Page 71 of Penalty Kick

Felicity smirked. “Your father prefers—”

“Fliisssss!” Tanner exclaimed, running over and throwing his arms around his godmother.

Saved by Tanner…on so many levels…

“Hey T-Bird,” Felicity said into Tanner’s hair as she returned his embrace. “Can you do me a favor and go round up your teammates?”

Tanner nodded emphatically, excitement flowing from him like a river. Watching as he turned to run back toward the team, ushering them over to the middle of the pitch, Talia couldn’t help but laugh. He was such an energetic kid, so full of life and joy. She couldn’t remember ever being that way. Not that she was an unhappy kid, but she’d always felt a seriousness. A glance back over at Gunnar, whose arms were now crossed as he listened to his wife very animatedly whispering something to him—or at him—made her think that maybe that was just something else she’d unknowingly inherited from the Gracin gene pool.

Irked by the annoyance that was still clearly written all over him, Talia marched over to Gunnar, her face now scrunched to match his. She was not going to allow this “badditude,” as her mother would have put it, on her field. Not in front of her kids.

“What is your problem?”

Gunnar looked taken aback by her question, but only for a moment. After all, she was his daughter—the sass ran in the family. Letting his face soften, Gunnar huffed out a sigh. She knew there was no way he was going to stay mad, especially when he wasn’t even sure what he was mad at. It wasn’t like he’d caught them the same way Liam and Avery had.

A shiver ran through her at the thought. That was a scene she never needed to repeat, with anyone else—ever. Much less Gunnar.

“Football players—”

“Are bad news,” she finished. “Got it.”

Rolling her eyes again, Talia crossed her arms, jutting out her hip, same as she’d done as a teenager when trying to be defiant. She knew why Gunnar constantly muttered this warning. She did. But she also knew that she had been let into Dash’s inner circle and now knew a very different side to him. A side that so few people got to see. Including the one standing opposite her.

“Could you at least try to smile before you address my team?” she continued. “Grumpy Bear might work on your players, but mine prefer Funshine.”

“You mean sunshine.”

“Nope, Funshine. Little yellow guy with a smiling sun on his tummy.”

Felicity barked out a laugh. “My favorite was always Harmony Bear. But with the eighties tummy symbol of the red heart with the two pink ones on the side. I hate the multicolored flower thing they have going on now.”

“Ugh, that one is pretty bad.”

“What are you two talking about?” Gunnar asked.

“Care Bears,” Felicity answered with a shrug, as if it were completely obvious. “Look, here are the kids!”

The group gathered around them, eyes wide with a mix of amazement and curiosity that the Rising’s owner and Head Coach were here. Slipping behind the kids, Dash sidled up next to Talia, scratching her back lightly. The contact tickled but also felt damn good. Her body called out for more, wishing it were his whole hand caressing her, but it would have to do for now.

“You guys all know Miss Felicity and Mister Gunnar. They are here to…” Talia trailed off, realizing she didn’t know why they were here. That had gotten skipped thanks to Gunnar’s temper tantrum. “Well, I’ll let them tell you.”

“Hey y’all!” Felicity greeted, not skipping a beat. “Y’all look awesome out there. Just like you did against Dallas. And I know you will look just as amazing against Phoenix this weekend.”

“We just wanted to come by and tell you how proud we are of you, each and every one of you. You’ve worked hard this season, and it’s paid off. I know I speak for the entire first team when I say that we are very excited about you traveling with us this weekend.”

There was a resounding cheer from the team, the message loud and clear. They were a valued part of this organization. Talia knew how much this meant to them. Every one of her players had told her at least once this week how excited they were about this trip. For them to hear the first team was just as excited to have them—well, it might as well be Christmas.

With a few more words of encouragement, Felicity and Gunnar excused themselves. Dash let out a sigh of relief as they watched them walk away, both of them thankful Gunnar only looked back once. What he thought he was going to see, Talia wasn’t really sure. Did he really believe they would start making out the second his back was turned? And in front of the Unified team? If so, he was crazier than she realized.

“I know the answer,” Dash said as the kids started a cool-down lap around the pitch. “But you have not said how you are feeling about this trip to Phoenix.”

Talia swallowed hard. She sure hadn’t. It was a topic she’d purposefully been avoiding. Truth be told, the only reason she was even going was the Unified team. If their game hadn’t been scheduled like this, she would have stayed in Atlanta this weekend, working every shift she could to take her mind off the team visiting her home state. But fate had worked against her on this once. Going was the right move—even if only to see her brothers. She was excited to see them. Their dad, however…

“I can tell you are nervous,” Dash continued. Taking her hand, he interlaced their fingers, squeezing lightly. “Even if it was not written all over your face, I can see it in your muscles. You are very tense. And a different kind of tense. I trust it is not school, because I know how much you love that. Unless it is about your program. But I do not believe so.”

Talia sighed. How was it that Dash knew her so well? He’d hit the nail on the head. Her anxiety was not about school or the master’s program announcement. Was she nervous about whether or not she got into the Renaye program? Yes. But it didn’t weigh on her like the idea of seeing Robert Whitmore.

“My brothers and Dad—err, Robert—are coming to the game in Phoenix. And then we’re having a family dinner after. I haven’t really spoken to him since I left, so…”