Page 53

FIFTY-THREE

HUDSON

I can’t find Madeline and Lucy anywhere, and it’s distracting me.

Every time I look up at their seats during a stop in play, they’re not there. They haven’t been there since before puck drop, and I’m starting to worry something happened.

I play like shit each time I’m on the ice. Coach calls me out for being slow, for lacking aggression, but I don’t care. When the horn sounds at the end of the first period, I’m heading toward the tunnel before any of my teammates.

I spot Piper leaning against the wall with Lucy by her side, and that’s when I know something is wrong. Madeline would never leave her daughter unless it was an emergency, and the same fear I had when Coach pulled me off the ice to tell me about my mom settles like a brick in my stomach.

“Where’s Madeline?” I ask, and Piper’s smile falls.

“There was, a-ah situation.”

“What kind of situation?” I look down at Lucy who seems unharmed, but that doesn’t bring me as much relief as I thought it would. “Is she okay?”

“She’s fine. No one is hurt,” she tells me, and I let out my first breath in what feels like hours. “Her ex… well. He’s here.”

I swear to all that is holy my vision turns red. I grip my stick so tightly I don’t know how it doesn’t break in two. Fury like I’ve never experienced before races up my spine, and I force myself to take a breath before I say something I might regret.

“What did he want?” I ignore my teammates passing us on their way to the locker room. I ignore the fans yelling my name, and I keep looking at Piper. “Is she with him right now?”

“God, no,” Piper says, and that makes me feel marginally better.

Hi, Hudson, Lucy signs, and I give her a smile.

Hi, Lucy.

I’m Piper’s assistant.

You’re doing such a good job, kid.

Lucy turns her attention away from me when Liam walks down the hall. One look at Piper has him marching over to us with all his gear. He holds out his arm and Lucy giggles, holding onto his blocker and letting him lead her toward the locker room.

“Where is Madeline?” I ask.

“She needed a minute alone, so I took her to the media room. I didn’t get the full story, but she was shocked to see him.” She waves at Riley and holds up her microphone. “Give her some space, Huddy. She’ll be okay.”

The last thing I want to do is give her space. I want track down the piece of shit who hurt her and teach him a lesson.

I know I have a job to do, but hockey is the last thing on my mind. For years I’ve given everything I have to this team, and I hate that I have to pick between the sport I love and the woman I’m gone for.

“Hayes,” Coach barks out, and I jerk my neck up. “Enough socializing. Get your ass moving.”

“Yes, Coach,” I mumble.

Heaving a deep breath, I trudge to the locker room. When I make it inside, I throw my stick at my locker. I grip the wood sides of the cubby and rest my helmet against my nameplate, seething.

Maverick is at my side in an instant. “Dude. The fuck is going on? You’re playing like ass tonight.”

“Madeline’s ex is here,” I manage to get out.

“Like, here here?” he asks.

“Like found her in the stands and talked to her here.”

“ Shit . Is she okay? Are you okay?”

“I’m seconds away from committing a homicide.” I close my eyes and try to practice centering myself like my therapist taught me. I try to shove away all the external conflicts and distractions, but I come up short. “How the fuck am I supposed to focus on hitting a goddamn puck when the man who divorced the woman I fucking love sits in the stands without getting a piece of my fucking mind? He left them because his daughter is deaf. Do you know how horrible he is?”

“The woman you?—”

“Obviously,” I practically yell. “How can I not fucking love her? She’s perfect.” I sit in my down and throw off my helmet. I yank off my gloves, pressing the heels of my palms into my eyes and groaning. “I love her and her daughter, and while I’m mad as hell she ever had to go through any of that pain, I’m glad she did because now I get to have her, and I’m never fucking letting her go.”

“Who the fuck is this bastard?” Grant asks. “I’ll go take care of him right now.”

“Sit your ass down, Everett,” Maverick orders, but Grant’s offer makes me smile. “What do you need, Hud?”

“I never thought I could hate someone I’ve never met, but I fucking despise this dude.” I move my hands away and look at my best friend. “I don’t need anything. The venting helped.”

“Yeah?” He smirks. “Are you going to track her down and yell at her how much you love her?”

