Page 134 of Triple Pucked
“It would be permanent.”
Shay glances at Cody, surprised.
I’m not surprised.
My brother doesn’t look like a fighter. Yet he’s the most protective person I know.
The sad thing is that Dad punished him throughout our childhoods because Cody stood up for me against the bullies who made my life hell at high school, despite being my younger brother and having his ass handed to him most days.
I would help Cody limp home, knowing that I was leading him back not to the loving arms of a parent who would care for his bruises and bleeding lip, but rather my dad who would bellow at him for fighting and drag him off to the study.
I have slowly come to realize that my brother, despite never feeling able to share with me the secrets of what happened in the study, may have also felt the slash of thebelt.
I raise my own beer, hoping that my words won’t be too slurred.
The world has started to become nicely fuzzy in the way that I love after a third beer.
“Then we’re going to teach this ice queen what it’s like to not get what she wants. She can’t own Shay.” I snuggle closer to him. “He’s ours.”
Shay glows. “Hear that? I’m claimed.”
D’Angelo shoots us a warning look. “We’re in public.”
“This is a friendly hug,” Shay retorts, although he loosens his hold on me, resting his arm just above my shoulders on the booth. I hate that we need to hide our relationship like this in public. I am desperate to stop needing to keep our love secret. “Better?”
D’Angelo lets out a huff. “You’re like a koala bear.”
“Does he like climbing you?” Michael asks with a straight face.
“More that he’s normally docile and cuddly,” D’Angelo drawls, “but can turn aggressive and bite. No jokes about that.”
D’Angelo wags his finger at Shay who snaps his mouth shut with a smug look.
When Shay’s phone rings, he nervously pulls it out of his pocket.
He steels, before glancing down. “It’s coach.”
“Don’t answer it,” D’Angelo replies. “Coach has had us in practice every moment that we haven’t been talking strategy or playing games. This is our night to blow off steam. He knows that.”
Shay appears uncertain. “He’ll be angry.”
“When isn’t he?” Cody mutters.
“Is he still giving you a hard time at work?” Michael narrows his eyes.
Cody shrugs. “I’m used to it.”
“You shouldn’t have to be.”
“I love my job. I’ve worked too hard to lose my role because of Dad.”
I give Cody a sympathetic glance.
He’s stuck. He needs a recommendation from the Bay Rebels to find a job anywhere else. He can’t even leave and start with a new team apart from on Dad’s terms, which is just how Dad likes it.
“I have some news of my own.” Michael plays with his glass of brandy.
Cody perks up, straightening. “Is it about the hospital?”
