Page 11 of How to Puck Your Boss (L.A. Hawks Hockey #3)

“Oh yeah? But Jack’s stories are okay, right? That’s sexist! You want to imagine him having sex, but not me?”

“I don’t want to imagine either of you having sex,” Dax replied, horrified. “Now, stop putting such horrible images in my head. It’s just that Jack never breaks his stupid abstinence rule during the season — and I want to know who that woman was!”

Well, that could be a problem. “She’s nobody,” Jack insisted. “Really. Can we finally play something new?”

“Yes, I know,” Anna piped up cheerfully. “We could…”

“Not truth or dare!” he interrupted rudely.

“Oh.” The smile fell from her face.

Dax looked at him, shaking his head. “We already have a man-of-mystery on the team, Jack,” he muttered. “I don’t think Moreau would be happy if you tried to take his place.”

Jack snorted. “Moreau isn’t mysterious just because he never says anything!”

“No, there’s something about him,” Anna objected, rocking her head from side to side. “He has this charisma that makes you feel…”

Dax and Jack’s eyebrows shot up.

Anna sighed. “I’m not just your little sister, I’m a woman too!” she reminded them. “But fine. Let’s play another game. It won’t hurt any of us to stop talking for a bit.”

Everyone agreed so they dug out Uno, out of nostalgia. And as soon as Jack had the cards in his hand, he relaxed noticeably.

This was good, being with Dax and Anna.

Life was good. It was definitely better now than it had been the last few years. He would forget about Penny, concentrate on his game, and win the damn Stanley Cup with the Hawks. After all, he had had dozens of one-night stands, and the last one was nothing special.

No one was surprised that Jack won three rounds.

Anna finally kicked them out to go to sleep even though they both knew it was code for a little more studying .

They had been the ones dropping her off at the library while they went to practice all those years, though, so they couldn’t exactly blame her.

“She wants to join the Hawks as an assistant physician,” Dax mumbled grumpily as they walked out the door of her apartment complex.

“I know.”

“I don’t like it. I know how horny hockey players are.”

Jack snorted. “As if anyone would even look at her wrong if they knew you were her brother.”

That seemed to calm Dax down. “True.”

Jack nodded and pulled his car keys out of his jeans pocket. As far as everyone was concerned, Anna was Dax’s sister, not his.

No one knew the three were related. Nobody knew he’d slept with the new owner of the Hawks. Nobody knew what he’d really been doing in New York. Shit, his life hadn’t really changed, had it? He was still the best at keeping secrets. The only problem was: He didn’t want to be the best anymore.

“Say, Dax, now that we’re more or less on the same page again…maybe we should finally tell everyone we’re brothers,” he muttered on impulse.

“What?” Dax paused and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Jack shrugged. “Well, I’m just saying. It would be nice to no longer have to carry the secret around, wouldn’t it?”

“Are you crazy?” His brother looked at him, stunned. “Do you know what a media circus that would cause?”

“Yeah, sure, but…isn’t it worth it? Then the crap will finally be out.”

Dax sighed and rubbed his face. “I get it, okay? You suffer more than I do because Anna is my sister, not ours. Because you have to fit into the team and it’s hard when you lie to them.

But, honestly…I don’t want our dirty family laundry dragged out into the light.

They won’t just accept that we’re brothers.

They’ll dig deeper, seek out our parents, talk to my dad, talk to your dad…

and I’m not cool with that.” He lowered his gaze.

“You were able to define yourself faster than I could through talent and hard work. I had to drag Dad out of the casino for five more years and make sure Anna got enough to eat. I swore then that I would just forget the past. Don’t make me remember it now. Please.”

The last word came out of his mouth as a whisper…and it hit Jack hard in the chest. He knew how difficult it was for Dax to even say it, especially to him.

“I haven’t spoken to my father in eight years, Jack. And they have been the best years of my life.”

Jack lifted one corner of his mouth and nodded.

He understood. He had never wanted to see his father again either. And he still wanted to be in bed with Penny. Sometimes life didn’t care what you wanted.

“Okay,” he murmured. “Sure. It’ll remain our secret.”

Dax let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks. So, who was this woman you were in bed with? What makes her special?”

He snorted. “Nice try.”

“Not fair! You know who I’m sleeping with.”

“Everyone knows who you’re sleeping with because Lucy had you sign a piece of paper stating exactly that!”

The Hawks PR consultant had been afraid that her relationship with one of the players would make her job more difficult and take away her authority.

It turned out her worry was completely unfounded: Everyone was just as afraid of her when they knew she was with Dax as they’d been before.

Although, granted, they weren’t as afraid of her as they were of the Dragon, Leslie, who headed the marketing team.

Dax made a face. “Yeah, fine. Whatever, there are more important things. I heard they want to announce on New Year’s Day who gets the team.”

The hairs on Jack’s neck stood up. New Year’s Day. He would see Penny again on New Year’s Day. “Really?”

“Yep. That’s what Fox said. Besides, our esteemed captain always gets the hottest information first so he can gently break it to his flock.”

“Hmm,” Jack said, afraid that if he said more about the Clark family, he would probably blush.

Shit, was he serious? The last time he had blushed from embarrassment was when Anna had caught him making out with a cheerleader on the couch. And that was fifteen years ago!

“I’m glad they’re finally ready to come clean,” Dax muttered, opening the door to his car. “Lucy still won’t tell me. I don’t like it when she has more power than me.”

Jack grinned. “She always has more power than you. You love her so much, you’d give her anything for a simple smile in return.”

“Yeah, but she doesn’t have to know that!” Dax complained. “It’s killing me to be kept in the dark about who’s getting the team. What about you? A new owner always means change. I don’t want any more changes. It’s bad enough that you’re around now and Matt is getting married soon.”

Jack snorted and stuck with, “Hmm.” Because, yes, it was killing him too, but in a completely different way. “Maybe Gareth and his sister will share the team,” he stated, repeating what he had heard in Penny’s bathroom that morning.

Dax snorted. “Share? Yes, rich people are good at sharing.”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. We’ll see.”

He hoped it was true. Otherwise, he would never see Penny again and that would be…perfectly fine! No problem at all.

But yeah, old Clark would probably leave the team to both children. It was fair. It had been the plan, or so Penny had claimed. What else could it be?