Chapter Forty-Nine
Beau
The next few months flew by. Cole went back to school, fall started, and the holidays were just around the corner. It had felt like Terriers were going to be able to defend our Stanley Cup championship this year. Everything felt like it was falling into place. Dean had officially moved in with Cole and me. He’d packed up all his belongings from California and sold his house, and it made me so happy when I stepped into the apartment and found his Grammy awards hanging on the wall in our living room.
It had been a huge upset when, after the first game of the season, Jackson announced that he was going to retire. He and Maverick had decided they wanted to move to North Carolina with Andy to start a family. And Dean had cried when his brother left, but I made a vow that I was going to do the same for him. My son was going to graduate high school next year, which meant it was time for me to think about putting a ring on Dean’s finger.
Only everything came crashing down when Asher and Wyatt’s relationship exploded. Whatever had been going on between the two of them—and neither of them would fully explain the details—had Wyatt asking for a trade in December. His agent put out some feelers to see if anyone was interested, and then Wyatt was gone. Traded to North Carolina to the Panthers. The team Jackson was currently coaching for. No one had the chance to say goodbye. We all walked into the locker room to find his empty, with a new name listed above it.
“Who the fuck is Smith?” Scott dropped down onto the bench. “Since when do we have a Smith on the team?”
This was going to be tough for everyone. “We do now.” I had met our new right defenseman, Kingston Smith, earlier today. He seemed like an all right guy, but it was going to be strange not to have Wyatt around anymore, or hear his laugh, or watch him stare all goo-goo eyed at Asher.
“What haven’t you told me?” Scott raised his brows. “Wait a second. Did someone get traded? That’s Wyatt’s spot.” He stared at me with big, wide eyes. “No.”
I shrugged. “You didn’t hear it from me.”
But when everyone had filed in, along with Coach, and he introduced Kingston, you could have heard a pin drop. Asher stared at our new teammate with horror written all over his face and heartbreak in his eyes.
“Wyatt’s gone.” Asher swallowed nervously. “He just asked for a trade, and you gave it to him? He’s part of the team. How are we going to win another championship without him? How could you just let him leave like that without saying goodbye?”
Coach took a step forward. “Wyatt needed a change, Andrews. He did what he had to do, and when Jackson offered us Smith as an even trade? Well, we couldn’t say no.”
“Jax?” Asher had grown pale. “He went to play for Jackson?” I reached over to grip his shoulder, but he pushed my hand away. “Don’t. I can’t do this right now.” Asher grabbed his bag and pushed past everyone to get out of the locker room.
That had gone about as well as I thought it would. “Welcome to the team, Kingston.” I climbed to my feet and held out my hand.
“Thanks, man. Happy to be here.” Kingston gave me a firm shake as he glanced around the room. He was a large man, about my height with broader shoulders, and probably a lot more muscle than I had ever carried. “And I know that this is hard onall of you, and that Wyatt was your friend and teammate for a long time. But I can promise you that I’m going to be the best defenseman that you’ve ever had. Hopefully, in time, you’ll think of me as your friend, too.”
And with that, the rest of the team came over to introduce themselves, say hello, and welcome Kingston to our team. I just hoped that, with time, Asher would be able to do the same.
The game had been a disaster. Everyone was all over the place, and if Kingston hadn’t scored that one goal, we’d have given the other team a shutout. I understood that we were getting used to change: Jax was gone, Scott having been promoted to first goaltender, and now Wyatt, everyone was confused. Asher hadn’t returned to the arena, and Coach had told the media he would be out as a healthy scratch. I knew that things were going to be tough; just not this tough.
After the game, I headed out to my car, wishing that Dean had come to watch me tonight. But Cole had a game, too, and we both agreed it would be best for him to go watch our son. Sure, it wasn’t official yet, but I liked to think of Dean as Cole’s other father. It was cold outside, colder than the arena, so I hurried to unlock my vehicle just before I heard someone call my name. I turned to find Kingston headed toward me.
“Hey, man, I just wanted to see if you wanted to get a beer?” He gave me a big, broad smile that lit up his dark eyes.
What I wanted was to go home to my family, but as the captain of the Terriers, I knew I should make our new player welcome.
“Sure.”
ONCE AT THE BAR, BOTHof us with a drink in front of us, I got the feeling that Kingston was trying to figure out what to say. Hefiddled with the label on his beer as he glanced around before he finally met my stare again.
“Thanks for earlier. Welcoming me to the team and all. I know everyone is pretty shaken up with everything that happened.” He took a sip of his drink.
“Wyatt was well loved by everyone, so yeah, it was a bit of surprise.” I wasn’t going to sugarcoat it.
Kingston nodded. “I can imagine. When my agent told me about it, I surprised. I’ve been on several teams, so I excited to jump at the chance to play for the Terriers. I just hope that everyone warms up to me.”
“They will. Just give them time. Wyatt has been with us since he was drafted. He was a great friend to all of us, but I think that his moving to the Panthers might help him, too. Wyatt was always close with Jackson.” I finished off my beer and raised my hand to get the waitress’s attention to order us both another round.
He glanced around before he spoke again. “Jackson was a great coach.”
“How are you liking Boston so far?” I decided to change the subject before Kingston asked why Wyatt wanted the trade.
He swallowed the last of his first drink. “It’s different. I grew up in Florida, so the winters are going to be a challenge. Before the Panthers and here, I played for Arizona and Dallas, so this will be my first time living in a place that gets blizzards.”
“You’ll adjust. I did.”
