Page 15 of Beast's Wife

“You want to get your ass kicked again?”

“Is there anything you’d rather be doing than kicking my ass?”

Andy considered it.

“Hey, I cannot be that bad. I have even seen you break out a smile once or twice.” She offered him a wink.

“That is true. You have made this game super interesting.”

She laughed. “See, you’re loving it.” And for her, it was a good distraction, because all she wanted to do was find Carver to make sure he was okay.

The puck came out, and she was thinking about Carver and what he’d been doing today, and what other people might try to do to him, and she got distracted.

“Seventeen-three,” Andy said.

“No, that one doesn’t count because I was too busy thinking.”

“That is no excuse.”

“It is totally an excuse and one I can use.”

Andy laughed. “How about next time I go easy on you?” he asked.

“Yes, well, you’re supposed to because I’m a girl.” She glared at him, to which he laughed.

“This is not supposed to entertain you. You’re meant to be … infuriated.”

“Trust me, I’m going easy on you.”

She sighed.

“Now, while we play, and I go even easier on you, why don’t you tell me what is on your mind?”

The puck slid right on past into her net, making it eighteen to three.

“You can talk and play, right?”

“Yes, I can.” She didn’t know for certain if she could, but she wasn’t about to tell him that. No one needed to know that she didn’t know how to play, or if this is what she was supposed to be doing. Was she supposed to be angry from losing all the time? Happy? Sad? None of it made any sense to her.

“Tell me, Morgan, what is on your mind?” he said.

“It’s nothing bad or complicated.”

“But it is distracting you.”

“I feel I need to be distracted.”

“And why is that?” he asked.

She lowered her guard puck. She didn’t know what it was called, and she looked at him. Andy did the same and the puck that was in play slowly came to a stop with no one pushing it up and down the surface.

“Seriously? Someone invaded your home. You live here as well, and they are … I don’t know what they are doing, but you don’t seem bothered by it. Why?”

“Carver takes care of it,” Andy said.

“And what if it happens and he’s not here? Or if someonegets the better of him?”

“We’re all trained to handle ourselves, and know what we need to do.”