Page 82 of Risky Game

I took in the sight. Memorized it. The coolness of the stadium that would soon be overheating from adrenaline, and I stopped, staring into the stands.

Amelia and Ruby were allowed in the coaches’ and managers’ suite. They were always welcome there, and it was usually where the wives watched the game. However, Ruby had asked for regular seats. She’d reminded me there wouldn’t be kids in the suite with her, most likely, and she wasn’t a wife.

I bought them two seats. Five rows up from where I stood in the corner where I’d be able to see both at the railing when I entered and left the field.

The seats were empty, but that wasn’t surprising.

I was about to leave when Amelia’s quiet shriek came from the tunnel.

“Daddy!”

There they were.

A grin broke out on my face, and I squatted down right before Amelia slammed her body into mine. “You made it.”

Ruby fixed a black and red bow at the end of Amelia’s braids. “She refused to be late.”

Her grin was soft, mixed with nerves and excitement. I immediately thought back to last night.

Immensely.

She knew it would irritate me. The nerves on her face now had nothing to do with the game like mine, but my upcoming retribution.

“Sleep well last night?”

Ruby’s cheeks burned and she glanced away.

“We made a fort! And ate candy and popcorn and watched movies!” Amelia shouted and I set her on the ground.

“That sounds like so much fun. Immense fun.” I tugged on her braid, glancing at Ruby.

She was staring anywhere she could look. A cement wall had never appeared so stimulating, but it must have been to her. Even while her cheeks burned as red as our jerseys.

“Can I see the field now? Please?” Amelia jumped up and down, her black and white pleated skirt bouncing along with her.

“Absolutely.” I grabbed her hand and headed toward the field. Ruby was still in the tunnel. “Coming?”

Her nose wrinkled, and she stayed a couple steps behind. “Not likely anytime soon,” she muttered as she followed us out.

I hit the field laughing, Amelia asking me why and Ruby following behind.

A thousand new wicked ideas spun in my mind thanks to that lovely comment.

We were winning. Sweat dripped down my back from the heat and adrenaline. I was doing this. Sure, it was with less than two minutes left in the second quarter, but our team wasn’t just winning, we were annihilating Los Angeles.

“Yes!” I threw my fist in the air as Cole sailed another pass to Yeets. He was tackled on the forty-two-yard line, but it was two more yards than we needed for the first down. With another four plays ahead for us, I barked out the play into Cole’s helmet.

The crowd was infectious. There weren’t nearly enough Los Angeles fans in the stands to come close to drowning out the roar of the Steels, and our fans were loving every second of this game. I couldn’t blame them, either. Cole was on fire. So far, he’d had only one incomplete pass and his ankle didn’t seem to be bothering him at all. He fired off passes to Yeets and handed off the ball to Davis with perfect timing. Dawson had both run and caught the ball.

Everything I’d worried about pregame and during preseason was nonexistent as I coached the team through our first half, already winning twenty-one to nothing.

A blowout, and we were marching down the field with high odds we’d score again. JJ, our other wide receiver, leapt into the air on another long pass from Cole. He was taken down at the twenty and our team rushed to the line of scrimmage.

I shouted into my earpiece. “Run it. Take it slow. We’ve got time, but the running backs need their touches.”

Cole nodded, glancing at me. I waved him off. He knew what to do.

Second down, we had another first down at the eight. First down we were at six. Second down the third. The clock was ticking down. Thirty seconds. One pass and we were scoring and then lining up for a kickoff, giving LA time to move the ball. The way they were playing meant the odds were slim they’d score, but they could pull off a field goal.

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