Page 6

CHAPTER 6

Camden

“ That’s the woman you’ve been hung up on for months, Cole?”

Without even understanding the specifics of Van’s implication, I smack the back of his head. He barely reacts. Probably because he’s used to it. Occupational hazard of running his mouth.

Van might mean that Naomi is too good for me, and I would agree. She’s the kind of beautiful that needs no makeup, as evidenced now by her fresh face. She even looks good when furious—though I’ll admit I prefer her smile.

Or maybe it’s because she has a kid? Our team is still pretty young, and only one or two guys have families. They’re the ones too busy to hang out much outside of required team events. Of the guys I spend the most time with, only Alec is dating someone with a kid. And Juno is still a baby, which feels different than someone Liam’s age. Though Alec is smitten—both with Evie and with Juno.

I have a sneaking suspicion Van’s comment is more about the hostility emanating from Naomi, directed straight toward me.

“Yes.” A one-word answer is all Van—or anyone else—is going to get about Naomi and me dating. “Now stop staring at her.”

“I’m not staring—ow!”

I’m not about to apologize for smacking Van again, though this time, it was a little harder.

Naomi is currently sipping a glass of orange juice and half listening to Eric, our head trainer, while fully glaring at me through the glass window of the medical suite.

I’m with a handful of my teammates in the pool room that houses our ice baths, small pool, and sauna. The chlorine is burning my nose, but I’m not about to leave. Not until they’re done stitching up Liam. He’s sitting behind Naomi on one of the exam tables, watching Dr. Samuelson with interest.

Naomi, meanwhile, sits by Liam’s legs with her back turned to the action. She clutches Liam’s foot with one hand while sipping orange juice with the other. Her posture is rigid, like she’s fighting the urge to turn around. Which would probably make her pass out again.

Naomi’s squeamishness around blood isn’t something I knew about her, and it makes my gut twist. What else don’t I know? There are so many things I never learned and probably never will.

“You’re still staring,” I point out.

“I’m a married man.” Van flashes his wedding band, which he still does every chance he gets. “I’m not checking her out or anything. I’m just curious about the woman who’s had you tied up in knots all season and why she looks like she wants to murder you.” He pauses, maybe waiting for me to hit him again. I don’t. Yet. “I’m just surprised. She’s not what I would have expected.”

I turn the full weight of my gaze on Van. He’s taller than I am, broader too, but I think he can tell I would take him out right now because he holds up both hands and backs a few steps away.

“I don’t mean anything by it,” he says.

“What do you mean?”

From his spot leaning against the wall by the sauna, Eli snorts. “Keep talking, Vanity. You’re providing a lot of entertainment right now. I’d like to see Cammie’s careful control snap.”

Eli’s smile falters as I swing my attention his way. He is what you’d get if you crossed a golden retriever with a ball of sunshine. His wild blond mop of hair only accentuates his personality. Glaring at him feels like kicking a puppy. But right now, I don’t care.

The only person whose feelings I care about punched me in the face less than an hour ago and looks willing and ready to do it again.

“Sorry, man,” Eli says. “Carry on.”

“You know you can leave at any time. All of you,” I say, glancing around at my teammates, all of whom suddenly appeared moments after Naomi passed out, like sharks smelling blood in the water.

Besides Van and Eli, there’s Logan—who at least has the good sense to stay silent—and then Dominik, which is a bit unexpected. He’s taking after Logan, mirroring his silence and his casual posture, so right now my ire is trained on Van and Eli. Felix, our goaltender, is also here, though he’s so quiet and still I almost forgot. All of them were helping today—I guess some of the guys are on rotation because Logan, Van, and Felix weren’t here last week—and so now I’m subjected to having them here.

As soon as Naomi regained consciousness, she asked me to leave. But I’ll still hold onto the brief moment while she was still coming to when she sighed and nestled into my chest.

I can tell Coach is doing his best to navigate the situation, but his cheeks are flushed and his bald head, which he’s kept shaved for the past year, is shiny with sweat. He keeps checking his phone, probably waiting for someone from our legal department to get back to him. Every so often, he shoots me a look as if he’s asking for help, but I’m definitely not wanted in that room.

Liam lifts his good arm and waves, his smile wide.

Okay, I’m not wanted in that room by only one person. Very strongly not wanted.

I think it’s irrational and probably part of a defense mechanism of some kind. She’s scared and upset about what happened to Liam. And I already know from him that she didn’t want to see me. So, I’ve become the focus of all that negative energy—the fear, the concern, the shock of seeing me.

I can handle her misplaced anger.

