Page 52 of Desperate Pucker (Denver Bashers #6)

Ryker

“Honey, can you grab the coffee filters from the shelf for me?”

I reach up to the top floating shelf along the wall and hand my mom the filters.

“Why do you keep them so high up where you can barely reach?” I ask.

“I had this brilliant idea to try and cut back on caffeine, so I put the filters somewhere I couldn’t easily get to.” She shakes her head, chuckling. “I regretted it immediately.”

She brews a fresh pot while I grab her a mug from the cabinet.

“I know I’ve only met her a couple of times, but Madeline is a lovely young woman.”

“She is.”

I look at Maddy sitting on the couch next to Anna. Anna’s showing her a funny video on her phone. They’re both cracking up.

I finish wiping down the kitchen counter and catch my mom smiling at me.

“What’s that look for?” I ask.

“You really like her.”

“Of course I like her.”

Mom shakes her head. “This is different, Ryker. I can tell.” She glances over at Maddy, who’s doubled over, laughing at something Anna just said. “She fits in with us,” she says softly.

There’s a flash of sadness in her eyes. I know exactly what she’s thinking about—how Alina never fit in with my family—how she never really wanted to.

I think of all the times she came over to my parents’ house, how they always welcomed her and treated her like a part of the family.

But I could tell she never felt comfortable.

Whenever she came over with me for dinner or the holidays, she would always make an excuse to leave early.

She wouldn’t talk much to them and would often be on her phone instead of joining in our conversations.

My mom would invite her to go shopping with her and my sister, but she always declined.

Because she never wanted to be part of my family—my world.

An ugly feeling gnaws at my gut at how I stayed with her for so many years when she treated my family like an afterthought.

“I’m sorry, Mom.”

She frowns like she’s confused. “For what?”

“For how Alina treated you guys. She was so rude. She was never interested in being part of our family. I should have ended it with her way sooner than I did.”

“Oh, honey.” She gives my arm a soft squeeze. “You don’t need to be sorry for that.”

I tug a hand through my hair. “Yeah, I do. I wouldn’t put up with that now. But at the time, I really loved her and wanted to make it work.”

“I know that.” She’s quiet for a second. “You’re different around Madeline. In a good way.”

A gentle smile appears on her face. “The way you look at her and the way you look at everyone else is like night and day. You look at her like she’s everything to you.”

An intense feeling rises up inside of me. “I’ve never met anyone like her. She’s been through a lot. She’s a fighter. She’s not afraid to call me on my crap and bust my chops.”

My mom chuckles.

“She’s also one of the hardest-working people I’ve ever met,” I say. “She’s so sweet and kind and loving. She gets me in a way no one else does.”

My mom’s smile grows. “Oh, honey. You are so smitten.”

I let a smile break free. “I think I am.”

A half-hour later, we leave my parents’ house with a massive container of cabbage rolls.

I glance over at Maddy sitting in the passenger seat of my car, smiling at the leftovers in her lap while I drive home.

“Your family is the best,” she says.

“They loved you.”

She looks at me with a hopeful smile. “Really?”

I nod. “They want you to come to every family dinner from now on. My mom is ready to adopt you.”

Maddy goes quiet. When I glance over, she’s gazing down at her lap again, the look in her eyes sad. “I can’t believe how welcoming they were to me. I’m not used to that. Not even with my own family.”

Pain lands at the center of my chest. I think back to Casino Night. Her brother and sister were so rude and dismissive to her. They didn’t even hug her. They treated her like a stranger that annoyed them.

Anger pricks up inside of me, but I force it back.

I ease to a stop at a red light, then reach over and grab her hand in mine.

“My family will always welcome you. They’ll always treat you like you’re one of us. I know it’s not the same as feeling that from your own siblings. ”

Maddy smiles softly. “That means everything.”

The light turns green and I pull forward.

“It’s so cute how you are with your family.”

I smile at the road ahead. “Is it?”

“Yeah. You’re the perfect oldest child, always helping your siblings and your parents.” She’s quiet for a second. “Your mom told me about how you bought her and your dad their house. That was so generous of you, Ryker.”

A tight feeling knots through my chest. “It was the least I could do after all they did for me. All the sacrifices they made for me so I could play hockey.”

All the extra shifts my dad worked at his construction job to pay for my gear and training and league fees.

All the hours my mom spent driving me to and from practices and games while carting my baby siblings with her.

All the vacations they gave up so that I could go to hockey camps and tournaments.

“I wouldn’t be where I am today if they hadn’t done what they did to support me,” I say, emotion squeezing my chest. “All the money they spent, all the hours they worked, all the things they gave up to help me succeed. A house honestly seems small in comparison.”

Maddy looks at me. “That’s why you push yourself so hard, isn’t it? For them.”

