Georgia felt a tremor just remembering the awful sound Leo had made. She never wanted to hear it again. “There was a misunderstanding,” she said, her throat so dry it felt like it might crack in half. “Doulie studies tae kwon do, too. We were talking about one-step sparring for his belt test. So I let him drop me onto the mats. And Leo was quite a ways down the hall. I mean . . . what he saw was O’Doul grabbing me and throwing me to the ground.”
Her father flinched. “Jesus Christ. And he thought O’Doul just grabbed you? Is that really logical?”
Georgia hesitated. She’d seen the look on his face, and it would haunt her. “I’m not sure logic was possible just then. His reaction was more, uh, visceral.”
Her dad clasped his hands together on the desk and frowned. “He panicked.”
“Daddy, he freaked. It was terrifying—for him as well as O’Doul.”
“And how about for you?” her father asked quietly.
Georgia suppressed a shiver. “I’ll be fine. But I think . . .” She sighed. “You and I never talk about my awful year, right?”
Her father winced, then nodded his acknowledgment.
“Well, at the time, Leo was my rock, you know? He stuck close, and he was one of the people who got me through it. But I think it affected him, too.” It filled her with shame to realize she’d never understood it, either. “I think he’s still hurting.”
Her father grunted, then rolled his toothpick from one side of his mouth to the other. That was all the acknowledgement she was going to get on the subject, and it made her temper flare.
“Daddy, I have no clue what you’ve got against Leo, and I really haven’t wanted to get into it with you. But I swear to God—if you’re going to trade him to Vancouver, you should man up and clear the air with him first. He’s not some stranger you can just toss away.”
Her father’s eyes narrowed. “Trades are none of your business, little lady.”
“Right,” Georgia snapped. “So send me to my room and ground me for what I’m about to say. You can pretend that you’ve given him the same chance as everyone else on the team, but we both know that’s bullshit.” She stood up suddenly, startling both of them.
“Honey,” her father said, “hold on a fucking second. I’m sure Leo is a good man. But he’d be better on someone else’s team. Somewhere he doesn’t have history.”
Her stomach dove off a cliff. Without a parachute. “That is not fair. His only history is being good to both of us.”
“I think your memory is selective,” her father said quietly.
“How so? Just spit it out, would you? What is your issue with him?”
Her dad shook his head. “I don’t trust him, and that is a perfectly valid reason to send him packing. I need to trust every guy wearing the team sweater. And since he’s landed here, he’s tangled with me and he’s tangled with O’Doul. That’s not good for morale.”
Georgia gasped. “That’s crap, Coach. You greeted Leo with a snarl on his first day, and you want to blame the tension on him? That’s really mature. Maybe I’d be better off working for a different team, too.”
“Honey . . .”
“Don’t,” she warned. “I love this job. I’ve been very happy here. But if you trade Leo to Vancouver, don’t be too startled if I go with him.” She took a step and grabbed the door handle.
“What?” Her father’s voice was full of shock. “Georgia! Get back here. Don’t storm out of here like a teenager.”
She gave him a glare over her shoulder. “You’re in no position to tell me that my behavior is immature.”
At that she left the room and slammed the door with a bang.
THIRTY-TWO
Leo lay on the table, irritated with everyone and everything. He closed his eyes and tried to relax.
Who knew that losing your shit was so exhausting? He closed his eyes for a moment. But when he next opened them, he realized he’d nodded off. Leo sat up fast, his heart hammering. What the hell time was it? His watch said 3:30. He let out a breath. There were still four hours until the puck dropped. That wasn’t so bad.
Someone was tapping on his door, too. As his heart rate descended, he realized that the knocking had probably woken him up. “Come in,” he croaked.
The door opened to reveal Georgia, her soft face looking in at him with concern in her eyes. Shit. The last time he’d seen Georgia, he’d watched someone drop her to the ground . . . Again, his stomach rolled.
“Hi,” she said softly. “Can I come in?”
“Yeah. Of course you can.” He sat up a little straighter, knocking the blanket aside. He hated how weak he’d looked today. A man wasn’t supposed to have trouble keeping his shit together, no matter what.
But then Georgia was standing in front of him, her sweet eyes taking him in, her expression cautious. “Hey,” he said, his voice cracking. Because even though she was perfectly fine, he was too raw inside to believe it. He could still see her body tilt off center, overpowered by an unseen attacker . . . His eyes were suddenly, uncomfortably hot. It didn’t make a lick of sense that he’d associate it with a crime from years ago that he’d never seen and couldn’t have prevented.
Breathe, Leo ordered himself.
“Honey,” Georgia said softly. She stepped up between his knees, put both her hands on his face.
There was nowhere to run. He closed his eyes, a new tremor rippling through his chest. The fact that someone had once hurt her was like a knife through his heart. His precious girl. She had been vulnerable to a fucking psychopath, and there wasn’t a fucking thing he could do about it.
Leo reached for her, pulling Georgia to his chest. He took a deep breath, but it hitched on the way in. And the sound escaping him was way too much like a sob.
She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed while Leo fought for control. And lost. He buried his face in her neck while his eyes sprouted faucets. “I’m sorry,” he choked. “I’m just . . .” Losing my fucking mind.
“I love you so much,” Georgia whispered. “Everything is going to be okay.”
There were no guarantees, though. He’d learned the hard way already that he could bust his ass all day and all night until he was the strongest, most competent punk on the planet and it could all go to hell in a hot second. The more you had, the more there was to lose. He’d spent the last six years trying to forget that. But the truth hurt like a bitch.
He’d never stop trying, though. He’d do whatever it took to keep her safe and happy. If it could be done, he’d do it.