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  A Shot at Gold

  Sports Series Book #2

  NICOLE PYLAND

  PYLAND PUBLISHING LLC

  A SHOT AT GOLD

  Sports Series Book #2

  Elodie Booker was a phenomenon. No one had ever taken the sport of archery by storm the way she had. Trophies and accolades piled up around her even in her first years in the sport. Then, something terrible happened. She lost the only father figure she had ever known after losing person after person in her life. It was the proverbial straw breaking the camel’s back, and Elodie left the game, never looking back.

  Madison Fletcher was the next big thing in the sport of archery, or at least, that was what she thought. She was about to turn twenty-three, just graduated from college, and needed a new archery coach. Madison knew there was only one person she could reach out to; one person to take her all the way to the Olympic games. The only problem was that Elodie Booker was now a thirty-three-year-old lawyer who wanted nothing to do with archery and hadn’t fired a single shot since she had lost her own former coach.

  Madison had known loss, too. Her loss was a different one, but it was still something that could unite them in their pain and understanding. If she could convince Elodie to give her a chance at being the archery star Madison knew she could be, she might also be able to convince Elodie that they were meant to be much more than coach and athlete.

  To contact the author or for any additional information, visit: https://nicolepyland.com

  Copyright © 2020 Nicole Pyland

  All rights reserved.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  ISBN-13: 978-1-949308-43-3

  BY THE AUTHOR

  Stand-alone books:

  • The Fire

  • The Moments

  • The Disappeared

  • Reality Check

  Chicago Series:

  • Introduction – Fresh Start

  • Book #1 – The Best Lines

  • Book #2 – Just Tell Her

  • Book #3 – Love Walked into The Lantern

  • Series Finale – What Happened After

  San Francisco Series:

  • Book #1 – Checking the Right Box

  • Book #2 – Macon’s Heart

  (recommended to read after Keep Tahoe Blue )

  • Book #3 – This Above All

  • Series Finale – What Happened After

  Tahoe Series:

  • Book #1 – Keep Tahoe Blue

  • Book #2 – Time of Day

  • Book #3 – The Perfect View

  • Book #4 – Begin Again

  • Series Finale – What Happened After

  Celebrities Series:

  • Book #1 – No After You

  • Book #2 – All the Love Songs

  Sports Series:

  • Book #1 – Always More

  • Book #2 – A Shot at Gold

  • Book #3 – The Unexpected Dream

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 20

  CHAPTER 21

  CHAPTER 22

  CHAPTER 23

  CHAPTER 24

  CHAPTER 25

  CHAPTER 26

  CHAPTER 27

  CHAPTER 28

  CHAPTER 29

  EPILOGUE

  CHAPTER 1

  Madison brushed her long, strawberry blonde hair away from her face before the slight wind, coming from the west, moved it right back in front of her eyes. She grunted, lowering her bow, removed her headband, and put it back in place to keep the flyaway hairs from messing up her shot. When she felt like she finally had them under control, she lifted her bow again, looked to her target, and fired.

  “Nine?” she said to herself. “Fuck.”

  “They’re letting nines into the Olympics now?” Candace teased her.

  “One nine; two tens before that. How are those sevens and eights treating you, Candace?” Madison teased back.

  “Just fine, thank you very much. I’m warming up. You’ve been out here for hours.”

  “True. I was just about to leave, actually. You can have the prime spot now if you want. Just make sure to keep your hair out of your eyes. I have to go pack now.”

  “Ah, yes. She’s off to summer camp tomorrow,” Candace joked.

  “Camp?” Madison asked.

  “Training camp.”

  “It’s not a camp. It’s an academy for Olympic hopefuls.” Madison began packing up her gear. “And I’ve been keeping an eye on this place for a while now. I just couldn’t go because I was a student-athlete here; college education to fall back on and all that.”

  “I know. I know. Plus, USA Archery was stacked at the last Olympics. You were younger, too green; not as developed yet. I remember. I’ve heard the speech before.” Candace sighed and picked up her own bow. “You know you’re still pretty young this time, right? I mean, young archers are a thing, but it tends to be the older ones that bring home the medals.”

  “The last men’s gold medalist was twenty-three,” Madison returned defiantly.

  “Nothing will dissuade you,” Candace said. “That’s good. You’ll need that determination at summer camp.” She laughed at her own joke. “Am I going to see you before you go?”

  “Probably not. I’m packing tonight. My dorm isn’t exactly big, but I accumulated a lot of stuff over the past four years.”

  “You’re trading one dorm for another,” the woman replied, firing her arrow.

  Madison followed it to the target.

  “Six? Focus, Candy.”

  “I seriously hate when you call me that,” Candace said.

