Defensive Zone (The Dartmouth Cobras #2) (19 page)

"It was a late hit." Landon's lips quirked.
So she
had
been paying attention. "But if the refs don't see
it, it doesn't count."

Minutes later, the ref blew the whistle.

"Bullshit!" Silver stood and approached the
glass, pointing like she was condemning the ref to the farthest
reaches of hell. Adorable in all her indignant fury. "You said
offside was when the player crossed the blue line before the puck!
He didn't!"

"The left winger did."

"He did not! I was watching!" She put her
hands on her hips. "I don't like these refs. Let's get new
ones."

Inwardly, Landon roared with laughter.
Outwardly he managed a straight face. "We don't get to choose the
refs, mignonne. And besides, that was the linesman."

"Oh . . . can we fire them?"

"No. The officials don't work for the team,
they work for the league." He patted the seat beside him and draped
his arm over her shoulder when she sat. His mouth watered as he
caught her scent. The woman always smelled like flowers and candy.
"If you're getting this worked up now, imagine what you'll be like
during the regular season. This is nothing."

"I'm going to need a prescription for
Prozac." She shot off the sofa as though a spring had propelled
her. "That hit was bad. You said hitting the numbers—oh no! What if
he's out for the season? He looks like he's hurt!"

Landon stood and moved to her side. Carter
again. Not surprising, the kid had been chirping the entire game.
But he got to his feet without any help and made it to the bench.
"He's fine. And look, Pledich is headed for the box."

"He should be thrown out!" She glanced over
her shoulder as the assistant general manager snorted. "What's so
funny?"

"Nothing, ma'am." The man pushed his glasses
up with his thumb and went back to his paperwork, muttering. "Women
don't get it."

"
You
I can fire." Silver bared her
teeth and jerked on the hem of her white suit jacket. She turned to
Landon. "I don't get it. I'm the owner, but I have no say over what
goes on down there?"

Damn, can I take the fifth?
"That's
not
entirely
true."

"Then how can I make this team better? It
doesn't take a genius to know they're not doing good. Five goals in
ten shots. Is that normal?"

Okay, maybe it would be better if she
hadn't been paying attention.
His answer wouldn't satisfy her
and her passion was driving him to distraction. "Non, mon chou, but
we're playing a goalie from the minors against one of the best
lineups in the league. We'd be doing better if I was out
there—"

"You said these games don't count."

"They don't."

"And we need you playing your best during
real
games."

"True."

"Then sit down and shut up!" She faced the
glass and threw her hands in the air. "What's wrong with him? We
don't need a penalty now!"

Dominik Mason headed to the box after an
interference hit on Pledich. The crowd roared and stomped their
feet.

"Idiots!" Silver spat like an angry little
cat. "Why are they cheering?"

"It's very hard to explain anything while
you're fuming over every call, Silver." Landon hooked his fingers
to the pockets of her slacks and pulled her back to the sofa.
Beside him only after he thought better of placing her on his lap.
"Take a seat. Breathe. And listen."

Silver's whole body trembled with agitation,
but as she turned and lifted her gaze to his, something inside her
seemed to latch onto his calm. She settled down beside him and
folded her hands on her lap.

"Okay. I'm listening."

Landon smiled and tapped her nose. "There's a
good girl. Now, one thing you have to understand about hockey, even
if you can't fully grasp anything else, is that it's not just about
scoring, or even winning. Of course, that's important too, but
pride and respect stay with you even if you're with a team that
can't contend for The Cup—"

"But—"

"Don't interrupt." His eyes narrowed slightly
at her huff. It took everything he had not to latch on to her token
submission. But he barreled on. "When you're out there on the ice,
you've got to be able to trust that the other men have your back.
For passes, or, if you're a goalie, to keep your line of sight
clear. Works better if you're all gelling. That also means if
someone takes a cheap shot, you're going to want to make them pay.
Having every guy on the team going for revenge would be a mess, but
that's kinda Dominik's job. I think he'd do it anyway, but at least
the other teams know they won't get away with targeting our
players." He shook his head and watched Carter skate by the
opposition's bench, getting just close enough while he chirped to
tempt them to make a grab for him.
Punk!
"Whether they
deserve it or not."

