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“Kid, really?” He rolled his eyes. “I’m eighteen.”
“And still so much to learn.” I winked, chuckling.
I follow Kaiden into the locker room, the hustle and bustle, and noise is like stepping back in time. There had been a time I’d lived for this. The weight of shoulder pads, the smell of freshly mowed grass, the glare of the Friday night lights. I’d been the guy to beat. An unstoppable force of nature. I’d poured all my anger and grief and pain into football. And for a while, it had worked.
But nothing good lasted forever.
Kaiden headed for his guys, while I made my way into the assistant coaches’ office.
“What time do you call this, Chase?” Coach Huckley said.
“Looks like I’m right on time to me.” My eyes went to the clock hanging above his head.
“You’re two minutes late.”
“Give the guy a break,” Coach Macintosh interjected. “A couple of minutes isn’t going to hurt. Besides, you’re talking to a real-life hero, right there.”
“Mac.” I shook my head, hating the way he was looking at me.
“That was some heavy shit, Xander. Makes you wonder what the hell a seventeen-year-old girl was doing down there at that time of night.”
In a town like Rixon, where everyone knew everyone, news travelled fast. So it was hardly a surprise that Peyton’s accident had become the hot topic on everyone’s lips. One of the attending EMTs was good friends with one of the town’s biggest gossips, which meant that unfortunately for me, there was no keeping my name out of the incident.
“Obviously up to no good,” Huckley grumbled, skirting his eyes over the clipboard in his hand.
I glowered in his direction. It didn’t sit right with me, hearing him talk about Peyton like that. It shouldn’t have surprised me though.
Most of the guys on the staff team were decent. But Huckley didn’t appreciate me walking into the job with little to no qualifications. And part of me got it, I did. But I needed this. More than he would ever know. So for the most part, I let his veiled jibes and disapproving glances roll off my back. I knew what people thought of me. Xander Chase, down-and-out. The guy who’d had the world at his feet and blew his shot. But they hadn’t walked in my shoes. They didn’t know what it was like.
They’d never fucking know.
“Guys, let’s go,” Jase stuck his head around the door, his eyes going to mine. “You good?”
I gave him a sharp nod, not missing the way Huckley glared at me. He didn’t like that Jase had stuck his neck out on the line for me. He didn’t like it at all. But Jase was as good as family, and he knew I needed a shot at something better. Something to get my life back on track.
“The boss has spoken,” Coach Macintosh plucked the toothpick from his mouth and chuckled. “Better not be late.”
We filed out of the office and walked through the empty locker room. Jase was a firm but fair kind of guy. He expected his players to give their all and in return he gave his. But the next week would be on a whole other level. It was the quarter-finals, and the whole of Rixon was looking at him and the team to bring home the championship.
Which meant the heat was also on me, because like it or not I was a part of this team now.
We joined the huddle, waiting for Jase to issue instructions for our morning practice. We all knew the routine, but he liked to start every practice with a pep talk.
“Okay, bring it in,” he said. “Saturday marked the first day of a new season. Playoff season. And you went out there and got the job done. But the hard work isn’t over. We can’t afford to get complacent because those other teams are going to come at us and come at us hard. I need you all to be on top of your game. Listen to your coaches, memorize every play in the book and then memorize them some more, and turn up to practice every day and put in the hard work. You feel me?”
“Yes, sir.” The team’s unified response echoed around the field.
“Good, now get out there and show me what you got. Thatcher, you’re with Coach Chase, we’re going to need you in peak condition, son.”
“Yes, sir.” Kaiden jogged over to the ball sack and plucked one out. “Ready when you are, Coach.” He threw the ball at me and I caught it with ease.
“Let’s put you through your paces.” I smirked. Kaiden was a good kid, but he knew he was good.
After setting up the drill, we got to it, focusing on his throwing accuracy. “How’s it going with Lily and her old man?” I asked as he hiked another ball toward me.
“Okay, I think. Why? Has he said something to you?”
“No, kid. But if I didn’t know better, I’d say Jase actually likes you.”
