Page 66 of Breaking the Ice

“What’s going on?”

“He’s playing as well as he ever has, but . . .well, you can see it too?” Ramsey sounded half-heartbroken about this. God, Gavin hoped that Ramsey wasn’t actually in love with Brody. He had his hands full enough with the rest of the team.

“Not as well as you, probably. I wasn’t here last year.”

“Before he hurt his knee, he was . . .” Ramsey let out a hard breath. “He flew across the ice like he didn’t ever want to be anywhere else, but it’s changed.He’schanged.”

“Do you think his knee’s still bothering him?” The reports Gavin got from the medical staff said the knee was fully repaired and functional, but this wouldn’t be the first time a player lied to a trainer.

“No,” Ramsey said. “I think he wants something else, now, and . . .” Ramsey didn’t usually sound bothered by any of the team’s issues. He faced them all matter-of-factly, like he was above them. But this seemed to genuinely worry him.

“And?”

Ramsey sighed. “Brody’s brilliant. He could do whatever he wanted. I just thought . . .I just thought he wantedhockey.”

“More to life than hockey.”

“Coach!” Ramsey made a faux-shocked gasp.

He just shrugged. “We just gotta be here for him.”

“I also think . . .” Ramsey sighed again. “I did something I thought would help him and itwould,if he’d get out of his own way.”

“What did you do?” Gavin asked suspiciously.

“Gave him a new roommate. You know Dean Scott? He plays football, is like the star on their defense?”

Gavin nodded. He’d heard of the kid, because Sidney couldn’t spend all of their lunches talking about the hockey team, though he sure tried.

“Well, I thought they’d get along, you know?” Ramsey made a face. “I thought he might loosen Brody up some—they might loosen each other up, if I’m being honest—but all it’s done is make him tense and irritable.”

“For the love of God, Ramsey, stop trying to matchmake everyone,” Gavin said, but he was chuckling.

Ramsey laughed then, too. “I can’t really help it. I just like . . .fixing things. If only they’d get out of their own way.”

“Maybe they still will.” Gavin paused. “Please don’t interfere with Mal and Elliott.”

“But—”

“I mean it, Andresen. They’re . . .it’s a delicate balance.”

“You mean, between wanting to kill each other and fuck each other?” Ramsey asked.

Gavin told himself very firmly not to blush. “That’s not . . .no. I’m just saying, leavethem to me.”

Ramsey had the nerve to actually look disappointed. “But Coach—”

“You wanna keep them scoring on the ice?”

“Well, yeah, we all do. They’re a machine out there.”

“Then let me handle it. But you try to talk to Brody, okay?”

Ramsey nodded. “I can do that. Honestly, I just thought they’d fuck and it would loosen him up and that would be it, I didn’t know he’d get all angstyandpineabout it. I mean, Dean’s just some big dumb football player.”

“Just like all our big dumb hockey players?”

Ramsey laughed. “Fair.”