Page 79 of Game On

“I’m not sure he knew about it,” Jamie said quietly.

“He knew.” Shore’s expression darkened. “No coach has his head that far up his own ass. And it wouldn’t surprise me if some of your more level-headed teammates tried talking to him about it too. The fact that he didn’t do anything about it...” He shook his head.

“He traded Henty, didn’t he?”

Shore shook his head again. “We AHL coaches are at the whims of our organization and hardly ever get a say in trades. I got lucky with you. I doubt your former coach would’ve suggested trading one of his best veteran players. My guess is someone higher up noticed what was going on, pinpointed Henty as the problem, and got rid of him. And speaking of Henty,” Coach went on, not giving Jamie any time to let that sink in, “you know we’re playing his team next week.”

It wasn’t a question.

Jamie nodded, forcing himself to stay cool. “I know.” Of course he knew. Had actively been avoiding thinking about it, but he knew.

“Do I need to keep you off the lineup?”

“Fuck no!” Screw keeping his cool. No way was Coach preventing him from playing. “Put me in. I’ll stay on him like I stayed on that kid from Colorado during my first game with the team. Henty won’t get near the net.”

“You won’t let him get in your head?”

“I didn’t in Charlotte.”

“You did,” Coach said gently. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t be here.”

Heat flushing through his body, Jamie opened his mouth to respond. Snapped it closed.

Well, shit. Coach wasn’t exactly wrong. He wasn’t fully right either, but he did have a point.

“I won’t let him get in my head.”

Coach Shore regarded him for a moment with that poker face to end all poker faces. “All right.”

Relieved, Jamie waited for more. None came, of course. Shore was the “say what you have to say using as new words as possible” type.

“All right,” Jamie echoed. “Cool.”

“Get some rest.” Coach stood. “We have an early practice tomorrow. Have a good night, Jamieson.”

“You too, Coach.”

Shore headed for the nearby hotel restaurant, where Jamie could see Skills Coach Stanton and Assistant Coach Li. Jamie could use some food too. Maybe he’d invite Brawsiski, Lin, and Archie over to the room he was sharing with Andreen, and they could order room service and watch the highlights of tonight’s Charlotte versus Springfield game.

He exited the elevator on his floor and?—

“There you are!” Toussaint jogged over from where he was huddled with some of the other younger guys. “We’re heading out. Want to come?”

Jamie frowned. “Don’t we have a curfew?”

Toussaint’s eyes went comically wide. “I won’t tell if you don’t.”

“Watch yourselves downstairs. Shore, Stanton, and Li are in the restaurant.”

“We’ll take the stairs down, then, and go out the back way. So? You in?”

“Not sure I’m in the mood for the bar scene tonight, but thanks.”

“Bar scene?” Toussaint fell into step with him as he headed for his room. “Nah, man, we’re headed to a board-game café that’s open for another couple of hours. One of the Manitoba players recommended it. Apparently, they make pretty decent sandwiches.”

Jamie could have a sandwich, but did he want to go out and spend the whole time wondering if his teammates were going to suddenly lose their wallets? He started to decline, but one glance at Toussaint’s face and he clamped his mouth shut. The kid looked so damn hopeful.

Toussaint had invited him out several times since Jamie had arrived in Vancouver and Jamie had refused all but the first—dinner at Bayside the evening of his first practice with the team.

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