I ease to a stop at a stop sign and look at her. “Yeah. I push myself for me too. I want to be the best I can be. I want to play hockey as long as I can. But I want to make my family proud too. I want to make their sacrifices worth it.”

“They’re so proud of you, Ryker. Your parents talk about you like you hang the moon.”

“I’m lucky to have them.” I swallow back the emotion in my throat.

“That’s why I want to play in the Stanley Cup finals—and win.

I mean, I want to win for myself too. Every hockey player’s dream is to hoist that trophy up.

But I want it for my family. I want them to hold it.

I want to tell them that it belongs to them for all they did for me. ”

“You will, Ryker,” she says.

Doubt flashes through me. The soreness in my ankle and knee flares up, as if on cue, reminding me how little time I have left in the league. How, with every day that passes, I get older and farther and farther away from that dream.

But then, Maddy grabs my hand. “You absolutely will.”

I take in the intensity in her stare and the conviction in her tone. She believes in me. More than I believe in myself.

That tight feeling hits my chest again. I lean over and kiss her.

Then I turn back to the road and keep driving, feeling a comfort I’ve never felt before.

I don’t know if I can make my dream happen. But Maddy thinks I can. And even though I’m still having a hard time believing in myself, it means the world that she does.

I skid to a halt on the ice, just barely avoiding tripping over the Nashville defenseman who just cut me off.

I shove him, then move around him and skate after the puck.

Before I can get to it, Del takes possession and races toward the Nashville net.

It’s the first round of playoffs, and we’ve won three games against the Nashville Wolves. They’ve beaten us twice, so they need to win this game to stay in the running.

We’re determined to make this the last game we play against them, though.

It’s almost the end of the first period, and both teams are scoreless. We’ve all been playing hard as hell, though.

We’re running our asses off every second we’re on the ice. Nashville is too. They’re going after us hard. They’re all over us, chasing us down, checking us every chance they get, and trash-talking us every time there’s a face-off.

They want to win bad. So do we.

I watch as Del weaves around a Wolves defenseman to get to their net, but another player covers him, making it impossible for him to shoot.

My legs are on fire as I sprint to get closer to him. When he looks back and sees me, he hits the puck behind him. I grab it and take off. I’m about to shoot it, but there’s a Wolves player headed right for me, and I don’t have a clean shot. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Theo. He’s open.

I pass the puck over to him a split second before the Wolves player checks me. I barely feel the sting of the hit. That’s how hard my adrenaline is pumping while I watch Theo wind up to take a shot.

When the puck hits the back of the net, I run over to him.

“Fuck yeah!” I holler

“We’re on the board, baby!” Theo hollers.

I smack his helmet while our teammates surround him to celebrate his goal. The home crowd is going nuts. We still have a long way to go in this game, but it feels good to finally be on the board.

When I turn around, I see Maddy on her feet in the stands cheering. When she sees me, she beams.

“Nice assist,” she mouths to me.

My heart leaps in my chest. It feels incredible having her here, cheering me on.

My ex used to come to my games sometimes, but I could tell she wasn’t all that interested in watching. She would often be on her phone or taking selfies with her friends. I wasn’t a superstar, so she didn’t care all that much about how I played.

But Maddy cares. She’s on her feet, celebrating her heart out for me, proudly calling out my assist.

My chest goes tight at just how much it means to have her here by my side, supporting me.

I never thought I’d have this. But now I do.

I wink at her and skate off to rejoin my team for face-off.

“I saw that,” Sam says when I skate past him.

“Saw what?”

“That look you just gave Maddy.” He grins. “Something’s going on between you two.”

I fight a smile and stay quiet. We haven’t told anyone we’re in a relationship yet. I’d be happy to, but I don’t want Maddy to feel pressured. Especially when she’s been so skittish about relationships after her breakup. And we both want to be professional at work too.

I shrug at Sam. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He just laughs and pats my shoulder. “Whatever you say, dude.”

We manage to pull off a win against Nashville. The fans are going wild as we walk off the ice. We’re all hollering and cheering when we enter the locker room.

I’m buzzing with adrenaline and excitement as I strip my gear off. One step closer to the finals. One step closer to the one thing I’ve wanted my entire hockey career.

When I head out of the locker room, I see Maddy standing at the end of the hall, that beautiful smile I love so much on her gorgeous face.

“Congrats on the win,” she says when I walk up to her.

I lean down and kiss her. She cups my face in her hands and moans against my lips. Fuck, I love it when she does that.

We walk down the hall together toward the parking garage.

“Sam knows we’re dating, by the way,” I say.

She looks amused. “Really? How?”

“He caught us looking at each other during the game.”

“Maybe that means we should make an official announcement.”

“Yeah?” Excitement flickers in my belly.

Maddy nods.

“What’d you have in mind?”

She beams at me. “It’s a surprise.”