Page 83 of Hard to Get

“Yeah.” He contemplates me. “That’s pretty much what he said.”

“So what’s your plan?”

He tells me what he talked to the assistant coach about and how the coach is coming up with a plan to work on positioning and strength. “And I’ll be working out more. Increasing my lower body strength.”

“That sounds…” Oh, come on. I’m ready to cry again. What is going on? Oh wait. My period is due, like, tomorrow. That must be it. “That’s great.” I drag a smile up from my toes. It’s not a fake smile, though. I’m really pleased that he’s using all the data I gave him.

He talks about the road trip and when he comments about the dismal vibe in the dressing room, I ask, “What do you think that’s about?”

He looks around the restaurant as if there might be local sports reporters hiding behind a wall. “I can trust you, right?”

“Of course.” My forehead pinches.

“There are already rumours starting about why things are going so shitty for us. Some doofus reporter from Nashville was asking questions after the game last night.”

“Ohhh. I would never say anything to anyone else.”

He nods. “I do trust you.”

Jesus. My heart is getting a workout here.

“There’s some kind of problem between Bish and Sammy. Some of us have noticed it. It’s both of them. Last season, Sammy wasn’t playing great. Turned out he had a knee injury. He rehabbed it over the summer, but this season… he’s still not playing like he can. I think Bish is pissed about it. There are times he won’t pass Sammy the puck even though he’s wide open. And Sammy’s pissed about that. Even though there are times he’s not great at entering the zone with the puck. He gets knocked off the puck too easily.”

I listen, nodding.

“So I get why Bish is pissed. And Sammy, too. He says he’s tried to talk to Bish and it doesn’t go well. We all know Bish has a short fuse. The other night after we lost, they were glaring at each other in the room.”

“Yikes.”

“Yeah. Everyone feels it, even though we don’t know exactly what’s going on. I don’t know what to do about it.”

“It should be your coach doing something about it.”

“I know. But he’s not. I’m afraid he doesn’t even realize what’s going on.”

I narrow my eyes. “He’s not a good coach if he doesn’t.”

“Coaches don’t know everything.” Then he gets a look on his face that suggests he might be experiencing a bad case of food poisoning, and adds with a touch of bitterness, “Or sometimes, they don’t want to.”

What does that mean? “Maybe you should talk to him about it? Tell him how you feel?”

He lets out a short breath. “Yeah. I’ve thought of it. It’s just…”

I wait.

“Sometimes, that can cause more problems,” he finishes enigmatically.

“Well. Tension between players can really affect everyone else on the team.”

“Except Finn.” A hint of a smile touches Jayden’s lips. “That guy is so positive all the time.”

“He’s in the NHL. He’s just happy to be there.” I grin.

“True. But I wish we could keep that feeling for him.”

“Yes.” I admire how he cares about his team and his teammates. Despite their problems.

He walks with me back to my office after lunch, pausing outside the big glass front doors of the building. “Will you be walking Betty later?”