HEART IN THE GAME BONUS Lily Cahill
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author s imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales, are entirely coincidental. Copyright 2016 Nameless Shameless Women, LLC. All rights reserved.
CHAPTER ONE Reggie I HAVE SPENT MY WHOLE life playing football. Learning skills, doing drills, running plays. I ve taken hard hits, pushed my body beyond endurance, and disciplined myself to take wins and losses with equal grace. But nothing I ve ever done is as difficult as this. Mikey, stop hitting Ollie with your helmet! And Jordan, I told you to keep your shoes on! Mikey, Ollie, and Jordan ignore me. Actually, now that I m looking closely, I think it might be Jayden with his shoes off, and Jordan doing somersaults on the grass. Who can tell them apart? I m surrounded by a tiny army of boys in helmets and jerseys, and I can barely keep my eye on any of them long enough to tell who is who. And the noise is deafening. Who knew that twenty five-year-olds could be so loud? Well, I can be louder. I reach for my trusty whistle and blow three quick tweets. Huddle up, men! I shout, to the delight of everyone watching. And there are a lot of people watching. For most of these kids, this is their first time playing any sort of sport, and there are dozens of proud parents taking pictures on the sidelines. I let my gaze drift over them, 1
Heart in the Game Bonus grinning when I see one particular auburn-haired woman snapping photo after photo. Megan. All these years later, I still can t believe she s my wife. The kids manage to gather around me with only minimal fuss. There s one boy jumping up and down with his hand in the air. Yes, Dexter? I wanna be quarterback, Dexter says, with the finality of a kid who is used to getting what he wants. Yeah, yeah, I mutter. When I m not wrangling Pee-Wee football players, I m an assistant coach for the high school team here in Granite, and I ve got a bunch of sixteen-year-olds who want the same thing as Dexter. We re not assigning positions right now, I say, stemming the protests of several kids who were beginning to whine. Today, we re concentrating on fundamentals. Can you all say it with me? Fun-dament-als. The kids dutifully repeat after me. Fundamentals are all the things you need to learn by heart before you can play football. How to move your feet. How to throw and catch. And most importantly, how to be a good teammate. Dexter s hand is in the air again. My daddy says I can be quarterback. Your daddy can suck it, I think, but I m careful to keep my voice firm and calm. Sometimes being a mature adult blows. Dexter, I m your coach. That means you don t interrupt when I m talking, and my decisions are final. If you want to be on my team, those are the rules. Do you understand? Dexter pouts, but nods. Jesus, I never thought I d be the one enforcing the rules. Let s all practice. If you have a question, you say, Excuse me, Coach Davis. 2
Lily Cahill Can we say that together? Their little voices pipe up in chorus. Excuse me, Coach Davis! Very good. I look down when I feel a small hand tugging on the hem of my shirt. The upturned face looking at me has my golden-amber eyes and Megan s sprinkling of freckles, and it s the face I love most in the world. In a loud whisper, my son asks, Can I call you Coach Daddy? 3
CHAPTER TWO Megan THAT BOY OF YOURS IS just the cutest thing, gushes Addy Williamson Don t I know it, I say, grinning as I watch Reggie kneel down next to Tyler. I m not sure who Addy is talking about, my husband or my son, but her statement is true either way. It brings tears to my eyes to see the man I love teaching our son the sport that brought us together. Not that it takes much to make me tear up these days. I run my hand over my swelling belly, where our soon-to-be born daughter sleeps. Pregnancy makes me sentimental, but it s not just the hormones that have me weepy. Sometimes I look at my life, and I can t believe how lucky I am. Then the baby kicks, and Tyler announces loudly that he needs to pee, and I feel my phone buzzing in my pocket with yet another call from the physical therapy center I run in Granite. I still feel lucky just lucky and tired. I take another sip of the green tea Reggie insists I drink when I m pregnant, pretending that it packs anywhere near the same punch as coffee. There s a 4
Lily Cahill big race in a couple of weeks called the Granted Granite, and I ve had back-to-back appointments all day treating over-pronated knees and shredded IT bands. I always figured I would work for a sports team, but when I had the chance to open my own business, I decided to take the risk. Reggie was the one who convinced me to go for it. He said that I did him a favor when I pointed him toward coaching, so he would do me a favor and point me toward being the boss. And he was right. Even though I m working harder now than I ever have before, I love my work. Addy nudges me. Oh look! They re lining up to run the cones. Reggie is leading a snaking line of kids through a set of cones. The concept isn t difficult, but the execution is half of the kids have clearly never worn cleats before and are struggling to work out how to make them work in the grass. I glance down at Reggie s cleats and smile. They aren t the same pair I bought him when we were in college, though those are still in our closet at home. But he is wearing shoelaces with pink and red hearts. Oh God, look at Jayden. He s got his daddy s big feet, Addy says affectionately as her boy stumbles. But he gets right back up, I point out as Jayden rejoins the line. That s the most important thing. I m so glad your husband is coaching this year. The boys just love him. Her words send a warm glow through me. He s thrilled to be here. He s been waiting for Tyler to be old enough to play since my first ultrasound. Well, it looks like it was worth the wait, Addy says, eyebrows raised. I turn back to the field. Reggie has the boys doing 5
Heart in the Game Bonus suicide runs, and Tyler is far and away the fastest. Yeah, he s quick. He skipped past toddling and right into sprints. Looks like he ll follow in his daddy s footsteps, Addy says cheerfully. I think about that about the years since Reggie and I met, and the years yet to roll out beneath us. I feel a surge of pride thinking about Tyler in a Mustangs uniform, wearing Reggie s number. I never would have imagined myself married to Reggie, raising children with him, owning my own business. Thank God his imagination was bigger than mine. Maybe he will, I say, watching my two men highfive wearing matching grins. 6