devastated. You left her out there standing next to that coffin. It took her years to see clear enough that she could move, and breathe, and be fit for living. It took even longer than that for her to play again.” He rubbed his neck, head shaking again like he didn’t want the memories so clear and present in his head. “You know she works hard. You see that, I know you do, every time she runs out onto that field.”
“I do.”
“Then remember something about her, Glenn. Remember that there was something you loved about her once.” He grabbed Ryder’s shoulder, squeezing his hands against it. When he spoke again, his tone was low, soft, and Ryder thought he heard some small worry in his tone.
“That kind of thing doesn’t just die, and if it does, then it wasn’t love at all. I’ll remind you also, that you’re paid a lot of money to do your job. I don’t have to tell you what that job is, but I damn sure know it isn’t you berating a rookie in front of her new team.”
Coach watched him close. Reese’s eyes were darker than her father’s, but the shape was the same. Ryder hadn’t seen them in so long he forgot how similar they were, and the thought made him feel useless and stupid. Coach squeezed his shoulder one last time and walked to the door, stopping to rest a hand on the knob before he turned to look at him.
“I taught you strength and skill, but I also taught you honor and loyalty.” He opened the door, giving Ryder his back as he continued. “Maybe you remember how to use both.”
10.
RYDER
THE CAMP never started on time. Willie was perpetually running behind. That meant the
rec center didn’t get opened in time, which meant the equipment manager and his crew from the Steamers were just finishing unloading pads and balls and cones that marked distance when the kids from the Little Steamers organization had started to trickle through the front gate.
It was almost a welcome occurrence, something that didn’t do much to dim the good mood Ryder was in as the kids and his fellow teammates started to arrive. This would be better, he promised himself. Greer wouldn’t be around this time distracting everyone, and there would be no reason for Reese to force a wide, ridiculous smile while she threatened his anatomy.
Besides, today’s camp was all about setting up the teams. That was something Ryder lived for—teaching the kids in the organization what they needed to know to win. More than that, he liked seeing the joy brightening their eyes when they caught a good pass or intercepted a ball that Ryder had thrown down the field.
It almost distracted him completely from the clusterfuck he’d started with Reese.
Almost.
Nothing, he decided, would distract him from the lecture her father had given him, though. The man was just too scary.
“Mr. Glenn!” Ryder heard, smiling when Jack Timmons, a skinny fifth grader from Craig Charter came running right toward him. It was Jack’s second year with the Little Steamers, and he still had that excited, obvious smile on his face anytime Ryder saw him.
“Hey, man,” he greeted, kneeling down to shake the kid’s hand. Despite his small stature—barely reaching four feet—Jack was a pistol, and he had one hell of an arm on him. “You ready to practice?” Ryder laughed when Jack’s smile grew even wider.
“Born ready,” the kid told Ryder, and the quarterback laughed again, high-fiving him.
“Good. Let’s get you set up.”
For the next half-hour Ryder moved around the field, greeting kids that had been part of the program for years, some following in their siblings’ footsteps. There was a rivalry between Wilkens’ team, nearly all female and Uptown kids, and Ryder’s, who came from lower income homes and single-parent families. It was a competition that extended to the Steamers’ sidelines, when Wilkens would taunt Ryder as the quarterback practiced his throws. It was good-natured, and Ryder found it fun to mess with the guy, something he looked to do just then as he hung back, waiting on the parents to finish paperwork and the kids on his team to get sorted into groups.
He looked around the field, frown forming on his mouth when he didn’t spot Baker, Wilkens, or even Pérez, who usually had command of their own teams. Then, Ryder held his breath, realizing that Gia was probably around, watching, wanting to know if this camp with the kids would turn out