Page 98 of The One I Want
“Are you in trouble or something?” I joke. “Did someone finally report you for scheduling lifting at five in the morning?”
This makes him laugh. “Nope. And don’t tell anyone this, but I’m not going to miss those.”
“What are you talking about?” If this man ever changes five in the morning lifts, every alumni of Rolling Hills football will come back and riot. At this point, it’s a rite of passage.
“I’m retiring, Wes,” he says. “Put in my paperwork at the beginning of the year. But I kept it quiet. I didn’t want this being my last year taking away from the kids.”
“Wow,” I say, completely in shock. This is the only man who has ever coached at Rolling Hills. Hell, he coached my dad, me,andmy brothers. Even though I know he’s up there in age, I just assumed he’d one day coach Hank. Because no one coaches Rolling Hills football other than John Lockwood.
“I’m actually glad you’re here,” he says. “Because the meeting inside isn’t for my retirement. It’s for my replacement.”
“Why would you be glad I’m here? Do I know who’s going to take it? Who are your candidates?”
He just smiles. “You.”
I open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. Is Coach retiring because he’s slowly losing his mind?
“Me?”
“Yes Wes. You.”
“But I…” I trail off, because I’m still not sure what to say. “Coach, there has to be guys more qualified. Some of your assistants? Oliver? I’ve never coached a day in my life.”
“That’s true,” he says. “But when is there going to be a chance for these kids to learn from a guy who has played at the highest level of football? You have more football knowledge in your pinky than I’ll ever have. You were never a great football player because of your skills—”
I clutch my chest and stagger back. “Gee, thanks.”
He gives me the look he used to give me at practice when I would interrupt. “What I was going to say is that it was your smarts. You saw plays develop before they even started. You always knew how to get open. That’s how you made that catch in the championship game. You were selfless. You’re a team player who knew that sometimes you needed to be the guy and sometimes you needed to be the guy who helped the guy. Wes, I’ve been thinking about retiring for years. But want to know why I didn’t?”
“Because Mrs. Lockwood has a honey-do list that’s three pages long and you wanted to avoid it as long as possible?”
“That’s one of the reasons,” he says. “The other is because I didn’t have someone to hand it off to. Wes, you’re the guy. You’re who I’ve been waiting for. You were one of the finest young men I ever coached. It would make me sleep easier at night knowing I left this program in the most capable hands possible. What do you say? Want to put on the whistle?”
I don’t know what to say. This is…let’s just say I didn’t expect my day to go like this.
“Can I think about it?” I ask. “I want to talk to my family first.”
He gives me a pat on the shoulder. “I’d be upset if you didn’t. I’ll go talk to the administration and let them know what we just talked about.”
“Thank you,” I shake his hand. “I’m honored, sir.”
“We’ll talk soon.”
He pats my hand before walking away, leaving me stunned next to my car. I barely hear the kids running out of the building. I think I hear my crew telling me hi and getting in the car, but I still haven’t budged.
“Hey, are you okay?”
I look over to see Oliver, who looks downright concerned for me. “Coach Lockwood wants me to take over the football program.”
“Wow,” Oliver says. “What are you going to do?”
I don’t know. I honestly don’t know.
Chapter36
Betsy
“What do you think?”
