The Coach

By Thom Collins

A routine assignment unlocks the secrets of his past.

News man Josh Holleran knows very little about sport and prefers to cover the crime desk. When his editor sends him to interview representatives from the local rugby team, Josh has little enthusiasm.

The Woodbridge Warriors are celebrating, having qualified for a national competition and it's a significant story for the rural area, but Josh knows nothing about the game. His interest increases massively when he meets Cole Jansen, the hunky team coach. Cole is a big, beefy guy in his mid-thirties, exactly Josh's type.

There's something very familiar about him. Josh can't shake the feeling that they've met before. Soon he realizes exactly who the coach is and how he knows him. A shameful secret from Josh's past is about to be revealed and he'll have to overcome his regret to stand a chance of happiness in the future.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pride Publishing
• Release date: Nov 28, 2017
• ISBN: 9781786516442

Thom Collins

Thom Collins is the author of Closer by Morning, with Pride Publishing. His love of page turning thrillers began at an early age when his mother caught him reading the latest Jackie Collins book and promptly confiscated it, sparking a life-long love of raunchy novels. Thom has lived in the North East of England his whole life. He grew up in Northumberland and now lives in County Durham with his husband and two cats. He loves all kinds of genre fiction, especially bonkbusters, thrillers, romance and horror. He is also a cookery book addict with far too many titles cluttering his shelves. When not writing he can be found in the kitchen trying out new recipes. He’s a keen traveler but with a fear of flying that gets worse with age, but since taking his first cruise in 2013 he realized that sailing is the way to go.

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The Coach

ISBN # 978-1-78651-644-2

©Copyright Thom Collins 2017

Cover Art by Posh Gosh ©Copyright November 2017

Edited by Sue Meadows

Pride Publishing

This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Pride Publishing.

Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Pride Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.

Published in 2017 by Pride Publishing, Think Tank, Ruston Way, Lincoln, LN6 7FL, UK

Pride Publishing is a subsidiary of Totally Entwined Group Limited.

THE COACH

Thom Collins

A routine assignment unlocks the secrets of his past.

News man Josh Holleran knows very little about sport and prefers to cover the crime desk. When his editor sends him to interview representatives from the local rugby team, Josh has little enthusiasm.

The Woodbridge Warriors are celebrating, having qualified for a national competition and it’s a significant story for the rural area, but Josh knows nothing about the game. His interest increases massively when he meets Cole Jansen, the hunky team coach. Cole is a big, beefy guy in his mid-thirties, exactly Josh’s type.

There’s something very familiar about him. Josh can’t shake the feeling that they’ve met before. Soon he realizes exactly who the coach is and how he knows him. A shameful secret from Josh’s past is about to be revealed and he’ll have to overcome his regret to stand a chance of happiness in the future.

Trademarks Acknowledgement

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

Google: Google, Inc.

Netflix: Netflix, Inc.

Twitter: Twitter, Inc.

Facebook: Facebook, Inc.

Barbie: Mattel, Inc.

Chapter One

Why me? I grumbled. I know nothing about rugby.

Anna Madley, editor of The Woodbridge Echo, didn’t take excuses, not from anyone. You wrote that article on the Durham Cricket team, didn’t you? You claimed to know nothing about that when you started.

But rugby!

"You’re a journalist, Josh. What you don’t know, you find out. Do your research. That’s your job." Pushing her glasses onto the bridge of her nose, she turned her attention to the computer monitor. The conversation was over. Matter dismissed.

With gritted teeth, I left her office, returning to the icy room I shared with the paper’s other two reporters. The only window was an opaque rectangle set high on the wall, which allowed minimal daylight into the poky space. The room was poorly lit by two florescent strips and scant warmth came from a single-bar electric heater. It was mid-February and the room was freezing.

Dixie Ellis wore fingerless gloves as she tapped away at her keyboard with her bright red hair piled beneath a fur-trimmed hat.

What did you get? she asked, wrapping her fingers round a mug.

Local rugby team. They’ve won a county championship and qualified for a national cup. I sank heavily into my chair. I hate sports stories. Why couldn’t she give it to Kenny? He always does sport. He loves that crap.

Kenny’s on court duty this week.

Has he left already?

She nodded.

Bugger. That threw any chance of a swap to the wind.

I clicked off my screen saver and ran a Google search on the Woodbridge Warriors.

I’m a realist and knew that working on the local paper would never lead to a world-grabbing headline, but even in Woodbridge there were