Try & Resist (The Coastal Try #1)

Chapter 1

Connor

This was absolute bullshit.

Today wasn’t supposed to be like this. We were meant to be starting pre-season training, not staring down the barrel of a disaster.

Jake, my teammate, and best friend since college, clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Want Jack, Jim, or José? Or are we going Russian?”

I unclenched my jaw, but I didn’t take my eyes off the mess in front of us.

Calling it a pitch would’ve been generous.

Right now, it looked more like a mud-filled kiddie pool.

Half the uprights were leaning, the turf torn to hell, and our training gym was hanging on by a hinge and prayer.

Everything smelled like damp wood and sewage.

Oh, and there was a giant fucking sinkhole to the left of the pitch.

When I didn’t answer, Jake added, “I’ll take a shot of each just to begin processing this shitshow.” He huffed a laugh. “Then a side of pussy while I’m at it.”

His remark turned my head with a what the fuck? expression. I didn’t even have the brain power to start with the swamp in front of us.

“No?” He shrugged. “Too soon?”

“I haven’t even had my fucking coffee,” I grumbled, the lack of caffeine hitting me hard today.

Behind us, a few of the guys arrived too. Bobby cursed as soon as he saw the green, and everyone else shared his sentiment.

“What the fuck?” He kicked a chunk of soggy turf that squelched like a dead frog.

Nate settled beside him, frowning at the damage. “Jesus. Looks like the apocalypse hit.”

“The quake fucked us over, lads,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck to try to ease the shooting pain I’d experienced since the phone call this morning.

“Coach called us to talk next steps. Said the shaking shifted something under the pitch—pipes, drainage, and there’s concerns about liquification under the grass.

” I exhaled slowly. “Weight room’s underwater.

Storage sheds are done. They’ve already flagged structural concerns on the east stand, and until the engineers clear it, we’re shut out.

” I shook my head. “We’re sitting ducks. ”

“Fuck. What do we do?” one of the rookies, Ramirez, asked, wide-eyed.

“Coach is on his way,” I replied, unable to give my teammates the reassurance I knew they were looking for.

To be perfectly honest, I’d have to dig deep to find any kind of positive outcome here.

I wasn’t a stranger to rallying the guys and getting them game ready, but this felt different and all the fight in me couldn’t muster up a team building exercise out of this, not with the amount of damage here.

I hated that I couldn’t be that for my team right now.

“Did anyone get hurt?” Ramirez seemed genuinely concerned.

“Thankfully, not here.” I sighed. “Everyone’s family safe?

” I checked each of the guys’ faces, letting out a breath of relief once they’d all nodded.

Not everyone had family here, but they had friends, and it was good to know they were safe, especially since earthquakes in California to this degree weren’t usual.

Tremors, sure, especially here in Solterra near a fault line, but this was way more than that and the whole neighborhood had suffered around us.

“Coach’ll have a plan.” Nate nodded, his tatted arms crossed tightly. “Right?” His gaze darted to me again, looking for that reassurance that was still wavering for me. I didn’t want to promise my team something without talking to Coach first, and he knew that.

“Hope so,” Jake muttered. “Or we’re about to be real creative with tackling drills in hotel conference rooms.” No one laughed because it just wasn’t funny.

“We could always see if the Valkyries will share,” Bobby suggested, only half-joking, I’m sure, since he’s dating their assistant coach. “Micah said their stadium has been cleared for use, and I know they were heading in this morning for the first time after the quake.”

I wasn’t ready to branch out to anyone yet, especially not to the most anticipated upcoming team in the women’s league with a captain who had minimal tolerance for me.

“Any of you want to pitch that idea to Teddy Sloane? Be my guest.”

Nate whistled low.

“She’s scary.” Jake shuddered a little, and I think some of the other guys did too. “Like hot as fuck but would eat every single one of us for breakfast.”

“Don’t I fuckin’ know it,” I said, more to myself than anyone else. Teddy was a smokeshow, a pain in the ass smokeshow.

“She’s not that bad,” Bobby defended. “She comes over to Micah’s for dinner. They’ve been friends since college. She’s cool.”

“Dude, just because your girlfriend is besties with the ‘viper’ Valkyrie captain doesn’t mean shit.”

I could tell Jake that it probably did mean shit, because they were the only other team with a brand-new training facility close to us, but again, I needed to talk to Coach first. Management had been blowing him up since the quake happened.

I wasn’t about to put my eggs in anyone’s basket, let alone go begging Teddy Sloane.

“Alright.” I turned to the guys, needing to move. “Let’s go see what Coach has to say.”

“And then find some girls to make us feel better?” Jake perked up.

I laughed affectionately toward my emotionally stunted best friend. “Focus, Jake.”

He held up his hands. “Just keeping morale high.”

In reality, I appreciated him right now. My morale was tanked because of today and what that might mean for our future this year, and I had to keep a smile on my face for these guys.

We found Coach just outside the warped double doors, arms folded and face like thunder.

