Worth The Shot (The Bannister Brothers #2) Read Online Free Page B

ease up a little on the fighting. Unfortunately, nobody told the other team.
    They were down in the last game, and things had gotten heated between his brother and another player on the opposing team. Bane should have let it go. Should have backed off. But it was his little brother. He couldn’t stand by and let that asshole whale on him.
    The fight hadn’t really been as bad as the coach made it out to be. Broken noses just tend to bleed a lot. But the blood on the ice and covering his knuckles didn’t help his case when the coach came down on him.
    He knew his coach would ream him, but he hadn’t been prepared for him to trade him. And certainly not to St. Louis, one of Colorado’s biggest rivals. But it was better him than Owen.
    He could handle the change and the new team easier than sending his brother into the lion’s den. And the head lion sat across from him now.
    Coach Steve Cavanaugh had been with the St. Louis Blueshirts for ten years. He was loved and respected and known for not putting up with crap from his team.
    He checked his watch and looked down his nose at Bane. “I value promptness in my players. And professionalism. I have to say, showing up thirty minutes late looking like you slept in your shirt and smelling like alcohol doesn’t make the best first impression.”
    “I apologize, sir. My flight was delayed. It won’t happen again.”
    Not only had their flight been delayed, their baggage had taken forever. Addison had been clearly stressed about being late, fidgeting and craning her neck to see the next bag that fell onto the luggage carrier. Thankfully, her bag had come out early.
    All the easy intimacy that they’d had in the plane seemed to end as the lights came on and the passengers filed out of the plane. They’d walked together to the baggage claim area, but didn’t talk much, except to complain about the snow and how late they were. He’d told her that he’d like to call her, and she’d hurriedly scribbled her number on a scrap of paper from her purse then given him an awkward hug before racing out of the terminal.
    He’d had to wait not only for his luggage, but his equipment, and had been dismayed to find out his stick had been broken on the turbulent flight. Granted, it was a practice stick, but he’d still had to take the time to fill out a damage claim and get a car rented.
    He finally got his car and his equipment loaded, only to find that the storm and the snow had slowed the morning traffic to a crawl.
    Overall, not a great impression to make on his first day.
    The coach studied him, his eyebrows knitted together in an angry expression. “Look, your coach is a friend of mine. We go way back. And he’s vouched for you. But make no mistake, this is a trial period for you. I’ve seen you play, and I know you have skills, but I also know you have a reputation for being a hothead and not always the most responsible guy.”
    As the oldest brother, he was actually very responsible. But early in his NHL days, he had been a little wild. He was often seen at parties and clubs, and he’d had one rocky relationship with a well-known pop singer a few years ago, and the press had had a field day with it. They loved to make him out to be the bad-boy jock that partied and left broken hearts in his wake. But in reality, he wasn’t much of a bad boy at all anymore.
    That relationship had been a wake-up call for him, and he’d also grown up a little, hopefully matured, and he focused more on his game and less on his social life. But the press wouldn’t let go of that bad reputation.
    He nodded solemnly at the coach. “I understand your concern, sir. But those irresponsible days are behind me now. I’m totally committed to the game and to my teammates. I won’t let you down.”
    “I hope not, son. I’m pretty serious about this. I want to see you buckle down the next few weeks with us. And I mean it. Total focus on the game. No booze, no parties, no women. And no