Page 139 of Of Pucking Course

I stare at him, surprised. “She did?”

He nods. “I was wrong to be upset at you two gettingtogether. I just…seeing her wearing just your t-shirt after you two…you know…kind of set me off.”

I rub the back of my neck. “Yeah, I get it.”

“Thanks for putting on a shirt, by the way.”

I glance down at the T-shirt I’m wearing. “Yeah, of course.”

He sits down on the couch and gestures for me to also. I sit down next to him.

“I know I’ve always been annoyingly protective of Dakota,” he says while staring straight ahead. “And you know why.”

I nod, knowing that he’s referencing their abusive dad. When we were in college, he told me about how their dad mistreated their mom.

“I don’t want her to end up with some piece of shit who abuses her. That’s why I hated Jake so much. He wasn’t like our dad, but he didn’t treat her well. He didn’t treat her the way she deserved.”

“You’re right. He didn’t.”

He lets out a breath, his gaze still straight ahead as he speaks. I think it’s easier for him to talk to me like this when he’s not looking right at me.

“But as much as I want to protect her, I need to stop being so overbearing. She hates it. I know she hates it.” He’s quiet for a second. “I was wrong to react the way I did when I saw you two together. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“It’s not. She’s her own person, and she can do what she wants. She can date who she wants.” He turns to look at me. “And I’m glad she’s with you.”

My brow hits my hairline. “You are?”

He looks me in the eye. “Yeah.”

For a second, I just look at him, feeling shocked and relieved all at once.

“You’re the best guy I know, Sam.”

I shake my head, but he stops me.

“I mean it. I’m happy you’re with my sister.”

I look at him, heartened by his words. “Thank you.”

“I know you don’t need my permission to be with Dakota, but I want you to know that I support you two being together. I know that probably doesn’t mean a whole lot coming from me.”

“It does. It means everything.”

For a quiet moment, we just sit there, the tension in the air fading between us.

“You don’t owe me anything, Sam,” he says.

“What do you mean?”

“When you got kicked off the team in college and I raised hell with the school, I didn’t do it so that you would feel like you owed me. I did it because you’re my friend and you were getting screwed over by our asshole coach and his son.”

“I know that. But I also know that I wouldn’t be where I am today if you hadn’t put everything on the line for me. I wouldn’t be playing hockey right now if it weren’t for you, Del. You were an incredible friend to me all those years ago. That’s why I felt so guilty about seeing Dakota behind your back. Staying away from your sister was the one thing you ever asked me to do. But I couldn’t.”

“Yeah, but I was wrong to ask you to do that,” he says without missing a beat. “Do you think you haven’t been an incredible friend to me? Sam, you’ve been my friend when everyone else hated me. When every other player in the league hated my guts, you stood by me. I was the dirtiestfighter in the NHL, and you—the nicest guy in the league, the gentleman defenseman—still chose to be my friend.”

“Because I know you, Del. Yeah, you play dirty on the ice sometimes, but that’s not who you are as a person. I’ve seen the way you take care of your mom and sister. You go out of your way to help people. You’re a good person at the core.”

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