CHAPTER FOUR
LATE AUGUST
“We’d like you to put Webber up at your place for the season. He could use a … steadying influence.”
Connor tried not to choke on his post-supper coffee as he stared across the table of the swanky seafood restaurant in Back Bay.
Gavin Racine looked perfectly normal. The Boston Harrier’s General Manager hadn’t suddenly sprouted a horn or tails, so why the fuck was he trying to ruin Connor’s goddamn life like the devil himself?
Connor managed, “Uh, I’m not sure that?—”
Gavin leaned forward. “My job’s on the line here, O’Shea.”
“I’m sorry?” he said hoarsely.
Rubbing his forehead, Gavin suddenly looked tired. “The ownership group is getting antsy. They don’t like how long the rebuild is taking.”
“I thought it was a re-tool,” Connor said drily.
Gavin managed a half-hearted smile. “That’s what I’m aiming for, but realistically …”
“I know.” Connor sighed.
Boston’s historic legacy had lasted longer than anyone had expected.
The franchise had been dominant for decades and the fact that three out of four of the O’Shea family had played for the team had only added to the narrative.
But the truth was, the talent was thin now. After nearly two decades of being a great team with the ability to compete for the Cup year after year, they were suffering for it.
Connor had been a rookie during Finn’s captaincy, then assistant captain under his older brother, Pat, then inherited the captaincy from him once he retired two seasons ago. But Connor didn’t have the roster Pat or Finn or their father had back in the good old days. The good old days when Boston had scoring depth and solid defense and some of the best goddamn net-minding in the league.
Hence the trade for Jesse Webber.
Hazy memories of Jesse shuddering under Connor, neck bared, fist clenched in the pillow, resurfaced.
Connor bit the inside of his cheek to keep from letting anything show on his face. Fuck, what had he been thinking? He should have seen this coming. Should have known better than to fuck any guy in the league.
From the minute Connor saw the news about the trade, he’d had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He’d known Webber was a wild card but fucking his future captain when he’d known this trade was about to happen? That was low. It was low and sneaky and Connor still couldn’t figure out what he’d been trying to accomplish.
Was Webber hoping Connor would go easy on his bad behavior if he had something to hang over his head? Connor didn’t like to see the worst in people but damn, what other conclusion could he come to?
But it wasn’t gonna work. Connor would put his foot down. What had happened with Jesse was a one-time thing. So, maybe it was some of the hottest sex Connor’d ever had, but whatever feelings, good or bad, had come up because of it, they needed to stay in the past. Needed to be forgotten.
They had to be.
The team desperately needed a goaltender. They’d lost Mikko Korhonen when he went Unrestricted Free Agent this summer and they hadn’t been able to pick up Roman Poole from Ottawa like they’d hoped.
Webber was good in net and they were both professionals.
Connor could deal with Webber on the team. What he couldn’t deal with was living with him. Connor had spent the summer trying to stuff everything back in neat little boxes where they belonged and this threatened to upend all of the progress he’d made.
Because even though Connor didn’t like Jesse Webber, every time he closed his eyes to jerk off, that was who he saw in his head. The thought of him being in Connor’s space at work and at home would blur the lines even more. Make it harder for Connor to forget how good that night had been.
And frankly, Connor didn’t trust him one bit.
“Look, Gavin,” Connor said trying to keep his voice steady. At forty-one, the team’s GM was only six years older than him and they had a good rapport. Hopefully Connor could get through to him. Make him understand why this wasn’t gonna work. Without actually admitting he’d fucked Jesse Webber six ways ’til Sunday after his brother’s wedding. “I get it. And you know I’d do anything for this team. But this is a big ask right now.”
Gavin sighed, dragging a hand through his dark hair, growing more salt and pepper by the day, as was his short beard. “I know. The past two seasons were rough for you and this is asking you to take on a lot.”
Rough was putting it mildly. A contentious divorce and custody battle had drained Connor financially and emotionally and nagging injuries and years of grueling but ultimately disappointing playoff runs had drained him physically.
Even if the night in Chicago with Jesse hadn’t happened, this wasn’t something Connor wanted to say yes to. Hell, even if he’d been as goddamn straight as he’d always thought he was and they had no history, it would have made him hesitate.
Babysitting a twenty-four-year-old fuckboy who seemed determined to squander his God-given-talent sounded exhausting. To have that be the very same guy Connor had fucked, the one he was now captaining, was asking for disaster.
“I’m not exactly sure he’d be a good influence on my kids,” Connor pointed out. Which could honestly apply to both Connor’s literal offspring and the young players on the team.
Gavin frowned. “Doesn’t your ex-wife have primary custody during the season?”
Wincing, Connor nodded. “Unfortunately, yes.”
That pissed him off too.
Fine, from September to April—June if he was lucky—he was busy as fuck and his schedule was erratic and he was on the road half the time, but he still resented the fact that he’d practically had to beg and plead with a judge to see his goddamn children.
He wasn’t a perfect man by any means but he tried to be a damn good father. And he had more than enough extended family to help out when needed.
Gavin leaned in. “Look, Connor, I pushed the ownership group hard to agree to the Webber trade. He’s got the makings of an elite goalie. He’s twice as talented and at half the price of the other goaltenders out there because of his off-ice shenanigans. We couldn’t afford to take a huge cap hit this off-season to get Poole. We’re going to be tight up against the cap as it is.”
