Normally, I crash for a good two hours before a game, but my mind has done nothing but replay our conversation, which means I didn’t get any rest. And now I’m just a grumpy hockey player, looking for a way to vent some steam when I hit the ice in twenty minutes.
Fancy a fight, anyone? That’s bloody well me at the moment. We’re playing against the Pirates again tonight, anda part of me hopes Jennings will be his usual obnoxious self, so I have a reason to drop gloves.
“Payton.” Coach Markelson waves me over.
I haven’t put on my skates yet, so I pad over in my socks, following him to his office. And he shuts the door. That scenario rarely plays out well.
“What’s up, Coach?”
He gestures to the seat in front of his desk. “We need to talk about Houston Jennings.”
The back of my neck heats as I sit. “What about him?”
Coach raises his brows at me as if to ask if I’m that dense.
“Right.” I take a deep breath, composing my words carefully. “The bloke clearly holds a grudge.”
Coach nods. “Agreed, but I’m more concerned about you. How are you planning to handle him tonight?”
“Handle him?” I’d like to return in equal fervor his smash against the boards, but I’m sensing that’s not what Coach has in mind.
“You know he’s going to try to instigate something with you again, and the last thing we need tonight is for one of our best forwards to be in the box. Get my drift?”
In other words, no fisticuffs. “I do.”
He nods. “And just so we’re clear, I’m not saying let the guy get away with anything. Just maybe let your teammates help you.”
I run my hands down the front of my shorts. “Got it, Coach.”
“Good.”
As I head back to my locker, Luke follows me with his gaze until I sit down.
“Everything okay?”
I put on a skate and work the laces. “He doesn’t want me getting into anything with Jennings tonight.”
He lets out his signature grunt, which says he agrees, though grudgingly. “Sounds wise.”
“Right, but knowing Jennings, he’ll be the one to start something.”
“Then you let one of us deal with him.”
Resigned to the situation, I exhale my frustration. “Coach implied the same.”
“Ethan and I are paired tonight since Elias is sick. We’ll keep watch.” He lifts his chin toward Ethan. “Right, E?”
Tugging his jersey down, Ethan waddles over on his skates. “Whatever you need, Cap.”
Luke tilts his head at me. “We’re gonna make sure Jennings can’t get near Pay tonight.”
Ethan bumps fists with Luke. “You know it.”
That’s when I notice the rest of the blokes watching us, nodding. They’re all ready to jump into action on my behalf—something I’d readily do for them as well. And for the first time, I don’t feel utterly alone in all this.
I’m such an idiot. If I had told them the truth about my family from the get-go, they probably would have understood and not made a big deal out of some perchance title I’ll likely never hold. I should have trusted them with this part of my life as I trust them on the ice.
I swallow down the regret-filled lump in my throat. “Cheers. Means a lot.”
