Page 85 of The Closed Off Captain

“Positive,” I assure him.

He finishes off my bowl as well, and I climb off the couch to grab us water bottles to drink. When I come back, Gunner is staring at me oddly. I hand him a water and take my seatbefore wrapping my blanket around me again. “Your hair really is curly,” he says, and shocks me by reaching out and fingering a curl.

“I told you it was.”

He smiles at me. “Yeah, but I wasn’t sure I believed you.” He gently fingers my hair. “But now I do, because I’ve seen it.”

“What? So now you can tell all the guys that I actually have curly hair?”

“Nah. I just like knowing.”

I have no idea what to say to that. “Do you want to watch something?” I don’t know what else to do with him, and I don’t really want him to leave just yet. I’m not clear-headed enough to carry on a conversation.

“Sure.” He picks up our trash, and I settle against the couch with my blanket wrapped around me as we watch hockey. “You know we can watch something besides hockey.”

My eyes widen in mock surprise. “We can?” I smirk at his expression and shrug. “I love hockey.”

Chapter 37

Chloe

I wake up the next morning when my alarm goes off and expect to feel terrible. I stare up at the ceiling and think back to the night before. I vaguely remember falling asleep at some point, and Gunner waking me up to walk me back to my room before leaving. I thought it would be weird having him in my house for several hours, but it wasn’t. It was anything but. Knowing I’ve got a huge day ahead of me because of missing yesterday, I get out of bed and start getting ready for the day.

I’ve been at my desk working for a few hours when somebody knocks on my door. I know it’s Gunner before I even look up. He’s the only one that knocks but doesn’t wait for me to say anything before coming inside. “I didn’t think you’d be here today.”

“Surprise,” I say without looking up.

“Shouldn’t you be home in bed?” I glance up in time to catch his scowl.

“Nope. I’m all better; must have been my amazing caretaker last night.” When his scowl doesn’t lift, I add, “I’m fine, I promise. I can’t take any more time off; I have a huge week. We have that charity auction this week, remember?”

He shifts in his chair. “Oh, yeah, I forgot.”

I lean forward in my chair. “You’re going to be there, right?”

This event is like my signature event and my most favorite. Each of the guys on the team will get paired with a kid in one of our surrounding communities for a training camp where they’ll get extra training from a Green Thunder player for twoweekends. They’ll also get new equipment if they need it. It started when Brielle asked Aiden to help out a kid in her class that wanted to play but couldn't afford the expensive equipment. Aiden took Dante under his wing and made a huge difference in his life. Dante even lived with Aiden and Bri for a little bit while his dad underwent a residence treatment for alcohol. His dad has now been sober for over a year, and he and Dante are doing so well. But that experience showed me how many kids can’t play at the level they could because of lack of training or even good equipment. So, this event pairs my guys with a kid or even a team that needs extra help during the season. It always takes place the Saturday before Thanksgiving. By this time in the season, it gives me time to see what young players have the right spirit for the game and the desire to stick with it. I smile at Gunner. “I can’t pull off this event without my team captain present.” I’ve already got somebody that I’m pairing Gunner off with, and I can’t wait for Gunner to meet him.

He leans back in his chair. “I’ll be there, and I’ll make sure all the guys are as well.”

“Thank you, Coftman.”

He grunts. “We’re back to that, are we?”

I flash a brighter smile. “Yep. Now, I have work to do.” I glance at the clock. “And you have a practice to get back to.” He stands up and stretches. “How’s your shoulder doing?”

“Good.” Knowing that’s all I’m going to get from him, I nod and get back to work. “I’ll see you for lunch.”

“You don’t need to bring me lunch,” I remind him.

“I know.” He closes the door behind him, and I get back to work. I wasn’t kidding about it being a huge week. With home games tomorrow night and Friday night, followed by the charity event on Saturday, it’s going to be a long week.

It’s been good to have Gunner back out on the ice. It’s a solid win on Wednesday, and I can’t keep the smile off my face as theguys come off the ice after their win. Gunner’s the last one off. “Good game, Big C,” I tell him when he steps into the hallway.

He grins. “Thanks. Wait for me to walk you out?” He surprises me by asking.

“Yeah. Go celebrate your win.”

With another grin, he strides down the hallway. I watch him go a moment before I head to the media room. It’s all smiles for the team and the coaching staff for the end of the game wrap-up. Not a single person brings Jenny up, and I’m thankful that we seem to finally be moving past that mess. I make a mental note to talk to Gunner about dropping the whole fiancé facade as we don’t need to any longer. It’s late when Gunner and I walk out into the parking lot. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you. Have you heard anything more from Jenny?”

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