There was caution tape crisscrossing the entrance and a “DO NOT ENTER” sign flapping half-loose in the wind.

Around him, the remnants of earthquake damage were everywhere—snapped floodlights, water-stained insulation spilling from a cracked wall, and the shed roof peeled halfway off like a tin of sardines.

We probably shouldn’t have been here, but it was cathartic or whatever.

“Watch your step,” Coach called out, even though we were all keeping distance.

“No one’s going in. The structural team said we shouldn’t even bother; this place is a hazard.

Anything inside is gone, I’m sorry.” His dark gray brows were drawn, highlighting the weathered skin around his eyes, but it was the slump in his broad shoulders that would usually be pillars of strength for him that made me pause.

In all my years of knowing him, I haven’t ever seen him look this defeated.

Shit, maybe Coach doesn’t have a plan. “Insurance won’t kick in fast enough for the upcoming season either. ”

“Brilliant,” Nate muttered, appearing at my side with Bobby and a couple more rookies trailing behind. “Who needs a gym when we’ve got rubble?”

Jake shaded his eyes and surveyed the carnage. “Gives new meaning to outdoor training.”

Bobby swiped a Knights sign off the ground and tossed it aside. “Anyone bring a canoe? We could row sprints in the back.”

The other lads snickered and, once again, I was glad to have these guys by my side, still able to crack a joke.

“I know it’s a mess. It’s more than a mess—it’s a fucking disaster. But I’ve got a solution,” Coach said, looking at all of us.

Jake raised an eyebrow. “Please say it involves a working pitch and no one dying of tetanus.”

It was then Coach leveled me with a look, and I knew exactly what he was going to say. Not only had Bobby voiced it, but it had entered my mind too. “You’re not gonna like it.”

“The Valkyries?”

“The Valkyries,” he confirmed. “Their facilities are untouched. It’s a new stadium, the perfect setup. Coach is open to sharing—if the captains work it out face to face. Management have enough to deal with from this fallout.”

Nate let out a low whistle. “That’s… bold.”

Jake snorted. “Dude, she’s gonna eat you alive. It was nice knowing you.”

“Look, she’s competitive and focused. But she’s not unreasonable. You show up like a captain, she’ll meet you halfway. I’ve spoken to their management, and they’ve agreed, but they need you both to sort logistics. Their coach and I will then approve final schedules.”

I folded my arms, jaw tightening. “We come crawling to the golden girls of rugby, asking for handouts—how do you think that looks? They’re hot shit right now. We’re the underdogs with a busted pitch and nowhere to go. It makes us look weak.”

Coach’s eyes narrowed, clearly unimpressed with my comments.

I was too, honestly. I’m not the kind of guy to usually snap at anyone like that, but my patience was wearing thin and my pride was about to take a big hit too.

“Then don’t crawl. Walk in like the leader you are.

You don’t need to beg. You need to sort your squad. ”

I let out a slow breath, but tension coiled in my shoulders anyway. “And if she says no?”

“Then we move to Plan B.”

Jake grinned. “There’s a Plan B?”

“Cry,” Coach said flatly.

The lads cracked up. Even I couldn’t stop the corner of my mouth from twitching.

Coach softened, just a little. “I wouldn’t have arranged the meet if I thought she’d stonewall you.

Plus, I’ve got her management on speed dial too.

But this only works if you’re both clear-headed about it.

The pitch’s big enough to share, so are the facilities, but you’ll need to coordinate everything—schedules, drills, gym slots.

No ego, O’Riley. We need our fans to know that we might be moving across to their stadium, but we still want them there.

Solterra is big enough for the both of you. ”

So basically, walk into enemy territory, pitch a peace treaty, and hope I don’t get burned alive by the one person who can’t seem to stand being around me. Easy. No big deal.

“Fine,” I conceded, straightening. “When?”

“Media room at Valkyries HQ. One hour.”

“Want me to come for emotional support?” Jake asked.

“No,” Coach and I echoed in unison.

“I guess I’d better get going then.” Hesitation filled my voice and my steps as I took one last glance at my ruined team facilities and my team standing outside of it.

Each one of them looked at me as though I was about to throw them a bone and take away all their problems, and that very thought was what made me move faster.

It wasn’t just about the building. It was about who we were, what we’d built together and would build with this new roster of guys.

But most of all, it was who they needed me to be as their captain.

When things went wrong, they looked to me first. And this wasn’t the moment we’d unravel; this was a new direction.

Letting them down would mean losing the standard we held ourselves to as athletes, our training, pride, everything each person on this team has fought for to be here.

This setback wouldn’t be stronger than us.

“Practice your smile too,” Bobby added.

“Maybe bow when you enter,” Nate deadpanned. “Could soften her up.”

Jake shouted, cupping his mouth. “If she kills you, I’ll tell your story.”

“Make it heroic,” I shouted back. Flirting my way through this meeting was my only arsenal against her.

“Gone too soon: slain by a woman with superior bench stats who hasn’t smiled since 2019.” His laugh followed me all the way to my car.

This was not how I expected my captaincy to start.