Page 87 of Everything's Better With You
“Go,” he said to her. “I’ll take care of everything.”
“But competition,” Terrell said.
“We got it, man. Just go get looked at. Your mom will message me.”
Marti whisked Terrell out of the stadium and Joe sighed. Then he turned to face the team.
“And this, my friends, is why we have reserves. William, you know Terrell’s part, right?”
William nodded, looking a little shell-shocked.
“Okay. For the rest of the game I want you, Genesis, Sidney and Franklin to go work through the changes needed. Take whoever spots that part. Make sure you and Genesis can nail the stunts, and if not, we’ll try something else. We will be fine, got it?”
They nodded and trotted off a bit away from the rest of the squad, who were standing around trying to figure out what had happened.
“Coach Judd? What happened?” David asked.
“What happened could have happened to anyone. Accidents happen and sometimes a missed foot in a stunt means a broken thumb, other times it’s no big deal.”
“But what are we going to do?”
“We’ll work William into the routine and if that doesn't play out, we’ll go to plan B.”Whatever that is. “Plan to stay after the game. We’ll go over to the gym and do some run-throughs.”
Joe was surprisingly not losing his shit. Losing Terrell was a big deal. William could do the stunts, but Terrell was front and center for the tumbling runs. They’d work it out. They’d be fine. And Joe would take them on the bus tomorrow. He had all the forms they needed, all official and shit, and he would handle it like the college had trusted him to do. It would be fine.
Thesecond half started and Joe’s mind was whirring with all the things he needed to take care of. His phone buzzed.
I heard from Terrence. I’m so sorry.
He smiled down at his phone.
Thanks. It’ll be fine. Especially if I keep telling myself that.
Want me to come with you? Tomorrow? A second set of hands? I was going to drive down anyway.
Joe slumped a little in his seat. Yes, he very much wanted Leslie to come with. But would that be a sign of weakness? He didn’t care if it was. Leslie had gotten him into this mess in the first place, the least he could do was be there to hold him up.
Bus leaves at five. You sure?
He held his breath while the dots floated. Several plays went by on the field and Joe figured he was busy doing coachy stuff. When the Jackets lost control of the ball and defense took over, the dots reappeared.
See you then, Coach Twinkle Toes.
Joe held his phone to his chest and exhaled.Everything is better with Leslie.
Twenty-Four
Leslie
He slid his phone back into his pocket and cursed when Culver-Stockton scored a touchdown, eliminating their lead.
“Dammit,” Randy growled and threw his clipboard down again. “I told Tyler to cover 88.” He went over to the wide-eyed kid and got in his face, shouting orders while also managing to be encouraging.
Leslie laughed. Randy may have been excitable, but he was a damn good coach. Watching him grow this year had been a pleasant surprise. Sure, he still pulled all of his goofy pranks, but he was laser-focused at practice and at games. Leslie began to think about eventually handing over the reins. Sandy had other goals, other things he wanted to accomplish including graduate school, but Randy loved football almost as much as Leslie did and he’d fully immersed himself in the sport and learning to coach. Leslie’s body likely wouldn’t hold up to the pressure of college coaching forever, but if he imparted whatever wisdom he hadto his younger brother over the next few seasons, he could make a graceful exit.
And focus on a life with Joe.
After the Wildcats scored their extra point, it was time for special teams to take the field and Sandy rallied them. The Jackets’ kicker was a loan from the soccer team and the kid was amazing. He’d routinely done both sports in high school and had earned a scholarship from Greenvale to do both. When he jogged back over to the sidelines and began to do his cool down exercises, Leslie thought about his baby team, and then he thought about Joe.
