25. Colt - My Girls

During the press break, I was getting butterfly bandages taped to my split eyebrow when the whole bench started banging their sticks on the boards, going crazy over something that was happening in the stands.

“Woah, woah, woah! Oh my God!” Watson, one of our D-men, yelled.

“Isn’t that Lu? Colt’s daughter?!” Henrik asked.

“Is that Colt’s new lady? She’s a real beauty, eh?” our new rookie, Rossi, asked. “And a fighter, damn!”

My whole body froze in fear. My eyes shot to the trainer in front of me. “What did he just say?”

“Your girls are kicking some ass, Conover!” Carroway, a winger, called out. He cupped his gloves around his mouth and cheered.

Your girls … My girls?

“What the hell is going on?” I pushed the trainer’s hand away and stood, craning my neck to see across the ice.

JP grabbed my jersey and pointed to the jumbotron. “Dude,” he breathed out.

Up on the screen, Mer was wrangling a man double her size, holding him in a chokehold. Lucy kicked his beer down with glee and then stomped on his sign, making the crowd go crazy.

My heart practically beat out of my chest in panic. That man was fucking huge. Where the fuck was security? Why the fuck–

I was halfway over the boards, about to jump out and skate over there, but Kappy grabbed my jersey and yanked me back in the box.

“Security!” I yelled and flung an arm their way, feeling absolutely helpless. “Help them!”

“Help who? Mer? Or the guy?” Kappy laughed, patting my shoulder. “Mer Bear’s about to choke him out.”

My neck snapped back to the jumbotron. He was right… The man’s face was turning a deep shade of red.

Security officers thankfully streamed down the stairs to separate out the brawl, and my chest finally loosened. The officers apprehended the large guy in a Bandits jersey and led him up the stairs while the whole crowd heckled and booed him.

Lucy and Mer were led up the stairs next, but the crowd cheered them on. Shaggy’s Wasn’t Me blasted through the stadium— the same song they played when one of us got a penalty. The jumbotron lit up with a slo-mo replay of the fight. I watched closely as Mer held Lu in her arms and motioned to the aisle, and then like a horrible nightmare-come-to-life, the man shoved her hard, making her almost lose her balance. After that, Mer basically lost her ever-loving mind on him.

“Clearly self-defense,” Kappy said with a shrug.

“Clearly,” JP agreed.

The jumbotron caught a still of Mer’s angry face and wrote underneath it: The Flannel Fighter!

The entire stadium erupted in loud crazy cheers. My whole bench started cracking up laughing.

“Colt’s girls have more fighting minutes than him in this game!” someone called out.

My heart was still beating erratically in my chest, hating that a man even tried to threaten my girls like that.

M y girls. I paused. I kind of loved the sound of that.

Coach came up behind me on the bench and patted me on the shoulder. “They handled that situation pretty well, why don’t you go handle it out there, eh?”

“Yeah, yeah.” I nodded, blowing out a breath of relief. My body coursed with so much adrenaline that I needed to skate right fucking now.

“Let’s go, boys!” Kappy yelled out, clearly feeling it too.

It seemed like Mer and Lu’s fight changed the momentum in the stadium. When they were led back to their seats at the next stop in play, the whole stadium practically gave them a standing ovation.

When the crowd started cheering “flannel fighter,” Kappy’s shoulders dropped. “First game she comes to and she gets a chant? I want a chant.”

I laughed. “Maybe if you score.”

His head snapped to mine. “You think?”

I shrugged.

The next shift out, Watson and JP went for bodies. They blew up a couple of the players and easily fed the puck up to us forwards.

Kappy, Carroway, and I stormed the net for a three-on-one. When the puck hit my stick, I faked a shot and slid it over to Kappy who one-timed it straight to the back of the net.

Kappy immediately jumped into the boards right in front of Lu and Mer, and we all crashed into him to celebrate. Unfortunately, he still didn’t get his own chant.

The game was tied up 2-2 with only a minute left in the third when Coach called a time out.

My line stood out on the ice and the rest of the team gathered around Coach while he drew up a play on his whiteboard.

The Darkness’s I Believe In A Thing Called Love blasted through the rink. Beside me, Kappy kept bumping into me while he sang quietly, using the top of his stick as a microphone.