"So this is what you consider a good
penalty?" Silver held her tongue between her teeth and tilted her
head slightly. "Like when that defense guy got a tripping
penalty?"

She's catching on
. He nodded. "Yes,
exactly. You've got to know the rules. And you've got to know when
to break them."

The door to the owner's box opened and Landon
glanced over distractedly to see who'd come in. His eyes widened as
he watched his sister stride towards him, her eyes spitting
fire.

"Tu es stupide! Tu mériterais une claque en
pleine face!"

Silver scrambled to her feet when it looked
like Becky might slap him like she'd threatened to in French.
"Excuse me, who are you?"

"Miss Delgado, I appreciate you forcing my
brother to stay off the ice, but this is between me and him." Becky
gnashed her teeth together in the way she did whenever she got
really mad. The sound made the hairs on the back of his neck stand
on end. He stood before she could shove Silver aside and she
latched onto the collar of his shirt. "Suis-moi."

"Non. Calme toi un petit peu." He pried her
fingers loose and held a finger up to Silver as he drew his sister
to the back of the room, speaking low in their birth language.
"What are you doing here? Where's Casey?"

"Staying with mom and dad. And by the way,
you're lucky I didn't tell mom why I came down or she would be here
beating you upside the head for being such a moron!" Her voice rose
and she ignored his efforts to quiet her. At least no one could
understand what she was saying. She cracked him upside the head and
kept ranting. "Who leaves the kitchen while they're cooking? You
could have died! I can't lose you!"

Landon pulled her into his arms and let her
stifle a sob against his chest. "I'm okay. And I'm sorry I scared
you. I swear I'll be more careful from now on."

She sniffed and shook her head. "It only
takes once. Just once. You don't always get lucky."

A massive fist took hold of his heart and
squeezed. It wasn't surprising that Becky was this upset. She was
the most level headed person he knew, but something like this would
trigger all too recent memories. She'd almost lost her daughter
because her now ex had left their toddler alone in the bath 'to
play' while he entertained his new girlfriend.

Patrick had called her from the hospital and
Becky had called Landon on the way there, almost falling apart as
she asked him to join her because she wanted him to take her
husband out like the trash he was. Landon had no problem with that.
Yes, accidents happened, but that wasn't the first time he'd
neglected his daughter for a piece of ass.

"Becky, look at me." He dried her tears from
her face with his palms and kissed her cheeks. "Would it make you
feel better to slap me a few times?"

Becky let out a watery laugh. "Yes, but I
won't." She stood back and looked him over. "Are you sure you're
all right? No burns?"

"Well?" Landon lifted his bandaged hand.
"Just a little one, but that happened before the fire."

"Ugh." She gently took his hand in hers and
shook her head. "Swear to me you'll never try to cook again. Either
order out or find someone to do it for you." Her nose wrinkled as
she glanced over at Silver who was pretending not to watch them.
"Just not her."

"Hey, for all you know, she's a great
cook!"

"Really? Well, then, how about I bring mom
and dad and Casey down for your first home game. She can cook us
supper and convince me that she won't kill you." Becky reached into
her purse and brought out some tickets. "That would make me feel
much better."

"But we're not—"

"Make your big sister happy and don't argue."
She elbowed past him and approached Silver, switching fluidly to
English. "Sorry about that. I was on the phone when the fire
started and I had a mini panic attack." Her hand jutted out and
Landon winced as her nails dug into the back of Silver's hand. "We
haven't been properly introduced. I'm Rebecca Bower."

"Silver Delgado." To Silver's credit, she
didn't even wince. A pleasant mask slipped over her features and
she arched a brow at Landon as he joined them. "I freaked a little
when Landon told me he burned down his apartment, so I can only
imagine how you felt."

