3. Caspian

three

Caspian

" T he three of you are a disgrace to the Norse uniform. I'm giving you thirty days to clean up your act on and off the ice. If you can't do it, I'll find somewhere worse than a goat farm in Iowa for the three of you to go."

There is no way I'm going back to living on a goat farm, or any farm for that matter. I might have been a child when my parents and I left our family goat farm in Norway all those years ago to move to the United States, but I still remember the long hours of raising goats.

"Sorry, Coach." we all mumble at the same time.

"You know it wouldn't be bad if you were just fighting with the other teams, but you're fighting with your own teammates during the games. I can't have that, and since I promised Cassi I would give you guys another chance, you better not screw it up."

"Yes, sir." We all reply.

"Cassi told me all about Hadley, and even though I don't agree with the plan, I can't stop you from doing whatever you want to do on your own time as long as it's not illegal or bad for the team's image. And since this team seems to be set on having more than one guy date one woman, I can't complain about all of you dating Hadley at the same time, but I can kick your asses off the team if you cross the line and drag the team's name through the mud. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir." Now, the three of us sound like broken records, agreeing with the coach to avoid being yelled at or, worse, kicked off the team.

"Now get out of my sight." Coach waves us out of his office, and we each take off in a different direction.

I'm not sure if Barnett and Holden are ready to talk about what we've gotten ourselves into with Hadley, but I sure as hell know, I'm not.

"Hey, Caspian, you have a minute?" I turn around at the sound of one of our team owners' voices, only to come face to face with the other two owners as well. "I hope Coach Davis wasn't too hard on you." Colt continues, "We were hoping to catch Billings and Hill also and thank all of you for sticking up for Gemma and Heidi a couple of weeks ago."

"No big deal. Those guys were being dicks, and we put them in their place." I shrug until I remember Gemma is their girlfriend and new head ice girl since Tiffany, the former head ice girl, was let go last week.

"Well, it's a big deal to us. No one should have to put up with the things they were saying to Gemma and Heidi. I'm glad the three of you took care of it." He looks between his two friends. "We do have a favor to ask. Gemma has an ex-boyfriend who plays for one of the rival teams, but she won't tell us which team. All we know is his first name is Brock. There's a Brock Billings on the Indiana Freeze team who we are playing in a couple of days—he's Barnett's older brother, so I don't think it's him, but just in case, try and find out what you can from Barnett about him."

"Sure." I nod.

Fuck, the last thing I want is to get involved with family shit. Barnett is a decent enough guy; I can't imagine he'd have a dick for a brother.

"Thanks, that means a lot to us. We love Gemma, and we'll do whatever it takes to keep her safe." Colt's tone sounds more like a warning than just a concerned boyfriend.

"Got it." I nod again, making eye contact with each of them as a sign of respect for their love of Gemma.

They return my nod before turning away and walking down the hallway, leaving me standing by myself, wondering what it would be like to love someone so fiercely that you would protect them at all costs.

I think about my failed past relationships, realizing I never would have fought to keep any of them, unlike Colt, Jensen, and Beck, who looked ready to kill anyone who hurt their girl.

That's another thing. As obsessed with Gemma as they all are, how are they okay with sharing her? It doesn't seem right, but I've seen them together, and it works. Hell, it works for all of them: Teagan, her brothers, and their uncle.

A vision of Hadley Ford pops into my head, and I smile. If anyone asked me who my celebrity pass would be, it would be her. When my parents and I first moved to the U.S., my English wasn't the best, nor was my tutor. The guys would laugh if they knew I learned English from watching Hadley's sitcoms.

But now, years later, you can't even detect the hint of an accent, all thanks to the hours I spent practicing my English by watching Hadley. Agreeing to this fake dating scheme is my way to repay Hadley for playing such a big role in my life. I'm not sure I'll be able to keep my hands off of her now that I'll be spending so much time with her.