Page 1 of Mountain Man's Naughty List
ONE
THATCHER
“It wasn’t that big of a deal.”
The fierce glare Coach Dane gives me from across his mahogany desk says he disagrees. His fingers are tapping on his desk, making the Wayne Gretzky bobblehead on his desk nod as if he’s agreeing.
I like to think the Great One would be on my side.
“I’m serious,” I insist. “We… exchanged a few… words. I gave him a little love tap. I really don’t understand why everyone is making such a big deal about it.”
“Love tap?” he scowls. “Thatcher, you slugged the guy.”
“But I didn’t mean to send him into concussion protocol.” No matter how much I wanted to clock the guy at the time, I wouldn’t wish a concussion on anyone. “Besides, I was punished. The refs kicked me out of the game.”
Which, in my opinion, was a harsher punishment than I deserved.
Sure, I probably deserved to be thrown in the penalty box. God knows I needed to cool off for a few minutes. Getting a match penalty seemed excessive.
Coach Dane pinches the bridge of his nose. “You acted like a fool.”
“Well, you didn’t hear what he said.” I wrinkle my nose as if I’ve detected a fart.
Actually, that’s not a bad way to describe what the idiot said a moment before I laid him out. It was rotten. Like a particularly foul fart.
Coach releases a heavy sigh. “You know what they say about sticks and stones.”
“Yeah, yeah. They may break my bones and words will never harm me.”
“I was actually going to say, you can expect an ass-chewing from me if you get yourself ejected from a game for throwing punches like a punch teenager.”
I snort, my annoyance with this conversation growing by the minute. “Are you saying I’m too old to get into scuffles.”
“You’re damn right I’m saying you’re too old to get into scuffles.” Coach shakes his head. “I just don’t know what you were thinking getting into another fight on the ice.”
My patience is spent. “He was talking shit about Stevie, okay?”
Coach’s scowl softens. “Something about Stevie and Grady?”
My jaw hardens and I give a short nod. “He had some choice words about them.”
“And I’m guessing they weren’t complimentary.”
I snort. “I wish Stevie would have listened to me and stayed away from him. Better yet, Grady should have had the decency to keep his hands off of her.”
But no. They had to fall in love, go viral, and makemethe butt of jokes in the locker room and on ice.
Mostly to talk about my sister’s body. What they’d like to do with it. Wondering if she’s “open for business” now that she’s been with one hockey player.
Every damn chance they get.
An older brother can only take so much. The betrayal of my best friend on the team. The shit-stirring from my opponents. It’s on them for crossing me when we’re decked out in pads and I’m holding a stick.
Basically, they have it fucking coming.
I grind my teeth together. “No one asks if my ‘slutty puck bunny sister’ has a favorite position and gets away with it.”
“Okay, fine. I get.” Coach Dane winces. “The little shit was cruising for a bruising.”
