Page 67 of Body Check

It didn’t help that Luke Crawford was out at the moment.

He sat a few feet away in his game day suit, glowering at the ice below. It had to be driving him crazy he was out, but it was his own damn fault for an altercation with a Carolina player a few nights ago that had led to a five-game suspension for high-sticking and roughing.

No surprise, not with his history, but honestly, Gavin had watched the footage what felt like fifty times and at least to his eyes, Crawford hadn’t even intentionally been trying to high-stick the guy. Crawford’s stickhadcaught him in the jaw, but Gavin would swear it had been aimed at the guy’s shoulder and it had actually been the Carolina player’s arm jostling the stick that made it go high.

Of course, that had turned into shoving and arguing and by the time it was all over, there was no chance Crawford wouldn’t come out of it with a considerable suspension. Still, five gameswithout one of their top defensemen was going to leave the Harriers in a bad position.

Crawford was a good shot blocker, a good agitator, and a good fighter, but he didn’t always make the smartest plays. Still, what he provided was enough to keep the team more or less together, and with him out, they were fucked. Tanner Clayton was coming along, but he wasn’t really where they needed him to be yet.

And Mickey Krause was having a terrible season so far. Mickey was a German-born player who’d spent a few years developing in the DEL and had been one of the few promising prospects they’d had, but he sure as hell wasn’t delivering now.

Mickey was a hard worker and had so much potential. He was the kind of guy Gavin had hoped would be a building block for the team, a future franchise player. Gavin was sure he still could be, if they could figure out a few of the issues plaguing him and bolster the D-corps around him.

Although quiet and soft-spoken, Mickey was likeable and appeared to get along great with the team. Unfortunately, on-ice, he wasn’t gelling with any of the guys they’d paired him with. He was at his best when he was neutralizing odd man rushes and using his height and long reach to end plays.

But there had been weird gaps in communication with his D-partner. The coaching staff had rotated numerous guys through the position in the hopes of finding someone who was a good fit, but they were all too young, too inexperienced. Krause was simply too tentative, not using his height to his advantage.

They needed to bring in someone who had NHL experience and could bring him out of his shell.

Gavin mentally ran through the rosters of various teams in his head, selecting then discarding possible options before landing on one potential.

Hmm. There was a guy playing for Minnesota who might fit the bill. Rafael Moon was twenty-nine and a pending unrestricted free agent. He was big—both taller and significantly broader than Krause was. And he played with a grit and intensity Gavin liked. Not a fighter the way Crawford was, but a really solid defenseman who wasn’t afraid to use his body to slow down opponents.

The play below was paused for a TV time-out, so Gavin pulled out his phone and studied the guy’s stats. He’d been a low-round draft pick and spent most of his career at the ECHL or AHL level.

But the past few seasons he’d remained at the NHL level and had acquitted himself well until recently.

Hmm. Certainly worth considering.

FOURTEEN

“Wowww,” Violet said when Dakota joined her and Jeff in the living room after he got home from a game. “My brother’s actually gracing us with his presence instead of skipping out to get laid.”

Typical. He really should have seen that coming. “I cango,” he said with a laugh.

“No, no, stay!” Jeff said. “Violet will behave.”

Dakota’s, “No she won’t,” overlapped with Violet’s, “No I won’t,” and Jeff shook his head.

“Sometimes, you two are scary,” he said, but there was nothing but admiration in his tone. He was an only child so he was perpetually amazed and a little terrified of Dakota and Violet’s relationship.

“Just sometimes?” she teased. “We’re going to have to step it up.”

She winked at Dakota and he grinned, feeling a wash of affection for his sister. God, they really had been there for each other through thick and thin. He couldn’t imagine what his life would be like without her.

A wave of sadness went through him at the thought of Gavin and Thad’s fractured relationship. Bad enough to be on the outs with a sibling, but they weretwins. How much worse did that have to be?

“I wanted to hang out with you,” Dakota said, more softly and earnestly than he would have otherwise, and Violet shot him a surprised look. But rather than say something snarky, she nodded, reaching out to take his hand.

“Wehavemissed you,” she said.

“So why aren’t you heading over to your guy’s place tonight?” Jeff asked.

“He’s notmyguy,” Dakota said automatically.

“Well, I don’t know what else to call him.”

“Fair.” Dakota shrugged. “And honestly, it’s because he’s working late tonight.”

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