  “I know.” She patted Candace on the shoulder. “It’s been a great four years, right?”

  “It has. You introduced me to this sport.”

  “I did,” Madison replied. “And you’ve gotten pretty good at it.”

  “I doubt I’ll practice as much without you around to do it with. I’ve got a job lined up and grad school starting in the fall. I like it, but it’s also practically the only time you have to hang out with me, so it won’t be the same without you, Madison.”

  “I’ll come to visit on a break or something. We can go out and shoot then, just for fun.” She smiled at her friend. “I’d invite you to the academy, but…”

  “You’ve told me you’re sharing a dorm room with five other archers. No, thank you.”

  Madison laughed and said, “I’m the best one, though.”

  “All right, national champ; calm down. I’m sure that fancy new coach will help put you in your place.”

  “God, I cannot wait.” Madison looked to the sky. “The best coaches in the nation will be there, but she’s a big get even with them, you know?”

  “No, I don’t.” Candace laughed a little. “I do this because you gave me your old bow once, and we had fun. You do this because you’re obsessed with it.”

  Madison lowered her gaze for a moment, recalling the
memories she so often tried to avoid because no matter how much she loved her sport, how she’d gotten started in it would always bring up bad memories. So, she deflected, like she always did.

  “And because I’m really fucking good at it.”

  “What’s this woman’s name again? I’ll look her up and send her a message. Dear Amazing Coach-Woman, my friend, Madison Fletcher, thinks she’s the absolute shit in archery. Please knock her down off her throne by splitting an arrow right in front of her or something. Sincerely–”

  Madison laughed and said, “I get it. I have an ego. Also, these aren’t old-school arrows; people don’t split them.”

  “Madison, everyone technically has an ego. Yours is just bigger than most.”

  “Fine. I’ll admit that, too.” Madison looked over at the target about seventy meters away. “You’re not all that bad; you know?”

  “I’m decent, at best. But I don’t love it like you do. I’m good going to grad school and spending the next ten years paying off those student loans.”

  Madison hugged her friend. She wasn’t yet sure if Candace would be one of those college friends she tried to keep in touch with but would inevitably lose contact with over the time, or if the woman would be in her life for the long haul. Madison didn’t have a lot of practice making friends. She’d had one best friend in high school, and that had turned into a life-changing, life-defining relationship. Outside of that, she hadn’t tried to make many more because she hadn’t needed them. She still didn’t have a lot of friends, but she had her sport – her one passion, and that was all she needed. Madison told herself that often whenever she saw groups of friends walking to and from class together. She would have music or a podcast playing in her headphones and preferred it that way, but in those moments, where she got lonely, she would remind herself that she was one of the best in the world at something, and those girls with friends were too busy trying to be the in-crowd to be the best at anything. Maybe it was petty. Maybe it was unfair. But it got Madison through the hard days.

  Packing was harder than she had thought it would be. Her roommate had moved out the previous day, having had her last final exam before Madison’s. That should have made the packing task less intimidating, but as she sat on the side of her bottom bunk, staring at the small closet overflowing with clothing and toiletry items, she wondered how she’d get all of that plus the clothes in the three drawers, her TV, the small refrigerator, and the stuff on her desk into her car. She decided to grab her oversized duffel bag and started placing clothing into it as neatly as she could. Then, she used her rolling laundry basket to stack more of her shirts and pants and found a couple of trash bags that would hold the rest.

  “Hey. What are you doing tomorrow?” she asked Larry over the phone as she stared at the TV on top of the dresser.

  “My last final is tomorrow afternoon. I have to study, but I’m good other than that. Why?”

  “Any chance you can come to my dorm around eight in the morning?”

  “Okay… But why, exactly? Aren’t you leaving tomorrow?”

  “My last final was this morning. I’m moving out tomorrow,” Madison replied.

  “Oh,” Larry said, sounding disappointed. “You need help moving, don’t you?”

  “Yeah,” she admitted. “But it’s just a few things. Most of them, I can carry myself. I just need help with the fridge and the TV.”

  “Fine. But you’re buying the pizza after.”

  “I can’t. I’m leaving right after, Larry.”

  “Oh, right,” the guy said with the same disappointed tone.

  “It’ll take twenty minutes, tops. And I can run to the union and grab you the best coffee on campus for the use of your muscles.”

  “Sure. I’ll be there at eight,” he said.

  When morning came, Madison rushed to the union, enjoying the fact that it wasn’t busy for the first time ever. Most students were either still asleep or already moved out for the summer. It wasn’t until after she had gotten her coffee and had a sip, that she thought about the fact that this would be the last time she would buy a coffee at the student union. She had gone to this school because she’d been given an archery scholarship; and a really good one, too, which was a rarity for Division I schools.

