Chapter Thirty-Eight
Cooper
Brinley’s getting ready upstairs when I step into the living room. Kade, Talon, and Owen are all there, spread out between the couch and the two chairs, eyes on the screen.
The Kolmont versus the Alder hockey game is on. We’ll likely see both teams if we make it to the playoffs this year.
Big if, with everything going on around the program right now.
I make my way over, dropping onto the arm of the couch. A whistle blows, and the game stops.
I shake my head. “That’s soft.”
Kade snorts. “You say that about every call.”
“Because they’re all soft,” I say, not even looking at him.
Talon glances up at the screen. “He’s right. That one actually was.”
I huff a quiet laugh, but it doesn’t go anywhere.
Owen’s leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, staring at the screen like he’s locked in. He hasn’t said much since I came downstairs.
None of us really have.
I shift my weight, dragging my hand along the back of my neck. “So… that’s it then?”
They all look over at me.
“Coach Dawson is gone,” I add. “Reed tipped off the police chief. His brother’s on leave now. Are we supposed to assume it’s… done?”
Kade lets out a breath and reclines against the couch. “That’s what they’re trying to play it off as. Feels a bit brushed under the rug to me.”
I nod once. “Yeah.”
Talon hooks one arm behind his head. “Feels a little too clean.”
Owen hums in agreement but doesn’t add anything more.
Kade rubs his jaw. “They moved on pretty quick, sliding Glasgow right into the open head coach spot like nothing happened.”
Another whistle cuts through the room. The replay rolls, and the call still doesn’t look right.
I watch it for a second, then lean forward, bracing my forearms on my thighs. “And now they’re bringing Greer in.”
That gets a glance from Talon. “How you feelin’ about that move?”
“I’ve played against him,” I say. “Played with him in juniors for a bit, too. Never been a fan.”
Kade lifts a brow. “Why’s that?”
I shrug. “He’s just… not a team guy. Everything’s about him. Like he thinks he’s owed something. Always been that way.”
Owen leans back a little. “That’ll go over well here.”
I scoff. “Yeah. We’ll see.”
We don’t say much after that. On the TV, the game keeps moving like nothing’s off.
“The media’ll be onto something else by the time we play our next game anyway,” I say after a second.
“It never lasts,” Kade says. “Headline for a day, then they’ve moved on.”
Talon glances over at me. “That’s kind of the goal though, right?”
The room goes quiet again.
Talon shifts slightly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Reed said the same thing earlier.”
I look over at him.
“He doesn’t think it’s over. Stuff like this doesn’t just disappear, you know?”
Owen nods. “It just gets buried.”
Talon exhales.
I push off the arm of the couch and stand, more to stretch my legs than anything. I’m already over the conversation, ready to go upstairs and check on Brinley.
“Brinley got access to the account.”
That gets their attention.
Kade frowns. “What account?”
“The one her mom set up,” I say. “Every payment Dawson made, she had it all put in there instead of spending it. It’s hers now.”
Talon nods once. “That’s good.”
I rub my hand over my shoulder, working out the tension, glancing down at the floor. “She showed me one of the statements.”
Owen’s eyes flick up to mine. “And?”
I hesitate for a second.
“Well, for starters, the deposits didn’t stop. Brinley was surprised by that, because when she showed up at his office, he made it sound like he paid her mom off—like it was a one-time thing tied to the NDA. Not like he’s been paying her ongoing since.”
No one says anything.
“That’s not the only interesting part though…”
Kade straightens a little. “What?”
“The payments are coming from someone I’ve seen mentioned before.”
Talon’s expression tightens. “What do you mean? Where?”
“Pioneer.”
It goes quiet for half a second.
Kade’s brow furrows. “Pioneer… what?”
“Alliance,” Talon says, like it clicks as he says it. His eyes shift toward me. “Pioneer Alliance. That’s what Wren said, right?”
I nod once. “Yeah.”
Owen lets out a low breath. “That’s the same one tied to all that NIL stuff, right?”
“Brighter Futures fed into it,” Kade adds, dragging a hand over his jaw. “Or the other way around. I don’t remember.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Talon says. “It’s the same loop.”
I shift my weight, glancing back at the TV for a second before looking at them again.
Owen’s gaze drops to the floor for a second before he looks back up. “So whoever was paying him…”
“Still is,” I say.
Kade lets out a quiet breath, shaking his head. “And it wasn’t just the governor or Dawson.”
Talon doesn’t say anything right away, just looks down at his hands for a second. “Reed didn’t think it was.”
A whistle blows between us, and I glance toward the screen. Someone gets called for something that doesn’t look like much on the replay. The announcer hesitates, then keeps talking like it makes sense.
