Page 40 of Hotshot

“I guess this is what happens when you’re a superstar for a living. You get to live in flash pads.”

Sloane couldn’t deny it. She also didn’t want to make Cathy uncomfortable. This wasn’t a them and us situation. More than anything else, Sloane wanted Cathy to feel at home. “I’m lucky this is where the club housed me.” Plus, she got to stay, unlike Ella. She couldn’t imagine living here without her. An arrow of sadness pierced Sloane. Who was she going to get a vase from when Ella was gone? She wouldn’t think about that now.

“Clearly you earned it,” Cathy replied. “I must admit, I wasn’t so up on women’s football. I tend to go and watch my two sons more. But I heard about your transfer in the news, and I can’t believe I’m related to a World Cup winner.” She shook her head and sat back on the couch. “It’s incredible that you play too, though. There must be a football gene in our blood, because our family history is littered with players, some of them pretty good. You’re probably the best, though. Nobody ever had a transfer fee on their head before.”

“I’d love to know more about that if you know things. Ryan and Matt at the club told me to ask Barry about the club history? But I got the impression there was a story to tell. Something Matt said about my great-grandmother.”

Cathy gave her a puzzled look. “You soundsoAmerican, it’s a wonder we’re related. But we are. And yes, there is a story to tell about your great-grandmother. Also, my grandmother.”

That comment made Sloane sit back and shake her head. “How mad is that? We share the same grandparents.” Her chest went tight and heat travelled through her. This was a real-life living relative. Someone she shared history and bloodline with. Tears bubbled up. She hadn’t expected that.

However, when she looked at Cathy, her eyes glistened, too.

Sloane smiled. “This is emotional, isn’t it?” She pointed towards the kitchen island. “There are some tissues over there? Would you mind getting them? It’s probably quicker if you do.”

Cathy obliged and they both took one and blew their noses. Then they laughed.

“This is like an episode ofLong Lost Family. I was thinking that as I drove over today. I always cry at those too, but they haven’t involved me before.”

“We have that show in the US, too. I cry a river.”

“At least we’re on the same page.” Cathy blew her nose again. “The big family news is that you’re not the first female football star among us. That’s what I mean; we have a football gene.”

Sloane’s ears pricked up at that news. “Tell me more. Did you play?”

Sadness flickered on Cathy’s face as she nodded. “I did. But like most kids back when I was growing up, I had to stop. Girls weren’t allowed to play football. With so much against you playing, you eventually give up trying. Which is why I’m so thrilled you are where you are. At the top of your game.”

“I’m proud to keep the family flag flying. But please tell me the story.”

Cathy nodded. “Your great-grandfather, Robert, played for the local team, Kilminster United, as you know. He was a nifty winger by all accounts. But that’s not the story. The story is that your great-grandmother played for the team, too.”

Sloane narrowed her eyes. “For Kilminster United?”

Cathy nodded. “Yep. Eliza Power was a star striker for a season and a half, until she was rumbled.”

“Rumbled?” Even though the British spoke the same language, sometimes they didn’t. “I don’t get it.”

“Your great-grandmother pretended she was a man so she could play football. The FA had banned women from playing on their grounds by then, but she loved the game through her teens. She used to play with her two brothers. They all hatched a plan to get her on the team because she was that good.

“I don’t know the proper facts because they weren’t recorded, but I know she cut her hair short so she’d pass as a man. Maybe she strapped down her breasts too, who knows? As far as I know, her team all knew, but they all kept it a secret for a good while. But I just love the thought of her wanting to play so much, she was prepared to pretend to be a man.”

Sloane didn’t know what to say. Pride pressed against her sternum. Amazement nestled alongside. “That is not the story I was expecting.” She almost laughed at her understatement. “Was she queer, too? Was the marriage a cover?”

Cathy shook her head. “I wondered the same, but I don’t think so. They had a very loving marriage as far as I’m aware. You don’t know what goes on behind closed doors, and maybe they had an agreement. We’ll never know. But they had three children together, however it happened. Your great-gran met your great-granddad when she was on the team. They were quite the duo: him the dynamite winger, she the star striker.”

Fierce admiration and shock burned through Sloane as she pointed her finger to her chest. “Like me.” She reminded herself to breathe.

“Exactly like you,” Cathy agreed.

More tears welled up, but this time, Sloane didn’t try to stuff them down. She allowed them to happen. This was monumental. She was the great-granddaughter of a female soccer star. A trailblazing, pioneering star at that. This was the best news possible.

“I can’t believe I come from a long line of kick-ass soccer stars.”

“Football,” Cathy countered.

“Whatever,” Sloane said. She leaned forward and wiped her eye again. “I love that she was so bold, prepared to do whatever it took to play. And she held her own in a men’s team.”

“She did. More than held her own. Until she was found out by other teams, and made to leave. But she’d left her mark by then, and met her husband.”

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