  Over the years, Madison had gone to her classes and paid enough attention to her studies to keep the scholarship. She knew she would never make money at archery, so she still needed a legitimate degree to fall back on. She had chosen business in the beginning, but after a year, she’d changed her major to communications. She had no idea what she would do with it once she needed to get a real job, but she’d worry about that later.

  It was in one of those communications classes that she’d met Larry. He was a nice guy that Madison knew had a crush on her, maybe more than that. She had never led him on, exactly, but she hadn’t gone out of her way to let him off easy, either. She tried not to take advantage of his feelings, but every now and then, she found herself in need of his help for one reason or another. This morning was no exception. When Madison arrived back at her dorm room, he was leaning against the door, rubbing his eyes, likely from having to wake up earlier than he’d planned on. She smiled sweetly at him and decided that it was now or never. She owed him the reason why she had never given into his advances.

  After Larry carried her fridge and TV, they carried the rest of the stuff down together, forcing the items into the smallest of gaps between the car seats and in the trunk. Larry then stood on the sidewalk in front of her home of the past four years and sipped on his coffee.

  “Long drive?” he asked.

  “Four hours,” she replied.

  He nodded and said, “Not too bad.”

  “Larry, thank you. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

  “No problem.” He looked at her. “Four hours isn’t really that bad.”

  “No, it’s not.” Madison opened the driver’s side door.

  “I got into grad school here. So, I’m staying local for another couple of years,” Larry continued.

  Madison looked down at her hand that was on the door, closed the door, and turned to him.

  “Hey, can I tell you something that no one else here knows?” she asked.

  “Oh, sure,” he said, lowering the coffee he’d been about to drink.

  “You know I haven’t really dated since I got to school.” Madison leaned against the side of the car.

  “I know. You’re all about archery. And you said you’re young and don’t want to settle down right now,” he replied.

  “That’s true,” she said with a smile. “I am. I want to focus on my sport right now, and that’s the main reason why I haven’t focused on meeting anyone these past few years. But, when I do – and I hope that I do, someday, I’d want it to be a woman, Larry.”

  “A woman?” His head tilted to the side. “Oh.”

  “Yeah,” she said.

  “I didn’t know that.”

  “No one does.”

  “It’s not like it’s a big deal, though; to me, I mean. I don’t care. It’s fine.” He said all of that very rapidly.

  “I know. I appreciate that. I probably should have said something sooner, but it’s just something I keep to myself. I’m not ashamed of who I am or anything, and I’m out at home.” Madison sighed before adding, “Just… some stuff happened before, so I keep a lot to myself.”

  “Thank you for telling me,” he replied.

  “You’ve been a very good friend to me, Larry, and – I don’t know – I feel like I might have not been a good one to you. I’ve been thinking about the past a lot, now that I’m graduating, and I just thought I owed you some honesty.”

  “I get it,” Larry said. “Are you coming back for graduation?”

  “No, I’ll be busy training. Besides, I don’t really care about walking. The diploma will go in a box. I came here for–”

  “Archery,” he interjected.

  Madison smiled at him and said, “
Yeah. I’m glad I came here, though, because I got a chance to get to know you.”

  “Me too,” Larry replied.

  Madison checked her Apple Watch and said, “I have to get going. I’m moving into another dorm today.”

  “Do you have someone over there to help you with the heavy stuff?” he asked.

  “I’ll find someone. Thanks, Larry. Good luck on your final, and have a good summer.”

  “Good luck at your… whatever you call it,” he said, squishing his eyebrows together.

  “It’s actually just called The Archery Academy,” she replied with a wide smile in his direction. “And, thank you.”

  “I guess I’ll see you around, then,” he said, likely searching for something else to say.

  “You too.”

  CHAPTER 2

  Elodie looked over at the field in front of her. It had been a long time since she had been here. She thought back to the first time she had pulled up in her car at the age of eighteen. She couldn’t wait to train with the coaches and staff at the academy. She couldn’t wait to play in her first major tournaments and bring home trophies and medals. That was fifteen years ago now. She turned off the car engine, tapped her hands nervously on the wheel, and turned the car back on. She backed out of the parking lot and joined other vehicles on the main road, drove one town over, and pulled into her driveway. Then, she went back inside the house, poured a generous glass of red wine, and drank most of it down before refilling it and making her way to the sofa, where she dialed a number on her phone and waited.

  “Hi. Are you on your way here?” the man on the other side of the line asked.

  “I’m not coming.”

  “What do you mean, you’re not coming?”

  “I’m a lawyer now. It’s been years since I’ve even–”

  “I know all of that. This was about getting you back in the game, Elodie,” he interrupted.