That surprised me and I felt my eyebrows knitting together in confusion. “You didn’t?”
“Nah. Me and my dad… We stayed out in the hotel parking lot in his truck. We couldn’t afford a room most of the time, but he still wanted me to be at the team meetings in the lobby and get the hotel’s complimentary breakfast. I’d blend in with all the other kids, so no one ever caught me. The other kids knew though. It was kind of embarrassing. And then if I played bad, everyone would hear him yell at me out in the parking lot. He’d make me try and push the truck when I did bad.” He laughed it off like it was ridiculous… but I didn’t.
I reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. “That’s not okay, Griff.”
I felt his large shoulders shrug as he held me. “Nick would see and come down and help me. It’s not like it ever moved until we were around fifteen,” he snorted.
I swallowed. “I’m sorry, Griff.”
He took a deep breath. “Not a big deal. It made me who I am in some ways, I guess. The problem is… I think some parents would see the kind of psychotic bullshit that he’d pull, and then they’d see that I made it and say, ‘oh wow, he did a good job.’ But that’s not true. I played better after I left Canada. He destroyed my confidence.”
“You made itdespitehim,” I offered.
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Iknowso, Griff.”
“I’d like to be a coach one day. Like if I have a kid and that kid wanted to play hockey, ya know? I’d like to make it fun for a whole team of kids.”
I smiled hearing that. He had the patience and kindness for it. I could see it in my mind, him out there having a blast with the little ones. “You’d be a good coach.”
We laid there comfortably then, and I was almost asleep when I heard him whisper, “You have absolutely nothing to be self-conscious about, Savannah.”
His voice and words had the comfort of a warm hug. He had a way of calming my mind so that I could enjoy complete peace in his arms.
48. Griff
I woke up the next morning still holding Savannah’s tinybody.
I would’ve stayed there comfortably for hours if not for the fact that my phone was ringing and I didn’t want it to wake her.
“Griff here,” I answered.
“What the fuck was that fucking bullshit last night?!” Coach Petersen’s voice boomed.
I quickly hopped out of bed to take the call away from her. I threw on some sweatpants before tiptoeing to the door to quietly let myself out.
“We had to, sir,” I said as I leaned against the hotel hallway wall. I would not apologize for my actions because even if I could rewind time, I wouldn’t take it back.
“Hadto?” he spit out, sounding completely outraged. “Youhadto bust the jaw of a top defender in the minor’s organization?!”
Nice, I thought, and mentally slapped myself a high-five while he continued yelling at me. That fucker deserved it. I’d have to tell Duke.
“It was about… uh… honor, sir.”
That stopped his yelling.
“Whose honor?”
I swallowed down the temptation to saymy girl.“Duke’s sister, sir.”
“Blondie?”
I paused for a second wondering how he knew her… Then again, Nick had been on the Crewmen for years, so that shouldn’t have been surprising. “Uh, yeah.”
He gave a gruff harrumph. “Okay then… But I don’t wanna hear that you two are hard to deal with ever again. I’m stickin my neck out for y’all.”
“And we do appreciate it. Thank you, sir,” I added.
