Page 50 of Sweet Spot
Anger vibrates under my skin, and a cool sweat makes me want to push up my sleeves even though it’s barely fifty degrees. “Got it.”
18
Lincoln
If determination were ever personifiedby a look, Keira would be wearing it. Determined and pissed—at the ball or at life, I’m not sure which.
She’s just off the fairway in the first cut rough about to take her second shot on this par five. It’s her second round of the day, and I can tell she’s in better condition than the other girls. While they’re tiring, she still looks fresh.
Teddy, the coach from Stanford, spots me and weaves through the small crowd to where I’m standing in the back.
“Lincoln.” He extends a hand, and we shake. “What are you doing here?”
“Watching.” I nod toward Keira and one of his players, Wren Thompkins. “She’s good.”
He crosses his arms over his chest, and we stand shoulder to shoulder, watching as Keira takes her swing. It’s long, and Keira’s face shows her frustration.
Mine must show it too.
“That girl has power.” He laughs as Keira shoves her club into her bag and shoulders it. “And spunk. Reminds me a little of you when you were fresh on the tour. Remember that time you almost took a swing at Johnson?”
I smile, but the memory makes me pissed all over again. He’d made a snide comment about Lacey and threw me off my whole game, which was exactly what he wanted. I should have punched him.
We walk behind the crowd as they move with the players. Thompkins looks indecisive as she tries to pick out the right club for her approach shot.
“Good to see you, Lincoln.” He moves up to confer with his player, and I hang back because I’m fairly certain Keira hasn’t spotted me yet.
I probably should have told her I was coming, but the truth is I didn’t know I was until I found myself ordering her room service and then booking a plane ticket. Not being able to be here yesterday when she needed me ate away any concern of it being inappropriate.
We can practice every day, all day, but it’s her ability to transfer that to competition that is important. She can do it, I know she can, but if she needs me to keep reminding her, I’ll be here for those reassurances later.
Keira finds a rhythm on the back nine and ends the day one under and tied for fifth, though there are a lot of players who still have to finish. I find her in the clubhouse with one of her teammates.
The other girl elbows her when it’s clear I’m headed toward them, and Keira’s brown eyes fall to me. She does a double take and then a wide smile breaks out on her face.
“What are you doing here?” She steps forward and hugs me, taking me by surprise. She smells really good, and her body fits to mine a little too well. If I weren’t her coach, I’d be all too happy to pull her against me and let her know I’m just as happy to see her.
“I came to watch you play, of course. Plus, my brother doesn’t live far from here, so I wanted to stop in and see him.” Kenton is in Seattle until tomorrow so it’s unlikely I’ll actually get to see him, but it makes me feel a little less weird about being here to add that tidbit.
Keira introduces me to Abby, or reintroduces me since we met once before, and then Abby excuses herself leaving Keira and me alone.
I motion for her to take a seat on a small bench next to the window and do the same.
“I can’t believe you’re here. I was just getting ready to text you.”
“Yeah? What were you going to report?”
“One under.” She makes a face that tells me it isn’t as good as she hoped.
“How’d you feel out there?”
“Nervous, anxious, excited. By the second round, I was finally starting to calm down, but it’s infuriating how good Wren Thompkins is. Her shots were chasing down the pin all day.”
I chuckle. “You out drove her every single time.”
She sits a little taller. “Yes, that I did.” Her gaze turns to the window and out to the course. “I should probably get out there and watch, wanna come? Cassidy’s on two.”
I want to. I really do, but I know I have a dozen things I need to do, things I put off this morning to be here. “I can’t. I need to do some work this afternoon. I’ll check in later.”
