Page 54 of The Way We Win

My daughter runs to where I’m walking up to them, and I scoop her onto my hip.

“You won the game!” She pumps her little fist before putting it on my shoulder. “But Aussie got hurt.”

“He’s going to be okay.” I continue walking to his mother, directing my answer to her. “It’s a bad sprain, but I told him to rest it. We’ll check him out and see if he can play next week.”

“Okay.” Her voice is quiet, and my chest squeezes.

I want to pull her to me and kiss that worried look off her face. Instead, I have to deal with a voice I don’t want to hear.

“You made the right call, Coach.” George Powell walks up to where we’re standing. “Levi won that game for you tonight. You can’t argue with the facts.”

My eyes are still on Allie’s, and a little smile lifts her lips before she turns away.

Logan is at my side, and I exhale, turning to confront this man. “He did a great job. He’s a talented kid.”

“He’s your starting quarterback. Keep putting him in, and you’ll win every game.”

“We need to keep working on our D-line to win every game.” I give him a firm smile. “The boys will play when and where I tell them.”

George holds up both hands, stepping back. “You’re the coach.”

“Yes, he is.” Logan’s tone is sharper than I’ve ever heard it.

I’m not interested in fighting, and I’m not about to give this parent more oxygen than he deserves. “Thanks for coming out and supporting the team.”

What I really want is to figure out a way to shake this crowd and find some alone time with my star player’s mother—rumor mill be damned.

13

Allie

The Friday night crowd at Cooters & Shooters isn’t as big as Dare Night, but it’s crowded with the parents and friends of players, dropping by to have a drink, celebrate, and wind down after the first big win.

Austin’s with his friends, and now that he’s almost eighteen, I only ask him to be safe and not to do anything that will put Sheriff Grizz in the position of having to arrest him.

The truth is, he’s a good kid—more responsible than I was at that age, considering I was pregnant with him at eighteen.

We’ve reached the point in our relationship where I try to give him advice and hope he follows it. And I do a lot of praying.

I also make sure he has all the supplies and knowledge he needs to practice safe sex.

Yes, that means I buy my son condoms.

Some parents might frown at that, but I’ve found it’s better to be honest and proactive about these things than to pretend it doesn’t happen. Not talking about sex is the best way I know to wind up with an unplanned, teenage pregnancy.

“The drill team sounded so exciting tonight!”Miss Gina walks up to where I’ve just cracked open three Corona longnecks for Liv, Dylan, and me. “It was all I could do not to stand up and dance right along with them.”

She’s holding Rachel’s arm as she does a little steppy-jig.

“We might have to put you on the team.” Dylan laughs, giving the old lady a hug.

I reach for another beer. “Would you like a Corona, Miss G?”

“Oh!” She laughs, her blind eyes drifting over my head to the fans slowly spinning. “I can’t remember the last time I had a beer.”

“Sounds like a yes to me.” I pop open another longneck. “Lime?”

“Do you think it’s safe, Rachel?”

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