Coach Maddie and the Marine (8 page)

Chapter Eight

Maddie grabbed Andrew’s overnight bag and heaved it into the trunk with the mesh bags of football equipment. He was heading to a friend’s house after the game so she could go on her date with David.

It was already eight thirty. The game was scheduled to start in a little more than an hour and, as usual, she was running late.

“Andrew, come on,” she yelled into the house. “I can’t be late when I’m the coach of the team. What kind of example would that set?”

“You’re always late,” he yelled back as he pulled the front door shut behind him and ran down the front steps toward the car.

“I am not always late,” she replied, checking her rearview mirror. “Just sometimes.”

This drew a giggle from the backseat. Andrew’s laugh was so infectious that she gave in and giggled with him.

By the time they reached the field, most of the parents had already arrived. Boys were pouring from the backseats of minivans, SUVs, and sedans, moving like a trail of ants toward the sidelines. She checked her watch. Forty-five minutes until her mettle as a coach would officially be tested. And less than twelve hours before David picked her up for their date. She could hardly wait. For the date.

She was a little less enthusiastic about the game.

She spied David standing by the benches with a clipboard in his hand, and the butterflies in her stomach settled down a bit. An air of command exuded from him and he was more handsome than ever.

“Morning, Coach,” he said, giving her a smile that sent her pulse racing. “You ready for the big event?”

The ambiguity in the question instantly sent her mind traveling in the direction of their date tonight and the feel of his hands on her skin.

“Which one?” she asked as coyly as she could in light of the fact she was on the sidelines of her first football game as a coach.

“Of course, I meant the football game, miss. What other big event is there?” Amusement flickered in his eyes.

He moved closer to her. His fingers were warm and strong as they gripped her elbow. She felt his breath tickling her ear.

“You’re not thinking about a hot date you’re going on later tonight, are you?” he asked, whispering in her ear in a deep and sensual voice. “Because I promise you, darling, you’re nowhere close to ready for that.”

He winked at her and walked back toward the bench of boys before she had a chance to say anything. Inhaling, she tried desperately to clear her mind of anything other than football, and went over to the boys for a roll call.

All the boys were present and dressed properly with the right helmets, pads, and cleats. They all looked well-rested and judging by the way they shifted their feet, it was clear they were ready to play.

David fussed at a couple of the kids more than once for not sitting on the bench and waiting patiently for game time.

The game was delayed by fifteen minutes because the referee was running late. In truth, the delay helped Maddie because it gave her time to go over the game plan with Coach Sterling and the boys one last time. They must have thought she was a stickler for details, but really she was just terrified that if the game didn’t go according to plan, she might not have any idea what was happening.

David called all the players together on the sidelines.

“Now, does everyone remember our plays?” He’d created six plays for the offense and six plays for the defense. At the end of the last practice, he’d drilled them on the plays and most of them seemed to know them backward and forward.

The boys all nodded their heads.

“Does anyone have any questions?”

They all shook their heads.

“Good. Now Coach is going to say a few things. Coach?”

She stepped forward and tried to look like she was completely in control.

“We expect you to behave as gentlemen at all times. Is that understood?”

She was answered with a loud, collective “yes, ma’am.”

“The two team captains for this game are Josh and Grayson. Remember that they’re the only two that can call time-outs. Keep your jerseys tucked in, and make sure you have your mouthpiece in for every play. We don’t want to take any penalties—especially dumb ones. Let’s have a good clean game and do our best to make this first game a win.”

The boys gave a loud cheer and headed back to the bench to wait for the whistle.

When it was time to start, the ref checked in with the coaches on their respective sidelines, and then the team captains walked to the center of the field to shake hands and flip the coin.

Their team won the coin toss and elected to start on defense. Josh and Grayson ran back to the sidelines and they sent two defensive players for the first play. Maddie’s nerves were on edge. She couldn’t believe that she was on the sideline of an actual football game. And she was posing as the actual coach. It was surreal.

