Page 17 of Goaltender Interference

“Well, what’s done is done,” Gavin said, an edge of steel coming into his voice and Connor knew he’d lost the argument.

Gavin was an intimidating man under the best of circumstances. Though he hadn’t played NHL hockey for long, he was tall and solidly built, with biceps and shoulders that strained at the seams of his dress shirt. And a personality to match.

They might have a good rapport but he was still the man in charge.

And what were they gonna do at this point? The trade was a done deal.

Connor nodded, smiling tightly. “Right. Of course. We’ll do our best with him.”

“I assured ownership that I had a plan for keeping Webber wrangled.”

Still dazed, Connor was reminded of Dustin’s words at the wedding reception. Thanks to their respective GMs, Dustin’s problem was now Connor’s to deal with.

Fuck me.

“And your plan is to move him into my house for the season?”

Gavin nodded. “By all accounts, he’s a great guy. Friendly, well-liked in the locker room. Everyone in Toronto loved him.”

“It’s not his likeability I’m worried about,” Connor said with a sigh. “It’s his ability to put the team first.”

“We feel a more stable home environment could help with that.”

Connor bit off a bitter laugh threatening to escape. “May I remind you that I haven’t had one of those in a while?”

Gavin’s expression softened a little. “Hey, I know this divorce has been rough on you. And you’ve inherited a tough position within the team. I have too.”

Connor nodded, because Gavindidunderstand what he was going through. When Gavin was hired as GM two seasons ago, he’d been an out and happily married gay man.

In the past year, his husband had left him and he’d seemed to realize what a daunting position he’d been put in, trying to appease an ownership group and fanbase that didn’t seem to understand that the team couldn’t magically be fixed overnight, or even in a single season.

There were still expectations that they’d have a solid run at the Cup this year, despite a lack of assets required to make that happen.

If anyone would understand the pressure Connor was under this season, it was Gavin.

For a moment, Connor was tempted to admit what had happened after Kelly’s wedding. Surely Gavin would see that there was no way in hell Connor could have Jesse living with him this season after what they’d done.

He opened his mouth to test the waters of that conversation when Gavin leaned in, frowning. “The thing is, Connor, it’s not onlymyposition that’s at risk here. It’s yours. Ownership doesn’t feel that you’ve stepped up as captain in the way they’d hoped. We all noticed that you were—well, a little bit checked out during the divorce. That’s understandable, having that custody battle taking place in the news was hard. But the fact is, we’re rebuilding—whatever we call it to the media—and that means we need you to make the team your priority this season.”

Connor snapped his mouth shut and nodded.

“Now that Smitty’s retired, you won’t have him covering the slack. Pennington is solid, but young. We’ll likely pick another alternate at some point this season but even once we do, this isyourresponsibility. Unless we can tempt Kelly away from Evanston—which I don’t see happening, especially now that he and Lindholm are settled there—there’s not another O’Shea waiting in the wings. More’s the pity. But that meansyou’vegotta step up and make this new generation of leadership as good as the last one was.”

Connor took a deep breath, because fuck, that hit right where it hurt. “I understand,” he said, voice a little more strangled than he’d like.

Gavin’s expression was earnest. “Ownership hasn’t outrightsaidthat the responsibility of getting Jesse Webber behaving like a model citizen this season is on you, but it was strongly hinted at. And if they don’t see results, they may ask you to step down.”

“I’ll do my best,” Connor said tightly. Because what else could he do?

This washisteam. He’d spent years looking up to his father and older brothers for their leadership and whatever had happened in his personal life, he needed to stop letting it interfere with his career. This wasn’t just about his family’s legacy. It was about what his would be. And he wanted to prove he was capable of leading a team. Of helping his guys grow and develop.

Unless Connor wanted to have the captaincy stripped from him, he was gonna have to put up with having a fuckboy goaltender for a roommate.

Connor took a deep breath. He’d have a quiet talk with Jesse about it, calmer this time, and remind him they were both professionals here and what was at stake.

That would be enough, right?

With a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach, Connor had a feeling he would be proven very, very wrong.

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