“They didn’t clean it up,” Talon says.
I shake my head, but don’t take my eyes away from the screen.
“Whoever’s behind it just made it look like it was handled.”
***
Standing in front of the dresser, I fasten my watch, then grab my cologne and spray it across my neck.
I don’t hear Brinley at first, only the soft click of the door opening behind me. I glance up—
And stop, forgetting everything I was doing.
Brinley stands in front of me, wearing a black floral dress. The colors bring out the color of her hair and the warmth of her skin somehow making her more like herself.
The sleeves fall loose around her arms, and the neckline dips just enough to catch my attention, stopping on the infinity necklace I don’t often get to see.
She shifts her weight when she notices me staring. Correction: gawking at the black over-the-knee boots she’s wearing.
“What?” she asks.
I don’t answer right away. Because I’m trying to remember how words work.
“You’re… dressed,” I say finally.
She laughs softly. “I mean, that was the plan. Right? You told me to get ready for our date night.”
I shake my head, crossing the room with the need to touch her. “Come here,” I mutter.
She barely takes a step before I’ve got my hands on her waist, pulling her into my arms.
Her laugh turns into a soft breath when I kiss her. There’s nothing sweet about it, and I nearly groan at the sound she makes when our lips meet.
My hand slides up to cup her face, brushing her hair back, and she clings to me like she’s trying and failing to hold on. Suddenly, I’m a little less focused on my plans for the night.
“Cooper,” she murmurs when she pulls away from my mouth.
I know what she’s going to say.
We should probably leave. We’re going to be late.
Instead, I kiss her again, a little deeper this time. Like maybe one more will help get it out of my system.
Her fingers curl into my shirt when I pull away enough to look at her.
“You’re staring again,” she whispers.
“Can you blame me? Damn.”
She tilts her head, watching me like she knows exactly what she’s doing to me.
My hands slide down her sides before I catch myself.
I let out a slow breath and step back. “Nope,” I say, shaking my head. “I’m not gonna do this.”
She snickers, crossing her arms. “Do what exactly?”
“I have a plan for tonight,” I tell her.
“And?”
“And I should’ve planned better,” I admit. “Because that dress is making it very hard to stick to it.”
She laughs, and the glint in her eyes nearly knocks me over.
“You’re being ridiculous.”
“Maybe,” I say, grabbing my keys. “But I’m not ruining our first real date I’ve planned for you.”
Her brows lift. “First real date?”
“Yeah.” I nod toward the door. “So try not to distract me with all your…” I wave my hand over her. “Beauty.”
She slips her hand into mine, her smile growing at that. “Okay, I’ll try, but no promises.”
When we get downstairs, the house is louder than it was before. Kade, Talon, and Owen are all still in the living room, and don’t look like they’ve moved a muscle.
They all look up at us at the same time.
Owen’s the first to react, sitting forward. “Well, damn.”
Brinley ducks her head, her hand tightening around mine.
Talon grins. “Look at you two. I’m proud of you, Rowdy.”
Kade shakes his head. “Didn’t think you had it in you, buddy.”
“All right,” I say, steering Brinley toward the door before they keep on razzing me. “That’s enough.”
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Talon calls.
“That doesn’t exactly narrow it down,” Kade mutters under his breath.
I shake my head, pulling the door open. Brinley’s laughing quietly by the time we step outside.
“Ignore them. They’re smart-asses,” I tell her.
I glance down at her, giving her hand a small squeeze.
“But they’re not wrong.”
She peers up at me. “About what?”
“About the fact I got lucky with you.”
Her lips press together, like she’s trying not to laugh. “This ruining our first date is a two-way street, so knock it off.”
I grin and open the passenger door for her.
“Get in the truck.”
She shakes her head and climbs in, smoothing her dress down once she’s settled.
The sun is already dipping low behind the mountains, the sky turning a soft orange that lasts only a few minutes before everything goes dark.
Brinley watches the road for a while before she finally turns to me.
“So,” she says slowly. “Are you really not gonna tell me where we’re going?”
“Nope. You can guess, though.”
She narrows her eyes at me, then starts to glance around like she’s studying the road signs.
We pass a turnoff that leads back toward campus, and I take the road that winds out of town instead. She notices immediately.
“Cooper…”
I keep driving.
“Cooper,” she repeats. “Why are we leaving Rixton?”
“You’ll see.”
The road narrows after a few minutes, and the curves get tighter as we head up the mountain. That’s when it finally starts to click for her.
Her head slowly turns toward me.
“Are we going up the mountain?”
“Maybe.”