Two hours and plenty of dribbling, shooting, and passing drills later, Haddie was ready to split her team for a nine-on-nine scrimmage. Sure, it wouldn’t be a full team match, but it would give her athletes a chance to challenge each other and give their coach the opportunity to see who worked best in which position. But when a soccer ball whizzed by her from center field, headed straight to where Sarah Ramirez—the name of Haddie’s staring contest opponent—had dropped to a squat to tie one of her cleats, Haddie froze but only for a beat. Her heart thumped against her chest as the ball hurtled toward Sarah’s head. In a split second, her instincts kicked in, and without thinking, she sprinted toward Sarah, pushing her out of the way while simultaneously blocking the ball with hertorso.
She collapsed onto her back with a grunt, ball hugged to her chest as a crowd gathered around her.
“No goal,” she croaked, then heard a whistle blow in the distance.
“Holy shit!” someone remarked.
Haddie squinted, the sun obscuring her vision.
“Language,” she squeaked, still catching her breath and assessing the damage. Her ribs ached, but nothing felt broken.
Finally letting the ball roll out of her grasp, she pushed herself up onto her elbows. A figure extended a hand to help her up, and Haddie gripped it tight, letting whoever it was pull her to her feet.
“Sarah!” Haddie remarked with surprise. Loose grass tangled with the student’s disheveled left braid, the side on which she must have fallen when Haddie pushed her out of the way. Other than that, the girl looked no worse for the wear.
Jogging toward them with his team in tow was Levi, though she noticed a limp in his gait as he approached.
“McMannus!” Levi barked. “I think there’s something you want to say to Coach Martin.”
A tall, lean-muscled kid with a mop of sandy hair hanging over his eyes shrugged and nodded toward Haddie.
“Nice reflexes, Coach Martin,” he told her in a low, deep voice.
Haddie picked up the ball and tossed it back to him. “Nice shot,” she replied. “Just not quite niceenough.”
A chorus ofoohsandaahsrang out among both teams. Levi opened his mouth, but Haddie caught his eye and shook her head.She didn’t know what Billy McMannus’s story was either, or why he shot that ball at an unsuspecting player, but they weren’t going to figure that out here and certainly not now. The only thing they could assess at the moment was how well their first day of camp had gone.
“What do you say we work this out on the field, Coach Rourke?” she challenged.
Levi’s eyes widened. “You mean a scrimmage?” He leaned a little closer. “Right now?” he added, only loud enough for her to hear.
Haddie laughed. “Thekids,” she clarified.
Levi cleared his throat and straightened. “Right. Of course. I knew that.”
Haddie shrugged. “It’s better than splitting my team in half and not having enough players on the field. You’re not afraid of a little friendly competition, are you?”
Moreoohsandaahserupted from both teams as Levi considered her. Something flashed in his eyes before a smile spread across his face, and Haddie could have sworn that for a split second, hewasafraid of the challenge. But why?
“You’re on, Coach Martin.” He lifted his visor from his head, ran a hand through his disheveled hair, and then pulled the bill back down to shield his eyes. “May the best team win.”
Haddie winked at him. “Oh…we will.”
They shook hands, Haddie’s eyes twinkling with mischief. “My girls are ready to give you a run for your money.”
“Is that so?” Levi raised an eyebrow, the corners of his mouthturning up in a grin. “Well, I guess we’ll just have to see about that.”
“Guess so,” Haddie agreed, smiling. As she watched Levi walk back to his team, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for him. He came home to coach football, and he’d been given the school’s soccer team instead. Her pang didn’t last long, though. Because when it came to the sport she loved—and to proving herself in a new job, at a new school, in a brand-freaking-new town—Haddie Martin wasn’t pulling any punches.
“Remember, team,” Haddie called out as her first eleven players took their spots on the field, her voice laced with determination. “It’s all about teamwork and communication!”
“Let’s do this!” Levi echoed, his gaze meeting hers for a brief moment, and there it was again, the flicker of uncertainty before he blew his whistle, signaling the kickoff.
Despite McMannus’s powerful kick that sent the ball hurtling toward Haddie’s team’s goal, Levi’s team fumbled on the field, their lack of coordination and communication evident in every missed pass and misstep. Haddie watched intently, her gaze sharp as she studied their movements. The sun cast playful shadows on the grass beneath them, but the actualplayingsent a whole new pang straight to Haddie’s heart—guilt.
Billy McMannus might be a power forward, but other than that, Levi’s team was a mess. As soon as Haddie’s team gained possession of the ball, it was only a matter of seconds until they scored their first goal—before the other team’s goalie even knew what happened.
They were going to annihilate Levi’s team, which wouldnotbode well for anyone’s spirit the very first day of the season.
