been the first paying job she’d found after coming back to Hyden when her mum was sick. Now, as a permanent, well, she actually enjoyed it and the pay was good, although the hours weren’t. Midnight trains were never fun, especially in the middle of winter.
Indi shut the massive white doors and locked the chain. Glancing at her watch again, she swore and jogged to her ute. She’d be late for training. Not that she had to be there, but it was good to show the boys she was dedicated. Hopefully it would rub off on them.
Okay, so maybe she also liked the excuse to see Troy. She couldn’t deny that. Indi hadn’t had a proper boyfriend since she’d left uni – well over three years ago. That was some dry spell. Indi didn’t want to think about it too much. She’d even heard of rumours around town that she was gay. But what could she do? The years had just rolled by so quickly. There was no one around town who interested her, she couldn’t be bothered with the tourist blow-ins, and she didn’t have the time to go looking elsewhere.
But Troy, well, he was a different story. All week she’d been plagued with memories of him commanding that room full of footy blokes.
Jumping into her ute, she checked her face in the rear-view mirror. Crap – her hair was a dusty mess. She got out, undid her ponytail and flicked her head forward, shaking her hair before whipping it back and retying her ponytail. That would have to do.
The lights were on at the oval. She could see them as she drove there. She parked her ute next to Jasper’s and headed to the lone handsome figure with the whistle. Now, she just needed to stay cool.
‘Hey, how’s it going? Any improvements?’ She tried to flash her best smile.
Troy turned briefly, as if to check it was her. ‘Well, Kiwi One, Lucky and Spud were heaving after the runs I got them to do, Brick almost knocked Limp out, and then Killer copped an elbow to the eye. And this was in the first ten minutes.’
‘Oh, great to see I haven’t missed much, then,’ she said.
Troy laughed but then fell silent. Indi tried to think of something to say, wanting to know a bit more about Troy, but not knowing how to approach it. ‘Sorry I was late. Bloody work,’ she said, waving a hand.
‘You don’t have to be here, Indi. I can cope on my own,’ he said.
Indi didn’t let the tone of his voice upset her. She had two brothers, after all. ‘I know, but I really want to be a part of the team. This club is my life, seriously. I wouldn’t have brought you here if I didn’t think it was worth saving,’ she said, with another smile. She’d been told that her smile was her best asset.
He crossed his arms and glanced at her, hardly moving his head.
‘Look, I’m not just some dumb chick who doesn’t know a thing about football. I used to pull on the yellow shorts and play myself in the reserve team, and I beat both my brothers in AFL Fantasy Dream Team last year. I’d love to be a coach but don’t think the guys would take me seriously. So helping you is the next best thing.’
Troy blew the whistle, which just about burst her eardrums.
‘Righto, you blokes – back in two lines, handballing back and forth,’ he said. He began to walk away and Indi’s shoulders slumped. She was about to sit down when Troy stopped and swung back around to her.
‘Okay, I’m not used to having people around and usually I do things on my own. But . . .’ he sighed, glancing away as if he almost couldn’t believe what he was going to say next, ‘I can see you’re not going away. So just stay by my side, speak when spoken to, and we’ll see how this goes.’
Indi pretended to zip her lips and nodded. His stern face softened and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. He headed back to the team.
Indi was still standing there, doing her happy dance in her mind.
Man, he has the most exquisite eyes
, she thought. Up close she could see the tiny flecks of gold in his swirling dark chocolate
Indi shut the massive white doors and locked the chain. Glancing at her watch again, she swore and jogged to her ute. She’d be late for training. Not that she had to be there, but it was good to show the boys she was dedicated. Hopefully it would rub off on them.
Okay, so maybe she also liked the excuse to see Troy. She couldn’t deny that. Indi hadn’t had a proper boyfriend since she’d left uni – well over three years ago. That was some dry spell. Indi didn’t want to think about it too much. She’d even heard of rumours around town that she was gay. But what could she do? The years had just rolled by so quickly. There was no one around town who interested her, she couldn’t be bothered with the tourist blow-ins, and she didn’t have the time to go looking elsewhere.
But Troy, well, he was a different story. All week she’d been plagued with memories of him commanding that room full of footy blokes.
Jumping into her ute, she checked her face in the rear-view mirror. Crap – her hair was a dusty mess. She got out, undid her ponytail and flicked her head forward, shaking her hair before whipping it back and retying her ponytail. That would have to do.
The lights were on at the oval. She could see them as she drove there. She parked her ute next to Jasper’s and headed to the lone handsome figure with the whistle. Now, she just needed to stay cool.
‘Hey, how’s it going? Any improvements?’ She tried to flash her best smile.
Troy turned briefly, as if to check it was her. ‘Well, Kiwi One, Lucky and Spud were heaving after the runs I got them to do, Brick almost knocked Limp out, and then Killer copped an elbow to the eye. And this was in the first ten minutes.’
‘Oh, great to see I haven’t missed much, then,’ she said.
Troy laughed but then fell silent. Indi tried to think of something to say, wanting to know a bit more about Troy, but not knowing how to approach it. ‘Sorry I was late. Bloody work,’ she said, waving a hand.
‘You don’t have to be here, Indi. I can cope on my own,’ he said.
Indi didn’t let the tone of his voice upset her. She had two brothers, after all. ‘I know, but I really want to be a part of the team. This club is my life, seriously. I wouldn’t have brought you here if I didn’t think it was worth saving,’ she said, with another smile. She’d been told that her smile was her best asset.
He crossed his arms and glanced at her, hardly moving his head.
‘Look, I’m not just some dumb chick who doesn’t know a thing about football. I used to pull on the yellow shorts and play myself in the reserve team, and I beat both my brothers in AFL Fantasy Dream Team last year. I’d love to be a coach but don’t think the guys would take me seriously. So helping you is the next best thing.’
Troy blew the whistle, which just about burst her eardrums.
‘Righto, you blokes – back in two lines, handballing back and forth,’ he said. He began to walk away and Indi’s shoulders slumped. She was about to sit down when Troy stopped and swung back around to her.
‘Okay, I’m not used to having people around and usually I do things on my own. But . . .’ he sighed, glancing away as if he almost couldn’t believe what he was going to say next, ‘I can see you’re not going away. So just stay by my side, speak when spoken to, and we’ll see how this goes.’
Indi pretended to zip her lips and nodded. His stern face softened and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. He headed back to the team.
Indi was still standing there, doing her happy dance in her mind.
Man, he has the most exquisite eyes
, she thought. Up close she could see the tiny flecks of gold in his swirling dark chocolate
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