“Look, your daughter has only ever said amazing things about you to me. I know she loves and respects you—but you’re not her keeper, and you’re not mine. So you can do whatever you want to me. You can make my life hell if that’s what will make you feel better, but none of that is going to change how I feel about her.”

Dunaway stands staring at me, fuming. He paces by my bedside a few times before he whirls on me, but I match his intensity with a glare of my own and raise my eyebrows at him expectantly, almost daring him to say whatever he feels like he needs to get off his chest. I’m incredibly grateful to this man for giving me my big break in the league, but I’m not going to let him weaponize that against me.

“This is not what I wanted for my daughter,” he snaps, his eyes narrowed in anger.

My heart hammers in my chest because I know I’m about to risk throwing away the career I’ve worked so hard and so long for, but I can’t let this go. I can’t stay quiet. Even if it costs me my career trajectory by getting me benched for the rest of the season. I care about Hannah way too much to let any of that stop me.

I grip the plastic rails on the hospital bed and look right into Dunaway’s stormy eyes. “Maybe instead of thinking about what you want for Hannah, you should ask her what she wants for herself. Isn’t that what matters the most?”

Dunaway’s head jerks back a little. He stares at me for a moment, looking almost dumbfounded. His fists drop, and his jaw grinds side to side as he chews on whatever thoughts are clearly racing through his mind, but he doesn’t say anything.

We stare at each other in the cramped hospital room, tension simmering between us for what feels like forever. Then Dunaway drags in a long breath, rolling his shoulders.

“I’ll make sure the nurses keep an eye on you,” he says, his tone turning businesslike again as he slips back into the role of professional hockey coach.

Without another word, he strides out of the room and closes the door behind him, leaving me alone. But when I glance over at the glass built into the door, I find him standing there and watching me, his jaw still working, like he hasn’t let go of what I said.

Good. Because for Hannah’s sake, it’s past time someone got into her dad’s head a little bit.

41. Hannah

Chapter 41

Hannah