Page 14

“I’m meeting with McCoy next week,” Gavin said, when they were heading into the locker room to shower and change.

“You gonna tell him then?”

Gavin shrugged. “I don’t think I’m gonna need to, necessarily.

He knows, he has to know, he’s better and the team’s better with Jones on his line.

I’ve seen his grades. Watched his tape. He’s smart and he’s got a great hockey IQ.

I don’t think he’ll do either of us the disservice of pretending he doesn’t know it’s coming.

There’s a reason that was the first thing out of his mouth when you met with him. ”

“Fair,” Zach said. He could see it. Mal was tough and set in his ways and he didn’t like Elliott, but he did put the team first, always.

“He’s going to bitch about it, though.”

Zach laughed. “No question about that.”

“He can bitch all he wants to. He’s still gonna do it.” Gavin sounded very sure about this, and Zach was reminded of the two years Gavin had coached him.

Gavin had always been a tough coach. He’d had a reputation for being hard but fair.

But, always , despite that steel backbone, he’d put his players first. Team was the most important thing, and he’d always, no question at the back of anyone’s mind, been able to get the locker room to buy in to what he was selling.

That was why Zach believed Gavin would be the best possible coach for this team.

This year the Evergreens had a lot of disparate, difficult pieces. Not just Elliott and Jones, but besides Ramsey and Brady, a fairly young defensive group, and a goalie who felt like he was only a few bad games away from quitting entirely.

“Yeah, he is,” Zach agreed.

They showered and changed, this time Zach being smart enough to avert his eyes.

He didn’t need to fuel his fantasies with any more front row views of how absolutely rocking Gavin’s body still was.

He’d thought it, the moment he’d seen him at the cabin, and today had only confirmed that hypothesis.

“Do you want to be there?” Gavin asked later, when they were in his office, Zach trying to pull the game tape up on the big TV there .

“For?”

“When I talk to McCoy,” Gavin said, tapping his fingers on the desk. “It occurs to me that I’ve got a unique advantage. You’re more these guys’ age than I am. You could be like a transitional buffer.”

“You want me to be their friend?”

“Not in a behind their back kinda way,” Gavin clarified. “More like I think they could trust you a fraction more than they might ever trust me.”

Zach wanted to tell him that he was crazy—that part of Gavin’s coaching magic was gaining that trust in a seemingly effortless way. But he had a point.

“Um, yeah, I could do that. It wouldn’t be hard. But for McCoy . . .that’s the kind of thing a coach would tell him—not a friend.”

Gavin’s eyes lit. “Ah, I get it. You want me to be the coach, lay down the law, and then he can go bitch to you.”

Zach nodded.

“Okay, we can play it that way. How’s Jones gonna take it?”

“Like you just handed him the keys to everything he’s ever wanted. He’s not gonna be an issue.”

“I can see that.”

Zach didn’t want to bring up Hayes’ theory, but he should say something. Maybe it wasn’t true, but Gavin should still know.

“Now, about Finn . . .” Zach trailed off.

“I’m gonna have to talk to Morgan.”

“Yeah.”

Gavin made a face. “I’ve been putting it off.”

Zach just didn’t want to be the one to do it—he couldn’t say that Morgan Reynolds had ever been his favorite player, even considering how good he’d been in his heyday, but the way he’d fucked up Hayes had permanently cemented his opinion that Morgan was an asshole.

They needed someone who’d be nice and flatter Morgan’s not-insignificant ego. That was not going to be Zach.

“Well, I don’t want to do it,” Zach said bluntly.

Gavin raised an eyebrow. “No?”

“He’s not my favorite person,” Zach said. He hoped that Gavin didn’t ask why.

“Not mine either,” Gavin admitted. “But I know why I don’t like the guy. What’s your deal with him?”

“He . . .uh . . .” Zach paused. How could he say this and not be just as much of an asshole as Morgan? No matter what the guy had done to Hayes, he didn’t deserve to be outed. “He dated a friend of mine and it ended badly.”

“So not just ’cause he’s an egotistical jerk then?” Gavin chuckled.

