Page 157 of Of Pucking Course

“That’s why Will doesn’t like you. Because you beat up his cousin in college when he destroyed your friend’s wheelchair. I bet anything he’s trying to sabotage you to get back at you for what you did to Colin.”

Sam’s brow is at his hairline and his eyes are dazed as he processes what I’ve said.

“I can’t believe it,” he finally says.

I look back at his Facebook feed and skim through more photos.

“What are you doing?” Sam asks.

“I’m looking to see what other comments Colin might have left on Will’s account.”

I tap on the photos of Will at the Bashers arena and check to see if there are anymore comments from Colin. I tap photo after photo and skim through dozens more comments before I spot another comment from Colin under a photo of Will loading up hockey equipment onto the Bashers’ team bus.

When I read it, my stomach drops.

Colin:Could you do me a solid and destroy number 47’s stick? Maybe even during the playoffs lol

Will:You got it

My jaw unhinges. The nerve of these two to do something so sinister.

I show Sam the comments, which were posted last week. He stares at the screen, the look on his face dazed.

“You’re kidding me,” he mutters. Then he blinks, and his expression hardens. “They really are trying to sabotage me.”

I shake my head, stunned and angry all at once. “I don’t get it. Why would Will only target you and not Del? Del was part of it too. He was the one who got the rest of your college team together to go against his uncle and have him fired.”

Sam’s quiet for a moment as he thinks, a bewildered look on his face. He runs a hand through his hair.“Maybe Colin didn’t tell Will about what Del did. Or maybe Willknows but didn’t mess with Del because he thought that would be too obvious. Besides, I’m the one who fought Colin. I’m the one who injured him and ruined his playing career that season, not Del.”

I hop off the counter and hug him. “We’re going to fix this. They won’t get away with it.”

He holds me tight. “Thank you,” he whispers.

When we break apart, I screenshot the photos and comments and save them to my phone.

“I just don’t get why they would be so open about this and admit what they did on social media,” Sam says.

“Some people do horrible things out in the open because they think they’re untouchable,” I say. “It sounds like Colin acted like that when he was in college.”

“Yeah. You’re right.” Sam cups my face in his hands. “Seriously, thank you. I wouldn’t have figured this out without you.” He kisses me.

I offer a small smile, but adrenaline is pumping fast inside of me. “We need to let the team know what’s going on as soon as possible. Before the next game.”

He nods and pulls his phone out of his pocket. He taps the screen and holds it to his ear.

“Hey, Coach. I’m sorry to call you out of the blue like this, but it’s urgent. There’s a serious issue with a team staff member. It could cost us our shot at the Cup. Can you meet today?”

I sit in Coach Porter’s office, my nerves going haywire.

I glance over at Sam, who’s in the chair next to me in front of Coach Porter’s desk. We just finished telling him what we found out about Will, the team equipmentmanager, and his connection to Sam’s teammate in college.

Coach Porter stares at his phone on his desk, where he’s pulled up Colin’s comments on Will’s Facebook page. He doesn’t say a word.

After a moment, he exhales sharply and looks up at us. “This is all pretty damning.” He turns to Sam. “The history between you and Will, plus the fact that these comments were posted so recently proves that your sticks breaking twice during important games isn’t just a coincidence. It was a planned attempt to sabotage you. And the team.”

“That’s exactly what we think,” Sam says.

Coach Porter turns to me. Amusement flashes in his eyes. “You’re quite the internet sleuth.”

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