Page 29 of Defend Her Heart

The reminder of everything Coach Ellie went through when she was hired by the team runs through my mind.“Isn’t she a distraction?” “She’s definitely banging a few players.”It was ridiculous. She is one of the smartest coaches I’ve ever had. Hell, sheisthe smartest coach I’ve ever had.

Avery used to be the full-time play-by-play announcer for my sister’s team in the PWHL, which made it almost impossible to forget her. But damn, she was so good at her job. She was lucky enough to be the guest announcer for the NHL team in Minnesota when their main guy was out a couple times. I’ll never forget the stupid fucking comments I saw on the social media posts celebrating her. One comment in particular sticks out in my mind. It was something along the lines of“We can’t win, fellas. First we have to see women in our sport, and now we have to listen to them? If I wanted to listen to nails on a chalkboard, I’d call my ex-wife. Guess I’ll be muting the games she’s working from now on.”

I’m not ashamed to admit that I did everything in my power to try and track that asshole down. Fortunately for him, he kept his information private and I was never able to locate him. But he did get a colorful message from me in his inbox.

I was surprised when Avery left her job with the Freeze to join her ex’s team in St. Louis. At first I thought maybe she got a commentating job with them, but that wasn’t the case. So, for her to bounce back and land this job with the Bobcats, it’s not something to be taken lightly.

When I look up, I see Doc eying me warily.

“Sorry, Doc. You know what it was like for Ellie when she joined the team. You know people are probably running their mouths already about Avery, too. I just don’t want anyone with the Bobcats to add to the stress.”

He nods his head thoughtfully. “I get it. I shouldn’t have said what I said. I’m sorry. And before you go interrogating your teammates, you should know that the person who confided in me was just worried about you. They weren’t starting rumors. So you can keep your gloves on.”

A knock at the door steals our attention before I can defend myself further.

“Sorry to interrupt. Dr. Alvarez, I was hoping you could meet with one of my ortho patients before you took off for the day. But if you’re busy, I can try to find someone else.”

The doctor’s voice trails off, and I see Doc push off from the counter where he’s been standing. “Not a problem. We were just finishing up here.”

Doc grabs his coat off the rack near the door and looks over his shoulder at me. “See you next week. Hopefully you bring your focus with you next time.” He’s gone out the door before I can respond.

I grab my keys and phone from the locker I was using and make my way out of the room. Taking the elevator to the main floor, I’m five feet away from the main doors when I see a streak of black out of the corner of my eye.

Avery sprints in front of me, cutting me off, shouting a mumbled, “Sorry, excuse me,” over her shoulder. She’s moving so quickly, I can’t be sure, but I swear I saw tears streaming down her face.

I’m immediately hit with a wave of panic. What is Avery doing at the hospital? And why the hell is she running out of here crying?

My feet move before my mind has fully caught up to what I’m doing. I weave past a few people walking into the hospital through the automatic doors, trying to get to her as quickly aspossible. Avery’s walking fast, but at this point I’m running, and within a few seconds I’ve caught up to her. I spin around so I’m in front of her and suck in a breath. Tears are streaming down her face, and my stomach drops at the sight. She swipes the sleeve of her hoodie across her cheeks then hugs herself tightly, trying to pull herself together. I reach my hands out and gently place them on her shoulders to stop her forward progress.

“Avery. Stop. Please. What’s going on? Are you okay?”

It’s a stupid fucking question. Obviously, she’s not okay. But I need to figure outwhyshe’s not okay. Because then I can figure out how to fix it.

Avery groans out in frustration. “Ugh, of course you’re here.” She starts looking around the parking lot frantically, her breathing intensifying with each second that goes by. She sucks in a breath and a strangled sound comes out of her mouth. “Will you please just leave me alone? I need to get out of here.”

Yeah, absolutely fucking not.

She shrugs my hands off her shoulders, but I keep my feet planted. “Sorry, but I can’t do that. I don’t want you driving when you’re this worked up.”

Avery releases a laugh but there’s no humor behind it. “That’s rich, coming from you.Nowyou’re worried about me. Now that I’m standing in front of you crying, you decide to care? That’s not how this works, Connor.”

The angrier she gets with me, the slower the tears fall. Okay, not the ideal situation but if her getting angry at me distracts her, let’s go with it.

“You’re right. I’m an asshole. Butyousaid it was time for us to move forward. And I’m sorry, but I can’t just pretend not to care. Especially when you’re running out of a hospital crying. I’d be worried about anyone doing that, but it’s you, Avery. There is no possible way I can turn a blind eye.”

Silence stretches between us as Avery seems to considermy words. She swipes at her face. “You are infuriating—did you know that?”

I shove my hands in my pockets and shoot her a cocky smile. “I’ve heard that once or twice.”

We both laugh, and although it’s nothing monumental, it feels big. Both of us together, not just saying we’re moving forward, but actually doing it.

“Can you please tell me what’s going on, Avery? Because my mind is automatically thinking the worst-case scenarios here. You run out of the hospital crying…is everything okay? Is it your parents? Is it you? What’s going on Aves?”

The nickname slips but to my surprise, she doesn’t call me on it. At least not out loud, but she does throw daggers my way with her eyes.

“Everything is fine. My parents are fine. I’m just—I’ve had some stuff going on and I finally got a doctor to listen to me. But…”

She averts her gaze from me. Her eyes land on something, and she grabs my wrist to pull me onto the grass at the edge of the parking lot. I hadn’t even noticed we were standing in the middle of it. Cars waiting to pass us finally drive by, scowls on the drivers’ faces.