32. Daltyn
DALTYN
I drag both hands down my face before stalking toward the door.
The second I open it, chaos explodes into the cabin.
Connor pushes past me. “SHE’S WITH ME,” he announces dramatically, clutching his chest.
Jake nearly collapses laughing behind him.
Cole points at me. “Brother folded under pressure in under four questions.”
“I didn’t fold.”
Connor gasps loudly. “You publicly claimed a woman on Zoom like a Victorian husband returning from war.”
“I was protecting her.”
“Oh, he’s STILL doing it,” Jake cackles.
Ford walks in carrying coffee while Harper follows beside him, looking far too entertained.
“To be fair,” Ford says calmly, “the reporter was pushing too hard.”
I nod once. “Thank you.”
Ford takes one sip of coffee. “Still,” he adds. “Holy shit.”
Traitor .
Allie slips inside behind them, making a beeline for Peyton on the couch. “You okay?” she asks, already smiling.
Peyton looks somewhere between horrified and amused. “I think so?”
Connor points at her dramatically. “Welcome to the Avalanche, sweetheart. You’re officially sports media canon now.”
“I hate all of you,” I inform them.
“No, you don’t,” Harper says easily.
The worst part? She’s right.
I don’t.
Gram sweeps into the cabin last, wearing giant sunglasses and enough perfume to fumigate the woods.
The second she spots Peyton, she gasps dramatically. “There’s my future granddaughter-in-law!”
I nearly choke on air.
“Gram,” Ford warns.
“What?” She waves him off. “That man looked two seconds away from fighting reporters through a laptop screen.”
Connor nods solemnly. “Honestly, one more question and he probably would’ve challenged ESPN to hand-to-hand combat.”
“I would not?—”
“You said,” Connor interrupts dramatically, deepening his voice, “‘She’s with me.’”
Jake doubles over laughing again.
Cole wipes fake tears from his eyes. “Bro sounded like a mafia boss announcing ownership.”
Peyton presses her lips together, trying not to smile. Which distracts me from murdering my teammates.
Gram points at me accusingly. “I knew you were in love when you bought that girl a medical boot. ”
The entire room erupts.
Even Peyton snorts. “Oh my God.”
Connor grabs the kitchen island for support. “A medical boot. Definitely a sign a man is whipped.”
“She was injured!” I snap.
“AND YOU LOVE HER,” Jake yells.
“I do not.”
A hush falls over the room at my confession.
Oh no.
Every single head in the room slowly turns toward me.
Fuck. That sounded defensive as hell even to me.
Connor’s eyes widen dramatically. “Holy shit.”
Cole points at me like he just discovered fire. “He didn’t even deny the being in love part properly.”
“I hate this team.”
“You’re a huge part of this team,” Ford reminds me calmly.
Gram walks directly over to Peyton and pats her cheek affectionately. “Don’t worry, Sweet Cheeks. He’s emotionally constipated, but he means well.”
Peyton chokes on her coffee.
I stare at the ceiling, wondering if the cabin collapsing on me would actually improve this situation.
Harper smirks over the rim of her coffee. “You know… I think this might be the most personality Daltyn’s ever shown publicly.”
“Terrifying,” Allie agrees.
Connor’s phone beeps, and he pulls it from his pocket. “Oh my God,” he says loudly.
I narrow my eyes. “What?”
He starts reading. “‘Protective king behavior.’”
Jake wheezes.
Connor smirks and keeps reading aloud. “‘Daltyn Guyer hard-launching a relationship by sounding ready to kill somebody is somehow exactly what I expected.’”
Cole nearly falls into the wall laughing.
Connor keeps going. “‘She’s with me’ merch coming soon?—”
“Give me the fucking phone.”
He dodges me like a champion fighter.
Peyton’s laughing so hard she has tears in her eyes now.
And despite the absolute disaster currently unfolding inside my cabin, something in my chest loosens.
Because Peyton looks happy. Relaxed. Safe.
My team crowds around the kitchen island, arguing over tweets, while Gram loudly asks Peyton if she prefers gold or silver jewelry “for future planning purposes.”
And standing there watching all of it, I realize something that should probably terrify me.
This doesn’t feel temporary anymore.