth’s keys and retrieved a broom while Jim found a trash can.
“If we prop open the side door, maybe it’ll run out?” Carol said.
The chances of that happening were slim, but he agreed. “Sure.” Ryder propped open the side door. As luck would have it, there was a trash can right outside. After a few minutes’ search, he located a piece of wood that should work. And that’s when the screaming began.
Ryder ran inside to find the rat running around the room, searching for a way out. Maybe they’d get lucky and the damn thing would run outside.
But just as Irene’s screaming stopped, Cody, another boy and the coach ran into the room and directly into the path of the rat. Ryder ran faster than he’d ever run, swinging that broom with all the strength he had. He hit the rodent, sending it across the room from Cody. But now the damn thing was mad. Jim approached it, holding the trash can at the ready, but the rat stood on its hind legs and charged the man. Jim backed up, startled, but the rat kept coming.
Ryder kicked into gear. “Coach?” He nodded in the direction of the board.
Thankfully the man was sharp. The coach grabbed the board, approaching Jim and the rat from the right while Ryder took the left.
“You ready?” Ryder asked, hoping Jim realized he was holding the trash can.
Jim snapped out of it then, glaring at the aggressive little rodent before nodding.
“On three?” the coach asked.
It worked. The rat was under the trash can and everyone breathed easier.
“How’re we going to get it outside?” the coach asked.
“With this.” Ryder took the wood from the coach. “You hold it? Don’t lift it or let it shift, I don’t care if we do pinch its toes.”
The rat was outside and running across the field in two minutes.
“Should’ve killed it,” the coach muttered under his breath.
“At least it’s not in the building.” Ryder nodded. “Ryder Boone.” He held his hand out.
“Bryan Goebel.” The man shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“Quick on your feet.”
“Wouldn’t be much of a coach if I wasn’t.” The man laughed.
“You okay out here?” Annabeth hurried outside.
“Taken care of,” Bryan said.
“Thank you.” Annabeth’s relief was obvious. “Ryder, I think I will take Cody home now.”
Ryder nodded, thankful. She needed to be avoiding stress, resting when she could. He’d spent a lot of time researching pregnancy the past few days and, according to everything he’d read, the first trimester was a fairly risky time. “See you in a bit. I’ll cook something when I get there.”
She waved, then disappeared inside the building.
“She okay?” Bryan asked.