Page 2 of Taking The Shot

“I ought to punch you.”

“Try it, Boucher. I’ve got fifty pounds of muscle on your skinny hide – and I’m afraid you’d break a hip, old man,” Thierry smirked, and Batiste laughed, slapping Keith on the back. Keith just held up his middle finger in the blond man’s face – who leaned forward and kissed it mockingly.

“I’m thirty-six, and that’s not old.”

“It’s getting there,mon frêre,” Batiste chuckled.

“I’m not getting married,” Keith began again, getting back to the matter at hand. “First off, who would want to marry some confirmed bachelor with a stained reputation… and secondly? NO.”

“It’s not a bad idea,” Lafreniere said quietly, looking at him. “Think about it. You find some good girl, talk her into it, and…”

“What do you mean ‘good girl’?”

“A charity worker, an Amish chick, a schoolteacher, someone with a stellar reputation and…”

“I know someone,” Thierry announced, smiling.

“I’m not getting married,” Keith growled as the conversation around him started to rise to a crescendo as everyone started chiming in.

“Oh man, that’s a great idea…”

“Right? I mean, it would give him a boost in the media…”

“This woman is perfect…”

“How’s that?”

“She does volunteer work at my church – and she’s a widow with two young children. Everyone loves her…”

“Uh, no,” Keith interrupted, horrified. “Obviously, you don’t because why would she want to marry someone like me?”

“She’s an angel…”

“Uh, hello? So was Lucifer – so yeah, I’m not dragging some poor woman down with me.”

“Okay, first off, Boucher,” Lafreniere interrupted grimly. “It’s a great idea and you could really be helping someone get back on their feet.”

“No.”

“C’monnn… Project Boy Scout, for the win!” Coeur grinned. “Maybe she can make you your precious potato skins at the house.”

“I hate you.”

“You love me.”

“Well, yeah, but… I don’t like any of this.”

“Do you like being a Coyote?”

Keith stopped as silence fell around him, and no one moved. They all just waited and hung there, the clock in the background ticking quietly as his mind worked, the thoughts surging and pinging around in his head like a bunch of electrons around the nucleus of an atom. What they were saying made sense, but there was no way he was marrying some goody-two-shoes and taking on two brats to raise. He wasn’t husband material, and he sure wasn’t stepdad material either.

“This is my third team,” Keith said hoarsely, defeat and rejection burning through him, knowing how hopeless this was already. “I like being a Coyote, but I guess I’ll like a different job, a different location, if push comes to shove because what you aresuggesting… what you are asking me to do – you’re asking me to ruin three lives – not just mine.”

“Boucher…”

“No,” he interrupted staunchly. “And we’re needed on the ice.”

“Think about it!” Thierry called out behind him, but Keith was already marching forward like a man condemned toward the rink, pushing away any thoughts of their crazy ideas. Yeah, meeting with the coach had been a slap in the face, but meeting with the owners next week? Yeah, he knew exactly what was coming. They were going to protect their assets, and unfortunately, someone younger and less experienced could take his place for a whole lot less money.

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