Teddy sighed. “I wish I didn’t. Makes it feel pointless to even try on the field.”
Sarah rumpled Teddy’s overgrown brown curls. “Aww, is the wasted hotness a little sentimental?”
Teddy’s cheeks turned pink, and Levi had to bite back a grin at seeing a guy he knew could be ruthless on the field turn to a pile of goo in front of the girl he was obviously crushing on. Levi knew the feeling.
“And yeah,” Sarah added. “We know. Hard to keep a secret in a town like this, especially when you’ve got blabbermouths like this guy.” She nodded toward Teddy who smiled sheepishly.
“My uncle’s on the school board. He told me about Principal Crawford’s plan to save the budget by getting rid of the program. How could I not tell my teammates…and Ramirez?”
Levi scrubbed a hand over his jaw and blew out a breath. The looks on both of their faces—that doe-eyed loss of hope—ate up his insides. And if all of them knew? Then how could he blame Teddy or any of his team for not giving it their all? Coach Crawford had labeled them as unnecessary, given them a coach who knew barely enough about soccer to play it, let alone coach it, and all they were doing was playing the part.
He looked at his watch. He had a little less than ten minutesbefore first period began, and he needed to talk to Tommy.
“Get to class, you two,” he finally told them. “And apologize to Coach Martin the next time you see her and tell her that she doesn’t have to bribe you because you are going to do your best to keep her private lifeprivate, okay?”
“Okay,” they both grumbled together. “But I’m not going to stop shipping you two,” Sarah added.
Levi shook his head with laugh. “Just…keep your shipping to yourself, will you? I don’t need any rumors getting back to the big guy when our program is already in jeopardy. I gotta run. Teddy, I’ll see you out on the field for warm-ups at four, okay? Because we are going to own Middleton tonight and show Coach Crawford what we are made of.”
Teddy forced a smile. “Sure, Coach. If you say so.”
Uh, yeah. Levi Rourke freaking said so because this was what he did. He took scrappy potential and turned it into a trophy-winning, Bowl-dominating team. This would just be on a slightly smaller scale but—he realized—no less important.
His team wasnecessary. Haddie’s team wasnecessary. And they’d figure out how to prove it to Coach Crawford and the rest of the town.
Levi pivoted back to Haddie’s door, left the coffee tumbler on the chair, and then booked it to the high school wing and, more specifically, Tommy Crawford’s classroom.
“Hey, Commissioner,” Levi said, announcing his arrival without even knocking on the door.
Tommy was sitting at his desk grading papers when he lookedup at his friend with tired eyes and a forced grin.
“Rough night?” Levi asked with a wince.
His friend sighed. “Just overextended. Enrollment has grown in the past few years, and we could really use another English teacher on staff, but you know what that does…eats into the budget. So, my classes are too big, grading load too high, and with debate and this budget rescue committee, I’ve kind of given up on sleep.”
“Budget rescue committee?” Levi strode toward the front of the classroom and perched himself against the window across from Tommy’s desk.
Tommy nodded. “Turns out quite a number of the faculty are not happy with my father’s fiscal decision-making, so a group of us are getting together to try to come up with a solution. Not sure if that means extra fundraising or just barging into a school board meeting and airing our grievances. What I do know is that this will totally strengthen my relationship with my father.” He let out a bitter laugh and leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest. “Aren’t you happy you asked?”
Levi’s stomach twisted into a knot.
“Why wasn’t I asked to join your committee?” He wasn’t sure why he was asking when he already knew the answer. Maybe he needed to hear it straight from Tommy’s mouth.
Tommy blew out a breath. “Look, I know how important the football program was to you…isto you. I mean, if Thomas Crawford Sr. had offered you head football coach instead of soccer, you’d be singing his praises for how great he’s always been in supporting the team that is the heart of Summertown. Guess I figuredyou weren’t going to rock the boat for a team you won’t care about anymore come June.”
“Ouch,” Levi replied with a wince, but he didn’t correct his friend. “Maybe that was me a month ago, but that doesn’t mean it’s me now.”
Tommy raised a disbelieving brow. “What’s changed? You’re still leaving at the end of the year, right? Football is your life, and I don’t disrespect that. But I know you see this town and almost everyone in it as part of your past rather than your future. So what does it matter if you’re included on some time suck of a committee that so far has no idea how to solve the budget issue?”
Okay. Double ouch.Maybe he had put Summertown in his rearview mirror, but the people he cared about still mattered to him. Tommy mattered to him. But did he really have to remind his best friend that distance didn’t change that?
“Billy McMannus,” Levi replied, taking the less vulnerable route to start. Because what if Tommy confirmed what he was pretty sure to be true? That he’d been a shitty friend since he left. A shitty brother and a shitty son. That Levi’s fear of looking back at all the parts of life that sucked had only paved the way for a future where the people he loved resented him.
Tommy’s brows drew together. “I don’t follow.”
Levi wasn’t sure he could explain it in a way that made sense. Yes, he was still leaving when he was reinstated, but also… He cared about the team he was coaching now and cared about what happened to it even after he was gone. Maybe that didn’t solve the budget issue, but it was a step in the right direction,right?
“Why is McMannus still ineligible? Hasn’t he done anything to make up for whatever assignment he blew off the first week of school?”
