Chapter 30 – Cooper
Chapter Thirty
Cooper
“ S top worrying, Coop. I’m fucking fine.” Crosby groans as he swings his legs over the side of the training bench. “Murphy says I’ll be good to play on Saturday.”
“I said no such thing. I said to take it easy until Saturday, and we’ll discuss it before the game,” Murphy grumbles as he types something into his tablet.
“Whatever. You need to keep your baby brother on a leash, or he’ll cost us the next game.”
I reach out to help Crosby stand, gripping his arms tightly to make sure I have his attention. His eyes swing toward me, ready to give me hell for gripping him up like that, but he doesn’t say a word. Good on him. The last thing I want to do is give him a matching black eye to the one Beau gave him earlier.
“You need to keep my family’s name out of your mouth, Crosby. The ass beating Beau just gave you will be nothing compared to what I do to you. You’ll be lucky if you can even play hockey again.”
“All this for a couple of puck bunnies?” Crosby eyes me warily as I help him toward a bench tucked into the corner of the training room, far enough away that no one will overhear our conversation.
“Stop fucking talking. Ramona is my girlfriend and will soon be my wife, if I have anything to say about it.” I release his arm, shoving him down onto the bench. I tower over him, leaning down slightly so we are at eye level, needing him to know I mean every word coming out of my mouth. “Alise is off-limits to you and everyone else on the team. She’s like a little sister to both of us, and none of you assholes deserve to breathe the same air as her.”
Crosby nods his head, his eyes wide with what looks like a combination of shock and a little fear. I’m known around the locker room for keeping my cool, but now they all know if they push hard enough, I will lay a smackdown if need be, whatever it takes to get my point across.
“Got it?” I ask, needing to hear his response.
“Got it, Cap.”
“Glad we had this talk.” I smile brightly, patting him hard on the back before heading toward Coach’s office. One problem solved; one more to go.
Thankfully, Coach is already in his office, his eyes glued to the computer screen. I knock softly on the door to get his attention. “Got a minute?”
“Sure, but if you’re here to plead Beau’s case, save it. He was out of control at practice today. I have no choice but to suspend him for three games.”
“Three games? Don’t you think that’s a little excessive, Coach?” I stroll into the office, the picture of calm, but I’m a panicking mess on the inside. We are coming up on three of our toughest games all season. The last thing we need is to add an unnecessary loss to our record.
“And you think he should get off scot-free?”
“Of course not. He went after a teammate. No matter how provoked and justified his actions were, we need to use our words, not our fists.”
“What do you mean, provoked?”
Ah, now I have his attention. I doubt that Bower or anyone else on the team plans to tell Coach the vile things they were saying about Ramona and Alise. Coach has three daughters, all around the girls' age. The last thing he would condone is their being disrespectful to women.
“Crosby and Bower had been running their mouths all practice, making inappropriate comments about my girlfriend and sister. Beau was sick of it and lashed out.”
“Sister? I thought you only had three brothers. Beau, Cole, and the youngest one.”
“Kyle is our youngest brother’s name. But Alise is family. Our mothers are best friends, and we grew up together. We all think of her as our sister. You know the saying, the family we make, not the family we were born into and all that.”
Coach’s eyes remain locked on mine as he leans back in his chair, crossing his arms over her chest. “How inappropriate are we talking?”
“Too inappropriate for me to repeat, Coach. If Beau wouldn’t have gotten to him first, I would have decked him.”
“One-game suspension. He’s still to suit up for the game, and we’ll make some excuse about a minor injury to the press.”
“Thanks, Coach. We appreciate it.” I smile before turning around to head out of his office. If I get moving, I might catch Beau before he leaves so I can apologize. I should’ve had his back on the ice instead of coming down on him about responsibility to the team.
“And Cooper.” I turn around, eyes locking with Coach as he smiles. “It’ll be good to have you back on the ice at playoff time.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” I respond, heading out the door and turning right toward the locker room.
I run into a few of the guys in the hall, congratulating me on making it off the injured reserve and checking to see how Beau is doing. I guess he hightailed it out of the locker room as quickly as possible.
“Do you know where he was headed?” I ask Chatfield as we practically run into each other as I come into the locker room.
“He said something about grabbing drinks with his brother. I’m assuming he meant one of the other ones since you’re standing here.” He chuckles before continuing on his way out of the locker room.
