Page 119 of One Good Puck
“Hey, Coach. What nickname did your teammates call you when you played?” Camden asks. He hiccups, clearly tipsy.
“I had a few. Can’t remember them,” I say.
“Gavvy Boy was the one you liked the most, right?” Sophie says sweetly.
I look at her and sigh. “Yeah.” I glance around at the guys, who are all fighting smiles. “And if any of you ever call me that, I’ll bench you for the rest of the season.”
The sound of glass shattering echoes from the middle of the bar. We all look over, but can’t see anything. It’s too crowded.
“Don’t touch me.”
Abby’s panicked voice sends a shiver down my spine.
I bolt up out of my chair and look in the direction of her voice. I see her standing by the bar, glaring at some guywho’s grabbing her arm. She tries to pull away, but he doesn’t let her go.
Anger and protectiveness blast through me. And then he turns, and I see his face.
That anger inside of me turns to raw, unfettered rage when I see Zach McCoy with his hands on Abby.
I don’t know if I’ve ever cleared twenty feet of space that quickly in my life.
It’s like my body is reacting on pure instinct. I don’t even have to think. In a split second, I’m grabbing McCoy by the back of his neck and pulling him away from Abby.
I throw him against the bar. “Don’t fucking touch her.”
McCoy’s eyes go wide when he sees me.
“What the…Coach Porter? What are you?—”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I boom. “You put your hands on a woman when she tells you not to, you fucking scumbag?”
The confusion on his face melts away. His eyes narrow in anger.
“Screw you,” he bites.
I turn to Abby, my heart pounding in my chest. She’s staring at me, eyes wide with shock.
“Are you okay?”
She blinks and nods. “Yeah.”
I step over to her, glancing at her arm. “Did he hurt you?”
She shakes her head. I step toward her, but stop when McCoy speaks.
“You heard the news, right? I’m playing for Calgary now,” he says smugly.
Anger flashes through me even though I knew it was a possibility that another team in the league would pick him up. It’s beyond fucked up. What he did should disqualifyhim from ever playing again, but some teams just don’t care what their players do off the ice.
I ignore what he said. I touch my hand to the small of Abby’s back and lead her away from him.
“Can’t wait to play you guys next week.” I’m not facing him, but I can sense the smirk in his voice. “And I can’t wait to show you what a mistake it was to get rid of me. You’re gonna regret it.”
I walk off with Abby as he keeps talking.
“And you’re gonna regret choosing that washed-up loser instead of me, babe,” McCoy says to Abby.
I feel her tense under my touch.
