Page 7

SEVEN

Brian

I left the gym an hour early so I could go to the hotel, pack up our shit, and get to the school on time to pick up Maddy. She really didn’t have all that much stuff, which made me a little angry and sad at the same time. She only packed a couple of duffel bags, one filled with clothes. The other one she’d never opened with me around. When I picked it up, I had to put a little effort into it, because it was heavy as hell.

The bell rang a couple minutes after I parked, and kids started streaming out of the building. Okay, more like sauntering. Most of the older kids headed for the parking lot, getting in their hand-me-down Chevy trucks and Honda Civics. No Beemers or Mercedes here, although there were a couple of classic muscle cars that made me smile. And a lot of the cars had Devils stickers on their bumpers or back windows.

Most of the younger kids headed for the buses lined up in front of the building, but there were a few who aimed for the parking lot and the line of cars waiting for them. Surprisingly, Maddy walked out with another girl, dressed in ripped jeans and a black hoodie, whose mouth never stopped moving. Maddie didn’t appear to say anything, though she nodded occasionally, red hair loose and falling around her face. Like she didn’t want anyone to notice her. Made my heart hurt to see it. But she didn’t look like she didn’t want to talk to the other girl.

Maddy looked up at that moment and searched the parking lot. I was pretty sure I saw relief on her face when she saw my truck. But she didn’t immediately make a run for it. She said something to the other girl, who smiled and nodded then turned in the other direction as Maddy made her way to my truck.

She grunted out a “Hey” as she got in, glancing at all our stuff piled in the back.

“Pretty sure I got everything,” I said as I pulled away. “Checked all the drawers twice and the shower.”

Maddy shrugged, like it didn’t matter. “Thanks.”

“Have a good day?”

Another shrug. “Okay, I guess. Just another school.”

“Homework?”

That got a huff. “Of course. It’s school.”

And that was the extent of my small talk.

Surprisingly, Maddy asked, “How was practice?”

“Not bad. Didn’t injure anything, so that’s a good day.”

A slight pause. “Do you get hurt a lot?”

I shrugged but took a few seconds to think about my answer. Because I realized Maddy had never seen me play.

“Not a lot, no, but I’ve had a couple of broken bones. And something always hurts.”

“Mom isn’t really into sports, so we don’t really watch it.” Another pause. “And we didn’t have, like, regular TV.”

Because they couldn’t afford it, probably. Shit.

“Well, the game we play here is a little different than the NHL. It’s a little, umm…more aggressive.”

It occurred to me that Maddy might not like the game. And I was going to have to drag her to every damn home game. Double shit.

I had her full attention now as she turned to look at me, eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

Might as well lay it all on the table right away, so she wasn’t surprised.

“Well, I play defense, and defensemen do a lot of checking.”

“You mean you hit people.”

“Well, yeah. I thought you don’t watch hockey?”

She shrugged. “Doesn’t mean Mom doesn’t talk about you.”

“So what’d she say?”

“She said you hit people for a living.”

I opened my mouth to say, “Not exactly,” but then shut it when I realized that’s exactly what I did.

“I feel that needs a little context.”

“I’m not stupid, Uncle Bri.” I knew she’d just rolled her eyes even if I couldn’t see her actually do it. “I get that you don’t just go out and hit people. It’s just the game.”

“It’s part of the game, yeah. I guess I just don’t want you to be, uh, surprised at how…physical it can get.”

She didn’t say anything right away, and I figured she’d decided the conversation was over. It wasn’t until we were pulling into the driveway at our new apartment that she had something else to say.

“Are you going to get hurt?”

I parked and shut the engine off so I could turn to look at her. She wouldn’t meet my eyes, but her lips quivered a little. Like she was scared. Hell, I didn’t want her to be scared. I just didn’t want her to freak out when I bled a little. Then again, I’d promised her no lying.

“Hey, Mads.” I waited until she turned to me, trying so hard not to look worried. “Yeah, I can get hurt. It’s a physical game, and I play hard. But I’m big, and I’m tough, and usually it’s the other guy who goes down. But I don’t want you to be afraid. Not for me…or of me.”

Immediately, she rolled her eyes, and a little of that fear got pushed out by feminine exasperation. Now she looked so much like my sister that I just had to smile.

“I know that . It’ll be fine, Uncle Bri.”

I huffed out a laugh, and she smiled.

And that’s when Mrs. Travers stomped out of her house, waving her cane like a sword.

“You two going to sit in that truck all night? Come out and get your keys before I freeze.”

The knock on the door didn’t surprise me. I figured it was Mrs. Travers with something else to throw at me.

First, it’d been freshly washed sheets followed by blankets. No idea what we were still missing because the kitchen was stocked with every kind of pot and pan I could think of and would never use, and the bathroom had towels that smelled like the sheets and blankets.

But it wasn’t Mrs. Travers.

“Hey, man. Just checking in to see if you’ve got everything you need.” Rowdy grinned at me then held up an insulated bag. “And we come bearing food, so I figure you’ll be happy to see us.”

The “us” part of that equation was a short, beautiful blonde whom Rowdy had somehow managed to convince to move from New York City to St. David with her young daughter, who bounced between her mom and Rowdy.

“Lucky for you, Rowdy cooked,” Tressy said with a lopsided grin, which just made her daughter, Krista, laugh.