"Yes, well thank you for taking care of
him."

"He's a good investment."

"I'm glad you think so." Becky finally
released Silver's hand and gave her a tight smile. "I hope you
don't mind, but the family will be coming down in a few weeks to
watch Landon's play, and he said you can cook, so we'll be swinging
by for an early dinner before the game."

"I never—" Landon snapped his lips together
at Silver's glare, then tried again. "Becky—"

"That would be wonderful." Silver eyed the
rink and cleared her throat. "I look forward to meeting your
parents."

"Good." With a curt nod, Becky turned away
from Silver and reached out to give Landon a stiff hug. "I have to
catch my flight. I feel much better knowing you're okay and in good
hands. See you in October."

"You want me to drive you to the airport?"
Landon followed his sister to the door and held it open for her.
"I'm not really busy."

"I'll be fine. And I have a feeling she needs
you here." Becky's lips quirked as Silver made an aggravated sound
at another 'bad call'. "She's really clueless, isn't she?"

"She's learning."

"I thought you had better taste."

"Did you?" He stared at her until she looked
away. She knew better than to assume that after his last
relationship. "Really?"

"Okay, okay, you're right. But . . . Silver
Delgado? Seriously?" She flattened her hand on his chest. "What the
hell are you going to do with a girl like that?"

Her presumptions irked him, because no matter
what she thought, he and Silver were just friends. But even worse,
she didn't think Silver was worthy of him.

He bent down and whispered. "I hated Patrick,
but I never judged you for being with him. He was a mistake, but he
was your choice. I get that you're gun shy, but you don't even know
her and you're not being fair."

Becky nodded slowly. "So you're saying she's
not a mistake?"

A mistake? No. The only mistake is not
making her mine.
"I've known her less than a week, but I can
tell you, right now, any man would be lucky to have her."

"Okay. I'll take your word for it." Becky
sighed and patted his chest. "Just don't be as stupid about her as
you were about cooking bacon."

"I won't."
Liar!
He clenched his fist
against the door. "Have a safe trip home."

After his sister left, he returned to
Silver's side, his palms itching to touch her even though he knew
he shouldn't. Silver solved that problem by slipping her hand into
his.

"Dominik did it again." She smiled up at him.
"And this time, I got it."

I knew you would.
He pulled her back
against his chest and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin
lightly on the top of her head as they observed the rest of the
play in silence.
I just wish that I got you.

After the game, Silver strolled down the
short hall away from the concession stands and groaned as Landon
broke off a piece of his huge pretzel and held it to her mouth. The
man couldn't seem to stop feeding her! Every time they hung out,
her strict, self-imposed diet took a nose dive out the closest
window. But the approving smile he gave her was worth every pound
she'd have to burn.

Stepping lightly, she pictured the game in
her head and chewed fast. "You know, even though we lost, I think
we played pretty good. I mean those two last minute goals were . .
. ."

"Sweet." Landon fiddled with his tie and
undid the top button of his off-white shirt. "If they hadn't
disallowed the last one, we would have tied it up. I think we've
got a strong season ahead of us."

"With you in net?" Silver tugged him past the
elevator, towards the stairs. "We would have buried them! And we're
going to bury all the other teams!"

"You haven't seen me play yet, mignonne." He
held the door open for her and followed her down the first flight.
"For all you know, I'm horrible."

"I doubt that." Reaching the door to the main
floor, she stopped and turned to fix his new grey tie. His fans
would be out there. He had to look perfect. Her lips twitched up as
she ran her gaze over his barely-there brown hair and his charming
smile surrounded by a scruffy shadow.
He always looks
perfect.
She gulped as his gaze turned knowing and her pulse
quickened. "That word, 'mignonne', what does it mean?"

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Cutie."

"Ah."
Open door. Keep moving.
She
backed up and this time held the door open for him. "And
'chou'?"

"Cabbage," he said, hooking his arm through
hers to lead her through the parting crowds.