Page 68 of Goaltender Interference

Connor gulped it down and tried to act casual while he chatted with Liam. “How’s business been?”

“Oh, good. Can’t complain.” Liam resumed pulling pints, sliding them down the bar toward a couple of older guys parked there.

Connor sipped his water.

“So, what are our chances this season?” Liam asked in a jovial tone. He reached for a towel, mopping up some spilled liquid.

“Uhh, of what?” Connor asked.

Liam snorted. “Of winning the Triple Crown. What do you fuckin’ think? The Stanley Cup, my man.”

Connor grimaced. “Well, we’re working on it.”

“That’s what you’ve been saying since the last one.”

“Yeah, well …” Connor sighed.

Liam had left Ireland and settled in Boston long before Connor’s father had been captain, so he’d lived through the team’s heyday and its current slow, painful decline.

“Your new goaltender sounds like he might know what he’s doing.” He nodded toward the table.

“He does,” Connor agreed, assuming Liam was talking about Jesse, although Arkady was new as well.

He’d been in the AHL last season but he’d had a stellar season with them last year and a promising training camp. Not as good as Jesse, of course, but it was nice to see that they’d have a solid backup.

Connor rapped his knuckles on the bar, just to be safe.

“Bit of a hellion though,” Liam said in a conversational tone.

“We’re working on that too,” Connor said grimly.

Liam threw his head back and laughed. “Somehow, I get the feeling that’s going to be your biggest challenge.”

“Somehow, I get the feeling you’re right.”

“I mean, look at him now.”

Oh fuck.Connor’d had his back turned for three minutes … what had Jesse gotten up to now?

Connor swiveled on the stool to see Jesse up and dancing. This wasn’t a dancing sort of place. Some nights, there was a live band playing but even then, people mostly sat at tables and watched.

At the moment, the ancient jukebox was doing the hard work.

The song playing wasn’t made for dancing either, but somehow, Jesse had found a way. He danced alone, like he didn’t care what anyone thought of him, swaying and dipping and shimmying to the tune.

“Fucking goalies,” Connor muttered under his breath.

Behind him, Liam laughed. “Told ya.”

Connor stewed while he watched Jesse dance for a few more songs, gritting his teeth when a woman sidled up to him and joined in. They weren’t even dancing together, mostly swaying in unison, but it still made Connor want to stalk over and shove her out of the way.

And Connor could tell himself all he wanted that he was looking out for Jesse’s public reputation. That he didn’t want anyone to think Jesse was misbehaving. But that wasn’t all of it. Not even close.

After a song or two, when it became clear Jesse wasn’t taking the bait, the woman walked away, making a beeline for her friends.

Jesse kept dancing, clearly lost in his own little world.

It wasn’t until the music stopped, and a cheer went up from the bar, that Jesse glanced around, grinning.

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