Defensive Zone (The Dartmouth Cobras #2)

by Bianca Sommerland

  "No you weren't. You were a father, scared for his little girl."

  "And you were trying to help."

  "I made things worse."

  "No, actually, you didn't." He drew her towards her desk and sat her on the edge. "I hope you don't mind, but I discussed what you went through with Jami. Not that I know much—it didn't seem to matter though. I think it made her feel better that I still loved you, even though you've made some mistakes. She agreed to go to rehab . . . there's a place in Halifax, close to my mother. She said she wants to stay with her grandmother for a bit and get away from the people she was hanging out with here. I offered to take some time off, to help her through this . . . ." He closed his eyes. "She said that would make things worse. Knowing she was taking me away from my job, from you . . . we argued about it for awhile, until she broke down and made me promise not to let her ruin my life like she'd ruined hers."

  Silver stroked his darkly scruffed jaw. "She hasn't ruined her life though. She's young. She'll get past this."

  His lips hardened and he shrugged. "Yes, but she insisted that she could only do that if I let her go. By herself."

  "She won't be by herself. She'll be with your mother."

  Dean laughed. "That's the only reason I agreed. She knows my mother is stricter than I ever was. I'll have to tell you about her one day, but for now, let's just say she handled two 'husbands', their three wives, and ten kids. Without any drama. I didn't have a traditional upbringing, but all my brothers and sisters turned into good, strong people. Because of her."

  "Ten kids?" She had to stop herself from putting her hand over her stomach. It's been a day. Seriously, don't get all panicky. But the words escaped her before she could stop them. "Damn. I can't even picture myself dealing with one."

  His brow furrowed. "Do you want kids?"

  "Maybe." She moved away from him and went back to her chair. "When I'm not so busy."

  "We'll talk again in ten years then." He moved closer when she shuffled through the papers on her desk. "Hey, is everything all right? Or am I just keeping you from your work?"

  "You're not mad at me anymore?"

  "I never was."

  "All right, then everything is perfect." She patted her cluttered desk. "But yeah, you're very distracting. I've got half a mind to throw all this stuff on the floor and—"

  "Bad girl." He chuckled and leaned over to kiss her forehead. "I have a few things to deal with before the Cobras go back on the road. I wish we could have gotten more home games. Are you going to be okay with Landon being gone so much?"

  "I'm going to have to be." And maybe it was for the best. By the time he got back for his first home game, she'd know for sure if . . . .

  Just take the fucking pills!

  But she couldn't. Some part of her had already decided to let the cards fall where they were meant to. And hopefully Landon wouldn't hate her for it. Not that she'd blame him if he did.

  "Something's bothering you."

  Her head shot up. Dean was way too attentive. What if he figured it out?

  He's not a damn mind reader. Relax!

  She smiled and ducked her head. "Not really. You guys have just been spoiling me. I don't know what I'm going to do if I go more than a day without a sore butt."

  "I won't be far, Silver." He gave her a heavy lidded grin. "If you want, we can call Landon every night so I can dole out punishments on his behalf."

  "Umm, how about no freakin' way?"

  "We'll see." He straightened and tugged on his belt. "Okay, if I don't leave now, we will be using this desk and my rules won't count for anything. Spend the night at my place?"

  "Gladly. Mine needs help."

  "Maybe this weekend." Dean loosened his tie and took a big step back. "Just promise me one thing before I go."

  She cocked her head and waited.

  "Promise you'll come to me when you need me. Don't ever be afraid that I'll judge you. I wasn't yesterday, I just—"

  "Let's forget yesterday." She looked into his eyes and saw that he sensed something. She would have to tell him. But not yet. "But I promise."

  After he left, she did her best to get into her work. But she couldn't focus. Something was off. Dean read her well, but she had a feeling he wasn't just guessing.

  Her heart lodged in her throat when she reached for a file and realized her pills were still there, half hidden, but not enough for anyone to wonder what they were. Dean knew she'd missed at least a day.

  He hadn't guessed anything. He knew.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Dean checked the roast in the oven and smiled as Silver came up behind him to whisper in his ear. "Give me something to do. I can't deal with Becky anymore."