“Not sure she’s ready for that. Not yet.” I roll my shoulders and tilt my neck to the side. “I want to finish this game then get the fuck out of here. So if we could hurry up, I’d be really fucking grateful.”

The second period passes in a blur, and it’s like I slip into a trance. It’s the same thing that happened when I played while Mom was sick. I know I’m here. I know I’m getting slammed into the boards and assisting Ethan on a goal, but it doesn’t really feel like I’m here .

Each time-out my mind wanders, and I want to know what he said to her to make her so upset. When I collect a rebound off a missed shot by our opponent and take it down the ice to score during a power play, the celebration doesn’t mean shit because Madeline and Lucy aren’t there to see it.

We make it to the third with a 4-2 lead. I check my phone, and there’s no word from her. Knowing she’s okay gives little solace, and that’s only thanks to Piper, who stopped me in the tunnel on our way to intermission to tell me she checked on Madeline and she was doing better.

I barely pay attention the last two minutes of the game. I play good defense. I support my teammates. I do what I’m asked to do, but when the buzzer sounds, I’m heading off the ice.

I feel like a dick for not showing any sportsmanship to our opponent, but I’m hoping Maverick can come up with an excuse for my quick departure.

“Where is she?” I ask Piper, and she gestures down the hall.

“Still in the media room,” she tells me, and I grab a pair of skate guards from our equipment manager.

I cover the distance in what feels like five steps, and when I swing the door open, Madeline looks up at me. Her eyes are red and her cheeks are puffy, and there’s mascara near her nose.

“Sweetheart,” I say. She stands and charges toward me, not stopping until she throws her arms around my neck and buries her face in my jersey. Her shoulders shake and I stroke her back, but I stop when I hear her laughing. “What’s so funny?”

“This jersey smells like the pits of hell.” Madeline pulls away from me, and I’m glad to see she’s smiling. “My god, Hayes. This is from sixty minutes of playing?”

“My socks smell even worse.”

“Don’t even try to get your feet close to me.”

I smile and cup her cheek. “What happened?” I ask. “Did he come here looking for you?”

“No. Nothing like that.” Madeline shakes her head. “He’s here on a business trip and saw me in the stands. He came up and tried to talk to me, but I shut it down right away. I got out of there as fast as I could.”

“Did Lucy see all of this happen?”

“Yeah. He asked if that was her. He tried to call her his daughter, and that’s when I snapped. I didn’t want to cause a scene. I was so caught off guard by seeing him. I didn’t know what else to do.” She sighs and unbuckles my helmet. “I’m sorry I missed your game. I heard you scored a goal.”

“It’s not important. What can I do to help you, Mads?”

“I want to go home,” she says, and I love that’s what she calls the condo. I love that she feels like the place is hers, because it is. “Please.”

“Let’s go. I need to change, then we’ll head out. Lucy is with Piper. She’s doing okay. Liam even stole her away for a minute, and I think he might’ve been smiling,” I say, and that gets a laugh out of her. “Hell is freezing over.”

“She has a way of nestling her way into your heart, doesn’t she?” Madeline tells me. “She can break down even the grumpiest motherfuckers.”

It’s my turn to laugh, glad to hear her making jokes.

“Let’s get our girl,” I say, draping my arm over her shoulder, but she shoves me away.

“You do not get to touch me with that funk on you, Hayes.”

“So I need to shower before I’m allowed to leave? Got it, Galloway.”

“Two showers would be preferable.”

We walk to the door and I put my hand on her lower back. When we get close to the locker room, Madeline freezes.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, and when I follow her gaze, I see a guy standing in the tunnel with some other fans lingering around the lounge. His khakis are too short. His polo is an obnoxious shade of yellow, and I hate the stupid tennis shoes he’s wearing. His eyes dart between me and Madeline, and he frowns. “Is that Fark?”

“Yeah. Just my luck the friend he’s with is a season ticket holder.” She steps closer to me. “I’m fine.”

“I can’t bring you into the locker room with me, but I need to get my stuff. Give me two minutes, and I’ll be right out.”

“It’s okay, Hudson. Really.”

