Page 115 of Iris

Ned laughed.

“What?”

“Nothing. You’d be a great cowboy.” Ned glanced at him. “You sure?”

“I’m not sure about anything except where I’m supposed to be right now.”

“And that is…”

“Right here.” He looked at Ned. Smiled.

Ned frowned but turned his eyes back to the road.

The arena rose glorious and bold against the blue sky, the top closed despite the day, a hint of chill in the air. “The Ajax futbol team plays here. It holds fifty-five thousand. If we get ten, I’ll be shocked. Amsterdam has spent the last eighteen years rebuilding their program. Today is supposed to be a sort of introductory game.”

“Seems like the lot is pretty full,” Ned said as they drove in. Hudson showed his ELF pass, and the parking attendant directed them to a players section.

Ned parked next to a giant bus, probably chartered for the team.

“Shae came in with Iris. She’s got a pass to take pictures at the game, and she got one for me too, so we’ll be on the Vikings’ sidelines.”

Hud grabbed his gear, then headed into the locker room area while Ned went to find Shae.

“Hud!” Toby lifted a hand from where he was lacing up his shoes. “You got sprung!”

Perfect. “Yep.”

“Make any friends?” Felix said. He pulled his jersey over his pads.

“Funny.” Hud walked over to a locker and set his bag down.

“Bly!” Coach Max had stepped out of the office. “In here.”

Hudson headed over to the office where the coaching staff sat. He stepped inside, closed the door. “Listen, I got it all cleared up.”

And then his gaze fell on—“Waylen?”

His agent sat back. He’d ditched the cowboy hat, but still wore the boots as well as a suit, his brown hair cut short. “Hudson.”

Coach Clay sat at the end of the table. “Apparently you made a bit of fuss over in America.”

Right. “Listen. That was personal business between me and Darren Pike. He’s…well, he had it coming.”

“Yes, he did,” Waylen said. “And Coach Gripe didn’t know that until that moment. He did some homework and discovered that Pike had a history of sexual assault. Apparently, he paid off or at least bargained away all his offenses. Carlson doesn’t want him on his staff. But he does want you.”

He shot a look at Coach Clay. “So, we’re done here?”

“Sit down, Hud,” Coach Clay said. Hudson lowered himself into a chair. “We’re on the fence here with you. Felix is young, moldable, and frankly, not as expensive. And Max says that your head’s been giving you some trouble.”

“No, sir, I—”

Coach Clay held up his hand. “We see the way you’ve been working with Toby and Felix. They have a lot to learn from you. But you’d get less playing time.”

“You have coaching in your blood,” Coach Max said. “A patience. You’re a natural, Hud.”

“I don’t understand. So, you are letting me go?”

“That’s why Waylen’s here. You have options.”

---