Page 64 of Never Dance with the Devils (Never Say Never #6)
RIGGS
Two Months Later
Tonight’s the night—the Devils’ pre-season opener.
I’ve been excited about every game I’ve ever played, but this one is different.
This is the first time Kayla will watch me play.
Sure, she’s seen videos, especially in the last few weeks as Maddox and I have really ramped up the pre-season preparations.
She’s been a rock through training camp, but now it hits.
Now’s our first real game, even if it doesn’t count on the record books.
Doesn’t matter. This will be her first ever live hockey game, and of course, the first time seeing me in action.
The team’s warming up, skating around our side of the ice, and I scan the box seats where Kayla should be seated. Well, Kayla, all the Harringtons, Angeline, and her husband, Jerry.
The Harringtons said they wanted to come support Maddox and me, but I think they mostly want to support Kayla.
That’s fine by me. I’m certainly not one to be offended by that kind of loyalty.
Kayla and her family have done a lot of growing over the last few months, having some hard conversations about expectations, roles, and where responsibilities lie.
Kayla still does a lot for everyone, but it’s because she wants to, not because anyone assumes she will.
And when she helps them, they recognize it and express their appreciation more than ever before.
It’s made their whole family even closer, bit by bit, day by day, especially as they rally around Luna and Samantha, who are moving smoothly along in their pregnancies, much to everyone’s excitement.
I find a sea of blonde hair, all the same pale color, high in the crowd and wave a gloved hand in the Harringtons’ direction.
Maddox skates a loose circle around me, his grin visible behind his face shield. “You ready for this?” He’s hyped, eager to get the game and the season underway.
“Always. You?”
He scoffs. “I was born ready.”
Ironically, that’s probably true with his dad watching games while Maddox was still inside his mother.
I laugh. “Your parents send you a text?”
“From the Smoky Mountains. They’re looking at leaves.” He shakes his head, laughing like that’s crazy. “But they’re watching.”
“Mine too.”
I didn’t talk to Mom and Dad today, but I’ve been talking with them a lot lately after they ran into Eliza at the local grocery store back home.
She tried to ask them about me, saying she’d heard some awful things about what I’m up to these days, with a heavy implication that Mom and Dad should be horrified about my relationship with Kayla and Maddox.
Mom and Dad had smilingly told her I’m happier than they’ve ever seen me, which shut her down right quick.
But they still wanted to make sure they’d done the right thing.
Their bringing her up made me realize that I hadn’t truly thought about Eliza in a long time.
It was just the echoes of her ghost in my head that kept haunting me.
And with Kayla so powerfully and beautifully front and center in my mind now, there is no room for anything else.
Definitely not a long ago past that I don’t give a shit about anymore.
“It’ll be good to finally get them all in the same room.”
We didn’t quite have to go as far as getting a freelance scheduler to coordinate our schedules with Kayla’s, but it was close.
The three of us sat down with our calendars and planned out everything we could, including an away game weekend in Seattle that Kayla can fly out to watch.
We also invited Miranda and Charles, Maddox’s parents, and my parents to visit too, so they can all get to know each other.
This thing between us might be new, but we’re serious about making it work with our synced calendars, stays in the city at Kayla’s condo during the week, and further out at our house on the rare open weekends, and lots of honest communication.
“Our moms are gonna love Kayla,” I say.
“Our dads too. Everyone loves her.”
We meet eyes for a moment, then burst out into laughter. That’s not remotely true. Most people are scared of Kayla, especially if they’re sitting across from her at a negotiation table .
I look back up at the box seats again. It’s pretty far away in the big arena, but I feel like Kayla is watching me and Maddox talk and knows we’re talking about her. Thankfully, it’s all good. It’s always all good where she’s concerned.
Coach yells at us from the bench, telling us to bring it in before we take our positions for the puck drop. We skate to the wall, all eyes on him. “It starts tonight. One period at a fucking time. Get out there and skate your asses off.”
Coach is even less skilled with words than I am, but it’s effective. After years of playing, we know what to do and how to get into the right head space.
The game is long and hard fought, but ultimately, the Devils come out the victors ahead of the Cavaliers, 5-2.
As we leave the ice, people are lined up at the walls on our way toward the locker room. “Patrick! Patrick! Will you sign my book?”
After Eliza’s betrayal, and with Maddox’s help, I’d done a fair job of gluing the chunks of my heart back together into some semblance of who I used to be, but there were still a lot of cracks and breaks.
I let that damage control me long after I’d healed from what she broke inside me, hiding my fragility with asshole grunts while gruffly pushing people away.
That was when I quit signing autographs, figuring I could take that power (and money) away from her, or people like her.
I haven’t done them in years at this point, and somewhere along the way, people quit asking.
I was relieved since it brought up bad shit every time they did.
But this kid catches my attention, calling out my name and asking for an autograph.
He looks about twelve or thirteen, and something about him reminds me of myself at that age.
On that edge of sweet kid and stupid teenager, with a balance that can be shifted all too easily.
“Sure, what’s your name?”
The kid’s eyes widen comically, like he didn’t actually expect me to stop, much less respond to him. “Jacob.”
I scribble onto a page in Jacob’s autograph book and hand it back. He looks even more shocked now and turns, holding the page up to show his father. “Look, Dad! Riggs Patrick!”
The father looks at me with so much appreciation that I feel like an asshole for every single time I said no to signing in the past. I hold my fist out for a bump, and Jacob’s dad taps me back.
I feel like they’re going to talk about this day for years to come, but for me, it’s just a regular game.
I forgot that while I was wallowing in my own self-pity.
Maddox comes up beside me, a smile on his face. “Welcome back, man.”
“Thanks.” I mean it about so much more than just this small exchange. “You gonna be okay not staying one hundred percent locked on hockey the way you always have been?”
“Fuck yeah,” Maddox answers. “You see how awesome I did tonight? Two goals and an assist? And I still managed to blow Kayla a kiss during my second period penalty. I’m doing great.”
After a game, I’m ready to shower, eat, and crash for the next eight to twelve business hours. Maddox is always hyped up to the point of being annoying, but this time, I grin at his exuberance, completely unbothered.
It’s because I’m doing better now, and he and I are better friends. Most notably, it’s because of Kayla, the woman who appeared, disappeared, and then reappeared again, dancing through our dreams like a fantasy, only to become our reality.
We’re all great… together.
I hope you loved Never Dance With The Devils!