Page 164 of Playing the Pucking Game

“You need a new chef,” Fletch points out.

“You think I don’t fucking know that?” Killer snaps, filling his plate with as much food as he can fit on it.

Thankfully, the promise of full stomachs means the guys don’t stop long enough to get into an argument and instead head out to find a seat the second their plates are full.

“Is this seat taken?” I ask when I emerge into the dining room to find the chair beside Parker suspiciously empty.

“Sadly not,” she mutters.

I chuckle as I sit down, aware that I’ve got both Casey and Reese’s eyes on me.

“Are you having a good time?” I ask quietly so no one else can hear.

“That was never in doubt,” Parker says with a smile.

“See, told you,” I say with a smug grin.

“Linc, look at this picture I drew,” Sutton pipes up before sliding a drawing toward me.

“Oh wow, that’s incredible, Lil Rivers.”

Sutton blushes at the praise as I take the piece of paper from her and stare down at the illustration of myself on the ice in full uniform.

“I’ve done one for everyone,” she announces proudly.

“Sutton,” I sigh, clutching my chest. “I thought I was special.”

She laughs at my dramatics before finding the drawing she’s done for Monroe and racing toward him with it.

“How the fuck did you make such a cute kid?” I ask Kodie once she’s out of earshot.

He shrugs one shoulder. “Fucked if I know. You’re aware that that needs to be pride of place somewhere before her next visit, right?” he asks, nodding toward the drawing beside me.

“Goes without saying.”

The next couple of hours pass as a blur of laughter and happiness. While my own family might now be a little fractured, all the people around me remind me that it still exists. And that family isn’t about blood. It’s about so much more than that.

“I’m gonna head out,” Parker says from behind me, where I’m playing Xbox with Killer.

“What?” I ask, unsure if I heard her correctly.

“I’m leaving. Casey is going to?—”

“No,” I bark, dropping the controller and surging to my feet.

“The fuck, man?”

“Marilyn, take over,” I demand before storming around the couch to where Parker is standing.

“We came together,” I point out.

“Right? And we can leave separately. It’s not a big deal.”

Silence passes between us as we stare at each other.

She’s right. It shouldn’t be a big deal, but it fucking is.

“Guys, I’ll see you in the morning. We’re heading out.”