The place is practically deserted, with only a few other players hanging around, but I can tell they’re on their way out. I say hello to a few of them as I pass but head right for the showers, wanting to get out of here and to my beauty as quickly as possible. I was so fucking focused on fixing this shit with the team and Beau that I didn’t even bother to send her a message to let her know everything was okay.
I turn on the water in the showers, stripping quickly before stepping under the lukewarm spray. I completely forgot to bring my soap, so I grab a bar of the hotel soap they keep here for these emergencies.
What the fuck is wrong with me? Beau was right, as usual. I was so focused on what would work out best for the team that I didn’t think about anything or anyone else. Hopefully, she’s still waiting there for me when I come out, but I wouldn’t blame her if she left my ass here.
I need to find a way to balance hockey and my love life for the first time since I was eighteen years old if I want things to work between Ramona and me. Right now, everything is going well, but I spend most of my time in Redwood Falls. Once I start playing regularly, things are going to change. The franchise has been wanting to talk more to Remy about renegotiating my contract since they know my knee is back to 100 percent, so I’m sure I can get at least one more season out of them.
My mind continues to wander, thinking about all the things that I need to figure out if there’s any hope of my relationship with Beauty lasting past the start of next season, but then the sound of someone entering the locker room reaches my ears.
Thankfully, I’m finished, so I turn the water off and grab a towel, wrapping it tightly around my waist before heading for my locker. The moment I round the corner, I see the last person I was expecting, Annamarie Sutton.
“What the fuck are you doing in here, Annamarie?” I ask, trying to walk around her, but she steps in my way.
“Daddy said I could go anywhere I wanted in the building whenever I wanted.”
“Daddy?”
“Oh, didn’t you know? Henry Ryan is my father.” She smiles brightly, her nails tracking across my chest before resting on the knot holding my towel in place. I take a step away from her, not wanting to chance her pulling it free.
Henry Ryan, the owner of the Portland Timberwolves, the man who signs all my paychecks, is her father? I grew up with her. I’ve met her mother and father many times when we were in high school. Not once did I run into Henry. I’d have remembered meeting him before I signed for the Timberwolves.
“But your last name is Sutton.” I inch further away from her, my eyes scanning for another way out of the locker room.
There’s a craziness in her eyes that isn’t usually there. Couple that with the fact she cornered me in an NHL locker room of all places is giving off serious stalker vibes. “Oh. Here’s your bag. I approve of the outfit, by the way. I’ll turn around so you can get dressed, not that I don’t already know what everything looks like.”
Her eyes drag down my body, goose bumps pebbling my skin as I watch her turn around. Once I’m sure she’s not peaking, I open the closest locker door and quickly dress. Thankfully, my shoes are in the bag, so I grab them and slide them onto my feet, as well, ready to make a break for it if things get too insane.
Annamarie doesn’t miss a beat, continuing to tell me her life story like it’s an everyday occurrence. “My stepfather’s last name is Sutton. Mommy changed our last names before we moved to Redwood Falls. Peter was running for mayor, after all. No one wanted the scandal of knowing I didn’t belong to him. Mommy dearest cheated on Daddy with good old Peter Sutton. Until I had my son, I had no idea he wasn’t my father.”
What the actual fuck? This sounds like a goddamn Jerry Springer episode, not someone’s life. “I’m sorry to hear that. I’m sure it was a surprise to find out you weren’t a Sutton.”
“Nah, it’s okay. Daddy has way more money than Peter; even Mommy knows that. It’s why she tried to get back with him when she found out I was his, but he kicked her to the curb.” She turns around, her hand covering her eyes as she tilts her chin toward the ceiling. “Are you dressed now? I really would like to see your face when I tell you the good news.”
“Good news? Annamarie, I really need you to explain what’s going on here.”
“Sorry, darling. You need to know the whole story to understand how much I’ve been through to make sure we could be together.”
She takes a step closer to me, slamming the open locker door closed and throwing herself at me. My arms come up on instinct, catching her as she wraps her arms tightly around my neck and smashes her lips against mine.
“Stop. Annamarie, I know you know Ramona and I are together.” I try to pull away from her, but her grip tightens around me. The only way to get her off me is to pry her fingers free of my neck, but I can’t do that without hurting her. No matter how crazy she’s acting, she hasn’t done anything to warrant force yet.
“Whatever. You’ll kick that bitch to the curb when you find out everything.” She laughs maniacally, her head thrown back in glee. The grip around my neck loosens enough that I unravel her arms, keeping both her hands clasped in mine.
