Chapter 330: Familia

Tuesday, January 31st, Evening

From her spot in the stands, Kelly looked down on the bench. Her niece Brett sat with her two friends watching the bench players play the second quarter. The body language Brett put off showed she wanted to be playing and not on the bench.

Kelly felt for Brett when she played soccer or basketball; she hated sitting on the bench. After a minute, she looked out onto the court and watched what the players were doing. Defensive, Coach Scott was working on seasoning his inexperienced players on defense. Having a significant lead allowed him to do that. Kelly just wondered why so soon.

"Momma," Phelan said from next to her.

"Yes, Phelan," Kelly said.

"Why isn't Brett playing?" Phelan asked.

"They're giving her a rest," Kelly said.

"Why?" Phelan asked.

"They think she needs it," Kelly said.

"Okay," Phelan said.

Phelan, you're not the only one asking that question. The stands are filled with people also wondering what's going on. Not knowing what was going on with the coaches, but they had a plan. A weird plan, but it's a plan. Kelly learned a while ago to trust Coach Scott; his hair-brained schemes usually ended working out in the end.

The game slowed down considerably. Tree Hill went to the slow, methodical offense to use up the clock, both the shot and game clock. On defense, they locked them down and made them either make mistakes or burn down the shot clock to take bad shots. It didn't make the quarter fun to watch.

"This is boring," Liv said.

"Yeah, mom, this is boring," Phelan said, "What are they doing?"

"Killing the clock," Kelly said.

"Why?" Phelan asked.

"They have a big lead and don't want to run up the score," Kelly said.

Phelan scratched his head. "That doesn't make sense," he said.

"It does when you understand the game," Kelly said.

"Does it make sense to you, Mom?" Phelan asked.

"A little," Kelly said.

Liv huffed, "I'm bored," she said.

Andrew looked over to Kelly, "I can take her out to The Commons to run around," he said.

Andrew nodded and looked at his daughter. "Liv, do you want to go out into The Commons?" Andrew asked.

Liv nodded, "Yes, Daddy," she said.

Andrew looked over to Phelan. "Do you want to come too, Phelan?" he asked.

Phelan nodded, "Yes, Daddy," he said.

"Kell, we're heading out to The Commons; we'll be back for the second half," Andrew said.

"Okay, have fun," Kelly said.

Andrew headed away with Liv and Phelan. Kelly watched as they walked down the bleachers. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Kelly felt the presence of someone taking a seat next to her on the bleachers; Kelly opened her eyes and looked to see Willa Taylor sitting next to her.

"Hello, Willa," Kelly said.

"Kell, how things going?" Willa asked.

"It goes, the estates keep me busy," Kelly said.

"That reminds me, my dad told me we have to go up somewhere on your land," Willa said.

"The cemetery?" Kelly asked.

"Yes," Willa said.

"He never showed interest in the cemetery," Kelly said.

"Someone contacted him about visiting the cemetery and doing research on their family," Willa said.

Kelly nodded, "Well, I don't handle that sort of thing; Huck handles it," she said.

"Why does he handle it?" Willa asked.

"The cemetery has been considered part of the grounds, and it falls to Huck. He personally takes care of the cemetery," Kelly said.

"Okay, I'll let my dad know who to get in touch with," Willa said.

"No problem," Kelly said.

"So, who was the girl that brought out your flowers?" Willa asked.

"Oh her," Kelly said and shrugged.

"Yeah, her," Willa said.

"What about her?" Kelly asked.

"Who is she?" Willa asked.

"Raegan Sheridan," Kelly said.

"Who the hell is that?" Willa asked.

"A cheerleader, whose grandma owns the Fire and Ice Café," Kelly said.

"Okay, so what's with the tension between you and her?" Willa asked.

"That's a complicated story," Kelly said.

"It's Tree Hill; everything is complicated. I grew up here; I can handle it," Willa said.

"There's some issues between the families," Kelly said.

"Oh, so it's an issue in your family," Willa said.

"Why would you say that?" Kelly asked.

"I noticed you and her have the same hair color," Willa said.

"So, we're both redheads," Kelly said.

"So, you're family," Willa said.

"Not all redheads are related," Kelly said.

"All the redheads I know are related. You and that cheerleader happen to have the same shade of hair," Willa said.

"Don't believe everything you see," Kelly said.

"Your body language is telling me something different," Willa said.

"What do you want to know?" Kelly asked.

"The truth, Kelly, and not your version of the truth," Willa said.

"Because I happen to have the same hair color of some cheerleader?" Kelly asked.

"The body language was what grabbed my attention," Willa said.

"Well, it's not the best-kept secret, but she's sort of a Kelly," Kelly said.

"Kelly?" Willa asked.

"My mom's family," Kelly said, "Raegan's grandma was my mom's aunt."

Willa shrugged, "So, that makes Raegan Sheridan?" she asked.

"A cousin," Kelly said.

"What's all the tension is about?" Willa asked.

"Murphy Land," Kelly said.

"Why?" Willa asked.

"My Great Aunt thinks she should've gotten the land over my grandma. The land is passed on by the owner's choice, not by birth," Kelly said.

"It is?" Willa asked.

"How do you think Murphy Land came to me instead of my brother or sister?" Kelly asked.

"I didn't know that," Willa said.

"After my mom died, technically, my dad inherited it because she had no will. My dad extended an olive branch and offered Raegan's Mom a piece of Murphy Land to live on," Kelly said.

Willa nodded, "Did she take the offer?" she asked.

"Yes, but of course, it wasn't enough," Kelly said, "First half is over."

"I see that," Willa said.

"I'm going to check on my kids," Kelly said, stood up, and headed to The Commons.