Ignoring the laser heat of Naomi’s glare, I nod at Liam. I’m glad he doesn’t seem bothered getting stitched up. He handled everything today like a champ, even going so far as smiling at the smaller kid who accidentally pinwheeled into our practice area, his skate slicing right through Liam’s shirt and into his arm.

“Not a big deal,” Liam told the sniffling boy who looked ready to burst into tears. Liam somehow managed a smile while holding a glove over the cut. “It’s just hockey.”

I honestly wasn’t sure until that moment if Liam would continue with hockey. Usually by his age, kids his age are well acclimated to the ice. He’s starting at a deficit. It will take work. Commitment. Heart. And though he’s incrementally better today than last week, it’s clear he’s not the most coordinated to start with.

He told me himself last summer that he’s more into academics than sports, though he was great at riding waves. Guess that’s what happens when you grow up close to the beach. If I had to bet after last week, I wouldn’t have put money on Liam continuing after this six-week intro class.

But today, watching him try to make the younger kid whose skate cut him feel better changed my mind. Liam’s arm was dripping blood onto the ice, even as he smiled at the kid and said, It happens. It’s just hockey .

Coordination can come with determination and practice. But the will and the heart to succeed in hockey is harder to come by.

In that moment, Liam showed that he has the mental fortitude he needs in spades.

“Why didn’t you tell us Liam was your ex’s kid?” Eli asks quietly, though I know they can’t hear us in the medical suite.

I shrug.

“Because Cole doesn’t tell us anything,” says Van. This time, I don’t hit him because it’s true. “He doesn’t tell us when he’s working one-on-one with his ex’s kid, or that his ex is here in town, or about whatever has him rushing home lately.” When I look at him, surprised, he adds, “Don’t think we haven’t noticed.”

I definitely thought that.

But him even bringing it up has me pulling out my phone to check the time. I still have about an hour but send a quick text just in case I run late. I’m not leaving until I feel like Naomi and Liam are okay.

No response. I could call, but it probably wouldn’t do any good. It’s probably fine. But now my worry splinters, extending in two separate directions—here and also there. I drag a hand through my hair as I realize every guy in the room is watching me.

“Like right there,” Van says, pointing a finger at me. “Secretive texts.”

“You could talk to us, you know.” From the other side of the room, Logan finally speaks. “We’re your team. You can trust us off the ice, you know.”

“We trust you,” Eli says.

“If you want to talk, some of us are good at listening,” Felix says, giving Van a pointed look.

“Hey, I can be a good listener,” Van says.

“When you’re not talking. Which is …” Eli trails off, pretending to be thinking hard.

“Almost never,” Dominik supplies, shrugging when Van glares.

The tiniest pinprick of guilt needles its way into me as I watch the easy way the guys engage with each other.

I know Logan’s right. I could trust them. From the moment I got here, the guys brought me in. Or—attempted to. They even added me to the group chat, which most days I regret. But even if I don’t engage as much as most of them, I’ve made it a habit to at least read through all the messages at night. I usually find myself smiling. I just happen to lurk more than I text.

This season, I’ve found myself ignoring the group chat and talking more in a separate text thread with Wyatt. He left last summer to play for Boston, and maybe that’s the key—Wyatt isn’t here. It’s easier to open up with a guy I don’t have to make eye contact with or see in his briefs—or less —almost daily.

Not that I’ve opened up very much to Wyatt. But I’ve said more to him than to the guys currently in this room.

I assumed they showed up here for curiosity’s sake, and maybe that is partially true. But I realize now they’re here because they’re trying to support me.

Meanwhile, I’m doing my best to push them away.

It doesn’t feel right or good to be called on it.

Connecting with people has never been my strong suit. Chemistry on the ice—no problem. But off … it’s never come easy. Especially after my teenage years and how things changed with my family. The rejection I felt—still feel—left a crater inside me. I’m self-aware enough to know this, but it doesn’t necessarily help me know how to move past it. The rare times I’ve attempted to open up with other people, I regretted it.

Naomi and I lock eyes through the glass. One beat. Two.

Something passes between us—a wordless exchange that makes my heartbeat quicken and a tiny bubble of hope inflate in my chest. Her expression softens slightly, the sharpness dissipating like fog. But then Liam says something, and she turns away.

“That,” Van says in his most punchable voice, “is the face of a woman scorned. Dude—what’d you do to her? Must have been bad.”

I swallow. “It’s complicated.”

I don’t tell them my theory that she’s scared and feels a lack of control, which is manifesting in frustration toward me.

“You cheated?” Van sounds incredulous, which is good. I guess it means he thinks it would be out of character.

“No. I’m not a cheater.”

“Left without saying goodbye?” Eli suggests.

I shake my head.

