Chapter 35
Henry drove Maia to the appointment with Gavin’s friend for her psych evaluation. On arrival, Maia asked if Henry could observe.
“Henry, you can sit over there but can’t join our conversation. Can you do that?” The doctor grinned, but Henry could tell he meant it.
“Sure,” Henry said. He’d hear their discussion without difficulty, anyway.
The consultation began, and Henry listened to Maia’s calm, even responses with pride. No one in their right mind could accuse her of having problems. He and their friends knew this, and Henry thought Gavin’s ex would say the same by the end of the consultation.
At the end of an hour, the doctor told her he could confidently give her a favorable report. He would email a copy to the rugby board and cc her.
“What did I tell you?” Henry asked.
“I wonder if they ask Amanda to jump through the same hoops.”
Once they arrived home, Henry made a point of keeping Maia busy. She went to the local primary school and coached Levi’s team. While she was there, the netball coach asked if she’d help to get her players fitter because the boys and girls in the rugby team sang her praises.
Later that night, Maia’s phone rang while they were eating dinner.
“Answer it,” Jacey said when she hesitated.
Maia’s heart sank on recognizing the phone number. The selector. She steeled herself for bad news, closing her eyes seconds after she hit the button to accept the call. “Hello,” she said, praying she could hold her emotions together.
“Maia,” the man said, “I confirm you have a place at the upcoming training camp. Unfortunately, your team’s decision to stand you down means no game time. That’s problematic.”
“Oh,” Maia said, unsure where he was going with this. Luckily, she was healing well, and Gavin had expressed his satisfaction with her recovery.
“If you can find a local team to play for, we might give you a pass. Actually… Just a moment.” Maia heard him speaking with someone before he came back on the line.
“Come to the camp, and we’ll talk more, but my friend coaches at Christchurch.
They’ve had injury problems this season.
Would you be interested in a short-term contract with them if we could set it up? ”
Maia glanced at Henry, unsure how he’d take this, but he gave a definitive nod. “Yes, I’d be willing to do that.”
“Excellent. The camp is in Wellington, and I’ll email you the travel details.”
“What about my current club? Won’t they object?” she asked.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of that. Avoiding their training sessions and games is best for the foreseeable future. We don’t want them to accuse you of leaking team strategy.”
“Okay. Thank you.” She hung up with a grin. “I’m attending camp!” Her phone rang again, and she pulled a face on seeing the number. She considered not answering, but that wasn’t professional. “Hello, Maia speaking.”
“Ms. Jacobs, this is Barry Curtis on the rugby board. We received your psych evaluation this afternoon and already have feedback from the team doctor. I’m afraid, given the results, we are terminating your contract as of today.”
“P-pardon?” Maia said, shock giving her a one-two punch in the gut. There was nothing wrong with her mental state!
“You’re not a suitable team player. Please return your uniform plus sponsored supplies in the next seven days, and you will receive your final wages.
I’m sorry it came to this, Ms. Jacobs, because you’re a talented player.
Part of your obligation to the club is to show professionalism and be a role model for younger players coming through the ranks. We’re not seeing that from you.”
Maia remained silent because she was frightened of what she might say. She wanted to tell him what he could do with his team position and her views of the management team. She did neither.
“Did you hear me?” Barry asked.
“Yes,” Maia said in a low voice.
“Well,” he said. “We had such high hopes for you.” He hung up, apparently finished with her and wiping his hands of the entire debacle.
“Maia,” Megan said, her blue eyes full of sympathy. “This Barry Curtis is talking a load of bull crap.”
“What did he say?” London asked, her eyes narrowed. “Maia is one of their best players.”
“He told me I was unprofessional and setting a poor example for other players. Also, according to him, there was a problem with the doctors’ reports.”
“Gavin’s friend gave you a copy,” Henry said. “You’re fine. Perfect.”
“I know that. You know that, but they’re pushing me out anyway,” Maia said, not holding back her bitterness.
“The Black Fern selectors are still interested,” Gerard said. “And the guy you spoke to has a contact in Christchurch. This might work out better.”
“The Dunedin management will try to muck that up for me,” Maia said, knowing this instinctively. Someone was protecting Amanda.
“They won’t know straight away,” London said, having caught up with the play despite not having shifter hearing. “Have you played Christchurch?”
