Page 56 of Securing the Pucking Rebound

I shake my head, although I can’t deny that the image of one woman fills my head. With the team gone on a road series, there’s only one person in this city I want to spend time with.

“I know it’s hard because our lives are one hundred percent hockey during the season, but try and find something to fill your time. I was lucky; when I was out, I always had Casey to keep me entertained. But I can imagine life can get tedious with only rehab and missed games to focus on.”

“You have no idea.”

“It’s gonna be a tough season, but we’ll all get through it. I have no doubt,” he says before wrapping his hand around my shoulder and squeezing gently.

“Thanks, Coach.”

He walks off, leaving me with his words floating around me. It takes a minute or two to remember that I never replied to Sienna.

I tap out a reply as I head back downstairs for my afternoon session with Darcy.

“Hey, man,” I say when Rett stalks into the dressing room a few hours later, sweat dripping from his hair, his cheeks red from exertion.

Jealousy rushes through me like a tsunami, but I squash it down. It’s not his, or any of the other guys’ fault that I’m unable to join them out there right now.

“Sorry about earlier.”

He waves me off. “Forget it. I have.”

“Rehab fucking sucks,” I mutter as he begins stripping out of his equipment.

“It’ll be over before you know it. Especially with all that knitting you’ve gotta do.”

“I’ve never picked up a set of knitting needles in my life,” I say with a laugh.

“Nah, me either. Wouldn’t know where to fucking start. So, you gonna see Sienna tonight or what?” he asks, no longer beating around the bush.

I rub at the back of my neck.

“I…uh…”

“She’s good people. You could do a lot worse.”

“Yeah, I know,” I admit. “It’s just…she isn’t interested in…well, in anything to do with me.”

He looks at me with raised eyebrows.

“Is that why she let you in for movie nights when she was sick?”

“I brought food,” I reason.

“Let me let you in on a little secret,” he says, leaning closer. His stench makes my nose wrinkle, but I ignore it and let him continue. “Puck bunnies will do anything to get close. Women like Bea and Sienna are different. If they don’t want you close, you won’t be close. They won’t blink at slamming the door in your face, or turning their back on you. But equally, they won’t tell you what they do want. You gotta read them, figure it out in other ways. Sienna letting you hang out last week, when she was at her lowest…that is definitely something you should be reading into.”

“So she does want to hang out with me?” I ask, aware of just how pathetic I sound.

I have never in my life gone after a girl.

After the only one I’ve ever genuinely wanted walked out of my life with only an address that eventually got lost, I’ve never gone after another. None of them compared to her. Didn’t come anywhere close.

Rett laughs and jumps to his feet.

“I’d say so, yeah. You know, considering you’ve got sisters, you don’t really know women.”

“Oh, and you do?”

“Hell yeah. Have you seen my fiancée? Fucking banging.”