Page 147 of The Husband Game

Of course, that led to a scoring opportunity for the Lynx and Dustin raged silently as he watched Montreal celebrate.

Assholes.

The Montreal/Toronto rivalry was a long one. Morrison wasn’t usually a bad guy but that chirp had been way out of line. And yeah, Dustin had played right into his hands, but damn it, you didn’t kick a guy’s teammate when he was down.

Dustin skated to the bench after his penalty was up and Matty leaned in. “What did Morrison say to you? I was tangled up with two of their forwards so I couldn’t hear.”

“Shit about Haler’s drinking problem.”

Matty let out a low growl. “I’m gonna fucking kill him.”

“Guys.” Coach Casey’s hands landed on each of their shoulders. He leaned in between them, speaking seriously. “I know you want to stand up for Hale but this is an exhibition game. Cool it. I don’t want you two injured or suspended before the season even starts.”

Dustin sucked in a deep breath and let it out even more slowly.

“You got that?” Casey asked.

“I’ve got it,” Dustin grumbled.

“Matty?”

“Yeah. I’ve fucking got it.”

“Good. Now, look lively, your line’s up next.” He slapped them on the backs and they were over the boards for the next shift.

But Dustin’s game didn’t improve.

He kept a lid on his temper when he was around Morrison but despite a few good scoring opportunities, he was unable to make a goal go in. His puck luck was shit tonight.

By the end of the first period, they were down 0-2 and Dustin skated off the ice with a scowl on his face.

The second period was a wash too. Colton got a goal off an assist from Jordan but Montreal quickly scored after Dustin managed a crisp tape-to-tape pass to one of their defensemen.

He’d been aiming for Matty.

“Fuck!” he swore as he settled on the bench again.

“Hey, you doing okay?” Coach Casey asked, squeezing his shoulders through the pads. “This isn’t like you.”

“No,” Dustin muttered. “I can’t get my head in it tonight.”

The entire team seemed off, and although Dustin tried to give the guys a bit of a pep talk during the second intermission, he began to wonder if he was cut out to lead this team.

He’d flung those words at Jill McKenzie because he’d been pissed off by her comments but maybe it was true.

Maybe he wasn’t the right man for the job.

* * *

Two nights later, Charlie carried a bowl of sauteed Mediterranean chicken and vegetables on brown rice into the media room and curled up on the comfy leather couch to watch the game.

With the stereo and all of the gaming consoles hooked up to Dustin’s TV, it had taken Charlie a little while to figure out Dustin’s entertainment system. But by now he was a pro and he quickly navigated to the CBC broadcast of the Fisher Cats vs. Montreal Lynx game.

It was the second game against them this week, although they played in Montreal tonight.

Charlie felt a stab of guilt he hadn’t made it to any of the pre-season games yet.

He hadn’t gone to the first one because Dustin wasn’t even playing and it didn’t make sense for Charlie to go to the away games. But he’d hated missing the home one earlier this week.

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