8. EIGHT
EIGHT
Colton
Xavier passes me the ball and I catch it easily, dodging through the cones and passing it back with a flick of my wrist. We move through our warmups without having to think much about it. I’m so in the groove of my pre-game routine it takes me by surprise when he speaks.
“So I heard a rumor that crazy chick found out where you live.”
I almost drop the ball when he passes it back.
I shouldn’t be surprised that the rumor spread really.
Even though the Jacks are based in Waterton, which is a much bigger city than my hometown of Mosswood, gossip still spreads around the team like it’s being shared by a bunch of small-town grandmas.
“Yeah. Fucking disaster. I can’t believe the agency didn’t vet her at all. ”
He chuckles. “Everyone’s talking about your new girl. How did she take it?”
I involuntarily look up at the stadium where Natalia and Jayden are watching. “Oh, it’s not like that. She’s my new neighbor. She just agreed to help me out until I find a new nanny.”
I remember the protective look on Natalia’s face when she clued into what was happening with Siobhan, and it makes me warm just thinking about it. Well, that and the kiss I’ve been replaying in my head ever since.
In the stands, she lifts Jayden into her lap and points toward me, bending to whisper something into his ear, and I swear he looks right at me and grins.
My heart just about melts.
“Sure, man.” Xavier. “So you hitting that?”
I stumble, kicking one of the cones. I don’t have time to answer my teammate or sock him in the face like I want to because right then coach blows his whistle and calls us in for the next exercise.
After that we’re straight into the changing room as our opponents start filing into the stadium.
It’s been more than a year since our last win, a fact the media and fans are getting increasingly loud about.
Usually I avoid looking at the coverage after a game.
I only pay attention to what the bosses make us check.
But it’s been harder and harder to avoid. We all need a win today.
I see the looks passed around at training and in the locker room after a game.
We can’t keep going like this much longer.
If it goes on, I might be forced to take the transfer.
There will be no team left to play for if we end the season at the bottom of the table again.
If you want to play in the Superleague you have to be able to compete, otherwise they offer the spot to a team who can.
And if we drop out of the Superleague there’s no place for me on the Jacks anymore. Supes can only play Super.
I slide my hand into my pocket, feeling for the battered picture I keep there on game days. My granddad always taught me to keep a steady head. He was the gentlest, most loving male I ever knew, as well as the strongest. So he’s always been my inspiration. In all things. Not just football.
He was the league’s star player back in his day.
“Hester, I want you and Reid shifted today. We’re going to be playing defensively. So I need you to hold that line and not let anything through.”
I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed, but surely with no wins under our belts this season, playing defensively doesn’t make sense. I know better than to question the coach, though.
I nod and he takes us through his game plan.
In Superleague, teams can play four shifters on the field in their beast form at any one time, as teams are a mix of supes and humans.
Magic and magical attacks are restricted, but there are some things allowed.
The league was invented after supes came out in my grandfather’s day, in response to complaints from humans that supernatural athletes had an unfair advantage.
I’m one of seven shifters on the team. The other twelve are human.
Since I’m playing shifted, I don’t need my helmet—my horns don’t fit anyway.
So as I trot up onto the field, I get a clear view of the stadium.
As usual, the home stands are almost empty.
So many Jacks fans seem to have given up on us.
It makes my heart swell to see Natalia and Jayden there wearing my team colors.
There’s an extra pep in my step as we take our positions.
And then I spot my parents walking up toward the stand to sit beside Natalia and Jayden.
I didn’t think they were going to make the game.
Mom said they’d be staying with Gracie and her family this weekend.
My sister moved a few hours north of here, where her mate and her family own a ranch, and made an immediate start on an enormous family.
Four kids and counting. Yeah, so I’m a little bit jealous of what she has.
I haven’t had the chance to introduce my parents to Natalia yet, but of course they spot Jayden and immediately make their way toward them.
My focus is dragged away as the buzzer sounds and we make our first huddle. I want my parents to like Natalia. I should have known they’d surprise me today by turning up. They haven’t missed a match since I started playing pro, except for one when my mom had a colonoscopy.
My head is down, and I can’t see them any longer. Are they talking? Are they watching?
“Stay back and keep focused. I want everyone watching their player. Understood?”
“Yes, Coach!”
We break and take our positions. The opposing quarterback scans the field, and I spot a quick lift of an eyebrow. He says nothing but makes the snap, and we launch into action.
He makes a fast pass to the running back, and though I’m already charging in to stop my player, I started so far back I can’t get to him right away.
Another pass and they’ve taken ten yards before we tackle them.
Again we huddle. Again we’re told to stay deep.
It’s like this play after play. Taking no chances but losing ground every time.
On the next snap, I inch forward, not giving as much ground. I know Coach is silently fuming, but I avoid his eye, watching the quarterback intently. For a minute he catches my gaze, brows narrowing over dark eyes.
Then, quick as a flash, he slips the ball between his legs. “Take it.”
I’m ready for their play. Nothing flashy, just taking every yard we give them. This time I anticipate the pass. I’m on the running back before he can release the ball, tackling him to the ground before he can make five yards.
The whistle blows.
“Cut the bull, Hester. No more risks.”
Coach thinks he’s funny making bovine jokes. I don’t know why when he knows it pisses me off. “I told you to stay deep.”
