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"Dan!"
He whirled around as she called out his name. His face contorted with a depth of emotion she had never seen, and she leapt into his arms.
"Phoebe! Thank God! Oh, thank God, Phoebe…" Over and over he muttered her name as he held her tight against his chest.
The sideline minicam zeroed in on them, while in the owner's skybox, Ron shot to his feet and ran for the door. Meanwhile in the broadcasting booth, the announcers were stumbling all over each other trying to explain why the Stars' owner was embracing the coach who had spent the past two quarters of the game cold-bloodedly leading her team into disaster.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him hard. He returned the kiss and hugged her so tightly she could barely breathe.
"Can you still win?" she whispered.
"As long as you're safe, it doesn't matter. Nothing matters." His voice was gruff with emotion, and she drew back far enough to see that his eyes were filled with tears. "I thought I'd lost you," he said. "I love you so much. Oh, God, I love you."
She locked the words away like a treasure to be drawn out later. For now, she could only think of him and what he'd done for her.
"I want you to win. You've worked so hard."
"It's not important."
"Yes. Yes, it is." She realized she was crying.
He hugged her hard. "Don't cry, honey. Let's just be happy you're alive."
She realized he thought she wanted this for herself. "You don't understand. I don't want you to win for me! I want you to do it for yourself!"
"We're behind by ten, honey. There are less than three minutes on the clock."
"Then you'd better get to work."
He smoothed her hair back from her face, and his eyes were so full of love that all the doubts she'd had about his feelings evaporated.
"We'd have to score two touchdowns to win, and right now the men hate my guts."
"I'll talk to them."
"Phoebe…"
She cupped his cheek. "I love you, Coach. Now get to work. That's an order."
Leaving his arms took all her willpower, but she pulled away while he still looked dazed from her declaration. She'd barely taken two steps before Bobby Tom and Jim were at her side.
"Are you all right?" Bobby Tom's face was pale with concern. "Damn, Phoebe, you had us so scared."
"I'm fine." She grabbed their arms. "I want to win this game. I want Dan to be able to win it."
"If we had more time—"
Phoebe cut Jim off. "I don't care about that. I can't let this happen to him. Not to any of you."
She turned away and raced toward Darnell. Somehow she had to restore the players' faith in their coach, but she had so little time. He looked alarmed as he saw the state she was in, and he took a quick step forward.
"Phoebe, what happened to you?"
As quickly as possible, she explained. Attempting to catch her breath at the end, she said, "Dan was only trying to protect me. Tell the other linemen that. We're going to win this game."
Before he could question her, the players who were not on the field began to surround her, and she repeated her story. As they pelted her with questions, the Sabers punted.
Dan had his headset back on and was shouting instructions. Jim slapped his shoulder and dashed onto the field with the offense.
