The new pitch had been laid farther west, deliberately shifted away from the mapped fracture line. Geologists had surveyed the soil twice. The unstable section had been excavated and reinforced with deep-set piers and compacted. Our pitch wouldn’t be near it again, to stop any further issues.
Luckily, the gym and stadium were far enough west of the pitch and the fault line that we didn’t have to move them. They had both been completely restructured—internal steel replaced, roof rebuilt, shear walls reinforced to updated seismic code. It was wild that I knew what all of that meant now.
Six months ago, I would’ve looked at all of it and seen weakness.
Now I saw responsibility and, even better than that, I saw possibility.
Oh, and Jake in his boxers rolling around the new turf like an overgrown dog.
“For the love of god, get up!” Nate shouted from the sideline.
Jake stretched his arms wide and didn’t move. “This is the best grass I’ve ever felt.”
“Do we need to call someone to come get him?” Evie asked, a pinched expression on her face, her head tilted in sympathy.
I chuckled under my breath. “This is a regular day in the life of Jake Ledger.”
“Put some shorts on before the sponsors arrive,” Nate shouted, appearing next to us.
“They should see what they’re investing in,” Jake shot back.
Nate scoffed. “I swear to god, if this is the first thing that gets photographed—”
“Don’t encourage him; you know he’ll just go full naked,” I interrupted.
Beyond the far touchline, the rest of the squads started to filter in properly. Knights laughed, pushing each other, wearing their green kits, ready to go, all laughing at Jake.
Then, the rest of the Valkyries emerged in a block of navy and gold. Delany and Lola led them out. They moved like they owned whatever space they stepped into. I guess that’s what happens when you’re champions, and they fucking deserved it.
When I noticed Teddy, that old rivalry flickered to life again.
It wasn’t the same as before—it was so much more now. Laced with utter adoration, which buzzed low and steady in my bloodstream every time I was near her.
The last few weeks had been crazy after their win, and the team deserved downtime. Teddy and I spent most of it at my place and at the beach, where neither of us checked our phones.
The media had run with our relationship, calling usRugby’s Power Pair, Captains of Solterra,and Teddy and I worked hard to make sure it wasn’t the focus of what we were trying to do. Any chance we got, we would reframe conversations with the media and ask questions that mattered, that pointed toward the future of women’s sports, instead of what we ate for dinner together last week. It wasn’t easy, but neither of us were quitters. She inspired me to keep my captain title for another season and continue to set upLegacy Line.With her by my side I was pretty sure I could do anything.
Our families had taken the whole thing in stride too. Mam adopted Teddy immediately, which meant she now received weekly care packages containing enough homemade snacks to feed both our entire front rows. Teddy’s dad had been quieter, but he wasn’t deploying for at least the next year, which meant he’d be around to watch this next chapter unfold, and I knew how much that mattered to her.
I’d never been so fucking happy to have such a powerful woman to call mine.
I didn’t realize I’d started walking in her direction until we were only a few steps apart.
She stopped in front of me, close enough that I caught the faint scent of her shampoo. I’d never tire of that smell.
“Hey there, Captain.”
“Hey, sunshine.”
Her braids were back, her staple for playing, and I fucking loved to see it.
She kicked her chin upward. “You ready for me to kick your ass today?”
“Dream on,” I said, holding her gaze. “I’m not going to go easy on you.”
A flash of memory hit me without permission—her fingers fisted in my shirt, her breath catching against my mouth, the way she’d once whispereddon’t you dare go easy on me, captainin a completely different context.
My body reacted before my brain caught up. Damn dick, now wasn’t the time.
