The Long Game (Long Game, #1)(15)

Now that caught my attention.

Josephine tilted her head in confusion. “But he is. Cam…” Josephine trailed off for an instant. “Cam is the Green Warriors’ coach.”

My mouth opened to correct her—I was only doing her a favor by temporarily filling in as coach—but Adalyn’s reaction sidetracked me.

Her cheeks flamed a deep shade of pink, and her lips parted.

Wide and panicked brown eyes turned to me, and then she said, “He’s fired then. Effective immediately.”





CHAPTER SIX



Adalyn


Cameron Caldani, goalkeeping prodigy and Premier League legend, stared at me.

“That’s right,” I mumbled, but it wasn’t right. I didn’t know what was coming out of my mouth. “This is my first decision as… general manager of the Green Warriors.” Oh God. Did I even have a title? “And as the new person in charge of supervising the team’s activities and making sure they live up to their full potential, I’m deciding that we don’t need him. Therefore, he is fired.” My voice cracked, and for some reason I added, “Good day.”

Josie fell silent.

Cameron blinked unbelievably slowly, his lips twitching in a way I couldn’t interpret.

And as he watched me, I knew that if he mocked me right now, if he said something about my daddy, or whether I was lost, or how I didn’t belong here and couldn’t make it a single night, chances were I’d crumble down and cry. Or worse. God knew that I was unpredictable these days.

So when his lips came to a stop, giving shape to a pout I didn’t understand, I held my breath. “You’re going to do what now?” he said.

Okay.

I could work with that. With hostility. Cynicism. Even condescension. I was used to those.

“I’m not going to do anything,” I told him, my voice gaining strength. “Because I already did. You are dismissed from your coaching duties.”

Josie seemed to partially recover because she let out an awkward snicker. “I think the… fun and friendly banter is unnecessarily escalating. How about we let Cam return to practice and discuss this later over a slice of red velvet cake? It’s Josie’s Joint’s special today, and cake is on the house for newcomers.”

“There’s no need to discuss anything,” I answered, my eyes on Cameron, who had tilted his head to one side and was inspecting me in a strange way. “Who hired him?” Something occurred to me. “Did my father send him here, too?”

Cameron Caldani’s eyes narrowed, the green darkening with a new emotion I didn’t recognize. Why was this man a walking riddle I couldn’t decipher? I didn’t like that.

“I… did.” Josie hesitated. “Well, I wouldn’t use the word hire, as he’s not being paid a dime. A better word is… recruited. Yes, I recruited Cam.”

“You volunteered me,” he countered in a bitter tone.

Josie laughed, a little more naturally this time. “I know, I know. But the girls needed a coach, and you needed, well, you know. Peace and quiet. So it was perfect, because you were already here and coaching a team like this is a walk in the park.”

“What I need is coffee.”

I ignored that because… Peace and quiet? The girls? A team like this? Working with a female team was a change that excited me, I decided, but I was still missing something. “I… I don’t understand. Can we backtrack for an instant? Forget he’s here and interrupted us?”

Cameron grunted.

“I guess this is as good a time as any to give you the proper introduction to the team,” Josie told me. “The Warriors of Green Oak is—or maybe was—an institution around here,” she explained with a playful wink. “Back when my mom was young, we happened to have the only female soccer team in the area. At least, until most young people started fleeing to larger cities and it all kind of went… downhill. The team eventually died out and turned into a good memory. Mom is no longer with us, but Grandpa Moe has the best stories.” She patted my shoulder with a sad smile. “I’ll introduce you to him. He runs Cheap Moe’s and Outdoor Moe’s. And he used to own my café, too, formerly known as Moe’s Joint. He’ll love you. Anyway, I brought the team back to life last year. I decided to rename it the Green Warriors so it’d be easier to remember.”

This explained why Matthew had been reticent to tell me what he’d found about the team over the phone. It… It was a lot of information to chew on. The mayor of the town, a woman my own age in green dungarees with tiny daisies on them, had volunteered a lot of personal details in under a minute. And apparently the Green Warriors, formerly known as the Warriors of Green Oak, had been brought back to life only last year. “I… I think I have a few questions. Topics I’d like to clarify and discuss, ASAP if that’s okay.”

“I’ll show you the pictures,” she offered. “My mom kept all of them. And let me tell you, it’s a blast from the past.” She seemed to remember something. “Oh! I almost forgot the most exciting part: we’ll be representing our county in the Six Hills Little League!”

That made me pause. “Little league?”

An enthusiastic nod. “The Green Warriors were the best U10 team in the county last season, so we qualified for the Six Hills. Yay!”