Logan frowns. “You … dumped her?”

“No. Like I said, it’s complicated.” I pause and decide to tell them something, offering up even a small bit of truth. “She broke up with me. But I didn’t fight her on it. Or fight for her. I should have.”

I did more than give up. When she called me after the breakup, saying she might have been hasty, I told her that it was the right decision. Liam’s expectant face had still loomed large, reminding me how much was at stake. I didn’t want to let either of them down, so leaving before things got more serious seemed like the smartest choice. The last thing I wanted to do was disappoint a kid the same way I’d been let down by my family.

Turns out I ended up doing so anyway.

“You know, a heartfelt apology can go a long way,” Felix offers.

Eli drags a hand through his hair. “I second that.”

“When do you ever screw up, golden boy?” Van says.

“Constantly,” Eli says. “Ask Bailey. Although she’s probably too nice to say anything bad about me.”

Van rolls his eyes. “I don’t buy it. You treat that woman like she farts rainbows.”

“Maybe she does.” Eli grins. “I’ve never heard her fart. So, I don’t have definitive proof.”

“Are you kidding?” Van yells. “Everyone farts!”

“So, you’re telling us Coach’s daughter is extremely flatulent?” Felix raises an eyebrow at Van. “Got it. I’ll be sure to tell Coach you said that.”

“Come on, man,” Van whines. “I just got him to stop hating me. Mostly. Don’t ruin it.”

“Clearly,” Logan says, once again turning back to me as he raises his voice, “we’re all a bunch of idiots just trying our best. And sometimes failing.”

“Or farting,” Felix adds. It’s an oddly out of character quip from him, and a laugh bursts out of Eli.

Van pulls up his sleeve and flexes. “Speak for yourself. About failing, anyway.”

“I was speaking for you ,” Logan says. “Specifically.”

Dominik says something in Russian. We don’t need a translator to get the gist, which is something like, You’re all idiots . Or maybe he’s saying something about farting. Dom speaks very good English, but at times, he prefers to toss out things in Russian that we all just nod along with like we understand.

“Looks like I’m walking in on something fun.”

Parker, Logan’s fiancée, strides into the room, pausing to drop a noisy smack of a kiss on Logan’s cheek. She tries to spin away, but he hooks an arm around her waist and we all groan as he kisses her for real. Much longer than necessary in a public space, but I think that’s the point.

“Don’t forget little eyes are watching,” Felix says, and Parker yanks back from Logan, wiping her mouth as she glances through the window where both Liam and Naomi are staring. Coach, even, is glaring.

“Oops,” Parker says, smoothing back her ponytail. “Coach texted me a 911. What happened?”

I should be the one to explain, but Van jumps in first. “To sum up: the woman in there glaring at Cole is his ex. Her son got hurt in the hockey camp today. Oh, and he didn’t tell us either of those things.”

Parker’s eyes are wide. “Wow.”

“And we’re all idiots who make mistakes in relationships,” Felix says.

“Got it,” Parker says, taking all of this in stride. “Is he okay?”

“Yes,” I say.

“Not as bad as the injury we had last year,” Felix says. “Similar, but not as deep.”

Parker shakes her head. “I wish we could afford to outfit all of them in Kevlar. Or bubble wrap. And for the record, women make mistakes. Maybe not quite so idiotic, but we mess up, too.”

“Logan, it’s a trap,” Van whispers dramatically. “Don’t agree with her.”

“Wasn’t about to,” Logan says. Parker beams and pats him on the shoulder.

“One more important point: everyone farts,” Eli says, then holds up both hands. “Allegedly.”

“So much ground covered in so little time,” Parker says slowly. “Exes, idiots, and farting. Busy few hours for y’all. So, why did Coach send for me?”

“Because Camden’s ex threatened to sue,” Felix says.

Parker angles herself to look through the glass. Seeing Naomi, she waves. Naomi does not wave back. “Ugly breakup, huh, Cambo?”

I only grunt. At both her question and the new nickname, which I hope doesn’t stick. I can’t decide if it’s better or worse than Cammie.

“Don’t bother trying to squeeze info out of him,” Van says. “He won’t tell us anything.”

“We’ll see,” says Parker. “Anyway, potential lawsuits sound more like a Summer problem. I’m not the lawyer.”

“But you’re very good at smoothing things over,” Logan says. “I’d bet that’s why Coach called you down.”

“Thank you.” Parker smiles at him, then swings her gaze to me. “Anything you want to add?”

“Her brother is a lawyer,” I say.

She rolls her eyes. “I didn’t mean like that.”

“Then what would I have to add?” I ask.

Parker gives me a look as if to say, You really are an idiot .