“Well, that too.”

Gavin sighed. “We gotta get Finn some space. He’s got real instincts. A knack for the net. I’ve been watching a lot of tape of him. Let’s get him up there.” He gestured towards the TV.

“Done,” Zach said. He didn’t mind starting with defense.

They were almost through the third game when there was a knock on the door.

Zach looked up and Ramsey Andresen was standing there, grinning and leaning against the doorjamb like he belonged there.

Which, from everything he’d heard about Ramsey, that was probably true.

“Hey, you must be Coach,” Ramsey said, extending a hand, and Gavin stood, shaking it. “I’m Ramsey.”

They’d only briefly talked about Ramsey—long enough to talk about his defensive skills and then to agree that he should at least be on the short list for captain.

Mal was the other choice, but Zach was pretty sure he’d be a bad choice—well, not a bad choice, exactly, because he was definitely leadership material—but the wrong choice.

He’d be too inflexible, and the thing this team needed more than anything was flexibility and understanding.

What was the point of working so hard to get Gavin to coach the team if they just let a hardcore guy take the C?

“Good to meet you,” Gavin said. He glanced over at Zach. “You know Zach?”

Ramsey nodded, but shook his hand too. Maybe he had a reputation for being a loose cannon, but he seemed fairly respectful right now.

Then he opened his mouth again.

“Marcus texted me you guys were here,” Ramsey said, “and I thought I’d stop by. Say hey.”

A crease appeared between Gavin’s dark brows. “Marcus?”

“Marcus is the equipment manager. The guy who helped us out today?” Zach couldn’t explain why he felt the need to intercede and explain instead of Ramsey, but he did, anyway.

“Yep,” Ramsey agreed. “He’s great.”

“You bribe him too with a signed Hayes Montgomery jersey?” Gavin asked, chuckling .

“Nope. With a blowjob,” Ramsey said without a trace of shame on his face.

Gavin’s jaw dropped. Zach had a feeling he looked similarly shocked.

“A damn good one, too,” Ramsey added, smiling. He nudged Zach, who was still shocked into silence. “Not all of us have famous NHL player friends, so we gotta make do.”

“I . . .uh . . .well, you gotta do what you gotta do,” Zach said weakly.

“Damn straight. You get it,” Ramsey said.

Gavin still looked like he had no idea what to say.

Zach hoped he managed to get something out of his mouth soon, or else Ramsey was going to think his problem was with the gay part of the “gave their equipment manager a blowjob as a bribe” and not the “gave their equipment manager a blowjob as a bribe” part of it.

“So I should expect anything I ask him to do, he’s gonna text you first?” Gavin raised an eyebrow.

Ramsey, still without a trace of embarrassment, just nodded and looked smug. “Yep.”

“That’s strategic,” Gavin said.

Ramsey’s smile grew. “Yeah, it was, wasn’t it?

” Like he was just discovering that, but the truth was, Zach had a feeling he’d known that before he’d ever gone to his knees, and he’d known what he was doing too, when he offhandedly brought it up less than five minutes after meeting his brand-new coach.

Ramsey was definitely living up to the reputation Zach had heard about him .

“I’m glad you stopped by, though,” Gavin said, digging in now. “Zach and I wanted to talk to you about this year’s team leadership.”

“Yeah?” Ramsey asked casually, leaning against the corner of Gavin’s desk like it was nothing.

“You’re not the only senior on this team, but I think you might be exactly the kind of leadership we need,” Gavin said. They had only talked about it briefly, but clearly whatever had just happened in that exchange had convinced Gavin that Ramsey would be better than Malcolm.

“Well, I’m flattered,” Ramsey said modestly.

Zach was impressed he’d dredged up that tone and made it seem real. Because honestly, Ramsey didn’t seem to have a self-deprecating bone in his body.

“Would you be interested in taking the C?” Gavin asked.

Zach almost laughed, but he held it back at the last moment. Because he was beginning to realize that not only would Ramsey be interested, he’d designed this entire encounter to make sure he got it.

“I’d be honored,” Ramsey said.

