She waved a hand.
“You were always a sweetheart. I’ve heard a lot about you from my granddaughter.” Mrs. Evans smoothed a tiny stray lock of hair from Maddie’s ponytail off her forehead. “I told Maddie that I already knew her coach very well and used to see her all the time.”
I pushed a smile across my mouth to stop the prick of tears behind my eyes. Watching Mrs. Evans speak to Maddie the way I’d watched her with Tessa so many times triggered the grief I felt for this whole family, but I couldn’t give in to it here. I’d pull Mrs. Evans aside after the game to tell her how sorry I was and cry—again—for all of them alone in my car on the way home.
“You can see her more now,” Maddie said. “We have games every week, and she’s Uncle Jesse’s friend again. They text all the time.”
“Well,” Mrs. Evans said, biting her bottom lip as she threw her son a look. “That would be very nice. I’ll go have a seat in the folding chair we brought. Have a great game, sweetie.” She looked between Jesse and me and headed to the edge of the field.
“Maddie!” Jeffrey ran over to us, a soccer ball tucked under his arm. “Want to practice with me?”
“Ask Coach Emily if you can do that,” Jesse told her, taking Maddie’s arm when she started to race toward Jeffrey. “You may be in the way of everyone coming in.”
“No, it’s fine.” I pointed to the empty patch next to the goal and far enough away from the chairs arriving parents were setting up. “You can for a few minutes. Just please keep it contained with small kicks back and forth.”
“Okay,” they both murmured before they scurried off.
“Nervous?” Jesse asked, his lips curling into a smirk. He wore a black Henley with the sleeves rolled up and jeans. Stopping my eyes from trailing his forearms down to where he’d stuffed his hands into his pockets was much harder than it should have been.
“This is just a scrimmage game, but I remember my days playing for a small league like this. I’m not worried about the kids, but the parents can be a little pushy. My mother was the pushiest.”
He let out a throaty chuckle.
“Oh, I can imagine. You can always bring her here next game for reinforcements if anyone gives you trouble.”
“Right? Even with a cane now, she can be pretty terrifying.”
We shared a laugh, our eyes locked for an awkward beat after we stopped.
“You’ll be great,” he said, his eyes still holding mine as he eased closer. “You’ve got this, Legs.”
I shoved his shoulder as my cheeks heated, trying to focus on the kids filtering in and not the sexy rumble of Jesse’s laugh.
“Coach Emma, can I speak to you for a moment?”
Janie Cooper jogged toward me with her daughter at her side, shooting Jesse a quick smile before she came up to me.
“Emily,” I said, wanting to remind her it was on the handout she’d received, but I doubted she’d looked at it or cared about her mistake.
“Aubrey has been practicing really hard, and I think it would be good for the team if you put her in first.”
From the first practice, Janie had questioned everything I did, down to the warm-up games I played with the kids. I’d had a feeling she’d be difficult today and dreaded what she’d be like at a real game.
“That’s great, Aubrey,” I said with extra enthusiasm. “I already have it figured out who goes in when for today. I’ve worked it out so everyone gets equal playing time and can enjoy the snacks in between.”
Aubrey peered up at me with a tiny smile as her mother scowled at me over her head. Aubrey was a cute kid and had fun at practice, despite Janie yelling for her to get the ball and kick harder.
“But the good players go out first. I didn’t play sports in school, but isn’t that a rule?”
“Ms. Cooper,” I said, holding back a groan and trying for a polite yet firm tone of voice. Unfortunately, rude was sometimes the only way to get through to people like her, but I’d save that for the games that counted.
“This isn’t a competition league. We keep track of wins and losses, but there are no local or state championships to strive for. I’m here to teach them soccer and make sure they have fun and that kids of all levels have equal playing time. A team like this is where I started to love soccer, without pressure from my coaches or my family.” I held out my hand for Aubrey. “Right now, we’re going to huddle up.”
Aubrey peered up at her mother before taking my hand.
“Feel free to set up a chair on the sidelines with the other parents. I hope you enjoy the game.”
“Have a good game, honey,” Janie said, fake smile back in place as she aimed it at Jesse. “I suppose there’s nothing else for us to do than to sit on the sidelines and watch our girls, right?”