“Context,” Dominik says in his crisp, accented English. “Some idea of why your ex is angry enough to punch you.”

“She punched you?” Parker says, sounding somewhere between shocked and impressed. She wrinkles her nose when she looks at my eye.

I glance at Naomi again. She’s still looking at me. With slightly less venom than before. “I think the punch was more an involuntary reaction to finding out Liam got hurt.”

“Keep telling yourself what you want to tell yourself,” Van says. “Sounds highly unlikely.”

Now it’s Parker who smacks the back of Van’s head. “Sorry,” she says, not sounding sorry at all. “Mostly. Will you let him talk? Camden, go on.”

I stare blankly. “What?”

“You were about to tell us why that woman looks like she’d happily boil your bunnies.”

Logan and Eli burst out laughing, Dominik covers his mouth, and Felix chuckles. Parker glances around, clearly confused.

Van looks horrified. “Is boiling bunnies some kind of … euphemism? It sounds dirty.”

“No!” Parker shouts, her hands going to her suddenly pink cheeks. “Oh my gosh, no. What even would that—never mind. Ugh! It’s a reference to Fatal Attraction . Classic movie—Glenn Close as a stalker? No one’s heard of it?”

Felix raises a hand. “I knew what you meant. It was funny, Parker.”

“Thank you.”

“Oh, look,” I say. “They’re done.”

Liam is no sooner on his feet than he’s bursting through the door connecting the two rooms. Naomi, looking torn, is caught talking to the medic but keeps her eyes on her son through the window.

He bounds over to me and holds out his arm, grinning. “Check it out! Wicked, yeah?”

I have no idea what the right response is. The sight of the long, neatly stitched wound on his forearm doesn’t make me feel woozy, but it turns my stomach a little. Because I care about Liam. And though this was a relatively shallow injury, it could have been worse. Had the kid’s skate sliced through the other side of his arm or gone deeper, it would have been a hospital situation like Felix mentioned had happened before.

I’m far too emotionally invested in the relationship—or lack thereof—I have now with Liam and his mom. Part of me wants to roll him up in bubble wrap and return him to Naomi. The other part wants to give him a high five and tell him he handled it like a champ.

I do neither. I just stand here, nodding.

Van steps up and gently takes Liam’s hand, giving the wound a good look. “That’s a beaut,” he says. “You’ll have a really good scar, but nothing too gruesome. Ladies love scars.”

“He’s a little young for the ladies, don’t you think?” Naomi asks, walking into the room and going straight to Liam. She puts an arm around his shoulders and pulls him back a little from Van.

“You’re never too young,” Van says, holding up a hand to high five Liam.

Parker steps between Van and Naomi, who looks about ready to explode, this time at Van, not me. Logan drags Van away, putting a hand over his still-running mouth.

“Hi! I’m Parker.” She thrusts a hand toward Naomi, who shakes it quickly, looking wary. Parker shakes Liam’s hand next. He looks thrilled, but that may have more to do with the other players in the room. They’re all helping with the class, but I’m sure he hasn’t gotten a chance to meet most of them aside from Eli, his original group leader.

“I’m Naomi. This is Liam.”

“Great to meet you both! I handle the team’s social media,” Parker says. “I heard we had a little bit of an issue at the class, and I just wanted to check up on things.”

“You could say that,” Naomi mutters. But she looks a little less murdery than she did a moment ago. Parker has that effect on people.

“I got twenty-seven stitches,” Liam tells her proudly. “But I need to go back in there and let them put a bandage on it so Mom doesn’t pass out again.”

Parker’s eyebrows shoot up, and Naomi rolls her eyes. “Way to throw your mom under the bus, kid.”

“Do you want to meet all the guys first?” I ask Liam, and his eyes go wide.

“Um, yes?”

I make introductions, Liam’s smile growing wider and wider while Naomi seems to shrink back more and more. Parker notices, too, and steps forward, linking an arm through Naomi’s and whispering something to her. After a moment, Naomi nods, her eyes skating briefly over me before landing once again on Liam.

“Go get your bandage so we can get out of here,” she tells him. “Remember, we’ve got big plans today.”

“Right. Big plans.” Liam laughs. “Mom’s buying a winter coat,” he announces to the whole room, though he’s looking at me. “We didn’t need them where we lived before.”

He heads back into the medical suite, and I turn to Naomi, remembering how she was shivering out in the parking lot in just a hoodie earlier.

“So, you don’t have a coat?” I shouldn’t have spoken the words out loud. I know this even without the searing look Naomi gives me.

“I don’t have a coat yet , not that it’s any of your business. Also, speaking of things that aren’t your business, it didn’t escape my notice that the gear Liam has in there isn’t what I bought him. Know anything about that?”

