The corner of my lips twitch. “Don’t want her to be an accomplice, huh?”
“Would you two stop it?” Marie rolls her eyes. “No one will be murdering anyone, here or elsewhere.”
Landon and I exchange a glance.We’ll see about that.
Natalie tosses a ball with a couple of the JV girls as she offers them tips on how to cradle the stick.
“Be careful, Nat,” I warn. “You remember what happened to my fence last year.”
Natalie groans. “It wasn’t my fault, Coach.”
Landon’s eyebrows shoot up. “What happened last year?”
I sweep my arm toward Natalie. “Go ahead, Nat. Tell him how it wasn’t your fault.”
“I was just playing around with the girls, and when I went to pass it to Tori,” she tosses a glare at Tori, “she ducked out of the way and the ball went through the fence.”
Tori holds up her hands on either side of her head. “It was either me or the fence, Coach. Sorry, but I chose your fence.”
“See?” Natalie’s wide eyes flick to mine. “I told you it wasn’t my fault.”
“How hard did you pass it for the ball to go through the vinyl?” Landon asks.
I cough out a laugh. “Exactly my point.” I dig my phone out of my pocket and scroll through my photos to find the lacrosse ball-shaped hole in my fence last summer. “Look, I had to replace the entire panel.”
Landon leans over as his eyes crinkle with his grimace. “Sucks to suck.”
“I told you, I would’ve paid for it,” Natalie says, propping her hand on her hip.
“Oh, she made you pay for it.” Tori glares her way. “She made usallpay for it.”
“All those drills really helped though.” I open my arms wide. “You’re state champions, aren’t you?”
Marie chuckles. “It’s true. You ladies had an amazing season. I was cheering you along from the sidelines.”
My head tilts. “You were?”
“Oh, yes.” She grins, flicking her gaze to her son. “We were so proud to see you making history in this town.”
We...?
“All right, who wants cheese on their burgers?” Landon asks.
Almost everyone’s hands shoot up, including mine. “Make sure mine is well done, Chef.”
“It’s already on its way to hockey puck status.”
My eyebrows hit my hairline.He remembers?
As Landon passes around the plates, his phone chimes. “Mom, it’s time for?—”
“Already on it, my boy,” she calls as she makes her way toward the house.
I watch the way he stares at the house, even after his mother is inside, the concern pinching his eyebrows together.
What’s going on?
Once everyone has food, the girls make small talk, both teams seeming to interact and get along. It’s comforting to see the seniors taking on leadership roles with the JV kids. It makes me feel like I’ve put together the right team; one without drama and cattiness that tends to come along with high schoolers.