  Three weeks without Landon, and he knew Silver wanted him all to herself. And she would've had him, if his flight hadn't been delayed. Silver had actually gotten on her knees and begged him to come with her to Landon's newly restored apartment. Not that he hadn't planned to come anyway, even if he had to invite himself. Losing his best goalie and the woman he loved to a kitchen fire was not an option. It had been awkward, explaining his presence—Landon's subtlety left much to be desired, and Dean didn't know what to do with the cold looks from his father, but after hours on the plane, the very idea of a good meal seemed to compose the man. He'd come into the kitchen once to thank Dean for not letting his son and the 'pampered chick' he'd gotten involved with, poison his family.

  Flattering. Really. The man wasn't much older than he was. It was hard not to lash out when he criticized Silver. But his mother had always told him extended family was something you dealt with when you chose this kind of lifestyle. She had dealt with too many 'in-laws' to count. If all he had to deal with was Delgado, Oriana, and Landon's brood . . .

  He smiled at Silver and pointed to the lettuce on the counter. "Chop that up and toss everything in the small bowls into the salad. If you cut yourself because you get distracted, I'll use the cane on you tonight. Deal?"

  Her lips twisted. "Are you a sadist?"

  "No. But if you wanted one, you should have been nicer to Callahan."

  "Yeah. Fuck you."

  "That's one, Silver. I'm not Landon. We don't have 'off time'."

  "You're such a dick. Really? Are we sticking with office hours?" She pouted and moved away to chop the lettuce. "No time out?"

  "No. And that's two."

  "Why not skip straight to five so I can have some fun?" She attacked the lettuce with the knife as though it needed to be murdered before consumption. "If you wanted me to be scared of the cane, you shouldn't have spent the last two weeks showing me how much I can enjoy it."

  The sound that left him was something between a laugh and a growl. "Keep it up and I'll let Landon cane you."

  "You never hand punishments to Landon." She crunched on a piece of lettuce. "But I suppose the appropriate response is 'oh, please, Master, don't!"

  "Ten. With the tawse." That got her attention. And wiped the smile from her face. "Are you done yet?"

  Lips pursed, she studied his face and shook her head. "You're joking, aren't you?"

  "What makes you think that?"

  "You didn't use the 'Me Dom, you Jane' voice." She yelped and jumped out of reach when he took a swipe at her butt with a wooden spoon. "I'm going to see if anyone wants some pickles."

  "Pickles?" He looked her over. No, it was too soon for cravings.

  She gave him a curious glance before taking a tray out of the fridge. "Yes. Pickles. With little onions and cheese. Appetizers, caveman."

  "Silver." He let his tone drop to the one she took very seriously. "I'm done counting. I expect you to do so for the rest of the night. I enjoy spending time with you, and joking with you, but I won't tolerate insults, even in fun. That is how you play with Landon. Not with me."

  Muttering, her expression a little sulky, she carried the tray to the door. "Yes, Sir."

  Shaking his head, he went to finish making the salad. Sometimes he wondered if he should just let h
er take her little verbal jabs, but he didn't like the idea of a relationship where they were continuously cursing at each other and calling each other names. It wasn't as if she wasn't capable of speaking to him with the same amount of respect he gave her.

  Actually, he couldn't remember the last time she'd gotten mouthy with him. Before Landon went on the road trip, perhaps. It was entirely possible that she was acting out because she was nervous.

  Dean put on some vegetables to steam and went to slice some bread for the table. He heard laughter from the dining room and set down the knife. Standing in the doorway, he watched Landon's family, enjoying their comfortable interactions, wondering, briefly, where Silver had disappeared to.

  Adam Bower, Landon's father, raised his beer to his lips and grinned at his daughter. "Relax, Becky. Casey can't hear, she's teaching Silver all about the Little Mermaid. We're all adults." He turned to his son. "I ever tell you about the couple fooling around in the woods, Landon?"

  "Dad!" Becky let out a huff and looked to her mother. "Can't you stop him? I hate it when he tells dirty jokes at the table!"

