“You’re mad. Don’t be. I’m sorry. I’m overthinking and I know it. I’m just…nervous. I want everything to be perfect. I don’t know Freya well, and it’s frustrating. Add the local rumor mill and a dose of the usual family BS, and I feel like I’m off my game. I don’t mean to drag you into my dysfunction, but you’re sort of in it already. And I think that to a degree, you’re okay with that…for the baby’s sake.”
“Hmph.”
Dexter smiled warmly. “I’ll take that as a yes. C’mon. Tell me something about yourself. Are you competitive?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“Were you a good student?”
“What difference does it make?” I snapped.
“This is called polite conversation, Viggo. Just answer the question.”
“I was okay,” I replied. He didn’t prod for more information, and the silence bothered me. “You?”
“Yeah. My parents expected us to be high achievers. Well…my mom did, anyway.”
We’d arrived at our destination before he could think of more ways to make me uncomfortable.Thank God.
I observed the kids and parents pulling equipment from their vehicles or skipping toward the field as if this were the highlight of their weekend. This was one of those times that I realized I’d accidentally settled in a town that had more in common with a Hallmark romance than reality.
I’d come to Wood Hollow for a job, and I’d stayed for the quiet. I hadn’t counted on it being a wholesome enclave with feel-good family sweetness and conscientious neighbors. Nice qualities for sure, but I generally kept to myself.
Till now.
I left the bag of uneaten donuts on the console and met Dexter at the rear of his truck just as an athletic man with wavy blond hair approached.
“You’re late,” he chided, holding out a fist to Dexter for a bro greeting. “You usually beat me here by at least fifteen minutes.”
Dexter bumped his fist. “Bite me. Troy, this is Viggo. Troy’s an old friend who also happens to be the high school football coach. And Viggo is a new…friend. He’s helping us with practice today.”
Surprise flitted across Troy’s face, but if he was annoyed by my presence, he hid it well. “Nice to meet you. I don’t know what this guy’s told you, but it’s all lies.”
I shook Troy’s hand. “He told me nothing. I didn’t know I’d be here until…five minutes ago.”
“That’s very Dex.” He snorted.
I nodded as I sized Troy up. He was Dexter’s height and build, but coloring wise, they were opposites. Troy had fairer skin, blond hair, blue eyes, a long nose, and sharp cheekbones. He was good-looking for sure, but nowhere near as handsome as Dexter. No one was.
“Nice to meet you.”
“You too. And thanks for coming. We could always use the help. Although, you’re not exactly dressed for running.” Troy pointed at my jeans. “Maybe you could do some passing drills.”
“Uh…okay.”
Troy grabbed one of the equipment bags from Dexter’s trunk and hiked it over his shoulder. “Let’s get out there, boys. Our public awaits.”
Dexter closed the SUV’s hatch and gave a lopsided smile. “You good?”
“No, I’m terrible, and this will probably be a disaster,” I mumbled.
“Nah, it’ll be fun.” He bumped my elbow playfully.
Look, I hadn’t been living under a rock. I knew that football was a big deal in Wood Hollow. I also knew that Dexter had single-handedly organized flag football leagues in the Four Forest area for youths, teens, adults, and seniors that were very popular.
My coworkers regularly exchanged smack talk during lunch breaks, bragging about their big win the previous weekend or moping about a heart-wrenching loss. They got especially heated over any loss to Pinecrest, who everyone collectively agreed cheated by hiring professional trainers instead of parent and teacher volunteers like everyone else. They didn’t mind that Elmwood had professional hockey players coaching their kids, but hockey prowess hadn’t made them more competitive in flag football. Or so I’d heard. I’d stayed out of it.
Beau and Lyle had invited me to join them a few times, but I’d passed. I wasn’t big on crowds, and my days of participating in team sports were long gone.
