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Chapter thirty-one

Holt

I fix my tie, heaving out a breath. Tonight’s game against the Vancouver Vipers did not go our way, which is why the dressing room is silent. So silent you could hear a pin drop. We played last night as well, which definitely didn’t help.

I have some time to kill before the bus takes us to the airport, so I guess I’ll head down the hall to the large conference room where we ate dinner a few hours ago.

Where I’m pretty sure there’s food available if anyone’s hungry before the flight.

Not that I am. Not really. But I should eat so I can replenish all the calories I burned during the game.

I look around to see if any of the other guys are ready, but they’re all still in various stages of undress. Guess I’ll be going alone. Checking the time on my phone, I see it’s too late to call Becca, unfortunately.

My thoughts wander to two nights ago when I video called her to chat, only to find out she was naked in the tub. It was hot watching her come. The noises she made. The way she looked.

The memories are making me hard. Not ideal since I’m in the middle of the dressing room, surrounded by my teammates. I force myself to think about something, anything, else.

Once my cock settles down, I get to my feet and head out the door. I stumble to a stop when I see who is standing right outside, leaning against the wall inspecting her nails.

“What are you doing here?” I bite out .

Kat looks up, her eyes flicking over me and she smiles.

She pushes off the wall and stumbles closer to me.

I take a half step back, noting that she’s wearing baggy joggers, tennis shoes, and a long sleeve shirt that’s seen better days.

If I didn’t hate her so much, I would be worried something was wrong, because she never dresses like this.

At least not in all the years I’ve known her.

“I’m offended you didn’t call to tell me you were in town. We could have gotten together before the game, for coffee or you know . . .” She shimmies her shoulders, and I force myself not to gag.

Is she serious?

“Why the hell would I want to tell you I was in town? Better yet, what makes you think I would want to see you?”

She steps closer to me and runs one of her nails down my chest. I flinch, pushing her hand away.

“Don’t be silly.” She bats her eyelashes at me.

“Silly? Silly? Listen Kat, I don’t know what’s up with you, but you ended things. Or do you not remember?”

She twirls a lock of hair between her fingers. “I changed my mind. We were so good together, Holt.”

“Don’t,” I grit out.

“How’s my daughter? Do you have any pictures of her?”

I furrow my brow, clenching my teeth .

Is this real? Am I fucking dreaming? This has to be a nightmare.

“ My daughter is fine. She’s not yours. You gave up that right. Remember? When you showed up at my door with her.”

She’s silent, opening and closing her mouth a few times, before finally speaking. “What are you talking about? Gave up my rights to her? I would never.” She puts a hand on her chest like she’s offended.

“I have the paperwork that says you did. My lawyer does, too.”

“Oh, Holt.” She steps closer, running a hand down my arm.

“I think you’re confused. We agreed she’d stay with you while I got through my busy season, and then we’d figure out where we were going to settle down so we could be a family.

” She tilts her head. “Do you not remember? I know you have problems with your memory sometimes. Did you take a puck to the head recently? Are you concussed? ”

I stare, unblinking, recalling the last time she said that to me.

“I’m home,” I yell as I walk into the apartment, tossing my keys onto the counter.

“Hey,” Kat says, coming out of our bedroom, dressed in a short black dress and a pair of silver high heels.

I frown.

“Ready already? We don’t have to leave for a few more hours.”

“I’m meeting Brooke for drinks.”

I blink a few times before clearing my throat. “Kat, we have the charity dinner tonight.”

She tosses her hair over her shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me? You can’t expect me to drop everything to come to your team’s event at a moment’s notice.”

“I told you a few weeks ago. I wrote it on the calendar.” I hook a thumb over my shoulder toward the fridge.

“No, you didn’t.”

I did. I know I did. I glance at the dry-erase calendar, my eyes widening when I see today’s square is empty.

“Kat. I swear I did.”

She holds up her hands. “Maybe you thought you did, like with family skate night.” She shakes her head at me.

“That’s the whole reason we got it, so you could write things down.

We’ve talked about this, but maybe you forgot.

” She gives me a once-over. “Have you taken any pucks to the helmet lately? Are you concussed?”

“Kat.” I seethe.

“I’m sorry, Holt. I promised Brooke. She’s going through a rough time.

She filed for divorce from Evan. If it was the other way around and one of your guys needed you, you wouldn’t think twice.

” She has me there. “Gotta go.” She blows a kiss my way before grabbing her purse off the counter and leaving.