“Kappy!” Coach barked, his face practically shaking with anger. “Get your head in the game, son!”

Kappy cleared his throat and stood straighter. “Sorry, sir.” He shrugged. “I've got the music in me.”

JP dropped his head. “Dear God.”

I just laughed. “Let’s go boys, let’s get one.”

The next face-off was a struggle, angling my body to ward off their center, I was finally able to kick the puck back to our D. Out of the corner of my eye, Henrik bolted out of the net and headed straight for our teambox. As soon as he jumped the boards, Rossi skate-ran into the zone.

We boxed up, quickly passing the puck and moving in toward the Bandit’s goalie.

Playing the high guy, I caught a pass and was moving in for a shot, but they totally called what we were going to do because two guys immediately flanked me. I struggled hard to keep the puck away from the Bandits because if they got control, they’d easily toss the puck into our empty net to win the game. I finally had a clear pass to JP on defense. My eyes darted to the scoreboard and JP’s must’ve too, because instead of setting up for another play, he sent off a Hail Mary slapshot into the fray in front of the net. Kappy jumped to avoid the puck, it flew under him and sailed right past the goalie’s glove. The puck hit the back of the net right before the buzzer.

Our team went nuts. Guys jumped off the bench and we all celebrated like we’d just won a Stanley fucking cup.

It was honestly one of the most fun games I’d played in a while— all because I wanted to impress my girls. Now that it was over, I couldn’t wait to get back to them.

In the locker room, I denied talking to the press, something management would probably yell at me about next week, but I knew I was going to be hit with a million questions about the “flannel fighter.” Even though I would’ve loved to answer and give my two cents on her excellent fighting form, I had a feeling Mer wouldn’t want any more attention called to the altercation.

As soon as I showered and dressed in my team sweats, I slung a baseball cap on and made a beeline for the player’s family room. Kap and JP trailed after me.

The spacious room was lined with old Whalers memorabilia and tables overflowing with snacks and drinks. Family members all mingled while the little kids played a game of mini-sticks in the middle.

As soon as I entered, Lucy dropped her stick and ran to give me a hug. I scooped her up in my arms and she held my face with her little hands to make sure I was paying her full attention while she told me all about the fight, then she added, “And you did good, too! You missed that first shot though and I was kinda mad, but you made up for it by playing good, so it’s okay. Good work.” She patted my cheek, letting me know I should let her down so she could run free.

As soon as her blue cowboy boots touched the carpet, she ran off to Kappy and JP. They rarely had people show up to games for them, so I think they loved when Lu spent time with them after the game.

Mer rushed at me next. “I am so so sorry,” she said with worried eyes.

I rubbed my jaw to keep a straight face. “I think you may have racked up some Safetysport violations there, ma’am.”

She covered her face. “I think I did! I’m so sorry,” she wailed.

I laughed and pulled her shaky frame into a hug. “I’m not.”

“Violence is never the answer,” she mumbled miserably into my chest, “and I told her that, but I’m sorry that– wait,” she peeked up at me and her nose scrunched. “You’re not?”

“No,” I laughed, brushing a hand down her hair, which she wore in loose pretty waves for the night. “I thought it was great. We all did.”

Her tense body stilled, her eyes darted over my face. “So you’re not mad at me?”

“Mer, he put his hands on you. If I was there, I would've…” I blew out a breath. “I would’ve lost it. I almost did. Kappy had to grab me from jumping over the boards and skating over there myself.” I laughed incredulously. “He was a bully, it’s good to show Lu to stand up to bullies.” My forehead creased. “We should probably elaborate that she should try her best to avoid violence from now on though.”

I kept Mer locked against my chest so she couldn’t see how Lu was basically recreating the fight for Kappy and JP.

“I will say, I think you stole my thunder today.” I chuckled.

She blew out a shaky breath. “I can’t believe that happened. I was holding her and he shoved me and I just… I lost it.” Her blue eyes rounded with worry. “I love spending time with Lu and I feel like I let you down, and I’d totally understand if you didn’t want me to–”

“Mer, I’m not mad.” I ran my hands up and down her back, trying to relax her. “Not gonna lie, it was kind of nice to see your fight come back.”

Her shoulders sagged with relief. She turned slightly so she could watch Lu talking with the guys. She bit her lip. “Maybe I need something worth fighting for.”