“They all do,” Coach countered, his usually gruff voice softening.
I shook my head. “I can’t help but feel like I won’t have anything to show for my career if my name never gets carved in silver.”
“You know that’s not true. You hold the Comets’ record for most points by a defenseman. No one will forget the way you changed the defensive game. Kids model their playing style after yours. You’ve made an incredible impact. Championships are nice, but they aren’t everything.”
“Easy to say when you have three of them,” I grumbled.
Clapping me on the back, Coach only laughed. “Fair point. Enjoy the moment. You never know which one will be your last.”
Well, fuck if that wasn’t ominous.
My contract was up at the end of the year, and the Comets would have the choice to re-sign me at the age of thirty-five next summer or let me go. I had been a Comet from day one. They drafted me, and the idea of going to another team made my stomach hurt, but some decisions weren’t up to me.
Clearing his throat, Coach spoke again, “I was hoping you might do me a favor this season.”
As an alternate captain, I was ready and willing to help the team—and Coach—in any way I could. “Name it.”
Coach fidgeted with the wedding band on his left hand. “You might want to hear it before you agree.”
Now, he had my attention. I sat up straighter. “What can I help you with, Coach?”
Taking a sip of his beer, he swallowed before saying, “I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Hannah has taken a position in the front office.”
Say what?
“What kind of position?” That girl wasn’t qualified for anything other than being her daddy’s shadow and getting in everyone’s way. I wasn’t even sure she’d finished college. Four years focusing on a single subject didn’t scream “Hannah.”
“She’s taking on the role of travel coordinator for the team.”
With those words, Coach ripped the carpet from beneath my feet, and I was free-falling.
Hannah.
On the road.
With the team.
There. All. The. Time.
This was the stuff nightmares were made of. I couldn’t deal with her every damn day. Seeing her at our home rink half the time was bad enough. At least then, I could go home at the end of the day and try to forget she existed. There would be no hiding from her on the road—morning, noon, and night, she would be there.
Grappling with the panic clawing up my chest, I rubbed sweaty palms on my khaki shorts. “How do I come in?”
Coach rubbed his jaw. “I know the two of you tend to frequent the same establishments here in Hartford, and I’m sure on the road, she will head where the players go in the evenings. I was hoping you could keep an eye on her when I can’t. Sometimes she needs protection from herself, if you know what I mean.”
This had gone from bad to worse. Not only was Hannah coming on the road with the team, but Coach wanted me to go out of my way to spend time with her.
I am so fucked.
Sensing my hesitation, Coach continued, “I know this is a big ask. Hannah can be . . . a little wild.”
I held back a snort. A “little” wild? That was the understatement of the year. Hannah was chaos—a tornado masquerading as a woman.
Never having said no to Coach before, I tried to find a way to get out of this. “I don’t know, Coach. I’m not exactly her favorite person, and if she learns I’m keeping tabs on her, it won’t end well.”
Coach, pleading with me with his eyes, begged, “Then don’t let her know.” Running a hand through his thicker-than-average hair for a man in his mid-sixties, he added, “Do you see all these gray hairs? Every single one of them is from Hannah, my wild child. It would set my mind at ease if I knew one of you boys was looking out for her.”
How the hell could I say no? Hannah would get into trouble on the road if left unsupervised. That was a certainty.
