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She sighs, conceding. “Okay. So do you want to fight for her or throw in the towel?”
“When you ask me it that way, I want to fight.”
“Then fight, Linc. Listen, my job is to protect your public image, but I’m nothing if not a romantic. My company is named Prince Charming Public Relations, remember? I’m here for the fairy tale, okay? So go get your happily ever after. We’ll figure out the rest.”
I blow out a breath. “Okay. Thanks, Ellie. I’ll let Jolene know what we talked about and I will talk to my players before practice and issue a statement by the end of the day.”
“When you say issue a statement…”
“Draft it, please.”
“On it. Oh! And this will make for some juicy podtent.”
“Podtent?” I repeat.
“Podcast content,” she says as if I should’ve known what the fuck she meant.
“Does everyone abbreviate words these days?”
“Only the cool kids. Talk to you soon!” She cuts the call, and I hit Jolene back.
“That was quick,” she answers.
“I want to fight for you,” I say. “I love you, and I will not let this be the end of our road.”
“I love you, too,” she says, and I hear the relief in her tone.
“I’m going to talk to my team today to get the focus back on the field, Ellie is drafting a statement, and I’d love to chat with you on the podcast about…all of it. Maybe it’ll give our families a little more insight into why we felt we had to hide it.”
She clears her throat. “I’m down for all of it. Let me know what you need from me.”
“You. I just need you.”
“Right back at you, Coach,” she says.
“I need to figure out what I’m going to tell my boys and get down to the locker room. I’ll call you later.”
We end the call, and for as shitty as this morning has been, a bead of hope forms in my chest.
We can make it through this. We will.
The alternative is just not an option.
CHAPTER 8: LINCOLN
I pace around the locker room for a beat, and then I stop and look around the room. We haven’t had to cut to our fifty-three man roster yet, so the room is crowded for today’s team practice.
And I’m addressing every single person in this room right now.
Maybe I should’ve waited for Ellie’s statement to come through so I hit the right talking points, but this is my team. They deserve to hear what I have to say—unfiltered.
“You may have seen the allegations that I’m cheating on my girlfriend, and I want to start by saying that I will not allow this to take our focus off the field. I will address it once in here with you, I will make a public statement this evening, and then we move on. I will always play and coach this game with integrity and honesty first and foremost. Always.”
I glance at my brother.
I know what he did, and I haven’t told anyone.
Is that honesty? Is that integrity?
