Page 167 of The Home Game

“Good.” Matty lowered Bill to the ground, easing up on the grip he had on his jacket but not letting go completely, eyes still narrowed. “Because you’re not going to get near my kids again. Ever. I will fight you in court because it’s the right way to handle it, but remember, that’s not the only way I know how to fight,” he said menacingly. “You put one toe out of line and I’ll make you regret it, Swanson.”

He let go of Bill’s jacket and patted the wrinkled fabric. He must have patted a little too hard though because Bill stumbled, falling back to the pavement.

“Oh!” Robin shrieked. “How dare you hit my husband!”

Matty snorted. “I didn’t hit him. He fell on his ass.”

She glared. “Our lawyers will be hearing about this.”

“I’m sure they will,” Matty said drily. “And you’ll be hearing from our lawyers.”

“We’ll see who the public believes. Did anyone get this on camera?” Robin asked, glancing around at the crowd of people who were watching.

Several people nodded. “Yeah, I did,” one guy said.

Matty groaned under his breath, looking back at Antoni with a guilty expression. Shit. He’d really fucked this up.

“Come on,” Antoni said, jerking his head toward the SUV. “Let’s get out of here. Let’s go home.”

“I hate them,” Alexis muttered as she picked up her hockey bag, slinging it over her shoulder with a groan. She trudged toward Matty’s SUV, scowling.

Antoni sighed and put his arm around her shoulders. “Honestly? Me too. And I wish you didn’t have to, but you did a good thing sticking up for Eli.”

Matty walked over to Eli, who stood there, looking a little lost, their bag still at their feet. “You doing okay, kiddo?”

“Yeah,” they sniffled. “It was … I thought Grandma and Grandpa were going to do something bad. Try to take us away, or something.”

“Not on my watch,” Matty said firmly as he wrapped an arm around Eli, who threw their arms around his waist.

“Thanks, Matty. You’re the best,” they said, tears wetting the front of Matty’s shirt.

All Matty could do was hug them back. He didn’t feel like the best. He felt like he’d really, really fucked up.

It was one thing to lose his temper on the ice. But he should know better than to do it in public.

What if he’d just made Antoni’s custody suit worse?

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

The kids still wanted to ride with Matty, so Antoni spent the silent drive home tapping his fingers anxiously on the steering wheel.

God, he could murder the Swansons for the shit they’d tried to pull.

Matty and the kids must have gotten home a few minutes before Antoni did, because they were already hanging up their gear in the heated garage. Antoni sent a mental thank you out to Charlie because he’d planned ahead and designed drying racks where the disgusting, sweaty gear could air out.

In the house, River shrieked with excitement when she saw Matty, running over so he could scoop her up and smother her face in kisses.

“So,” Antoni said when they were done making a ruckus. “Alexis, Eli, chili’s in the slow cooker and there’s salad in the refrigerator. Tortilla chips are in the cupboard. You can eat before you shower or after, whichever you’d rather do.”

Antoni couldn’t even look at Matty right now.

“Want me to get River and Reese down?” Enzo asked.

“Could you, Dad?” Antoni asked, hopefully. “I hate to ask but I, uh, need to talk to Matty in private for a bit.”

“Sure. Everything okay?”

“I’ll tell you about it later, if that’s alright,” Antoni said.

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