Page 7 of Stealing for Keeps
“That’s right.”
“Your stats last year were pretty good. Especially considering your season ended so soon.”
I stare at him, slack-jawed. Vaughn Collins knowsmystats?
Rowan chuckles. “You’re gonna give the new guy a big head. Our dear captain makes it his job to know everything about everyone.”
Vaughn hands me a jersey. “I said pretty good. Your footwork under pressure could be better.”
Damn. He’s right. “I’ve been working on it this summer. It’ll get there.”
Whatever flaws he sees in my game, I want him to know I won’t rest until I fix them. Lucky for both of us, there aren’t many flaws in my game.
“What kind of drills have you been doing?” Vaughn asks.
Before I can answer, Rowan groans. “Oh no. There’s two of you now.”
“He means that as a compliment,” Vaughn says to me.
Rowan shoulders his bag. “Excuse me for caring about more than soccer. Practice is over, and I’m exhausted. We can chat drills and stats tomorrow.”
With a laugh, Vaughn walks backward. “I gotta hand the rest of these out, but I’ll see you both tonight. Keller, let’s chat. I have some ideas that might help.”
“Yeah, that’d be awesome.” More than awesome. It’s perfect.
I met my hero, and the captain of my new team knows my stats and wants to help me improve my game. What a freaking day. Not even a look at my sparkly face in the rearview mirror when I get in my Jeep to drive home can ruin my mood.
Chapter Three
Austin
Rowan shows up exactly at eight. I hurry out to the driveway and climb into his old Ford truck. It suits him. It has a well-loved, rough-around-the-edges kind of vibe to it.
He takes one look at me and says, “Aww, man. No glitter tonight?”
“Ha, ha.” I shut the door and prop an elbow on the open windowsill.
He stares past me toward the house we moved into just last week. “You have siblings?”
“Yeah. A sister and a brother,” I say as I glance up at Torrance’s window. The light is on. It’s the only indication, other than her closed door, that she’s home. She’s not my biggest fan right now.
Wyatt is eight and thinks everything is new and exciting, but Torrance hasn’t spoken to me since we left Arizona. She’s only a grade younger than me, so I know how hard it was to leave her friends. I miss mine too, but I wish she could be just a little excited for me. Playing soccer at Frost Lake could open so many doors.
Rowan drives through town and then onto a gravel road that winds through a dense forest area. I can’t get over the trees. They’re massive, and everything here is so green.
The night air blows through the truck. I lose track of the time as he drives down a narrow country road. Small cabins pop up in clearings as we talk, mostly about soccer. He tells me about Frost Lake and asks me about my previous teams. When we finally fall into easy silence, I note how quiet it is out here. The only sounds are the trees swaying in the wind and the tires crunching on gravel.
I’m about to ask him how much farther when a larger cabin comes into view. It’s the only one for miles that’s had the lights on—and a line of cars out front.
Rowan pulls a U-turn and parks along the side of the road. We’re greeted with music as soon as we exit the truck. Voices drift out as we walk up the steps of the front porch.
Rowan walks in without knocking. The reaction is immediate. Every head turns, and a group of guys sitting around a table with cards in front of them yells, “Rowan!”
I’ve known him for less than a day, and it’s easy to see he’s well-liked by everyone.
“What’s up?” he asks no one in particular.
“We saved you a seat for poker,” Barrett calls. He’s a senior and the starting goalie for the team.