“Relax,” David whispered, putting his hand on her shoulder. “The boys will do fine. They’ve looked good in practice and they were obviously well-coached last year. They know what to do.”

The whistle blew and the boys lined up for the first play of the game. The opposing team’s offense looked a lot bigger than her defensive players. That couldn’t be a very good sign. She squatted on the sideline and tried to keep from chewing on her nails, especially since she’d just painted them a cotton-candy pink in anticipation of tonight’s date.

She was amazed at the speed of the other team’s quarterback. He quickly put several yards of distance between himself and her players. He threw the ball into the hands of his receiver downfield and hit him right in the numbers. The kid caught the ball and scored a touchdown before her boys even caught sight of the ball. Her players had obviously either forgotten the defensive play David called, or they never knew it at all. To add insult to injury, they scored a two-point conversion with a simple play that could’ve been blocked with ease, even by an eight-year-old. She’d watched the boys carefully in practice and she thought they were prepared.

Coach Sterling called the team into a huddle on the sidelines.

“Come on, boys. The other team made scoring those eight points look too easy. I know it’s the first game of the season and it might just be a case of nerves, but that was embarrassing. Pull it together, now. Think about the play we’re running. Stay in the moment. They’re only up by one TD and a two-point conversion at the moment. We can come back, but if they strike again, it’ll be an uphill battle. Keep your head in the game. Coach?”

He turned to her, reached out his arm and drew her closer to the center of the huddle.

“Look guys, none of you stayed with the play. All of you missed your blocks. You were not the same group of guys I saw at practice on Tuesday. Here’s the deal: if we lose today, every single one of you will run the number of laps the other team scores on us. If we win, I’ll run the number of laps we score on them while you guys sit in the center of the track and eat the ice cream. Now if anybody has any questions about a play, see me on offense and Coach Sterling on D.”

The boys stacked their hands and shouted a cheer. David quirked his eyebrow and looked at Maddie.

“You’re already resorting to making them run laps? It’s a little early for that, don’t you think?”

“No. Running never hurt anyone. Besides, the conditioning will be good for them. I can’t say I want to run the laps if they win, but looking at the other team, I’d say there’s only a small chance that I’ll be in the grocery store buying ice cream next Tuesday afternoon.”

“You’re telling me about the benefits of running?” he teased. “I’m willing to bet that was just a case of first play jitters. Our boys are going to be good this year. I hope you’ve got a good pair of running shoes.” He walked down the sideline to watch the play.

The whistle blew and her quarterback took off like a rocket. The offensive line did a great job of blocking the defenders. Before she knew it, the quarterback handed the ball off to one of his running backs and the kid slipped through the defense like a warm knife through butter.

The other team’s defense caught up with him about thirty yards downfield giving the team a first down. She yelled a play out from the sidelines and the boys nodded.

The next play went nowhere, but then the boys hit their groove and they made first downs all the way to a touchdown. When the two-point conversion play she designed with David’s help succeeded, she yelled louder than any of the parents in the bleachers.

Their team didn’t give an inch. At halftime they were all so excited she didn’t even try to give them a pep talk. She just made them drink some fluids, patted them on the back and sent them back onto the field.

In the second half, the other team fought back and tied the game at the beginning of the fourth quarter. She held her breath on the sidelines. The laps long forgotten, she was completely absorbed in the game. With only two minutes left to play, her boys got the ball close to mid-field after the other team lost the ball on downs.

She crossed her fingers and yelled her encouragement to her team. David paced up and down the sidelines, yelling plays and encouragement to the boys.

It was hard to watch. Since the boys were beginning to tire, each play was a struggle. Both teams were slow and sluggish. When the whistle blew on what was likely to be the last play, Maddie closed her eyes. She didn’t open them until she heard David cheering. Andrew, playing at the running-back position, had the ball and he was only a couple of feet in front of the closest defender. He looked back at the guy and threw his legs into turbo. He was a blur as he raced into the end zone.