  "Becky, you know very well I can't stop him once he gets going. And besides, I don't want to." Erin Bower patted her daughter's hand. "It never bothered you until you got married. You're divorced now and we do not have to deal with that stuck up bastard anymore. Let your father have some fun."

  "Can't we discuss something normal? Like politics?" Becky glanced over at Dean and turned red. "The weather?"

  "We can always discuss your interview with Scott Demyan." Dean moved into the room to take a seat beside Landon. "I never did get any details. I hope he was . . . cooperative?"

  The red spread from Becky's cheeks right up to her hairline and down her throat. "He was fine. So you were saying, dad—about the couple—"

  "Scott Demyan is a fine looking man." Erin sighed dreamily, no hint on her face that she was concerned of her husband's reaction. "I would hope that his reputation is exaggerated if you're interested in him, though."

  "I'm not." Rebecca glared at her brother when he laughed and, through the corner of his eye, saw her kick Landon under the table. "We came to meet your new woman. Shouldn't she be in here with the grownups?"

  "Tell me you weren't grateful that she took Casey out of your hair for a bit. You were doing the zombie-mom thing." Landon smirked at his sister, cutting her off before she could protest. "But I really don't want to talk about Demyan. He comes near you, I'll kill him. Point final. I'm curious about the joke, dad."

  "That bad, ey?" Adam frowned over his beer bottle at his daughter and nodded. Then a broad grin broke over his face. "All right, so the couple are getting it on in the woods. After about fifteen minutes, the man curses and says 'I wish I had a flashlight.'. The woman pulls away and says, 'Me too! You've been eating grass for ten minutes!'"

  Landon snorted. Rebecca groaned.

  Dean chuckled. "All right, supper is almost ready."

  "You did all the cooking, let me serve." Rebecca bounded from the table before he could reply and called back. "Get Silver and Casey!"

  Exchanging a look with Landon, Dean headed to the living room. Landon followed him and they both stood just in the entrance, grinning like fools as they watched her applying bright red lipstick to the little girl's lips.

  She held up a compact mirror for Casey to take a look. "You like?"

  "Perfect!" The child pursed her lips, then giggled. "Do you think the hockey guys will think I'm pretty?"

  "For sure! But don't worry about impressing them, they'll all be old men by the time you're old enough to date." Silver leaned close and spoke in a stage whisper. "If I were you, I'd hold out for their sons."

  Casey nodded, her face suddenly serious. "Gotcha."

  "Silver, how about you come eat before you corrupt my niece." Landon stepped forward and held out his hand. "We've got about an hour before I have to hit the ice for warm up."

  "Okay." Silver latched onto his hand and hopped to her feet, pulling Casey along with her. "You know, I was a little nervous about tonight, but your family is awesome. I'm glad I came."

  I'm glad you met his before mine. Dean followed the trio back to the dining room, his lips twitching up as they let Casey take a seat between them. Landon served Casey's plate while Silver spread a napkin over the little girl's lap. For a moment he wondered at his lack of resentment. If his suspicions were correct, how much of this aspect of their lives could he really share with them? Would he always be on the outside, looking in?

  Maybe, but he wanted Silver happy. And he would find his place with them.

  He pulled out the chair at Silver's other side, sat, then covered her hand with his under the table. She gave him a hesitant smile.

  "Guess what, mommy!" Casey stuffed a big piece of roast in her mouth and spoke around it. "Remember the mean girl in daycare?"

  Rebecca circled the table, laying out the salad and bread basket. "We don't speak with our mouth full, Casey."

  "Sorry, mommy." Casey quickly swallowed and continued, obviously excited. "Silver told me how to deal with her!"

  "Oh?" Rebecca paused at her daughter's side. "How?"

  "Put gum in her hair!"

  Adam barked out a laugh and his wife used her napkin to smother her own. Landon coughed.

  Dean watched Silver's face. And smiled at the calm look she gave Rebecca.

  "It worked for me."

  "Casey, Silver was joking." Rebecca frowned at Silver. "Weren't you?"

  Silver's brow furrowed. "No. Why should she have to put up with the nasty brat?"

  Rebecca sputtered.

