Page 91 of Cross-Check

“I owe you. Thanks for getting Grace home safely. She’s everything to me, so I’m glad you were able to swoop in and save her when I couldn’t,” he tells me.

So he doesn’t want to beat my face in. Cool.

“You would have been there had she called. Besides, Cora was supposed to get her. I only grabbed her when she couldn’t.” I shrug as if it’s no big deal.

“I see you, Kellan.” He keeps his tone low. “You didn’t have to go, but you did. You cleared the air with her and repaired something in her that I could never touch. Thank you.”

I nod. “I needed it too.”

“I know, bro.”

“Are we done with the pillow talk? Jesus, you two are pansies. How are you even captain?” Hendricks calls out.

Clay’s eyes tighten as he turns toward the guy. “Keep your lip up and you’ll be sitting out of the game. I wonder how many scouts would want to know about your shitty attitude. You do know they talk to the captains of the team too, don’t you? Not just the coach,” Clay calls out.

That has Hendricks sobering and turning back to his locker.

“Douchebag,” I mutter.

“You’re telling me. I got rid of one only to replace him with another,” he jokes, nudging me.

“I’m still here though,” I tell him.

“Yes, but the douchebag isn’t. Let’s go win this game. For our girls.”

He walks away from me, going to his own locker to get ready.

For our girls. I like the sound of that.

“Good to see you and Cap made up,” Wyatt says, sitting down on the bench to wrap his hands.

“Yeah, I didn’t realize how much it affected my game to be at odds with him.”

“Your emotions always affect your game. Even if you think you can leave them at the door, it never happens. It’s not human nature.” He stands, walking away after dropping that little tidbit.

“Come on, guys, time to get on the ice,” Brett calls.

He’s taken to being the coach’s assistant this season. I thought I would hate it at the beginning of the year, but now I can see how well he does at it.

He would be a good leader.

I think I’ll vote for him to be captain next year.

Heading out to the ice, we start to warm up. I spot the girls, blowing a kiss to Cora like I have taken to doing at all my games now.

She smiles, pretending to catch it and hold it to her chest.

I’m blessed to have her.

As warm-ups end, Coach calls us to the bench to have a last-minute pep talk. I notice Hendricks is absent, making me wonder what happened to him. It’s not until I’m getting onto the ice with Beckett that I find out.

“Hendricks got pulled. Coach heard what he said to you and Clay. He’s off the team.”

I’m shocked, but I try not to show it.

Holy shit. In the grand scheme of things, what he said wasn’t bad. Thank God he never heard half the shit that I thought last year. I could have been gone just as quickly.

“Fuck,” I mutter.

---