Page 23 of The Alternate Captain (Elite Hockey #3)

I can’t even look at Bettsy when he arrives for morning skate. The only thing I can think of is his sister coming on my fingers, that beautiful sound she makes as she comes running through my head.

He ambles into the room with his gear and then tosses his bag down before greeting the rest of the guys, completely oblivious to my antics. Then he looks right at me, and I swear to God he’s trying to read my mind.

“Danny and I are going to shoot some pool tonight if you fancy it, Cap?” he says, taking a seat.

I sigh in relief. But before I can reply, one of the equipment managers sticks his head around the door.

“Johnny, your dad is looking for you.”

Great.

“Your dad?” Bettsy says. “Shit, how did it go last night?”

“Don’t ask,” I say, slipping past him half-dressed.

Dad is waiting for me in the tunnel. He doesn’t even bother saying hi.

“Have you asked Coach if Cody can join in on your skate? ”

Last night, Dad asked me if Jayne’s son could join in morning skate, so it doesn’t surprise me that is what he’s leading with.

“Really?” I ask. “Nothing to say about last night?”

“Come on, son. It was embarrassing for me. How do you think I felt seeing my kids react like that in front of Jayne?”

I can’t believe this is the avenue he’s taking after the way he reacted to Vicky’s upset.

“You need to apologise to Vicky,” I say.

“Yeah. Sure. Now, Cody—come on, son. Be a champ and ask.” He pats my shoulder, and like a puppy, I chase after the ball he pretended to throw.

I head towards Coach’s office to find it already occupied.

Matt Rodgers’ voice slips through the crack underneath the door, and I strain to listen; it sounds like an argument. But before I can actually hear anything, he comes bounding out and pushes right past me, veering straight for the dressing room.

“Koenig. In you come,” Coach says, gesturing for me to step into his office.

“I need to talk with you,” I say, disregarding the Cody conversation for a moment. “I had a call from Wes Jones—about Rodgers. Something about him offering supplements before. He warned me to keep my ear out.”

“Thanks, Johnny. I appreciate that because I’ve heard whisperings myself. Can’t find anything amiss though, so I guess he’s innocent for now.” He takes his cap off and places it on his desk. “Anyway, things okay? All good with—”

Therapy. He’s going to ask me about therapy. But since I know how easy it is to eavesdrop, I cut him off.

“Yeah, all good, thanks.”

I keep the conversation going for a little, assuring him that I’m doing all I need to be doing, then I ask him for a favour.

“Cody? Sorry, Johnny. We’re not insured, anyway.” He winks.

I head out to break the news to my dad, only to find he’s gone—probably back to Jayne and Cody. So, I call him and tell him it’s a no, as my sister powers past me, a smug look on her face.

I want to ask her how she is, but she makes a beeline for a reporter and slips into conversation with him.

I return to the dressing room and finish getting myself ready, but my mood is already sour as hell, and when I finally catch up with Vicky, I’m snappy and irritable.

The conversation is one I’m not overly proud of, because all my frustration turns into a lecture on how she needs to stay away from Liam.

To make matters worse, Coach yells out that today we’ll be bag skating. Basically, a puck-less practice where we skate back and forth until we’re ready to collapse.

At first, I’m hoping it will be an ideal opportunity to work out my frustration, but of course, the universe has other plans today.

One minute, I’m skating towards Hutch, the next, I’m flat on my ass with Liam towering over me.

He tosses his gloves to the side as if he’s ready to fight.

“What the fuck, man?” I say.

“Get up!” He grabs my jersey, pulling me to my skates, then he takes a swing at me, but I duck, avoiding the blow.

“Fucking fight back, you fucking...”

But the guys gather around and then Coach yells.

Liam is getting pulled away, Ryan’s arms around him as he fights against his brother.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Coach Adams is between Liam and me. “Get him off the damn ice. Now,” he says, directing Ryan to take him off.

“What the hell was that about?” I ask, but when no one answers me, I have no other choice but to rush towards the dressing room.

“What the fuck was that?” I ask.

“Sorry. I didn’t get a punch in. You’re supposed to be bleeding. ”

“What the fuck is going on, Lee?” I pull my helmet off and shake my head.

“Why wouldn’t you tell me you knew why Vicky called off our wedding?”

“Oh. That.”

“What do you mean ‘Oh, that?’”

“How—”

“Bettsy.”

“Fucking, Bettsy,” I say.

“No. Atta boy, Bettsy. You should have told me if you knew, because Vicky wasn’t going to. I deserve to know!”

“It’s not for me to tell. Besides, I promised her I wouldn’t,” I say.

“It didn’t stop you telling Bettsy, though, did it? You’re supposed to be my best friend. You know what?” Looking furious, he stands up and for a second I wonder if he’s going to swing for me again. “Don’t speak to me,” he says.

I try to reason with him but he’s not listening. Not that I can make things any better. My own selfish behaviour has caused this, and Coach...

“Office. Now,” Coach says, and I follow him.

He rounds his desk and pushes his chair away but doesn’t sit. Instead, he leans on its back and buries his face in his hands.

“Tell me why I shouldn’t book Liam Preston a one-way flight back to Toronto, Johnny? Because whatever the fuck that was—it’s interfering with my practice. You guys may think that I’m here for the fun of it but believe me—”

“That was on me, Coach. I’m sorry. We had a misunderstanding, and I can promise you it won’t happen again.”

“Between you and Tweedle-dee, I had faith in Liam. I trusted that giving him another chance would be a good move for us.”

“Coach. Please? Considering that was half my fault, you should consider kicking me off, too. ”

“Well, that’d be a fucking idea—but I can’t, dammit.

How’s that going to look? There’s some shit with Rodgers and—fuck.

” Coach lets go of his desk chair and slips into it.

“Right, Koenig. Here’s what’s going to happen.

I’ll bench him—lower body injury if anyone outside our need-to-know circles asks, but you have to promise me that this shit won’t happen again. ”

Like a nodding dog, I agree. Because being benched and having to watch us play tonight will be punishment enough for Liam. The bottom line is, he needs to stay away from Vicky because the two of them are causing an entire load of unnecessary shit.

Before I can leave, I need to address something else. Something that’s been sitting heavy on my chest since I got here today.

I wasn’t feeling guilty about seeing Kelly until today. Until Bettsy walked into that dressing room and looked right at me with trust and adoration that I’d seen so many times before. There’s no way in hell I can have him depending on me when I’m not even able to depend on myself.

“Hey, Coach,” I say before I turn to leave. “I think it’d be a good idea to play Betts with the rookie. He’s got potential and Bettsy’s play style would really compliment him, you know, give him the opportunity to grow.”

“Huh? What’s brought this on?” Coach says, narrowing his eyes.

“I’ve been watching him for a while, and I believe it’d be a good call to make. I mean, it’s your call obviously, but I wanted to offer some insight—things I see when we’re on the ice.”

Coach rubs his stubble and then nods to himself before dismissing me. I have no idea what will come out of that, but I’ve tried.

I’m fully fired up, and my anger boils right to the surface when I return to the dressing room to find Vicky standing outside of the logo in the centre, and I highly suspect she was in here talking to Liam .

“What are you doing in here?” I sneer, borderline ready to punch the damn wall.

“My tri—”

“Were you talking with Liam? Because you need to keep away. You’re fucking his game up. Listen to me. I’ve told him, and now I’m telling you.”

Once she’s gone, I rush to the showers and scream into a towel.