Once Upon A Half-Time: A Sports Romance - Sosie Frost Page 0,92

never challenged on the field.”

He was right. Didn’t mean I’d admit it.

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Jack said. “I was the same. Some loudmouth asshole who cared more about himself than the game. After the linemen let through a couple linebackers to sack my ass, I wised up and learned the truth.”

“Which was?”

“That we’re part of a team. There is no Jack Carson. No Cole Hawthorne. No Lachlan Reed. There’s a number on your uniform and a place for you in every play, but that’s it. And that’s good. That makes us work together. Keeps us looking ahead instead of behind. What happened in the past is done. We gotta keep our eyes downfield.”

I heaved a breath. “There’s a lot of pressure on me now.”

“Fuck the pressure. You think you’re the only one with problems?”

“No, but—”

“We all have our fucking issues. I’ve been fighting with the league for three years about my reputation. Last year, Cole was too afraid of his own strength to let anyone get near him. Know how we got through it?”

“I’m guessing the team.”

“You’re goddamned right. You are a part of this team. You’re in this family, and people are willing to help you.” Jack shrugged. “All you gotta do is ask.”

What the hell did I have to lose?

“I need your help.”

“No shit, rookie.” Jack smacked my head. “Here’s what we’re gonna do. I’m making you my go-to man. You’ll get open when I need to dump a pass. You’ll block when I got a linemen breathing down my neck. You’re gonna be someone I can trust, because, let’s face it, there’s not a lot of people on the team we can trust now. I’m counting on you.”

“That’s great, but I fuck up every time I touch the ball.”

“Believe me, I know,” he said.

“Thanks.”

He wasn’t worried. “We haven’t been in sync. It takes time to develop that trust, but we’ll work on it together. Figure this shit out.”

I liked his optimism. “Think I can pull it around?”

“You already have.” Jack grinned. “You came to me.”

“It wasn’t my idea. Elle’s the one who told me to pull my head out of my ass.”

His smile faded. “Then you better do everything you can to keep her. This scandal will be bigger than all of us, and she’ll need you to take care of her.” He nodded. “And when you’re on the field, we’ll take care of each other. That’s how this works. It’s how we’re gonna win.”

“Yeah, if we get a chance to play.”

Jack tensed. “You think we’re gonna get fucked?”

“Not us.” I hated to say it, the words pitting in my stomach. “I think they’re gonna go after Elle.”

But they’d regret it if they did.

She was my wife. The mother of my unborn child.

The love of my life.

I’d be damned if I let anyone hurt her.

24

Elle

Some good came from the truth.

When I did my interview with Sports Nation, I was fully clothed…because I certainly wasn’t anywhere else on the internet.

I wasn’t used to being the target of a picture and not the photographer. At least I’d looked good. Not that I wanted the world to see the goods, but I traded my tits for my integrity. And it’d worked. The media had a juicier story in the Rivets’ cheating.

It made for one hellish weekend.

Interviews. Analysis. Investigations.

The only thing bigger than the revelation? Coach Thompson’s immediate response. I checked the time. Right on cue, they replayed it on Sports Nation. Every half-hour.

“This is a grey area in the league rules…” His voice was somber, respectful. “But we never deceived the league or willfully acted in any way which would have given our team an advantage during a game. We may have misinterpreted the rules, but our organization will perform its own investigation in accordance with the league, and the personnel responsible will be disciplined.”

Which meant, Peter was fired.

Some people lost their jobs. Others? The voicemail on my phone didn’t offer me my position back.

It gave me Peter’s.

If I wanted it, I could become head photographer. I’d get a big raise, the travel stipend, all the responsibilities and acclaim.

It was hush money, but damn if I wasn’t considering it. I was part of the Rivets’ family, and families stuck together.

No matter how hard-headed the cockiest rookie in the league was.

Or how stupid and stubborn his wife had been.

I changed the channel on the television. It had been years since the Rivets played a game where I wasn’t on the field with them. I missed the crowds, the excitement, the