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“Nothing I can’t handle.”
“He’ll find a puck bunny to distract himself.”
After a single note of laughter, Jolie said, “I’m sure he already has. He’s back in Chicago and I don’t plan to see him ever again.”
“Hope it blows over with your dad.”
“Thanks. If he wants to stay pissed about it, it’s okay. I’ll just avoid him. He’ll get over it eventually.”
We were split up for the next drill, Jolie working with her dad and his group of kids while Nash and I gently shot pucks at kids as they stood in goal. The excitement of the kids over the smallest things cracked me up and got my mind off of what my brother was going through.
“Boys, come on over,” Gizzard said to me and Nash after practice had ended and we were the only ones left on the rink.
“Coach, we can round these up,” I said, meaning the pucks all three of us were gathering.
“Yeah, do that and get everything put away in the equipment room, would you?” he said.
“No problem.”
Hell, I’d shine his shoes to stay on his good side. As soon as my agent got back to me about the prospects for a trade, I planned to have a one-on-one conversation with Coach and tell him what was going on with my brother. If he knew why I wanted the trade, he’d be more likely to work with me.
“My daughter is here helping, but don’t get any ideas,” Coach said. “She’s taken.”
“Jolie?” I said, confused about what he meant.
He narrowed his eyes at me. “That better be the last time I hear her name come out of your mouth, Boone. Don’t talk to her, don’t talk about her, don’t even look at her.”
Nash scoffed. “Coach, I’m not even single.”
“I’m just letting you both know so we’re clear.” His gaze never left me. “She’s going through a hard time right now and she’s vulnerable. But she has a fiancé. If I find out you’re sniffing around, you’ll wish you wouldn’t have.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it, Coach,” I said smoothly.
“Yeah, same,” Nash said, sounding offended. “Like I said, I have a girlfriend.”
Coach Gizzard didn’t even acknowledge us further. He could be a dick, and clearly his daughter was a sore spot for him.
“I thought Jolie dumped Jarvis,” Nash said to me under his breath as we gathered pucks.
“Yeah, she did.”
He laughed. “Giz didn’t get the memo?”
“Oh, he got it. I think he decided to shred it and completely disregard the fact that Jolie was unhappy.”
“Shit. Poor Jolie.”
“Yeah.”
She was going to have her hands full dealing with a scorned Jarvis and her determined father, but I’d just be observing from the sidelines. I couldn’t afford to do anything more.
CHAPTERFOUR
Jolie
It wasmy first full day back at the lab and I was nervous. Only because I was worried that I would have to field a thousand questions about my non-wedding. I’d sent cards to every single guest, apologizing and making arrangements to return all the gifts, but I was still dealing with the fallout.
“Welcome back.” Corrine Chao, another one of the grad students in the lab, greeted me with a warm smile.
