Page 88 of Of Pucking Course

I kiss the top of her head. “What a sweet kid.”

“He really is. He’s had some behavioral issues at the start of the school year. He would fight over toyswith other kids and mess up what they were playing with when he wouldn’t get his way. But I noticed that if I focus on telling him how good he is when he does something nice for someone, he changes his behavior. When I remind him what a good boy he is and praise him for being nice to his friends at school, he’s a sweetie. He goes out of his way to help the other kids and share with them now. He just needs that extra bit of love and kindness.”

She’s quiet again for a moment. “I think it has something to do with his dad. I mean, if his dad is totally fine with acting like an angry lunatic toward a complete stranger in public, just imagine what he’s like at home, in private. It probably explains why Henry lashes out sometimes.”

I exhale sharply, feeling so bad for the kid. “You’re right. He’s probably observing his dad engage in some pretty unhealthy behavior.”

Dakota sniffles. I reach for a napkin at the end of the island and dab her face. Those beautiful doe eyes peer up at me. Warmth cuts through the sadness. She starts to smile.

“Thank you,” she whispers.

I press a soft kiss to her lips. “Anytime.”

I think about everything she said. “Did he corner you? Or threaten you? Did he get physical with you?” My entire body tenses. Every muscle in my body twitches. I’m aching to track this motherfucker down and pummel him for what he did to Dakota.

She shakes her head. “No.”

The tiniest wave of relief hits me.

“I wasn’t worried that he would do that,” she says. “I could tell he just wanted to yell at someone, and I was an easy target. I’m a small, unimposing woman. And he was bigger than me. I bet he felt like a big shot, berating me in front of all those kids and parents.”

Anger spikes through me. I grit my teeth so hard, it feels like my jaw is going to crack in half.

I’ve met pieces of shit like Henry’s dad multiple times in my life. Guys who pick on women and people smaller than them because they think they’re weak. But the reality is that they’re the weak ones. Because no truly strong person would ever even think of doing something like that.

Whenever I’ve seen guys do that, I’ve always stepped in. One look at me, a massive dude, standing up to them, and they back down real fast. It’s honestly infuriating. And fucked up. They wouldn’t dare challenge me because I’m a big guy, but they target women or people smaller than them. Fucking assholes.

I think back to that night in college when I stepped in to help my friend…and how it almost cost me everything, including the hockey career I have now…

And then Del saved me.

That familiar guilty feeling punches through me. I shove it aside. I can’t think about that right now. Right now, I want to do whatever it takes to comfort Dakota, to make her feel supported and protected.

“Hey.” Gently, I take her chin in my hand and tilt her face up to look at me. “He had no right to do that to you, to say that to you, to make you feel that way. You’re not weak. You are amazing, Dakota. You’ve focused your whole career on helping kids. On teaching them and nurturing them. You are incredible.”

A small smile breaks free. When I see her eyes start to light up and the sadness start to fade from her expression, that tightness in my chest loosens.

“He can’t get away with what he did to you,” I say. “He needs to be held accountable.”

“My principal came out and defended me when he sawwhat was going on. He banned him from the school grounds.”

“Good.”

I grab her glass of wine and hand it to her. She takes a slow sip and stares down at the glass. “I just hope Henry’s okay.”

I cup her cheek in my hand. “I hope that too.”

She wraps her hand around my wrist. The warmth of her skin and her touch feel so good.

“I feel so silly. I mean, I get yelled at once and I burst into tears,” she says. “You and my brother and your teammates get yelled at constantly. By coaches, fans, the opposing team, the officials. I’ve never seen you guys cry about it.”

I tuck her hair behind her ear. “That’s not even close to the same situation. What Henry’s dad did to you was verbal assault. What we say to each other during a hockey game is nonsense. We’re just a bunch of dumbasses yelling random crap at each other. It’s totally different. And really stupid.”

She chuckles. It feels so good hearing her do that.

The look in her eyes turns soft as she looks up. “About tonight. I know I texted earlier and said I wanted to fool around, but I don’t think I’m in the mood anymore after what happened. I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about.”

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