Page 135 of Over the Moon

“Not going. It wouldn’t be right.”

He made his way to the kitchen, helped himself to a cup of coffee, and then motioned for me to take a seat at the table. He held up the pot, offering to top me off.

“I’m good. Thank you,” I said, taking a seat as he sat across from me.

“So, what wouldn’t be right about you going to practice?”

“Well, my girlfriend isn’t allowed to go to work because we’ve been in a relationship, and she’s being punished for that, so why am I allowed to go to work?” I shrugged, taking a sip of my coffee.

“Because the world isn’t always fair,” he said.

“That’s your answer?”

“It’s the truth.” He set his mug down. “Listen, I agree with you. It’s not right. That’s why we’re going to go to practice together. So we can see what’s going on. Randall shouldn’t be there. Maybe Sebastian will call you back in and give you an update.”

“He can call me, just like he can call Eloise.”

“Listen, Clark, I appreciate the show of loyalty. I’ll be marching my ass out of that place, as well, if they terminate her. But right now, she asked me to go to practice, and she asked me to make sure that you go, too. So that’s what we’re going to do. Because she loves us, and she wants us to do this.”

“At least she’s talking to you,” I said.

“Oh, don’t start feeling sorry for yourself. You’re one of the best hockey players in the league right now. It doesn’t look goodif you’re acting like a mopey little baby,” he smirked. “It really ruins the bad-boy pro-athlete image, you know?”

I blew out a frustrated breath. “I don’t give a shit about that.”

“I know you don’t, son. But we’re not doing this for us; we’re doing this for her. Let’s go see what’s going on. We can’t do anything for her if we’re sitting at home, sulking.” He pushed to his feet. “Now go get dressed, and be ready to run a few extra miles, as well.”

“For what?” I gaped at him.

“For not telling me that you were in love with my daughter. You should have come to me.” His gaze met mine.

I nodded. “I fucked up. I owed you more.”

“Correct. And now you owe her this. She doesn’t have the option of going to work today, but you do, and she wants you there. So pull up your big-boy pants, and get your ass moving.”

I jogged to my room and quickly changed before grabbing my gym bag and following him outside.

“You’re riding with me today,” he said, unlocking his car doors with his remote.

“How come?”

“Because everyone on this team will know that we are united on this. Until they make a decision, we show up. If they terminate my daughter, we can both walk if that’s what we want to do. But we do it together. Randall sees it. Sebastian sees it. Human Resources sees it. Your teammates see it. And most importantly, our girl sees it. She knows we’ve got her back and one another’s back. That’s what family does,” he said, as he slipped into the driver’s seat.

“Damn straight, Coach.”

We drove to the practice facility and made our way inside.

My teammates were all looking at me and Coach with this pitiful look on their faces.

Word travels fast on this team.

I glanced at Coach Gable, and he quirked a brow as if I should know what to do.

“Huddle up,” I said, and all the guys gathered around. “I appreciate the support. But right now, we’ve got practice. So get your head in the game and get ready to work hard.”

“I don’t see Randall here today either,” Lefty said. “Is he on leave, as well?”

“He’s on leave, as well. I can’t share more than that right now,” I said, my voice void of all emotion because I felt nothing but disdain for Randall.

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