“I think we’re going to lose another game that way,” I hiss.
His face turns red, and he twists his cap around backward, leaning forward to fix me with an angry glare. “I don’t care what you think will happen. You’re not paid to think. I told you, stay deep.”
With a sigh, I take my position. He’s right. I’m no strategist. It still hurts to have it rubbed in my face. My grandfather was a coach for many years after he retired as a player. One of the best in the game. But I’m not him.
The quarterback smirks at me, and we lose another thirteen yards.
By the time the game ends, we’re down twenty-seven to twenty-four. It’s close, but we were never going to win. All they had to do was keep taking ground, kicking goals, and keeping us on the defensive.
I scrub my face and toss my towel into the basket, leaning back under the jet of water in the shower.
The West Coast Thunder don’t play like this.
Their coach was criticized last season for conceding too many touchdowns, but in the end they finished higher on the table than the Jacks.
Because they’re not afraid to make big moves.
And the players all want to be there. They believe in themselves and each other.
You can see it in the way they celebrate after each touchdown and the way they talk about each other in the media.
There’s no joy in the game playing the way we did today.
Coach pulls me up after the game. “Have you got something to say, Hester?”
I shrug. “I think you made the wrong call.”
“And I think that contract West Coast dangled has gone to your head. Think you’re hot stuff now, don’t you?”
My brows lift. I wasn’t sure if he knew about the contract. It’s not like I really entertained the idea. “It’s not like that. I love the Jacks. I just want us to win.”
“Then keep your head on your shoulders and do what I tell you.” He scowls at me.
Dismissed, I hurry into the tunnel, hoping to catch my family before the media close in.
No such luck. There’s a camera in my face the minute I step out of the locker room.
“Colton, people are saying you didn’t like the coach’s call today.”
“He’s the coach. Not me.”
“But what did you think of his call?”
“Look I just want to get out there and give it my best, you know? We didn’t win today, but there’s always next time.” I brush off the reporter as quickly as I can, eyes already scanning the people gathered there until I spot her.
Natalia is standing beside my parents with her black-and-green Jacks shirt on, watching me across the room. Her lips curve into a smile as we make eye contact, and suddenly my tense shoulders drop and I feel a hundred pounds lighter.
I hurry over. “Thanks for coming and bringing Jayden. I know it’s dumb, but it feels important. I’ve never had him at a game before.”
Mom, who is holding Jayden, looks up and gives me a wide smile. “Well he loved it. He hasn’t cried the whole time, have you? He was watching you.”
My heart squeezes, and a grin stretches across my face. “Natalia said he’d like it. I didn’t know you guys were going to make it or I’d have introduced you all before the game.”
“Oh, we’ve had a good old chat,” says Mom, making me a little nervous.
Dad leans in close, clapping me on the back. “I saw what you tried to do out there, son. You always did read the game well. A shame you can’t say the same about that Dan Rodgers.”
I laugh awkwardly because the reporters are still hanging around. This isn’t the place for that sort of talk. Besides, he’s wrong. I’m no strategist.
As if to prove the point, another reporter sidles up beside us and shoves a microphone in my face. “Mr. Hester, would you care to introduce everyone? There’s a rumor going around that you’ve had some big news recently.”
I sigh. This is the obvious drawback of having Jayden at the game. It puts him in the spotlight. There’s no help for it, though. With me as his dad, that’s going to be inevitable.
“You know my parents, of course,” I begin. “And this little angel is my son, Jayden.”
“Son! And so this must be your mate. You’ve been keeping that one quiet.”
I blink. Of course the reporter made that assumption. I’m so dumb for not anticipating this.
My mouth opens, but I stumble over the words. I didn’t prepare an answer for this, and now I’m trapped. If I deny it, Siobhan might get wind of the lie we told her and start back up again. But I have no idea how Natalia will react if I say yes.
My mom gives me the side-eye, and I know she’s going to be asking questions later.
Nervous laughter bubbles from me. “Ah, I hired a surrogate to carry my son. I didn’t want to wait to be a dad.” I give the reporter a big smile, hoping they’ll pursue a different line of questioning.
No such luck. “Oh, so this isn’t the mother? You’re not together?”
Natalia does something that surprises me. She steps right into my side, slipping her arm around my waist and leaning forward so she can speak into the microphone. “We’re not ready to say anything about that just yet. I’m sure you can understand.”
“Then you are together?”
She just lifts her brow and smiles.
The reporter looks like he just got told there’s a month of Sundays coming up. He thanks us and moves off to interview some of the other players.
I stand there stunned for a moment. That was a killer move. She gave the reporter enough to make him think he had a story he can spread but leaves me plausible deniability. So fucking smart. I would never have thought of that, and I’m the one who’s had media training.
I drop my chin and lower my voice to speak into Natalia’s ear. “I think I’m going to have to get you a cape if you keep saving my ass.”
She smiles. “I’m still working off the favors I owe you, so don’t worry about it. I’m glad to help.”
“Well.” Mom claps her hands together delightedly. “I hope you’re all coming back to ours for dinner. I’ve been cooking up a pot roast all day.” Mom gives Natalia a newly speculative look, and I know she’s dying to ask more questions.
Better to answer them away from the public. Though I’m almost as nervous about Mom’s curiosity now that I can tell she likes Natalia as I was about her approval.
Guess there’s nothing for it.