I cross my arms. “I bought it.”

“I can buy gear for my kid,” she seethes, and I can see the self-reliance I respect so much bubbling up and boiling over.

I bite the inside of my cheek so I don’t say, Says the woman who hasn’t bought herself a coat.

“I saw a need. I met it. Not a big deal.”

Naomi’s eyebrows shoot up. “Not a big deal to you, maybe. But all of this is a big deal. Liam signing up for this, you coaching him without either of you thinking I might need to know, him getting hurt. Big deal.”

I belatedly realize I probably should have messaged Naomi last week when I started working with Liam. Just to give her a heads-up. The same way I should have told her that Liam came by to see me after our breakup.

Now I’m holding onto several large secrets, and the knowledge makes me distinctly uncomfortable. Her anger feels a lot more justified, taking all of this into account.

An awkward silence descends on the room for a few seconds, and suddenly, the guys are apologizing and making excuses as they shuffle toward the door. Parker hovers, glancing between Naomi and me. I swear, I can smell her getting ideas. Parker is always getting ideas.

Thankfully, whatever she’s cooking up gets interrupted when Liam bounds back into the room, his arm wrapped neatly. “Look, Mom!” he says, waving his arm in her face. “Now you don’t have to see it.”

Naomi still looks slightly woozy, and I bet she’s imagining or maybe even remembering what’s underneath the bandage. She takes a step back and gently guides his arm away from her face. “Um, yes. That’s great. Now we can go.”

“Actually.” Parker steps up, I guess not fully deterred from whatever ideas she has. I wonder if I should stop her, but Parker is somewhat of a bulldozer when she gets excited about something. A cheerful, happy bulldozer. But she’ll plow through you, nonetheless. “I was thinking maybe we could do something nice for Liam after having such a rough morning.”

He frowns. “My morning was awesome. I got stitches! And I got to see cool places like this that no one gets to see in the Summit. And I met some of the Appies.”

Naomi looks far less pleased by each of these things.

“Well, then how would you like a tour of the Summit? Maybe we can even find some signed pucks and merch.” Parker crouches a little until she’s level with Liam’s wide eyes. Lowering her voice, she adds, “Would you like to see the locker room?”

“Yes,” Liam says in a reverent whisper. Then, as though just now remembering he has a mom and probably needs to check with her, he grabs her hand. “Mom, please ? Can I?”

I already know there’s no way she’ll say no to that face. Instead, Naomi looks at Parker with wary reluctance. “Are you just doing this so we won’t sue the organization?”

Parker laughs. “I mean, we hope you don’t sue, but no. We want every child who attends an Appies event to leave with a positive experience. And though your Liam definitely deserves a medal for his cheerful attitude about getting hurt, we want to ensure he has great memories to hold onto.”

“Fine.” Naomi stumbles a little as Liam throws his arms around her in an exuberant hug. He says thank you over and over into her rib cage. “Okay, calm down, dude. I already said yes, we’ll go on the tour.”

“Actually,” Parker says again, turning sly fox eyes my way, “if you’d rather skip the tour, I know our chef is still here and would be happy to whip something up. You and Camden could catch up and eat. We’ll meet back up with you later. You can trust me with Liam, I promise. It’s been a while, but I had all the proper babysitting certifications back in high school.”

Though Naomi clearly knows as well as I do that this is a setup, Parker’s genuineness makes it really hard to say no. Especially when combined with Liam’s pleading eyes.

As nervous as I am at the idea of being left alone with Naomi right now, I really don’t want her to say no.

“I guess that’s fine,” Naomi says, pointedly not looking at me.

Parker smiles and plucks a business card from her pocket and presses it into Naomi’s palm. “That’s got my cell number. Text me, and I’ll save your number in my phone, then message you when we’re done. I’d also be happy to play tour guide to Harvest Hollow anytime you’d like since it sounds like you’re new in town. Or if you want to hang out, I’d love that, too. There’s way too much testosterone in my day-to-day life.”

Naomi’s smile is genuine now, a little more relaxed. I wish I had half an ounce of whatever Parker does that enables her to do this—putting people at ease and drawing them out.

“Thanks,” Naomi says. “I really appreciate it.” She pulls out her phone and texts Parker, who smiles when her phone buzzes.

“Got it. Now, where would you like to start?” Parker asks, steering Liam toward the door.

“The locker room. Definitely. Did you know that locker rooms don’t have actual lockers? Each player has a stall where they keep their gear.”

“I did know that,” Parker says. “It’s pretty cool, right?”

“So cool.”

And then the door closes behind them, leaving me alone with my ex.