“No, not yet,” Maia said.
“Well,” London said brightly. “They’ll know when you run onto the field with the opposition.”
“If everything falls into place. Besides, I’ll have to find somewhere to live in Christchurch. That might not be simple.”
“Ah,” Henry said with a grin at Gerard. “That problem is easy to solve because our best friend lives in Christchurch. I’m sure he and Lisa have room for us to stay with them. We might have to work in exchange, but it should be fun.”
“You’d go with me?” Maia asked.
“Security guard and boyfriend,” Henry said. “Gerard and I have been considering casting a wider net for work. It won’t hurt for me to investigate the possibilities while we’re in Christchurch.”
“Deal,” Maia said, her heart lighter now that she might have a plan B.
One month later.
Maia jogged onto the field with her team, happy and determined to play well.
She loped after her teammates—a captain and players who’d welcomed her without reservation.
It took her time to relax and settle in because the Dunedin management had lodged a protest saying she couldn’t transfer teams mid-season.
Luckily, the governing body had found in her favor.
And since then, she’d focused on training, rugby, and writing.
She and Henry had spent their weeks with his friends, Sam and Lisa, and managed two weekends in Middlemarch.
They’d talked—a lot—and Maia was more comfortable with what she’d learned about shifters.
Maia and her teammates went through their warm-up routine while waiting for the opposition to arrive. They were finally playing Dunedin, and whoever won would progress to the semi-finals.
Amanda was on the team today, and Maia needed to engage in a sensible game. Stay out of trouble. Her team knew the situation and had promised to protect Maia from dirty play.
She had to do the rest herself and, hopefully, play the best game of her life. No pressure.
After the coin toss, the two teams ran into position. The referee blasted his whistle. Maia ignored Amanda and her furious glower but waved hello to Jan and Rebecca and received friendly greetings in return.
The Dunedin team took the kickoff, and Maia surged into action.
One of her teammates caught the ball cleanly and ran forward.
A hard tackle took her down, but she passed the ball to Maia, who flicked it onto her backline players.
Maia dodged an oncoming player’s tackle and sprinted after her teammates.
“You won’t act so smug when I pulverize you into the ground,” Amanda taunted in a low voice. “Your sugar daddy won’t like you if you’re broken.”
Maia ignored the threat but watched for Amanda. The players on her team were fitter, which showed when they constantly ran the ball, keeping a fast pace.
Maia caught the ball and dashed toward the try line while assessing the opposition’s field position. She ducked and weaved before passing to the halfback. The ball flew with precision along the backline, and their winger ducked inside an opposing player to score.
The tries kept coming, and frustration ramped up in the Dunedin team with lots of trash talk from Amanda and her closest friends. Jan and Rebecca avoided the drama and played well, but Maia’s team rattled them.
When they started the second half, Maia let the insults and snarky comments roll off her.
“Let’s go,” her captain encouraged Maia and the others.
Their fullback caught the ball and rushed forward, dodging a tackle before passing to Maia.
“Go, Maia!” someone shouted from the sideline.
She raced forward, sidestepping once, twice, and tossing the ball to her teammate. Maia continued running, keeping up with the play of the ball.
The tackle came out of nowhere, and she hit the ground hard, the collision knocking the air from her lungs.
“Off the ball tackle, ref,” someone from the sideline shouted.
The referee either didn’t hear or hadn’t seen because play continued. Maia picked herself up once the player hauled their body off hers. Amanda. Of course, it was. Amanda didn’t check on Maia but raced away as if the illegal tackle hadn’t happened.
Maia stretched gingerly. She was sore but uninjured. She ignored Amanda and threw herself back into the game.
Amanda charged at Maia when she had the ball, her expression one of rage. Maia couldn’t avoid the tackle. The contact stole her breath and sent her flying. It was also too high—a dangerous tackle—and Maia saw stars when she struck the ground.
The referee’s whistle blew, halting play. He trotted over to speak with the linesmen before returning and withdrawing a red card from his pocket.
Amanda argued with the referee before whirling to take a swing at Maia.
“Amanda,” Jan said, her tone sharp and authoritative. “Stop. The referee has given you a red card. Get off the field so we can resume play.”
Amanda’s face twisted. “You are not the boss of me. Nothing wrong with my tackle. The ref needs glasses if he thinks I deserve a red card.”