“I get that. I understand why you felt Webber was what we needed in net,” Connor said thinly. “I’m not sure he’s a good fit in terms of team culture .”
“Well, what’s done is done,” Gavin said, an edge of steel coming into his voice and Connor knew he’d lost the argument.
Gavin was an intimidating man under the best of circumstances. Though he hadn’t played NHL hockey for long, he was tall and solidly built, with biceps and shoulders that strained at the seams of his dress shirt. And a personality to match.
They might have a good rapport but he was still the man in charge.
And what were they gonna do at this point? The trade was a done deal.
Connor nodded, smiling tightly. “Right. Of course. We’ll do our best with him.”
“I assured ownership that I had a plan for keeping Webber wrangled.”
Still dazed, Connor was reminded of Dustin’s words at the wedding reception. Thanks to their respective GMs, Dustin’s problem was now Connor’s to deal with.
Fuck me.
“And your plan is to move him into my house for the season?”
Gavin nodded. “By all accounts, he’s a great guy. Friendly, well-liked in the locker room. Everyone in Toronto loved him.”
“It’s not his likeability I’m worried about,” Connor said with a sigh. “It’s his ability to put the team first.”
“We feel a more stable home environment could help with that.”
Connor bit off a bitter laugh threatening to escape. “May I remind you that I haven’t had one of those in a while?”
Gavin’s expression softened a little. “Hey, I know this divorce has been rough on you. And you’ve inherited a tough position within the team. I have too.”
Connor nodded, because Gavin did understand what he was going through. When Gavin was hired as GM two seasons ago, he’d been an out and happily married gay man.
In the past year, his husband had left him and he’d seemed to realize what a daunting position he’d been put in, trying to appease an ownership group and fanbase that didn’t seem to understand that the team couldn’t magically be fixed overnight, or even in a single season.
There were still expectations that they’d have a solid run at the Cup this year, despite a lack of assets required to make that happen.
If anyone would understand the pressure Connor was under this season, it was Gavin.
For a moment, Connor was tempted to admit what had happened after Kelly’s wedding. Surely Gavin would see that there was no way in hell Connor could have Jesse living with him this season after what they’d done.
He opened his mouth to test the waters of that conversation when Gavin leaned in, frowning. “The thing is, Connor, it’s not only my position that’s at risk here. It’s yours. Ownership doesn’t feel that you’ve stepped up as captain in the way they’d hoped. We all noticed that you were—well, a little bit checked out during the divorce. That’s understandable, having that custody battle taking place in the news was hard. But the fact is, we’re rebuilding—whatever we call it to the media—and that means we need you to make the team your priority this season.”
Connor snapped his mouth shut and nodded.
“Now that Smitty’s retired, you won’t have him covering the slack. Pennington is solid, but young. We’ll likely pick another alternate at some point this season but even once we do, this is your responsibility. Unless we can tempt Kelly away from Evanston—which I don’t see happening, especially now that he and Lindholm are settled there—there’s not another O’Shea waiting in the wings. More’s the pity. But that means you’ve gotta step up and make this new generation of leadership as good as the last one was.”
Connor took a deep breath, because fuck, that hit right where it hurt. “I understand,” he said, voice a little more strangled than he’d like.
Gavin’s expression was earnest. “Ownership hasn’t outright said that the responsibility of getting Jesse Webber behaving like a model citizen this season is on you, but it was strongly hinted at. And if they don’t see results, they may ask you to step down.”
“I’ll do my best,” Connor said tightly. Because what else could he do?
This was his team. He’d spent years looking up to his father and older brothers for their leadership and whatever had happened in his personal life, he needed to stop letting it interfere with his career. This wasn’t just about his family’s legacy. It was about what his would be. And he wanted to prove he was capable of leading a team. Of helping his guys grow and develop.
Unless Connor wanted to have the captaincy stripped from him, he was gonna have to put up with having a fuckboy goaltender for a roommate.
Connor took a deep breath. He’d have a quiet talk with Jesse about it, calmer this time, and remind him they were both professionals here and what was at stake.
That would be enough, right?
With a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach, Connor had a feeling he would be proven very, very wrong.
After Gavin finished his coffee, he paid for the meal and they made small talk while they waited for the receipt. When they were out on the sidewalk, Connor thanked Gavin for supper.
“Looking forward to the season,” he said, lying through his teeth so badly he immediately felt like he needed to go to confession.
Gavin shook his hand. “Me too. I have a good feeling about it.”
Connor definitely did not.
Once they’d gone their separate ways, Connor went for a walk rather than head back to his SUV, trying to calm the turmoil in his head.
So there was no way out of this then. Not only would he have to deal with having a guy he’d fucked on his team, he was gonna have to live with him.
The sick feeling in Connor’s stomach grew.
What else could he do but try to push through it, try to treat Webber like any other goalie?
There were enough odds stacked against the Harriers this season. They didn’t need their captain freaking out about some guy. A teammate, a roommate, that was all Jesse would ever be. And Connor would do his best to get Jesse to see why the team needed him at the top of his game this season.
Connor fiddled with his phone for a moment, then hit his most frequently dialed contact. It rang twice before a woman answered, “Hello?”
Connor cleared this throat. “Hey, Ma? I’m gonna need your help.”