He stepped back, shaking his head. “No. I can’t accept this.”
Clapping a hand on his shoulder, I smiled at my best friend on the team. “You did a good thing, holding it for me while I was out injured last year. But we both know a captain leads from the ice, not the press box.”
When he met my eye, I could see my pain reflected in his. He was holding onto my career as tightly as I had. He came into the league after me, so I’d always been there for him. He wasn’t ready to let me go, to take my place. And while I could respect that, it was time to move on, to move forward.
It was a new era for the Speed, and this time, I would be leading from behind the bench.
“Maddox.” Jenner’s voice broke. “You’re the captain.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. I’m the head coach.Youare the captain.”
Brown eyes bulged at my announcement. “Head coach?”
I held out both arms. “What? Do I not look like head coach material?”
His gaze sharpened. “You better not be fucking with me right now.”
Laughing, I gave him a playful punch to the shoulder. “Signed the papers last night. It’s official. Say hello to your new bench boss.”
Jenner pulled me in for a hug, slapping me on the back a few times for good measure. Stepping back, he shook his head. “Unreal.”
“Yeah.” I huffed out a laugh. “Almost couldn’t believe it myself when McCall offered me the job. Said something about wanting a young, fresh head coach to match the energy of the team.” Smirking, I threw in, “Clearly, he forgot about your old ass out there.”
At thirty-one, Jenner was a few years younger than me. Even though, for most people, he was relatively young, in sports, he was in the back half of his career. His most recent contract ran for three more years, but I knew firsthand how that didn’t mean shit. Terms and signatures on paper didn’t hold up when your body gave out.
Shoving me, he stepped past where I stood to take the jersey off the hanger and slipped it over his head. He did a slow spin, showcasing his name, Knight, and number, seventy-five, stitched onto the back.
“Looks good on you,” I mused.
Smirking, Jenner replied, “Well, redismy color, so there’s that.”
We both chuckled. As a redheaded man, he took his fair share of teasing over it, but no one knew better than Jenner how to lean in and laugh with the group instead of letting them laugh at him.
“Tell me the truth,” Jenner said.
I raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“How hard are you gonna ride us?”
Keeping a straight face, I replied, “So hard that you won’t miss getting laid.”
Head tipped back, Jenner’s booming laughter filled the space. Pretending to wipe tears from his eyes, he took deep breaths as he came back down. “Fuck, it’s good to have you back.”
Yeah, it felt pretty fucking great to be back with the Speed. Even if my role had changed.
This was my team. This was where I belonged.
Chapter 2
Bristol
Nothing but farmland extendedbefore me as far as the eye could see as I drove straight through the heart of the Midwest. A twelve-hour solo road trip was far too long to be left alone with my thoughts—especially the ones about why I was relocating from Hartford, Connecticut, to Indianapolis, Indiana.
I’d made a mistake. I knew that. I had broken the rules and gotten attached. And now I was running away from that painful past.
For the better part of the last three years, I’d been dating Levi Nixon, forward for the Connecticut Comets hockey team. It wasn’t the healthiest relationship I’d ever been a part of, but I’d had my blinders on and refused to acknowledge the red flags that he waved around like a damn bullfighter.
Nix, as I called him, had insisted on an open relationship. He’d explained that I was too young to be tied down and he didn’t want me to be lonely when he traveled with the team. I ate that shit up, thinking he cared about me, giving me the time and space to spread my wings while finishing college. When in reality, he was fucking anything with legs because heliterally couldn’t keep it in his pants while I didn’t date—or sleep—with any other man but him.
