Page 3 of Golden Goal

Hunter huffs out a breath. “Don’t you think it’ll seem like favoritism if they give it to me?”

“So what if you’re married to Coach’s daughter? Everyone here knows you. If anyone deserves the captain’s C, it’s you. They made you an alternate captain for a reason,” Wes says.

I nod my agreement.

“Hey, listen up.” Elias gets to his feet. The locker room goes silent as everyone turns toward us. “All yours,” he whispers to Hunter.

“Fucker,” Hunter mutters before clearing his throat and addressing the room. “Listen, I know we’re off to a rocky start, and we’ve had a lot of, err . . . changes this season, including our captain retiring. And we’re not doing so hot. Actually, we’re playing like shit.” He pauses, and laughter breaks out. “But we’re the Storm. We can do anything. There’s still a lot of the season left, and we’re not giving up until the last game. Let’s get some rest tonight and turn this around. Let’s break this losing streak.” Hunter surveys the room.

Guys mutter their agreement.

“Great speech, Cap,” Wes says, smacking him on the back when he sits down.

Elias was right. Hunter’s our next captain. And if Coach and the rest of the front office don’t see it, then there’s something wrong with them.

“Not the captain,” Hunter mutters with a shake of his head.

“Yet,” Wes says with a smug grin.

I simply give him a tight-lipped smile. Maybe not yet, but I agree with Wes and Elias.

Soon.

Silence descends on the locker room as we all finish getting dressed.

Chapter two

Rebecca

I sink into the couch in the living room of my new apartment, exhausted. Well, that might be the understatement of the year for how I feel right now. Groaning, I put my feet up on the plastic storage bin I’ve been using as a coffee table for the last few days and lean my head against the back of the couch, closing my eyes.

I can’t believe I’m this tired and I haven’t even seen any players. The last few days have been filled with paperwork, meetings with different staff members and with Dr. Walt, trying to memorize all I could about the team, and learning to navigate a new environment—don’t ask me how many times I’ve gotten lost.

Dr. Montgomery left good notes about the players she’d been seeing, and I’m confident that with Dr. Walt’s help, I can figure it all out. I probably should have gone to the game tonight to get a better feel for the team and players, but I’m so worn out and could tell I was going to crash. Besides, there’s another home game in two days I can go to.

The ringing of my phone has me opening my eyes and sitting up. I snatch it off the cushion next to me, smiling when I see who is calling.

“Hey, Dad.”

“Hey, kiddo.” It doesn’t matter that I’m in my mid-thirties and no longer a kid, he still calls me kiddo. “How’s your first week going? Enjoying it?”

I contemplate his question for a second. “It’s good. A lot. A bit overwhelming. But I’m sure it’ll get better.”

“I imagine working with athletes is a hell of a lot different from private practice.”

“Way different, but I think I’m going to enjoy it. It’ll be a welcome change of pace. How are things with you?”

“Things are pretty good. Jill says hi and she misses you.” He mutters something I can’t hear to my stepmom before coming back to the phone. “She’s getting ready to go play bingo at the community center. Tried to get me to come with her. Like usual.”

I chuckle. “You should go. It might be fun.”

“Nah, not my thing. The real reason I’m calling,” he starts, and I hold my breath. “Do you know anything about this orthopedic pillow? It got delivered yesterday. This very expensive orthopedic pillow.”

I shrug my shoulders, even though he can’t see me. “You said your neck was bothering you when we talked a few weeks ago.”

“And the massage gun that also got delivered?”

“I’ve seen the way you sit when you drive, with your shoulders all hunched over. And you were saying your leg was tight.”