And when the cone finally came into view, relief punched through me so sharply I nearly quit right there.
Three more pulls.
Two.
One—
He dropped from me with a thud, and I sat back on my heels, head tipped back to the sky, my lungs greedily sucking in air as sweat dripped down my back and temples. Grunts and groans echoed around me, coming back into focus as I turned to see the rest of my girls hauling men across the pitch.
Pride swelled in my chest as I watched these women. My team.
The Valkyries proved again that no one outworked us.
That was exactly what I needed to remember. We were winners. I dragged the back of my wrist across my forehead, breaths beginning to settle, the ache in my muscles grounding me in all the ways my thoughts refused to.
This grit, this fire, this team, was what mattered.
Not the six-foot-five headache currently getting to his feet. I resisted the urge to lean into the warmth I knew he provided, not wanting to show the weakness of need and comfort. We were just captains who share a stadium. I needed to remember that.
I pushed up off my heels, straightened my spine, and let the noise of the session wash over me—the laughter, the swearing, the thuds of bodies hitting turf. It gave me perspective far better than any deep breath ever could.
Whatever had happened on Friday… It didn’t own me.
This did. My work. My women. My game.
Even if part of me was still fighting myself to look back.
22
Connor
After training, the Valkyries went to wash off the mud and sweat while my team did the same. The session had been a good idea, giving us all some common ground when we’d been told to stay separate at first. It helped to see everyone laugh through the drills, tease and encourage each other, and realize both squads were competitive, relentless, and allergic to letting the other side win even a warm-up.
I needed to find Teddy before she disappeared to ask her to come to St Brigid’s with me next week before our first games. I’m not sure how long it would take for my body to regain its natural rhythm after spending the last hour in her orbit. Or that I was seeking her out so soon like an addict needing a hit. In true Teddy style, she’d fled, and I’d expected it. That didn’t stop my body from twitching with the need for a resolution.
I stood in the lobby, hands on my hips, breathing through the excess energy with nowhere to put it. Avoidance changed nothing.
Bobby appeared at my side, Nate and Jake long gone. “Hey, man, what you still doing out here?”
“I’m just hoping to catch Teddy,” I said, rubbing a hand over the back of my neck. It was perfectly normal for captains to talk, right? Especially since we’d been pushed together after the quake. It wasn’t like I’d said,“I’m waiting for her because I need to ask her why she kissed me.”
“She’s probably with Micah. She texted me saying she’s wrapping up, then we’re getting sushi.” He lifted his chin. “You’re welcome to tag along.”
“Maybe,” I said without commitment. Because I already knew I’d read the room before I stepped into it. I wasn’t going anywhere if Teddy didn’t want me there. “I’ll see how it all comes together, sure,” I added, because it was easier than admitting I was waiting on her call, even if she’d never made it.
Bobby accepted that without digging, which was one of the reasons I liked him. He stayed a few feet away, leaning against the wall, eyes drifting toward the corridor every few seconds, waiting for his girl.
A moment later, Micah finally emerged, purse over her shoulder. She smiled when she saw Bobby, then looked between us.
“Hey, baby,” she cooed, leaning toward him for a kiss. “Thanks for waiting.”
“Of course,” Bobby said with a gooey smile. “Connor’s waiting for Teddy. Is she coming?”
Micah’s expression flickered, and then her eyebrows pinched.
My stomach dipped.
“She left already. Slipped out the side hall about ten minutes ago.”
