Coach Fields was McKenna’s father.
That revelation hit Tank like a ton of bricks, too many things crashing in on him at once.
He considered all the things McKenna had told him about her dad, how he’d been an absent parent, contributing only money to her upbringing. Then he recalled his coach admitting he’d been a lot like Tank when he was young, how he’d been a skirt-chaser, swaggering and cocky at the beginning of his hockey career.
Now, he understood her two dating rules.
And how fucked he was.
She wasn’t just avoiding a workplace relationship because of her asshole ex. She was avoiding a relationship with a hockey player…one who was exactly like her dad.
“McKenna’s father is the only one who calls her Kenny,” Tank said.
Coach looked surprised to discover Tank knew that. However, before the man could reply, Tank turned when he heard someone else calling his name.
McKenna was at the end of the hallway, walking toward him. “Tank. I was afraid I’d missed you,” she started, pulling up short when Coach Fields, who’d been hidden from her view, stepped out of the locker room.
“Oh. I, um…” She glanced at the coach—her father—then turned her gaze back to Tank. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“That’s all right, Kenny,” Tank said. “We were talking about you.”
McKenna’s eyes flew to Coach Fields, who sighed.
“I slipped up on your nickname,” her dad said quietly.
McKenna nodded, peering back at Tank cautiously. “I was going to tell you,” she started. “Tonight, actually.”
“He’s your dad?” Tank asked stupidly. Because of course he was.
She bit her lower lip. “Yeah.”
“Guess that explains why you’ve been riding my ass lately,” Tank murmured to his coach.
The matching guilty looks the father and daughter duo sent him might have been funny, if Tank wasn’t still reeling from the disclosure.
“No one knows?” he asked McKenna. “About the two of you?”
“Hugh and Benny do,” she replied. “I asked them to keep it a secret because I didn’t want anyone to think I’d been hired simply because my dad was the coach.”
Tank now understood what drove McKenna to work so damn hard. Obviously, she was worried that people would think she only got her job because she was Dean’s daughter. If that fact had been revealed when she’d first started working here, that was certainly what he and his buddies would have thought. But now, after seeing her do the job, there was no question McKenna had been the best candidate for her position.
“We agreed Monday night that we were finished keeping it a secret,” Coach Fields said, “though I didn’t mean to drop it on you like that.”
“Monday night?” he asked.
McKenna sighed. “I might have lied about the headache…that night,” she hastily added. “I really was sick the rest of the week though.”
“You’re feeling better, right?” Coach asked.
McKenna nodded at her dad. “I am. Much. I was glad you didn’t get sick, too.”
Tank watched as Coach stepped over to her, giving her a hug and a fatherly kiss on the head. “I was worried about you,” he murmured. “You got the soup I left on your porch?”
She nodded. “I did. Thank you.”
“Your mom told me it was your favorite.” Releasing her, Coach Fields gave Tank a long, hard warning look, then said, “I’ll leave you two alone.”
Neither he nor McKenna spoke as Coach Fields walked back into the locker room, the door closing behind him.
