“Kendall what?” he asked with a raised brow.
“Kendall Wales.”
He groaned. “Oh, well that makes sense.”
The sarcasm in his voice spoke volumes. Well, Hunter Owens could take his chaps and his sexy tattoos and just… just… well, I wasn’t sure exactly what, but he could do something with all that manly stuff he had going on for him.
I took a step forward. “And before you think Daddy handed me something I haven’t earned, think again.”
That sexy grin reappeared on his face, only now I wanted to slap it off. “I didn’t say anything, sweetheart. That was you. But just out of curiosity, why do you want me?”
I wasn’t sure why I was even trying, but maybe I could break through to him. “I’ve seen your coaching videos. You have a passion that’s inspiring. You care about your team. You clearly want them to succeed. It’s not a job, it’s something that runs through you. It’s incredible.” I wanted to slap my hands over my mouth to make myself stop talking. Why did I just say those things? Oh well, they were out there now. I might as well keep going. “It’s obvious that you care about your players. And from the interviews I saw after you left, they cared about you, too. That kind of passion and heart is what I need to turn this team around.”
Some unidentifiable emotion flitted across Hunter’s face before he shut it down. His onyx eyes grew darker. They were beautiful like a stormy sea. “There’s a reason I don’t coach anymore. The answer’s no. I think it’s time for you to go.”
“Hunter… just hear me out.”
A vein popped in his neck and his eyes narrowed. Hunter was pissed. “Go get back in your car and leave. You can find someone else to play with Daddy’s team.”
Unbelievable. He was saying anything to get me to leave. I had to give this one last shot, so I took another step back. “I’m aware of the accident. It was terrible. But I’ve seen the reports, and it was an accident.” He grew stiff, and I pointed to the file folder. Before he could say anything, I continued. “The offer is in there. Burn it, trash it, or maybe live by your words… get back on the horse. Sounds to me like you’ve let this one buck you off and you’re afraid to get back on. If you don’t show up Monday morning, I’ll have your answer.”
“You have my answer now.”
What was I thinking?
I took a step out of the barn and turned his way. “Maybe I was wrong about you. I don’t need a coward coaching. I need someone who’s willing to take a risk and shake up this entire industry.”
Fuming, I left the barn and headed to my car.
Damn it. Now, I was stuck in Bumfuck Nowhere without a coach.
Chapter Three
Kendall
Monday morning, there was no Hunter. No response. Nothing.
I was currently without two players and a coach. My middle linebacker had quit. Well, he’d threatened to quit if I refused to rehire Coach Bailey. So I’d called security and had him removed. Of course, he’d been bluffing and was currently asking for his job back. Unfortunately, it wasn’t available. At least to him.
Team members were dropping like flies.
And each time I thought about Hunter Owens, I wanted to scream. To make matters worse, he’d starred in my dreams more times than I would ever admit to anyone. The moment he’d jumped over the fence played on repeat in my head. In my dreams, he jumped over the fence, walked up to me, grabbed my face, and kissed me senseless.
I cradled my face and groaned. My head was a mess. And I blamed a certain asshole ex-NFL coach for that. Focus, Kendall. Handle your business.
Before coming out to Kentucky, I’d cut ties with the man I’d been seeing casually for the last few years. We were both career-driven but needed to let off steam from time to time. I had never once dreamed about Weston. We would text, meet up, and then go our separate ways. The sex had been good, and we’d been exclusive, but there hadn’t been any feelings. He’d had an empire to build, and I’d had to build my experience to run an empire.
It had worked.