The Green Warriors were. This children’s team that held the key to my redemption was my real rock bottom.
The girls moved around us, and I was vaguely aware of Josie interacting with them. My eyes blinked back to reality, and I found myself gaping at Cameron. At all that dark hair, the unkempt beard, the green eyes flashing with something between curiosity and… concern. He was even wearing workout clothes. A long-sleeved thermal that clung to his chest and made his shoulders look even broader, and shorts. Nylon shorts that reached the middle of his thighs.
“What…” I heard myself mumble. “What are you doing here? Why are you here? It doesn’t make sense.” I also didn’t make sense. But I was so confused and blindsided, and my brain seemed set on fixating on the fact. “You’re Cameron C—”
Josie’s panicked face materialized beside Cameron, who was now looking at me with a hostility that hadn’t been there before. “Oh no. No, no.” She chuckled, but there was tension in her voice, now lowering to a loud whisper. “He’s just Cam around here.”
My still dumbfounded gaze flickered in Cameron’s direction, and before I could prepare, he was turning around and walking away.
Josie sighed.
And I… What had just happened? Why was Cameron leaving so suddenly? And why was Josie concealing Cameron’s identity?
But instead of asking any of those very valid questions, I watched him stride along the sidelines of the unkept facilities and asked, “Does he always storm out of places?”
“Don’t think too much about it,” Josie said with a conviction that made me glance at her in surprise. “Cam’s a bit… standoffish, but I’m pretty sure he’ll be back.”
“I genuinely hope you’re wrong,” I blurted out, obtaining a curious glance from Josie. “I fired him for a reason.” I simply needed to decide exactly what that reason was.
She laughed, as if that’d been a joke. Although perhaps it was just the way Josie operated. Maybe she was one of those always glass-half-full people. Always laughing. Smiling. Positive.
“It’s for the best,” I told her. “The dislike for each other is mutual. We didn’t exactly start off on the right foot and he… has a good reason to hate me. I—” I shook my head. “I might have almost run over his pet this morning.” Josie’s eyes widened. “I know. I feel horrible, but it’s not that easy to spot a chicken crossing a driveway.” Neither was spotting a six-something pro soccer player, apparently.
Josie muffled a cackle with a hand, the corners of her eyes wrinkling with humor. “Oh, don’t worry about the poor thing, they are resilient creatures. I’m sure it’s still alive and clucking. Did you see it running?” I nodded and she smiled before pointing at my forehead. “Is that how you hurt yourself? I didn’t want to be rude and ask, but it looks recent, and Cam asked one of the kids for the ice pack.” Concern entered her expression. “You should get it checked out.”
“So I’ve been told,” I whispered, defeat entering my voice.
“I’ll take you to Grandpa Moe when we’re done here. He used to be a paramedic and still volunteers around town sometimes.”
“It’s nothing,” I assured her, wondering what else the man did. “It barely hurts.”
“I insist.”
“Okay,” I relented, returning my gaze to the group of girls, now sitting in the grass and chattering between themselves. The one with the tutu shot me an accusing glance, as if I’d just ruined all the fun, causing an unexpected pang of guilt to surge in my stomach. I turned to Josie. “I know you must have been very excited about the perspective of having someone like… Cameron coaching the team, but I can assure you: you’ll be fine without him now that I’m here.”
Josie smiled, but it was short-lived. “I’d appreciate if you’d keep under wraps who Cam is.” Her expression turned serious. “Nobody in town knows.”
“But…” I trailed off, the wheels in my head turning. Was Cameron Caldani… hiding? Was that the reason for him staying in a place like Green Oak? I shook my head. “How is it possible that no one has recognized him?”
“The beard?” Josie offered. “The fact that he doesn’t play football or baseball or isn’t an influencer giving away cars?” Another shrug. “You’re the first. And we should keep it that way. It’s important to him, and I want to respect that.” Her megawatt grin returned. “And you know how small towns are, the moment someone finds out, everyone in Green Oak will know, then the whole county, and before we can blink, there’ll be journalists trying to snap a photo of a”—she lifted her hands—“retired soccer star, feeding the chickens.”