The buzzer blew and she and David, along with the rest of the team, rushed out onto the field to congratulate Andrew. His face, red from the exertion, glowed with pride.

“Andrew, where did you get that speed? I’ve never seen you run like that,” she said.

“You do what you have to in a game,” Andrew answered.

She wished Callie could have been here to see him. Her sister would have been so proud. Maddie had gotten a few short videos on her smartphone but it wasn’t the same.

The kids dispersed, leaving the coaches to pick up left behind equipment.

“Good game, Coach. It’s nice to put the first one in the win column. You did a great job. That pep talk early in the first quarter really got them moving. Anybody suggest a flavor for the ice cream yet?”

“No. But next time I’ll have a little more faith in my team. Although I have to admit I’m glad the score was close, otherwise I’d be running a lot more laps.”

“Don’t worry, I’m keeping count of how many laps you owe the team and I’ll make sure they hold you to every last one. A coach has to keep her promises, you know.”

Maddie’s body buzzed with a delightful anticipation as she drove back to her house. David was picking her up at seven, so she still had several hours before her date. She planned her day as she drove. She would start with a long, steamy bath filled with rose-scented bubbles. Then maybe she’d indulge in a short nap. She was running through a list of possible outfits to wear when she pulled into her driveway and saw Jerry’s car parked to the right of her garage. He was leaning against the door of his car, smiling.

“Jerry, this is a nice surprise,” she said, climbing out of the car and walking toward him. “Come on in. I’ll make some coffee.”

Jerry was an older widower who owned Jerry’s Bakery, the best place in Fort Wilson for sweets and sandwiches. He’d become close to Maddie and Callie while they were redoing the house. His years of experience in carpentry had been invaluable to them. They’d stayed close even after Maddie moved into the house.

“No need for that. But I will take a cookie if you have one. I just wanted to stop by and congratulate you on the big win.”

“News travels fast. How did you hear so quickly?”

Jerry followed her into the dusty cool of the garage and through the door leading into her kitchen.

“I watched the game in person.”

“That was nice of you to come and see our first game.” She grabbed a pitcher of lemonade out of the fridge and some Oreos out of the rooster cookie jar on the counter and arranged them on a plate. She poured the drinks and sat down across from Jerry.

“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. You and Sterling work well together. And the boys played great right down to the last second. You must be feeling pretty proud of yourself.”

“I don’t know about proud, since David did most of the game planning and position assignments, but I’m certainly relieved. If we’d lost that game, none of the players or their parents would have ever forgiven me.”

“I’m sure the parents will be the biggest challenge you’ll face,” Jerry said with a grin. “Hopefully you’ll have a repeat performance next week.”

“I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”

“How about you and I go out and eat some Mexican food tonight and celebrate?”

“I’d love to, Jerry, but I already made plans.”

“Where are you taking Andrew?”

“Oh, no, my plans aren’t with Andrew. He’s spending the night with a friend. I made other plans.”

“What kind of
other
plans?” A mischievous grin lit up Jerry’s face.

“Well, I guess you’d call it a date.”

“You have a date? This is a red letter day for you. Who’s the lucky guy?”

“If you promise you won’t laugh, I’ll tell you.”

“Okay, I won’t laugh. Who is it?”

“My assistant coach.”

Jerry laughed.

“You promised you wouldn’t laugh.”

“Sorry. I can’t help it. I think that’s great. You two will make a great match.”

“It’s only a first date. So it may be a little early to be talking about us being a perfect match.”

“But you like him, right?”

“He’s a nice guy and he’s great with the boys, but I don’t know much about him other than that. I’ve only known him a couple of weeks.” She hoped Jerry didn’t notice the flush she felt covering her face.

“Come on, we’re old friends. Tell me how you feel about him.”

Maddie sighed. She’d never been able to hide her true feelings from Jerry. There was something in his soft, wizened face that reminded her of her father.