Page 9 of Bagging the Blueliner
I was beginning to realize that Coach had asked me specifically because she could sweet-talk any of the other players into doing whatever she wanted. I was the exception regarding the spell Hannah had cast over the team.
He trusted me with his daughter, trusting that I would keep her safe. Little did he know I was the wolf lurking in the shadows, waiting to devour her.
Say no. Say no. Say no.
“I’ve got your back, Coach.”
Dammit.
Grinning, Coach stood. “I knew I could count on you, Cal.”
“Uh-huh.” I sat there, stunned, trying to wrap my brain around what I just agreed to.
“Let’s make this our best season yet.” With that, he walked off like he hadn’t turned my entire world upside down.
Downing my whiskey in a single swig, I tried to calm my racing heart. I could survive a whole year up close and personal with Hannah Moreau, right? I wasn’t an animal. I had self-control.
Strengthening my resolve, I knew one thing for sure—there would be no shenanigans from Hannah while on my watch. That meant setting down some ground rules. She wasn’t going to like it, but I didn’t give a fuck.
If I was forced to be miserable this season, she would be riding shotgun.
Chapter 3
Hannah
The Comets’ pre-season barbequewas one of my favorite events of the season. Nothing could beat the actual marathon of hockey laid before us, but there was something to be said about the calm before the storm. This giant event signaled the beginning of a new season where anything was possible. The canvas was blank, waiting to be painted.
And I was in the thick of it all.
After making the rounds, I settled underneath a giant canopy with my girls. Their men had wandered off to get them plates of food, and only Natalie’s youngest, Charlie, hung around, playing at our feet in the grass.
“Tell us about the new job, Hannah,” Amy asked from my right. “I miss everything when I’m away.”
Amy and her husband, Liam, spent half the year in Europe. Recently, their roles had changed, and they were busier than ever but fought to maintain the peace that spending time away provided them.
Once upon a time, we’d thought Natalie would become Queen of Belleston—a tiny European country located in the Alps—but her ex turned out to be a psycho, literally. Even though she divorced his sorry ass, it was always assumed that her oldest son, Jameson, would take the throne after his father. Then Leo went and got himself declared mentally insane by his family, and Natalie worked out a deal to give her kids the normal life they’d always deserved. That meant the role of heir fell to Liam, and now Amy was set to one day become Queen.
It was strange how life worked out sometimes. The twists and turns made it all the more interesting.
“Did I mention I have my own office at the rink?” I gushed.
Natalie smiled. “Look at our Hannah. All grown up.”
Blushing, I waved her off. “Stop.”
Reaching out a hand, she grasped mine. “Seriously. I’m proud of you. It took a while, but I think you finally found your place.”
“Speaking of places,” Lucy interjected. “I heard you moved into your own apartment.”
Bouncing on my feet, a smile split my face. “We need to have a girls’ night ASAP! We can start at my place this time. It’s perfect, right downtown, close to all the action and the arena. I can walk to work!”
“Look at you, living the dream,” Amy replied.
Sighing, the wind taken out of my sails, I grumbled, “Yeah, the single girl dream, maybe. It’s not exactlymydream.”
The girls were fully aware of my quest to break Dad’s one major rule.
Lucy asked, “So, with your new job, you have even more access to the players?”
