Page 79 of Instigator

“There has to be some declaration we can sign.” I know Hailey and Ryan had to disclose their relationship due to her board involvement. “Maybe we should have been up front about it, but we’re still new. Very, very new.”

Coach waves it away. “I’ll reach out to HR and get the paperwork ready for you. She isn’t the first board member to be involved with a player. Or staff member.”

Right. Larsson is married to Vanessa. McKittrick and Amelia are together. Mitchell is engaged to Dr. Whitney. Hell, my sister is engaged to Ryan, and she’s on the board too.

No, we’re certainly not the first, and I’m sure we won’t be the last.

“Thanks, Coach.”

He clears his throat. “There’s something else I need to talk to you about.”

My stomach sinks. This is it. He’s going to strip the captaincy. We weren’t honest about what we’re doing, and now he can’t trust me.

“Sinclair,” he says.

Oh.

Whew.

Not about me.

Way to be self-centered, asshole.

Instead of chastising myself, I focus on the situation at hand and not the made-up problems in my head.

“I think he’s doing better,” I manage.

“He still hasn’t told you what’s going on?”

I shake my head. “Only that he started working with the therapist Dr. Liz found him.”

The defenseman dodges every question I ask. I don’t want to pry, but I also want to make sure he’s okay. And if he’s not, that he’s working on fixing that. Whether it’s talk therapy or medication or both, he deserves a bit of stability.

“He’s concerned about his spot on the roster,” I add.

“That’s not a concern for us,” Coach replies. “If he needs time away, we’ll handle that as needed. But you can assure him he’s not going anywhere anytime soon.”

“The trade deadline is coming up.” Only six more weeks away. It’s been on my mind more than ever. That they’ll be so fed up with my lack of leadership, they’ll ship me out for someone younger, faster, stronger.

He shakes his head. “I can’t speak for the GM, but frankly, Sinclair has another year on his contract after this. If anything were to happen, it would be in the offseason or next year. With his stats, he’s too valuable to trade right now.”

I purse my lips. “And… the rest of the squad?”

“You can see we’re in a bit of a rebuild,” Coach says. “Unless we have a massive slew of injuries”—he knocks on his wooden desk—“I don’t foresee any massive changes to the team composition. The GM wants to shore up our prospect squad first. I can’t say it will be like this forever. Eventually, we need to make changes. But I don’t see that happening anytime soon.”

“I don’t want to leave,” I whisper, my throat tight. “I know my stats are in the toilet, but⁠—”

“MacGregor,” he barks, and I flinch. With a sigh, he continues, “You’re so fucking hard on yourself. Relax. Breathe for a minute. I just said we’re not making large-scale changes.”

“But—”

That doesn’t mean they can’t demote me. I’m not pulling my weight. I know it. And once they recognize that…

Coach frowns. “You’re part of our plans for the future.”

I blink. Then I blink again.

“What?”