“Come on, Kane,” Dr. Lowell says. “I’ll walk you down to PT, so we can go over things. I’m sure you have questions I can answer as well.”
No. My gaze snaps to Beckett, but he’s focused on the doctor. I wanted to have a minute or two to talk to him. To make sure he’s okay. To be the friend he needs right now, even if just in a small smile or manly-pat-on-his-shoulder kind of way.
But I can’t do that, and it’s for the best… for my career, at least.
Chapter 28
Finley
“Ithinkyou’reawitch,” I say to Charlotte when she answers the phone.
I’m lying on my bed in a hotel room in Chicago. At midnight, she was the only person I knew would still be awake. She’s also the only person I can possibly talk to about this.
“Like Ursula inLittle Mermaidor Sarah Jessica Parker inHocus Pocus?” she asks.
“The latter,” I reply. “Obviously.”
“While I can’t help but agree, what did I do to earn such a title?” Charlotte asks. “And does it have anything to do with the fact that you were basically dancing with Kane all night at the Jaxon Steele concert a few days ago?”
I shake my head. Fuck. That concert feels like a lifetime ago. Which is part of the reason I called. Even though I should be prepping for our last push toward the playoffs. It’s the middle of March, which means I have less than one month to make sure the Yeti are moving on to post-season play.
And yet, here I am. On the phone with a friend because of a boy. I’m so fucked.
“Kane is on IR,” I announce.
There’s a pause. “What’s IR again?”
I roll my eyes. “Injured reserve. It means he’s hurt badly enough that we need to open up his spot on the roster. We called up one of the defensemen from the minors tonight. He did fine.”
“So, ignoring all the sportsy things you just said: Kane’s off the team?” Charlotte asks, and even through the phone, I can tell she’s grinning.
“Are you smiling?” I ask. “The man is hurt, Charlotte! You can’t smile about a professional athlete getting benched for three weeks. It’s literally a nightmare for him.”
“Yeah, but doesn’t it mean he isn’t your player anymore?”
“That’s not exactly how it works,” I hedge. But that “exactly” is why I’m on the phone with Charlotte.
“Oh shit,” Charlotte says. “Video call me right now. I need to see your face when you tell me this.”
I do as she requests, unsurprised to see that Charlotte is all done up with a full face of makeup, her hair in curly waves hanging around her face.
“Are you considering doing something with Kane, Finley Blake?” she asks as soon as she answers.
“No,” I lie.
Her eyes go wide. “You are!”
“Iamstill his coach,” I remind her.
“But…”
“But I can’t make the decision to put him back on the roster.”
“So, he’s not in your chain of command!” Charlotte all but yells.
I hit the volume-down button a few times before saying, “I’m not sure if that’s how the legal team would see it, but DoctorLowell has to sign off, and then White has to decide to put him back on the roster.”
“Oh shit,” Charlotte says. “So, what are you going to do?”
