Page 53 of Wake Me Up (New England Bay Sharks #5)
Seven Years Later
W alking through the open door, I strut into Cade’s office, finding him at his desk, his phone in front of him and a hand dragging through his hair.
When his eyes spot me, he puts a finger up for me to wait.
As if I don’t know enough to just shut the fuck up and be quiet while he’s on the phone or something.
“I don’t really know what you want me to do, man,” Cade says, clearly stressed over this phone call. “I can’t exactly bench a player because he’s chasing your daughter …”
“Like hell you can’t,” a familiar voice growls through the phone. “Isla is NE’s best fucking player, Huff. I’ll pull her out of that program so fucking fast. Try me.”
“Dude, I love you. You are like a brother to me, but you’re being—” Cade’s mouth snaps shut.
Even though I feel rude for standing here … I kind of need to know where this conversation is going because on the other end of that phone? Well, that’s Cam Hardy—Bruins legend and one of Cade’s best friends.
“Go on. Finish that sentence, asshole,” Cam dares him. “Say whatever the fuck you were going to.”
Cade squeezes his eyes shut and sighs. “Dude, when you first started sneaking around with Addy, LaConte tried to bench your ass. He fucking made you leave a practice, and did that keep you away from his daughter?”
Cam is silent, but I swear I can feel the heat from his anger coming through the phone.
“That’s right; it didn’t,” Cade answers for him. “Look, I’ll talk to Hunt and see what I can do, okay? But I can’t kick the kid off my team just because he’s chasing Isla. And trust me, I hate it just as much as you do. That girl’s like family to me and Haley.”
“That kid is trouble,” Cam hisses. “And if he messes around with my daughter, I’ll come there and fuck him up myself. And I’m not talking about yelling at the fucker either. I’ll rip him apart limb by limb, Huff. I swear to fucking God, I will.”
The line goes silent, and Cade throws his head back, lifting the phone from his desk and smashing it back down.
“Fuck!” he snarls, grinding his back teeth together.
And here I stand, like a fucking weirdo, who has no clue if I should leave at this point or stay since I’m clearly invested.
I know what he’s thinking. Hendrix Hunt is the designated bad boy of our team.
And Isla Hardy is a straight-A student, starting goalie of the women’s hockey team here at NEU, and an all-around amazing kid.
This is fucking messy as hell, and if it were my daughter, I would feel the same way Cam is.
But it’s not my daughter, and I’m not here to keep Hendrix or the other assholes on the team away from girls they have no business chasing.
I’m here to coach with Cade and build our program back up after losing some great players last year. That’s it.
Cade’s eyes pop open, and he drags a hand down his face. “I give him a few hours before he fucking lands here.” He blows out a breath. “When it comes to Cam Hardy and his daughter, he’d burn the whole fucking world down before he let her get hurt.”
Taking a few steps forward, I plop down in the chair in front of his desk. “So then, what are you going to do?”
Cade looks me over, tossing his head back slightly. “Nothing. You know why?”
“Why?”
“Because Isla is smart enough to not get involved.” He pauses. “And if she’s not … well, her daddy will murder Hunt anyway.”
I bob my head slowly, not even knowing what to say about all of that. Cam Hardy is a fucking living legend. He has more connections in the hockey world than most. That right there should be enough to keep Hendrix away from Isla.
Let’s hope anyway .
Surprise!!! You all have been asking me for a second-generation series. Soooo … you’re getting it now! First up is Getting the Goalie . This is Isla’s story, and it’s coming in early 2026.
The End