Page 24 of Interference

I hoped he was right. I wanted to be better next period. I didn’t even know why this particular argument with Simon was bothering me more than usual. I’d asked myself multiple times today if it was the stranger in my house who was throwing me off my game, but… no. Wyatt probably should’ve had me nervous and uncomfortable, but he wasn’t. Yeah, the situation was weird as hell and I really didn’t know the guy at all, but I was just… at ease with him. With having him in my house.

Several times throughout the day, I’d checked the security cameras, and I’d mostly found him hanging out in the living room, sometimes talking on his phone. He’d taken Lily out a few times, and I’d even caught him playing with both cats. When I’d come home for a couple of hours this afternoon, he’d been making himself a sandwich, supervised by the boys.

“I wasn’t sure if they were allowed on the counter,” he’d said somewhat sheepishly. “They, uh… They kind of got up there like they owned the place, though.”

I’d laughed. “Oh, yeah. They’re allowed. And I should’ve warned you—don’t turn your back on any food, or it’ll be gone.”

“You don’t say.” He’d chuckled and tousled Bear’s ears. “I’ve already had to grab the cheese back from him twice.”

“Sounds like him.”

So, yeah, I’d spent time thinking about Wyatt today, and I’d wondered a few times if I should be more stressed about him than I was, but he wasn’t the reason I’d racked up six penalty minutes tonight. If anything, I had to wonder if his presence had soothed me in ways it shouldn’t have. I wasn’t used to living alone anymore, and having a stranger fall out of the sky and land in my house was not as unwelcome as I’d have expected.

My gaze drifted across the room to Simon.

Why are you, the man I love, stressing me out more than the complete stranger staying in our house?

I shook myself and continued taping my stick. Then I started putting my gear back on. One way or another, I was going to play better in the third period. I had to, even if the thought exhausted me.

God, I should’ve told Coach I was sick or something. Food poisoning? The flu? Rabies?

But I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to play hockey. I loved hockey.

I just… didn’t love it tonight.

That gave me pause.

When was the last time I did love it?

Great. Something to chew on while I tried to go to sleep later tonight. First things first? Helping my team erase the deficit I’d created.

Out on the ice, while we all skated a little to get warmed up again, Simon came up beside me and put a gloved hand on the small of my back. With a perfect media smile in place, he said, “How about staying out of the box so we can salvage this fucking mess?”

I faked a laugh for the same reason he was smiling—so fans, cameras, and our teammates would think we were just sharing a joke. Then I skated off to take my place while he set up for another faceoff.

As he leaned over the dot, I glared at his back.

We really had become the problem our coach and GM had warned us against, hadn’t we? Letting our bullshit out onto the ice. Now, as a direct result of my concentration being fucked up, our team was down two against a divisional rival.

And a second before the puck dropped, the same question from early echoed through my head:

How much longer are we supposed to live like this?

Chapter 8

Wyatt

“Sir. That is not yours.” I gently tugged the bag of cheese away from Bear. “I already paid the cheese tax, and I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to eat more than that.”

He grabbed the pack with a giant paw and pulled it back toward him.

Chuckling, I rolled my eyes, popped his claws out of the plastic, and took the cheese back to the refrigerator where he couldn’t get it. In the two seconds I had my back turned, he descended on my sandwich, snatching a piece of meat away.

“Hey!” I tried to reach him, but he took off, landing on the kitchen floor with a heavy thump before trotting into the living room. He hopped onto his cat tree and start eating his prize. I sighed. “Really, dude?”

He continued chewing defiantly.

From the other end of the counter, Moose watched me expectantly. I rolled my eyes, gave him a smaller piece of turkey, and then put everything away, keeping my sandwich plate in my hand so neither of the thieves could attack it again.

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