Page 67 of Power Play with My Brother's Irish Friends

37

DUNCAN

Itypically thrived amid chaos and pandemonium, but not like this. Three days after the story about Miranda broke and we were still hearing every sordid detail being blasted on the internet. The three of us had our own security detail to hustle us from a private car to the locker room where we had our first team meeting since the news broke. I bristled at the tall man’s order to keep my head down but followed his directions and hurried through the metal door.

It banged shut behind us, and two men took up cautionary positions on either side.

Coach waved us into the room, where I spotted Austin first, followed by the rest of the team.

I tightened my grip on my churning emotions and prepared for the worst. I was ready to take the fallout if it meant the others were allowed to stay on the team. I’d come to the decision late last night when Coach sent the group text to remind everyone of today’s meeting.

My reputation was on the bring of tumbling down. All that hard work and nothing to show for it. I’d put Miranda through the trouble of helping me clean up my act, just to let this happen. I had not regrets about our relationship. I only regretted the effect it might have on my teammates.

“And here I thought Duncan’s fights were a PR nightmare.” Murphy chuckled from his seat on one of the low benches that tracked back and forth across the middle of the room. The red lockers behind him had become so familiar to me that I knew which player belonged at each locker.

“You said it.” Scott smacked Murphy on the back. “Looks like we’ll be in the spotlight the rest of the season.” Slapping a hand over his heart, he threw his head back. “Oh no. I’m devastated.”

The entire room howled with laughter. It took me by surprise and stopped me in my tracks. Charlie patted my shoulder and gave me a nudge at the same time, pushing me deeper into the room.

“Get in here, you three.” Coach waved us forward and motioned at the bench were we’d always sat. Austin patted the line of empty space, his smile as genuine as a rainbow after a storm. “Come on. We have a lot to discuss.”

I tugged my collar away from my neck, the sudden feeling of constriction strangling me as I took my place between Patrick and Charlie. “Am I off the team?” I had to know that right away.

Coach rubbed his palms together in a soothing motion. “No. None of you are off the team.”

The blast of relief knocked the breath from my lungs and hunched me over my knees. Charlie made a similar sound.

“I knew you’d pull through.” Patrick fist-pumped the air. “That’s what I call fucking teamwork.”

“All right, all right.” Coach grinned and swatted at Patrick with his hat. “Calm down so we can talk this through.”

For the first time in my professional career, I found true camaraderie. Figures it would be when I was at the end of my time on the ice. Years of hockey had put a strain on my body. Parts of me ached this year that had never bothered me before. I didn’t have much longer left to play. Couple years, if my luck held out. One good fracture and my career would end even sooner.

“Look.” Scott and Murphy stood and crossed to bookend Coach. Scott spoke with a soothing quiet that he usually kept under wraps. “We’ve all talked about it.” He shook his head when I scowled. “Oh, bite me, Duncan. We had to talk about it. This affects the whole team. We all talked about the possible fallout, and we decided it’s worth it.”

“Yeah.” Michael stood. The punk kid who Miranda had helped last week joined Coach. He’d often watched me with wide-eyed hero worship. I expected it to disappear now, but he held my gaze and grinned with the goofiness of youth. “You made your decision based on love. It’s a personal thing, man. All three of you. Nothing wrong with that. It’s all cool.”

“We all love Miranda. Not that way!” Scott held up both hands in surrender and lifted his voice to carry over the racket from the other players banging their fists on lockers and shouting at him. “We all think she’s awesome. As long as you treat her right, you have our full support. No one here gives a shit if all three of you are in love with her. Love and love well, I always say.”

A dozen empty paper cups from the water dispenser flew through the air and smacked into Scott’s chest.

I snorted a laugh and sat up straighter.

“Knew I liked you lot.” Patrick shouted over his shoulder.

Our team roared and threw cups at him too. It had become something of a tradition to throw paper cups when we agreed with someone.

“Now, let’s talk strategy.” Coach rolled the giant whiteboard out in front of us. A numbered list in red ink covered it from top to button. I recognized Miranda’s writing and hurriedly scanned the list. “This is what we’ll be implementing for the foreseeable future. None of you go out alone.” He pointed a blue marker at me, Charlie, Patrick, and Austin. “If any of you are out, you will have a security detail. I don’t care how well you can protect yourself, this is about your public image, and we’re not letting those buzzards anywhere near you. Got it?” He waited for our nods before he continued. “Now. The story is the current hot topic on every sports news station. Don’t expect that to die down, especially once they realize the story is valid.”

“Should we deny it?” Austin asked. He caught my glare but swung his head further around. “Miranda? What’s the best way forward?”

She stepped into the locker room looking like a business warrior prepared to enter the coliseum. Dark hair slicked back in a no-nonsense bun, business suit perfectly pressed and draped over her curves in a delicate fashion, all came together to present the Miranda that took PR nightmares by the horns and made them her bitch. “We tell them the truth. They’ll get it out of their systems once they see we’re not treating it like a scandal. There’s no reason to hide. If we start hiding now, we’ll have to keep it up for the rest of our lives. That’s too exhausting.” She tapped the board with one blood-red nail. “Follow the list. Keep your cool. Remember, they want reactions. That’s why we don’t want you alone.”

Between her and Coach, we wrapped up the meeting within the hour and hit the ice for practice. Miranda stopped us in the hallway, reminding us she had to fly back to New York for a few days but would return for our next game. We’d discussed all this in the last three days, but I enjoyed having the reminder that she’d come back to us.

She kissed each of us and waved on her way out the side door. A group of security guards surrounded her, their presence keeping the reporters held back. She’d promised they would stay with her all the way to the airport and even in the lounge until she boarded her flight. Once on the plane, she’d be on her own, but she had a plan for disguising herself to fly under the radar until she reached her condo.

“The secondary team is meeting her when she lands, right?” Patrick tapped the end of his hockey stick on the ice. “Did we cover that part?”

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