  "Casey, honey." Erin composed herself and smiled at her granddaughter. "What do you think your teacher would do if you put gum in someone's hair?"

  Casey pouted and scooted closer to Silver. "She'd put me in the naughty corner."

  "You don't want that, do you?"

  "No."

  "Well then, maybe you can just speak to your teacher." Erin sat back and arched a brow at Rebecca. "And if mommy doesn't have time to go with you, I will."

  "Thank you, mother." Rebecca shuffled to the other end of the table and picked up the bottle of wine she'd opened earlier to let breathe. "I can handle it."

  Dean thanked Rebecca after she filled his glass, then watched with interest as she moved to fill Silver's.

  Silver put her hand over her glass and shook her head. "No thank you. I'm fine with water."

  Landon choked. His fork hit his plate.

  That answers that. Dean eyed Landon as his father thumped his back hard. Congratulations, buddy.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Titanium cage bars disappeared from Landon's vision as the puck dropped. Warmup scarred ice spread out before him and his mind locked on the play as Callahan swept the puck towards Mason. The puck thumped into Mason's dropped glove.

  Fuck yeah. Landon pushed his mask up and grinned at Ramos, who'd circled back to guard his left flank. "That didn't take long."

  "Yeah, the fucker." Ramos jerked his chin towards Mason as he rounded the Sabres' captain, Nelson, his bared teeth flashing white as the snow on the ice in his dark face. "We flipped for it. I get the next one."

  Considering the way the last game had ended against the Sabres, Landon had no doubt there would be a few fights. The first one would dictate the tone for the rest of the night.

  "He's a clean fighter." Ramos remarked as Mason tossed his helmet. "This is good."

  "Not sure about that." Landon sprayed some water into his mouth and scowled as Nelson spun out of reach, his own helmet still secured on his head. "Not against that dirty asshole."

  Then again, Landon hadn't seen Mason fight. And a lot of people would say him taking off his helmet was cocky and stupid. But Mason was a big guy. Maybe he was just evening things out.

  Not that Nelson stands a chance of beating Mason. Landon smirked as Nelson took a wide swing, then danced out of reach. The man would be lucky to get in a single punch.

  The refs inched cl
oser, speaking to the men, obviously ready to end the 'fight' since nothing had happened. Before Nelson could evade him again, Mason lurched forward, snatched a handful of his jersey. His fist clipped Nelson's jaw. Nelson bowed his head and drove into Mason's chest, taking away Mason's advantage of a wide swing. Mason's feral smile practically invited the swift uppercut from Nelson. A fucking gift.

  Mason ended the fight with two quick jabs and pulled Nelson's jersey over his head. The refs wrenched them apart and directed them both to the penalty boxes.

  Back to center ice. The players took their positions and Landon slapped his helmet into place. He skidded from side to side, then bent his knees and centered himself. Here we go. Now it starts for real.

  Unfortunately, Ramos proved to be a goddamn wall, and didn't let the opposition get anywhere near the net. Landon kept himself sharp for the first five minutes, reading the plays, calling out warnings when his teammates left themselves vulnerable for nasty hits, but hell, the net could have been empty and it wouldn't have made a difference.

  He moved just to keep his blood pumping. But his mind wondered.

  Water. Did you seriously freak because she asked for water?

  This was the girl he'd caught having rum for breakfast.

  Doesn't mean anything.

  Like hell it didn't. He and Silver needed to have a little chat.

  A full line change. Landon hardly noticed.

  You've been gone for weeks. She didn't say anything when you called. She would have if . . .

  The rookie defenseman, Owen Stills, missed a pass. The Sabres attacked, smoothly snapping the puck back and forth. The Cobras scrambled to recover.

  Shot. Rebound. Landon dived to cover the puck and it slipped out from under his pad.

  And was tucked into the net behind him.

  Faceoff. As soon as the puck hit the ice, the Sabres forward skipped it to his defense. Stills managed to intercept a pass, but then he iced the puck, trapping his line on the ice.

  Maybe she's trying to clean up. She did tell you about the coke. Dean's reaction was enough to set her straight.

  Landon hunched down and clenched his jaw.