I was proud, too. A pool of water formed under my skates and between my legs as I sucked in a breath. I’d missed a crucial fourteen minutes of the game, but the boys held on, fighting Nashville off and finishing with the win.
Coach Whittaker beckoned me toward the small office off the visitor’s locker room. I strode in, wincing. I should have unlaced my skates, but I’d been too nervous…and too superstitious to change anything until I heard that final buzzer.
Silas Whittaker, a former forward like me, stood with his back straight and thick chest out. The guy was pushing forty, and a few gray hairs swirled through the brown, but he still looked like one of the boys. He’d proven to be a hell of a good coach, able to listen, cajole, and tease out the best in his players. He’d traded just two guys—and the rest of us had cheered their removal. Coach was fair but tough—my favorite type of leader.
He tapped his new glasses on the folded paper that lay on the desk. He kept his attention on me as he lowered into the chair. He motioned for me to sit, so I did. His brows tugged in tight over his nose, causing a ripple of wrinkled skin to flow up his forehead. “I heard about your off-ice drama,” he began.
A pang hit my guts, but I sat up straighter. “From Paloma?”
“Yeah, she was with Naomi and Nicole when Maxim’s girlfriend called.”
I was glad our CATS were so tight-knit. Keelie needed her friends to help her through her hurt since she wouldn’t talk to me.
I nodded. “It’s been a rough couple of days, even with that all-important W in our column.”
“I almost didn’t sign the trade for you from Montreal,” Coach said.
My stomach dropped as his words settled around me.
“You were angry, out of control, unwilling to talk to anyone or work out your feelings anywhere other than the ice. You had the highest minutes in the PB of any player that season. Still one of the highest in the sport.”
I folded my fingers around my knees and focused on taking in a deep breath, letting it out. Coach slid on his glasses as he picked up a paper. He read for a second, then set it aside.
“Evonavich hit Sidorov late. We’re lucky he didn’t break something with that check to the knees. It was dirty. You skating to the ref and complaining forced the review. I get why you threw down with Evonavich after he checked you, too—that fucker needs to learn a lesson, and sending him sprawling and bloody did that for our boys and the rest of the league. By the way, Stol was out for blood. If he’d gone over the boards, he would have pounded Evonavich.”
I held my breath, unsure what Coach was telling me.
“You waited, let Evonavich come at you first…that meant control. So have the calls from other players to the commissioner. From what he’s said, most have praised your actions.”
Coach slid his glasses from his nose and stared down at me. “I’ve watched you struggle with your personal life, unable to leave it off the ice. That’s your greatest weakness as a player. That’s why I worried about taking you on, no matter how stellar your stats were—outside of the penalty minutes.” He smirked, but I remained stone-faced.
Was he planning to trade me? My heart pounded hard against my ribs as sweat slicked my sides. I needed to be in Houston, near Keelie. I loved the life I’d built there, and I didn’t want to restart again.
My gaze snapped back to Coach Whittaker’s as he continued. “But you handled it. You worked through your business, and you kept your cool. The ejection for the game is the totality of your punishment, and even better, Evonavich is out for three games. You were a leader, both on the ice and off. Which makes me even happier that I looked beyond your lippy orneriness all those years ago and saw the man you could be. The man you’ve become.”
My Adam’s apple bobbed as I struggled to process Coach’s comments. So…hewasn’ttrading me?
“Now, get the hell out of this office and sort out your personal life.”
I rose on shaky legs, dipping my head. This meeting hadn’t gone the way I’d expected. Joy blossomed in my chest. Coach considered me a genuine leader of the team—a man the younger guys should look up to. A man worthy of offering guidance.
He was a father figure even though he had less than a decade on me.
“Thanks, Coach,” I said, my voice raspy with emotion. “I’ll do my best to make sure you don’t have reason to doubt me.”
“See that you do, Bouchard. For the record, I like your lady. She’s a damn fine golfer and the exact kind of woman we need leading our CATS.”
Pride intermingled with concern. “We’ll see if I can convince her to hear me out.”
Coach rose from the chair and snagged his clipboard as he rounded the desk.
“You’re a stubborn cuss. I’d put my money on you.” He slapped my shoulder and strode out.
Chapter54
Keelie
The knocking on my door refused to stop. I checked the peephole and gasped, shoving the back of my hand against my lips. Shannon, the love of Cormac’s life, stood at my door. She wore the same outfit I’d admired when I’d walked in on them getting cozy earlier. It was a silky sheath dress with an embroidered bolero jacket and nude heels. Her hair was tucked back in a neat chignon at the base of her neck. Pearls encircled her slim throat.
