Page 104 of Hot Shot
“I think he’s had enough space,” Rachel says. “Call him. The worst that can happen is he sends you to voicemail.”
I pick my head up from Aunt Judy’s shoulder and step out of her arms. Taking a deep breath I say, “Okay. I’ll call him. He may not want to talk to me, though.”
“Good,” Rachel says. “I should probably go. I left Brandon all alone, and the afternoon rush is about to hit.”
“I’ll show you out,” Aunt Judy offers.
“You need anything. You call me, you hear? Everything will work out.” Rachel wraps her arms around me in a quick hug before she follows my aunt out of the living room.
“You okay?” Dad asks softly.
“Am I making the right decision? Why aren’t you telling me that I should cut Hunter loose? Wouldn’t that be better for you? For the team? He won’t have any distractions.”
He tucks his hands into his pockets. “I want my players to be happy. Not distraction-free. Even some of them that are unattached are focused on other things. In all my years of playing and coaching, the happiest players are the ones that play the best. I can tell when a player is going through something outside of hockey because their game is off.
“So no, I don’t want you to break up with Hunter for my benefit, for the team’s benefit. If you love him, you should tell him. Let him make his own decisions about what’s going to make him happy. And with that, I’m going to go too. If you need me, you know where to find me.”
I nod, at a loss for words. What he said makes sense, I know it does, but deep down I still wonder if things between Hunter and I can work out.
Chapter thirty-eight
Hunter
Anothershittygame.Imissed an easy pass from Brody that could have been a goal. Shitty playing seems to be all I’m capable of lately.
I pull my jersey off, probably a little harder than I need to, flop down onto the bench, and yank on my skate laces. I see movement in my periphery but ignore it, hoping whoever it is won’t stop to talk to me.
I’m in no mood. The same way I’ve been in no mood for the past week and a half.
“What’s going on?” Caleb asks, taking a seat next to me.
I sigh. Why the hell is he over here? His stall is on the other side of the room. I run my hands through my hair, tugging on the ends, and shrug.
“Come on, we all know something’s going on. Is it still about the article?”
I pull on the back of my neck, unsure how to answer.
He must sense my hesitation because he leans over and whispers, “Spill it, Hunter. As your captain it’s my job to make sure the team is working well together, and something is off with you.”
Tipping my head back, I lean against the divider between the stalls, close my eyes, and take a deep breath.
“How about this,” Caleb says, “go take a shower and change. We’ll talk when the locker room is cleared out. How’s that sound?”
I open my eyes and find him studying me, his eyebrows raised.
“Okay, fine.” I give in. Maybe it’ll help to talk to someone about everything that’s going on. With a nod, he walks back to his stall.
I finish undressing and head to the showers. I take my time, hoping that it’ll give most of the guys ample time to leave.
When I decide it’s been long enough, I turn off the shower, grab my towel, wrapping it around my waist as I step out. Back at my stall, I get dressed quickly. I’m sitting down pulling on my dress shoes when Caleb comes sauntering over, followed by Brody, Holt, and Wes.
“Great. You brought backup,” I grumble, slumping against the wall.
“We’re worried about you,” Wes says as they all step closer, forming a semicircle around me. “You’ve been off, and you won’t talk to us about it.”
I huff out a breath and tell them the whole story. They knew about the article, but they didn’t know who leaked it.
Elias called me last week and confirmed that it came from Elliot. Apparently he was drunk at a bar the next night bragging about it. One of their teammates who knows I’m Elias’s brother heard and told Elias.
