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Next Play
(2026)North Dakota, Dakota Dragons
(A book in the Gridiron Warriors series)
A novel by Kathleen Kelly
Ryder Knox knows how to take a hit.
As quarterback and captain of the Dakota Dragons, Ryder has built his career on staying focused. Shake off the bad play. Get back on your feet.
Always look to the next play.
But when his father dies unexpectedly, there’s no playbook for what comes after.
So Ryder does what he’s always done. He keeps moving. Keeps training. Keeps winning. And keeps telling everyone he’s fine.
Until his father’s will leaves him one final responsibility: the children’s grief program he quietly supported for years.
One that leads him straight to Rowan Hayes.
Rowan spends her days helping families navigate the kind of loss Ryder refuses to acknowledge. She knew a side of his father Ryder never saw, and she’s not remotely impressed by the famous quarterback who thinks showing up is enough.
She also sees straight through him.
Ryder tells himself he’s only there because of his father.
Then he keeps finding reasons to come back.
For the kids.
For the program.
For Rowan.
The woman who challenges him, infuriates him, and makes him want something he hasn’t let himself want since the phone call that changed everything.
Because Ryder is about to learn the hardest lesson of his career:
You can’t change the last play. All you can do is decide what happens next.
USA Today bestselling author Kathleen Kelly returns with a devastatingly hot quarterback, a woman who refuses to let him hide, and a love story about grief, healing, and finding your way forward.
Next Play is Book Two in the Gridiron Warriors series and can be read as a standalone. No cliffhanger. HEA guaranteed.
Genre: Romance
As quarterback and captain of the Dakota Dragons, Ryder has built his career on staying focused. Shake off the bad play. Get back on your feet.
Always look to the next play.
But when his father dies unexpectedly, there’s no playbook for what comes after.
So Ryder does what he’s always done. He keeps moving. Keeps training. Keeps winning. And keeps telling everyone he’s fine.
Until his father’s will leaves him one final responsibility: the children’s grief program he quietly supported for years.
One that leads him straight to Rowan Hayes.
Rowan spends her days helping families navigate the kind of loss Ryder refuses to acknowledge. She knew a side of his father Ryder never saw, and she’s not remotely impressed by the famous quarterback who thinks showing up is enough.
She also sees straight through him.
Ryder tells himself he’s only there because of his father.
Then he keeps finding reasons to come back.
For the kids.
For the program.
For Rowan.
The woman who challenges him, infuriates him, and makes him want something he hasn’t let himself want since the phone call that changed everything.
Because Ryder is about to learn the hardest lesson of his career:
You can’t change the last play. All you can do is decide what happens next.
USA Today bestselling author Kathleen Kelly returns with a devastatingly hot quarterback, a woman who refuses to let him hide, and a love story about grief, healing, and finding your way forward.
Next Play is Book Two in the Gridiron Warriors series and can be read as a standalone. No cliffhanger. HEA guaranteed.
Genre: Romance
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