I hiss out a breath, staring at the ceiling. I swear I wrote it down. I even remember telling her. But maybe I didn’t.

“Holt? Are you okay? Should I get someone . . .”

Kat’s voice pulls me out of my memories, and I push her arm off me.

“You’re mistaken. But have your lawyer take it up with mine. ”

I wish one of the guys would come out of the dressing room. Or one of the coaches. A trainer. For fuck’s sake, why isn’t anyone around?

“Oh, Holt.” She shakes her head, tsking me. “You’re mistaken.”

“Kathryn. We. Are. Done. Here.” I step back. “There’s nothing left between us. Don’t show up again.”

She lets out a laugh that sounds a bit manic. “We’re so not done, Holt. We were meant to be. We’re soulmates. And I’m ready for us to be a family now.”

I glare at her, trying to figure out what to say to get her to go away. I peek over my shoulder at the door to the locker room. I could go back in there and wait for the other guys to be ready.

“You need to go,” I tell her.

“Don’t think this conversation is over. I’ll call you.” She winks at me before turning and sauntering away.

No. No, she won’t. I blocked her number the day she left Hazel with me.

I stare at her retreating figure, my heart racing, palms sweating. What did she mean by all that? Was it the typical Kat bullshit, where she got bored with her current boyfriend and is trying to come crawling back to me? Or did it mean something else?

Just in case, I’ll call my lawyer in the morning to make sure there’s no way Kat can get custody of Hazel. That there’s no way she can weasel herself back into my life. Into my daughter’s life.

“You okay?” Hunter asks. “You’re pale.”

“Holt?” Wes asks. “What’s going on?”

I blink as Hunter, Wes, Elias, and Sebastian form a circle around me. Shit, how did I miss them coming out of the dressing room?

“Kat was here,” I say, my voice shaking.

“What? Where?” Wes asks.

“She left but . . .” I shake my head, squeezing my eyes closed.

“Everything okay, boys?” Coach Weaver asks.

“No,” Hunter says. “Can we talk for a minute?” I hear footsteps as the two of them walk away, and I’m grateful to Hunter for explaining what happened because I don’t know if I could .

I take a breath, but it feels shallow and like there’s a lump in my throat. I rub a hand over my chest. I hate that I still have this reaction to Kat.

“How about we go get some water? Or sit down?” Wes’s hand is on my arm, and I blink my eyes open. The three of them are staring at me, concern written on their faces.

“Yeah.” My voice is shaky.

Wes leads the way, Elias and Sebastian bringing up the rear, and I’ve never been more grateful for my friends.

We walk into the empty conference room, where I was headed before Kat ambushed me, and over to a table at the back. Wes pulls out a chair, and I sit, dropping my head into my hands. The guys are talking, but I can’t hear them over the roaring in my ears.

“Hey. Are you okay?” Ansley asks.

I lift my head and meet her gaze. When did she get here? Where did the guys go? I whip my head around.

“They’re over by the food,” she says, putting a hand on my arm. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I shake my head, taking a ragged shallow breath.

“It’s going to be alright, whatever’s going on,” she says. “Breathe with me.” She inhales deeply, and I do the same, exhaling when she does.

“Again,” she says.

We repeat the process I don’t know how many times, but eventually my heart rate returns to normal. She gives me a small smile, patting me on the arm.

“I get panic attacks all the time.”

I nod, unsure of what to say but grateful she didn’t ask me a million questions.

“Here.” Wes appears at my side, handing me a bottle of water before taking a seat.

Elias walks over, carrying two bottles of water and a couple of bananas. He hands the extra water to Ansley before setting the fruit down.

My hands shake as I open the bottle of water and chug it .

“Security was alerted, but she seems to have left.” Hunter says, taking a seat at the table.

“Thanks.”

I grab a banana, peeling the skin back and taking a bite. I’m not really hungry, but I need something to do with my hands. I pull out my phone and send a text to my sister. I know it’s late, but maybe she’s still awake.

Me: Hey. Checking in to make sure everything is okay.

Hadley: All good here. We had dinner with Rebecca tonight. You guys have tomorrow off, right?

Me: Yes.

Hadley: Maybe we can face time. Hazel misses you.

I send a thumbs up and set my phone down, then take another shaky breath.

We sit in silence for a while before it’s time to head to the bus and the airport. The guys stick to me like glue until we make it to our hotel in our next city.

Normally, I’d be annoyed, but tonight, I’m grateful.

Grateful to have them on my side.

I just wish we were headed home now instead of in three days.