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Mags chuckled, and I hated that my sister was the cause of that sound.

I wanted to make Maggie laugh.

I wanted to make her smile.

But now was not that time. I pulled the roster from the pocket of my shorts and glanced over all the names. “I need to make sure everyone’s here,” I said loudly, and everyone stopped talking. “When I call your name, say here. Loud enough for me to hear you. Got it?”

There was some mumbling.

“I need you to say, ‘Yes, Coach.’”

Maggie mumbled, “They’re little girls.”

I gave her a look, then faced the bleachers again. “When I call your name, say here. Got it?”

The girls chorused, “Yes, Coach.”

“Good,” I said. Then I held up the paper, reading down the list. In a few minutes, we’d determined all the girls were, in fact, present. Then, I said, “Any questions?”

One of the girls, Dahlia, raised her hand.

“Yes?” I pointed at her.

“What happened to your hair?”

From the center row, Rhonda cackled. “Sorry!” she quickly said, covering her mouth. “Sorry.”

I shot Maggie a glance and said, “Better behave with this one. She’ll get you with the clippers.”

The girls’ eyes widened, and they suddenly got quiet.

“Now here are the rules. Rule number one, I make the rules.”

Maggie cleared her throat.

“Rule number two”—I jerked my thumb toward Maggie—“she actually makes the rules.”

That earned me a chuckle, even from Maggie.

“Rule number three, you’re going to give it your all. Every practice, every game. Understand?”

The girls nodded and mumbled.

“I said, do you understand?”

The girls said, “Yes, Coach.”

“Rule number four. Arguably the most important one. Don’t be a shithead.”

Liv’s eyes bugged out, and Mandy Green, one of the moms, glared at me. Maggie whispered, “Curse words...”

The tips of my ears grew hot. I knew I would fuck this up. “I mean. Don’t be a... well, there’s not another good word for that. Just don’t do it. Okay?”

The girls were giggling as they said, “Yes, Coach.”

“Players, to the field,” I said. “Coach Maggie, can you please pass out the practice and game schedule?”

Maggie nodded.