Page 83 of The Captain

I thought Cassie had told them everything.

Until she informed me that my sister wanted nothing to do with me and slammed the door in my face.

That hurt. I knew my sister was pissed, and looking back, I overreacted.

Hurt feelings will do that to a man.

Then, I came in to talk to Coach, to figure out where they were at, to see if he was serious, and he was. They were so serious that they were planning to move because the director of the team found out everything about Coach and his relationship with my sister—who is also a student here—and threatened to take his job away.

That had been the final straw for me. I couldn’t allow that to happen, and even though I never told the staff, I felt somewhat responsible for his current situation.

Which was why, right before his last game, I told the team what was going on, and, like I thought, they were all for sticking up for Coach.

“You sure about this? They could cancel the game,” Crew said to me under his breath, eagerly awaiting the appearance of Ed Brown, director of the hockey team. Crew’s eyes kept darting to the door.

“Yeah, then what are we going to do? It’ll ruin our careers,” Connor Bedford, left defenseman and all-around party boy, chimed in, picking up on the conversation.

“So what? They’re willing to ruin Coach’s career because he’s with my sister. How is that fair?”

Crew frowned and shook his head. “I still don’t see what the problem is. Mick is like twenty-four.”

I shrugged. “Public image.” That was all I said, and we continued to wait in tense silence.

Ed then came in, and I told him what was going on when we didn’t suit up, watching as his face reddened in anger until it damn near popped.

“You’ll get your gear on,” he said, pointing a very non-threatening finger at us. Or specifically, me. “And get your asses on that ice, or I’ll bench every last one of you.”

I could feel the unease of my teammates around me, but no one moved a muscle. I called Ed’s bluff. If no one got dressed, if no one played, that hurt his reputation more than anyone’s.

Then Tanner walked in, looking flustered at what was going on when Ed explained what we were doing. I saw a sliver of respect shine in his eyes when he finally understood, and I realized that was all I wanted from him.

I knew it would take me some time to get used to him with Mick, but I didn’t want to have a coach that had no respect for me either.

“Okay,” Tanner started with a sigh, looking us over. “Guys, while I appreciate the support, I made my choice. This is in no way a reflection of you as a team. You have what it takes to go all the way, don’t ruin your chances by trying to be honorable.”

“We know, Coach,” I started, nodding my head. “However, we don’t want to play without you as our coach.”

Tanner looked at me, then the rest of the guys, clearly conflicted. “Look.” He blew out a breath, rubbing his jaw. “Maybe it’s a hard situation to understand. Hell, I don’t know what you even know.”

Connor piped up, telling him we knew all about my sister and his relationship.

Then, when it looked like neither Tanner nor the director knew what to do, I pulled out the paperwork that clearly stated Tanner and Mick didn’t break any rules.

I swore Tanner was going to lay Ed out right then and there when he found out the school’s issue was really with how it looked for them, rather than something that was explicitly against any rules.

We go back and forth for several minutes, Ed trying to bury the leads and me throwing them right back in his face. I used to have some respect for this man in front of me, but the way he was acting was sketchy and made me want to take care of the situation right then and there.

I held back, making sure Ed confirmed all that I asked him to before we got it all straightened out again.

Tanner pulled me to the side and shook my hand. “I appreciate what you did here today, Ellis.” I opened my mouth to talk, but then he said, “I hope you can make it up to your sister, because if you don’t, we’re still going to have problems.”

I nodded my head, thinking over said plan, and said, “I understand. I have a plan that I hope makes her see that I approve of you both, so long as she’s happy.”

He nodded and headed off to get ready for the game while I did the same thing.

For the first time in my life, my stomach was a knot of anxiety while I got my gear on and mentally prepared for the game.

I knew Cassie was coming because my mom told me so. According to her, Cassie and Vic wouldn’t let Mick come alone because they all thought this was the last game Tanner was coaching.

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