Grant’s chest tightened at the reminder, but Silas was right. It wasn’t a real date, Em wasn’t into him, at least, not after that disaster.
Silas put his hand on Finn’s shoulder. “It’s more like when you made Damien take Emmeline out and show her a bad time.”
Finn shrugged off Silas’s hand. “That was different, and you know it. I told Damien to take her out to protect her. That date was meant to turn her off athletes forever.” Finn turned and narrowed his eyes at Grant. “I never asked you to do it.”
Damien. He had to be the guy Em was talking about earlier. And now Grant knew why the date had been such a disaster. Grant’s fists clenched at his sides at the thought. Em looked up to Finn. He was her big brother, and he was manipulating her, not protecting her. And what was Finn’s issue with athletes? He was one, for crying out loud. What kind of captain thought so little of his teammates?
Grant took a deep breath through his nose, hoping to calm himself. He was still the rookie, and Finn was still his captain, misguided as his actions may be.
Grant lifted his chin. “I didn’t know I needed your permission.” Based on the looks on Silas and Bastian’s faces, it was the wrong thing to say—though that wasn’t entirely a surprise to him. He’d known he was dangerously close to doing something stupid.
Finn took a step toward Grant. “If you only knew half the crap she’s gone through. I won’t let anyone hurt her.”
Grant straightened his shoulders. “Anyone but you, you mean?”
Fire flashed in Finn’s eyes. “I’m doing what’s best for her.”
Of course he’d think that. Grant was protective of his sister and had had a perfect childhood compared to what Em and Finn had been through as kids.
But they weren’t kids anymore. Em was capable of making her own decisions. “Have you ever considered you might not be the right person to decide what’s best for her?”
The only hint at what was to come were Finn’s slightly narrowed eyes seconds before his fist connected with Grant’s face. Pain exploded in Grant’s eye and he fell back. His crutches fell away, and his hands circled madly for a few heart-stopping beats. Thankfully, he was close enough to the wall and was able to catch himself before stepping on his ankle and hurting it further. Not that it did anything for the pain that was now radiating through his entire head.
He took a step, using the wall to propel himself forward, and pulled his arm back. Two strong hands grabbed his shoulders and pushed him against the wall before he could swing.
There was a pinched expression on Bastian’s face as he pinned him to the wall and hissed in his ear. “I told you not to mess around with Emmeline, and now you’re provoking Finn? What is wrong with you?”
Grant looked over Bastian’s shoulder at Finn. Silas was holding him back and spoke in hushed tones until Finn relaxed. Though he couldn’t hear what was being said, Grant was sure Silas was trying to talk him down from coming for him again.
Let him come. I won’t be caught off guard the second time.
“And people call me a hothead.” All eyes turned to Vinny sitting on the bench, arms crossed and expression gleeful.
Finn made a growling sound and tried to maneuver around Silas—this time toward Vinny—but the forward held him back.
With Bastian, and everyone else in the locker room, distracted, Grant saw his opening. He would get Finn back, not only for himself, but for Em too. He pulled his shoulder free from Bastian’s grip, but because of his injury, he wasn’t able to get very far before Bastian pushed him back against the wall.
“You need to get a hold of yourself.”
Grant fought for a few seconds before he relaxed against the wall. His teammate was right. He was letting his emotions get the best of him. But after having Em walk out, and then hearing that the one person she felt like she could trust wasn’t as great as she thought, Grant was dangerously close to losing it.
He closed his eyes and took a couple deep breaths.
Bastian gripped his shoulder. “You need to listen to me.”
Grant opened his eyes.
“Do not talk to Finn until he’s had a chance to calm down. Do not go to the autograph session tonight. And for the love of all that is good and holy, do not talk to Emmeline again. Do you understand?”
Grant’s gaze went to Finn.
Bastian squeezed his hand over the tight muscle between Grant’s shoulder and neck. “Do you understand?”
Grant smacked Bastian’s hand off of him and grabbed his crutches. “Yeah, I got it.”
Not that he would actually listen to Finn or Bastian. It was one thing for Em to decide she didn’t want to date, and quite another for Finn to say she was off-limits and sabotage her happiness with his fake date plan. She was a grown woman capable of making her own decisions.
Of course, she might not want to date him, he realized as he walked past the field on his way out of the arena.
But that was something he would need to hear from her mouth before he gave up on her.
Emmeline
After everything that had happened at the game this past weekend, Em had been hoping for an easy week at school. Apparently, that was too much to hope for. She’d never been so relieved for Friday’s dismissal bell. It was officially the weekend, and she kicked it off by crying in her car for fifteen minutes.
Riley, the student whose father recently died, was having a hard time after that morning’s festivities. Not that Em could blame him.
Why did so many schools insist on having Donuts for Dads when there were so many broken families in the world? Sure,