“Mommy, you don’t cook that bad.” Krista looked up at me with a glint in her eyes and whispered, “But Rowdy’s definitely better.”

With a smile, I waved my hand. “Come on in. We’re just getting our stuff put away.” I turned to yell toward Maddy’s bedroom. “Hey, Mads, we’ve got guests.”

I took the bag from Rowdy and headed toward the kitchen. “Thanks for this. I figured we’d head down to the diner for dinner, but this is better.”

“Don’t get too excited.” Rowdy put his arm around Tressy, the move so natural, they looked like an old married couple. I figured that wedding would be happening pretty soon. “It’s just baked rigatoni, a chicken casserole, and eggplant parmesan.”

“Dude, you have way too much time on your hands.”

Something crossed Rowdy’s expression, so fast that I almost missed it.

“Yeah, not really. But we gotta eat too, and it’s easy enough to make double.”

“Well, I appreciate it.” I turned to call for Maddy again just as she came out of her bedroom. She had a polite smile on her face, as if she figured she had to be on her best behavior or else. Or else what, I don’t know.

“Hey, Mads, these are my friends, Rowdy, Tressy, and Krista. Rowdy’s the captain of the Devils.”

“Hi.” Maddy nodded and raised a hand before dipping her head down, though her smile did seem a little more natural when she glanced at Krista.

“They brought us food, so we won’t starve or rot away on fast food. At least for a few days.”

Maddy stopped at my side, close enough that we were almost touching.

“Thanks.”

“Can you put this in the fridge for me?”

“Sure.” She took the bag, then glanced at Krista, whose bright smile made Maddy’s smile a little more natural. “Do you wanna help?”

“Sure! Momma said you just moved here. We did too. Well, a little while ago. We moved here last Christmas. Christmas here is really fun. Did you know…”

The girls had moved out of earshot, and I turned back to see Tressy staring at the girls and Rowdy staring at me, still grinning.

“Sorry.” I waved at the sitting area on the other side of the room from the kitchen. “Come on in. Sit down. You want something to drink?”

“Nah, we’re not staying long,” Rowdy said. “Just wanted to make sure you had some food.”

“This is much nicer than I was expecting.” Tressy’s gaze swept around the place. “When Rain told me you were renting a garage, I didn’t think it’d be this big.”

“Yeah, me either. It’s deceptive from the outside. And the two floors are nice.”

It meant me and Maddy had separate rooms and baths. Yeah, they were small, but it’d been more than I was expecting, and I was grateful.

“Are you excited to be playing again?” Tressy asked.

Loaded question, especially with Rowdy watching me like a hawk.

I nodded. “I am. It just takes me a little longer to warm up than it used to. Don’t want to embarrass myself with all the kids this weekend. I swear they get younger every year.”

Rowdy snorted. “That’s because we get older. Sprints get more exhausting, and the hits hurt a little more. Good thing you’re here to give me a few weeks off.”

“About that. You know I didn’t expect you to give me your spot on the team.”

Rowdy and Tressy exchanged a look that made my brain churn.

“Actually,” Rowdy looked back at me, “there’s some stuff going on behind the scenes that made this a good time for me to take some time off.”

“Can you tell me?”

He exchanged another look with Tressy, her smile encouraging him to continue. “We’re not broadcasting this, but I know you can keep your mouth shut. Only Dad, Mom, Rain, me, and Tressy know about this, but… We got an offer from the ECHL to join the league.”

My mouth dropped open in surprise. That had not been anything I’d even thought about.

“Holy shit, Rowdy, that’s…great?”

From his expression, I could tell he was torn. Rowdy couldn’t hide what he was thinking for shit. And honestly, I didn’t know what to think. The ECHL was a different level of play. More rules. More teams. More logistics. More headaches.

“We’re not sure we’re going to do it yet. Rain and I need to talk about it more. Rebel made it clear he’s leaving management of the Devils up to us, so we’re kicking it around. Right now, I’m stuck between ‘Hey, we made it’ and ‘No fucking way.’”

“Sounds like you’ve got a lot on your plate.”

“Understatement, man. Total understatement. And Rain’s coming at this with a totally different perspective, which is great, but I need to bounce shit off another player, so you’ve been nominated.”

“Gee, thanks. I think.” I huffed, shaking my head. “You know I’m here for you, whatever you need.”

“I know, man. And I appreciate the hell out of that. I know you’re still getting settled, but we’d love for you and Maddy to come for dinner tomorrow at our place. Not gonna lie, I wanna pick your brain.” He exchanged a quick look with Tressy, whose mouth curved into a smile. “We’ll invite Rain too.”

I blinked, my heart beating a little faster at the mention of her name.

“Uh, yeah, sure.” Christ, I sounded like an idiot. “That sounds great. Thanks.”

Rowdy’s expression split in a shit-eating grin, which I chose to ignore.

“Then we’ll see you tomorrow around six. Hey, Krista, we gotta go.”

I looked over to see Krista pout, but it was the look on Maddy’s face that made me want to smile. She looked happy, smiling down at Krista and taking her hand when the other girl reached out to pull her along with her.

Dinner tomorrow night would be good for her. Good for her to be around other people.

And being with Rain wouldn’t hurt my mood either.