She smiles up at me, and the douche canoe of her ex comes walking toward us. He puts on some nice-guy act with the security guard, pointing at us over his shoulder, and when I hear my daughter come out of his mouth, I want to deck him in the jaw.

“Where did Lucy go?” Clark asks, and I step forward to create a buffer between them.

“You can’t be down here, man,” I say.

He rolls his eyes and tries to get around me. “I’m just asking about my daughter. Relax, man .”

“Back up,” I tell him, and when he doesn’t listen, I throw off my gloves and shove him against the wall. “I said back the fuck up.”

“Hudson.” Piper runs over, and out of the corner of my eye, I see Lucy watching all of us. “Enough. What are you doing? Lexi, can you get Maverick for me?”

“I wanted to apologize,” Clark says.

“You don’t get to talk to her.” I keep my arm against him, and that’s when I see the first moment of panic in his eyes. “Don’t look at her. Don’t talk to her. You go through me, buddy, and guess what? I don’t want anything to do with you.”

“I was young and stupid.” He closes his eyes. “It was a mistake.”

“Hudson.” Madeline touches my arm, and I relax under the press of her fingers. “Let him go. I don’t want Lucy to see you like this. It’s not who you are.”

Lucy .

“I’m sorry.” I drop him from my hold and take four steps back. “I didn’t?—”

“I know.” Her smile calms me down. It makes me take a deep breath, and I huff. “You protect what’s yours. I remember.”

Mine.

Mine, mine, mine.

Lucy and Madeline are mine, and I’ll do anything it takes to keep them safe.

“Yeah,” I mumble, and when Maverick makes his way into the tunnel, I shake my head. “I do.”

Madeline turns her attention to Clark. She puts her hands on her hips and stares at him. “You’re years late with an apology,” she says to him, and I don’t know how she’s keeping her voice so calm. “We’re fine without you. We’ve always been fine without you, and I never want to see you again. Do you understand me?”

“Yeah.” He hangs his head, defeated. “I understand.”

“Lucy is not your daughter. She’s mine. Your money means nothing to me, and you don’t get to call her yours,” Madeline adds, and my heart swells in my chest with her fierce tone.

“Okay.” Clark shifts to his left, moving away from us. “I got it.”

“Hey,” she calls out, and it’s pathetic how quickly he turns around. “Why did you like my photo on Instagram?”

“What?” His brows furrow. “I didn’t do that.”

“On my chef page. You liked a photo from a year ago.”

“I don’t know.” Clark shoves his hands in his pockets. Stupid fucking khakis. “It must’ve been my girlfriend’s kid when he was messing around on my phone.”

“Girlfriend.” Madeline snorts. “Right.”

Maverick gives me a look, and I nod. Piper mentions something about taking Lucy into the lounge for a candy bar. The second Clark is gone, I’m reaching for Madeline, holding her against my chest and not caring how horrible I smell.

“Are you okay?” I ask into her hair, and she nods against my jersey.

“That was… cathartic. Closure, almost. I don’t have feelings for that man. I haven’t had feelings for him in years , but to see him and know I survived all the hurt he put us through?” Madeline tips her chin up to look at me. “It gives me hope. It tells me my heart has healed. That I could…”

The sentence hangs between us, unfinished.

Love you .

Spend the rest of my life with you .

Be with you until my dying days .

“I want you to know I’m going to spend every second I’m on this earth proving to you that I’m not him.” I untangle our limbs and cup her cheeks. I stroke my thumbs over her skin, smiling when she sighs and melts into my touch. “I will never be him. I will never leave you and Lucy, and I promise you won’t ever doubt my…”

Love for you , I want to say. I swallow it down, but she nods, eyes bright.

“I know,” she whispers. “I know that. I’ve never doubted you for a second. I’m not scared, Hudson. I just… go slow with me, please.”

“We’ll go as slow as you want, sweetheart.” I touch her chin, tilting her head back. I kiss her, not caring who is watching. I sure as shit hope Clark is. “It’s you, me, and Lucy. For as long as you’ll have me.”

Her grin is my favorite thing. “What a team we make.”