“Everything?”
Every time I think I have my head wrapped around what's going on here, she throws me another curve ball. I always knew she had a crush on me, but so did half the female population in Redwood Falls. They’d take bets on who could bag a Hendrix brother first, but they never got into our inner circle. Mostly because the only thing on all our minds growing up was hockey. I know Beau and Cole had a few girlfriends in high school, but nothing serious. A few dates and that’s it. I made sure that they always had condoms and walked their dates to the door. Anything besides that wasn’t any of my business. However, it seems I should’ve been paying closer attention to who was paying attention to me instead of my brother.
“Everything I’ve done to create the perfect life for us. I was prepared to wait longer, but when you hurt your knee, I knew the perfect way to get you back to Redwood Falls.”
“How did you get me back to Redwood Falls?” I have a feeling I already know the answer to this question, but I have to ask.
I was so focused on the fact I wasn’t playing with the team this season that it didn’t even dawn on me how strange it was that I was sent back to town to coach at the hockey club. Did she orchestrate all of that? Was my job even in jeopardy if I told them I wasn’t going? I guess I’ll never know.
“I asked Daddy to send you, of course.” She wrenches her hands free from my grasp and wraps them around my arm, pulling me down onto the bench in front of the lockers. “You were supposed to be coaching the U14 team with Coach James, but you ended up with the U12 team. I could’ve made it work if that bitch and her little brat didn’t get in the way.”
Every muscle in my body tenses at the mention of Ramona and Darius. Annamaire clearly has a few screws loose. The worst part is I’m not entirely sure she isn’t dangerous. There’s no telling what she’ll do when I reject her advances.
“Darius was supposed to be out for the season after taking that hit a few months ago, but that’s what I get for letting a twelve-year-old do my dirty work.” She leans her head on my shoulder, snuggling her body into my arm. My mind races, trying to find a way out of this situation. Once Henry knows what his darling daughter has been doing, he’ll at the very least revoke her access to the team. I’ll also have to find a way to get a restraining order against her for Beauty and Darius. I need to make sure she can’t get anywhere near them because there's no telling what she’ll do.
“You convinced a twelve-year-old boy to hurt another player?”
Annamarie shrugs her shoulders before turning her head toward me, her chin digging into my bicep. “He wanted a PlayStation 5. It wasn’t like I asked him to kill someone. Stop being so dramatic. But enough about them. I need to finish explaining things to you.”
She releases my arm, sliding off the bench and onto the floor, resting her palm on my knee. “I’m going to reunite you with Cole. Daddy said he has no problem getting him onto the team since I recommend they take the meeting with him this week. Daddy doesn’t need to know that I’m the one who put the bug in the Wolverine owner's mind that you’d join the team if they threatened your brother.”
“You did what?” I fight to keep my anger under control, the need to lash out and break something burning its way through my veins.
“I knew you missed your brother. Of course, I’d do everything I could to get you both on the same team. You can never leave the Timberwolves, but with a few emails sent to the Wolverines, it was easy to set that part of my plan into motion. Men are so stupid. Most of you never know when you're being manipulated.”
“Including me?”
“No, not you. Why else would I have gone to such lengths to be with you? You’re one of a kind. That’s why you have to be mine.” She rolls her eyes before pushing to her feet as she counts things off on her finger. “I heard the others talking about Beau getting a suspension, but I’ll get Daddy to have Coach lift it. I can even get you back on the ice with the team this weekend. Then we can live happily ever after.”
“Annamarie.” I say her name forcefully, watching her smile fall as she turns toward me.
“Yes, darling.”
I should tell her to fuck off and rush out of the locker room, but I can’t bring myself to do it. She meddled in my life, but her meddling brought me to Ramona. Even if that wasn’t her intention, I’ll owe her for the rest of my life. Okay, that's a lot of misplaced logic, but I need to make sure I can get out of her quickly and safely. That’s my number one concern.
“I’m not your darling. I’m not your anything, Annamarie. I love Ramona very much. There’s nothing between you and me.”
Her face drains of all emotion, replaced with a cold, hard stare. “Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider?”
“I’m sure. I’m sorry, Annamarie. There’s someone out there for you, but that man isn’t me.” I grab my bag from the floor and head for the locker room door. Just as I’m pushing them open, I hear Annamarie’s voice.
“You’re going to live to regret this decision, Cooper Hendrix.”