“Well, think about it,” Gavin said.

“You’re not interested in giving it to McCoy? He’s a real boy scout.”

“A little boy-scouty for this team, maybe,” Gavin acknowledged.

Ramsey nodded, like he understood. Honestly, he probably did, better than the two of them.

“Besides,” Ramsey said, “Mal’s gonna have his hands too full with Elliott, anyway. ”

“Probably,” Zach agreed.

“You’re putting them both on the same line, right? Don’t fuck it up the way that Nichols did, last year. They were born to play together.”

“It didn’t take us very long to figure that one out,” Gavin said dryly.

“Good,” Ramsey said with a sharp nod. “Well, I can’t say I hadn’t already thought about captaining this team so you might as well put me down as a yes.”

“Excellent.” Gavin held his hand out and they shook again. “We’ll be in touch.”

“Good.” Ramsey shot Zach a look. “Next time, if you’re here, I don’t wanna find out from Marcus.”

“No, no, there’ll be a whole schedule and we’ll make sure you’re aware of it,” Gavin agreed, still faintly flushed along his cheekbones, like he wanted to point out that bribing the equipment manager with a blowjob wasn’t the best way to stay informed, but then he’d have to say it out loud , and he didn’t think he could.

Zach hoped he wouldn’t. He didn’t think he’d survive Gavin saying the word, blowjob , even if it was to Ramsey.

“Awesome,” Ramsey said. “I’m off to the gym, then.”

When he was gone, Gavin waited five seconds, then ten. He turned to Zach. “Did I just hallucinate that conversation?”

“No,” Zach said, barely able to get the word out, because he was suddenly laughing so hard and he wasn’t sure he could stop.

God, Gavin’s face .

“Did you know, uh . . .” Gavin flushed again, brighter red this time, like he’d been willing it back while Ramsey had been here .

“Hell no,” Zach said. “Though I had heard some stories about Ramsey. You know the regular loose cannon stories. But no, I didn’t know about Marcus. Though that does make sense, in some ways.”

“It does?” Gavin still looked flabbergasted.

“Well, I told Hayes his boner was for more than just hockey, and it turns out I was right.” A second too late, Zach realized he’d just said boner to Gavin, and then he went bright red.

“Guess so.” Gavin cleared his throat. “I was not expecting that, I’ll say that.”

“But you couldn’t have hated it. You offered the guy the C right after he told you.

” Zach knew Gavin was open-minded—he’d certainly been supportive when Zach had come out to him—but he hadn’t expected him to be that open-minded.

But clearly Ramsey had, because the more Zach thought about it, the clearer his machinations looked now.

It was a good trait in a captain, and maybe that was what Gavin had seen too.

“I was surprised, sure. But . . .I admired his brazenness too. He’s not going to hide. He’s going to be honest. The guy in the room who speaks up, even when it’s not something anyone wants to hear. That’s valuable.”

“And you figured out that’s why he did it,” Zach finished.

“Yep. I agree. That kid could probably run a small country. Why not have him run the team?”

“Exactly,” Zach said. He stretched out, back cracking as he pushed his arms as far above his head as they could go .

When he was done, Gavin was still flushed. From remembered embarrassment? Or the flash of skin Zach had given him when his shirt had ridden up?

Patience , Hayes had told him, but he didn’t feel patient at all. He already felt like he was splitting apart at the seams.

You’re just going to have to get used to it , that Hayes-voice in the back of his head reminded him.

“You’re okay with it, then?” Gavin paused. “I didn’t mean to just do it without talking to you first—”

“We talked about it, and this is your team, Gavin,” Zach reminded him. But it made him all warm and tingly and fucking seen that Gavin had made sure he was on board.

“Only ’cause you gave it to me,” Gavin said quietly, meeting Zach’s eyes and the warmth inside tripled then quadrupled, turning from a sweet heat to a whole fucking conflagration.

He wanted to confess, and to yell, and to hug and to kiss.

But he didn’t do any of those things. Hayes would be proud of how he just shot Gavin a smile and said, “Of course I did. Nobody else I’d trust with it.”