Page 53 of The Long Game

I started to warn her, “Watch out for the—”

But the ball hit the back of the net, passing effortlessly over a smiling María.

“Goal,” I finished.

The stands erupted in cheers. The humble scoreboard changed.GREEN WARRIORS: 0 – GROVESVILLE BEARS: 1.

I looked over my shoulder quickly, shocked by the enthusiastic crowd from out of town. The Green Warriors were playing home and the only faces I recognized besides a few of the parents were Josie, Diane, and Gabriel. Granted, I wasn’t exactly going around town making friends, but there was barely any green in the stands. It was all red and white.

A woman met my gaze, eyes flashing with something I hoped wasn’t recognition. I whirled around, pulling my cap lower.

“Let’s not worry,” Adalyn said when the crowd quieted down and the game restarted. “This is just one goal. There’s plenty of game ahead. There’s more—”

Adalyn’s words came to an abrupt stop when Chelsea stole the ball from one of the Bears and ran. We both gawked at the kid, who was moving as fast as I’d ever seen a kid in a tutu move.

Chelsea neared the Green Warriors’ penalty area and Adalyn whispered, “What is she doing?”

But I couldn’t answer. I could only watch as Juniper shouted something in the distance, and when Chelsea didn’t stop, she raced after her. Undeterred, our tutu-wearing midfielder didn’t seem to care.

Adalyn mumbled something, then she said more clearly, “Oh my God, do something, Cameron. She’s going in the wrong direction.”

“There’s nothing to do, darling,” I answered with a gulp of air just as Chelsea kicked the ball with a flourish. “Nothing would have stopped that kid from scoring that onside goal.”

The crowd from Grovesville broke into a loud cheer again. Even if they hadn’t technically scored, a goal was a goal. I kept my gaze forward and my cap low, that familiar buzz at the back of my neck getting louder with every clap from the stands. That hadn’t been just an own goal, it had been complete and utter chaos.

I’d spent all week dismissing Adalyn’s attempts to create a strategy, truly believing everything she suggested was overkill. I still believed it. But somehow, all I could think about, as the game restarted again and the girls shuffled across the grass, was the red binder. The other one, too.

I wondered if there had been anything in there that would have warned me of this. For better or worse, I was the team’s coach, and I… well, I clearly hadn’t done a good job when my keeper was in the middle of the field and my midfielder had just scored an OG.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the Bears’ coach. She was looking straight at me with a smug look I didn’t like. Holding my gaze, she lifted her fists, bringing them under her eyes and pretending to wipe tears that weren’t there.

I stared blankly at her. That woman couldn’t know that during my career I’d put up with things that would probably make her pale. I—

Watched Adalyn shoot forward.

“Ref!” she hollered.Hollered. Getting more than a few heads to turn. “Unsportsmanlike conduct is not a nice look on a kids’ coach.”

“Ma’am,” the ref—a woman with a no-bullshit attitude—warned from her spot on the grass. “Return immediately to the sideline.”

Laughter rolled in from the opposite bench, and Adalyn spun. “Maybe she should be more concerned about herlittleteam.” The Bears’ coach gave her a once-over that made something in my stomach turn. She lowered her voice, “Go home,princess.”

Princess.

The word was lost on those not paying attention, but not on Adalyn and me.

“Excuse me,” Adalyn squeaked, her voice hiking an octave. She veered in the coach’s direction. “With all due respect, ma’am, I am not—”

My arm shot out and I dragged her back, toward me, until she was plastered against my side. A whiff of that lavender scent hitting me right in the nose. “Absolutely not, darling.”

Adalyn seemed distracted for a moment because it took her a bit to answer. “She called me a princess,” she finally said. My throat clogged for an instant. I had too. “And she’s mocking you and the team. I won’t allow that.”

Something softened inside my rib cage, appeasing me. But while I was as shocked as I was flattered by that defensive strike, I was also protective of keeping my anonymity, and there was a rather large crowd around. “I don’t know, boss. I say we be the bigger people and ignore her.”

Ifeltthe tension in her body fly away. My arm was still around her. “You just called me boss.”

So I had. I searched our surroundings quickly, checking for curious eyes. Everyone but the other coach seemed distracted by the game. Ah, hell. “Remember how you said earlier we shouldn’t worry?” She nodded. “I think we should.”

“I could still get the ref to suspend that woman, you know?” she piped in. But her voice was softer. Calmer. “I’m convincing. And I also know very important people in the PRO.”

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