Page 1 of The Love Comeback (Glaciers Hockey #3)

Chapter One

Ella

“Hockey is the best !” Colton shouts as the final buzzer sounds, pumping his fists in the air.

I smile to myself as my ten-year-old nephew bounces on the seat, where he’s been standing to get the best view of the Atlanta Glaciers playing on the ice below. I’ve been Colton’s guardian for almost five years now, and I’m pretty sure he’s having one of the best days of his life…

But me? I’m just trying not to stare at the man on the ice who broke my heart nine years ago.

“Can we go to the meet-and-greet?” The excitement in Colton’s voice is palpable. “They said it’s open to our section! I saw it on the screen! ”

With a frown, I gaze up at the monitors.

Sure enough, the section we’re sitting in—section 109—is flashing across the screen.

My stomach tightens at the thought of seeing my ex-boyfriend up close, of speaking to him, but …

I can’t tell Colton no. He loves hockey.

It’s the entire reason I surprised him with these game tickets this past Christmas.

Plus, it’s a great introduction to our new city, a fresh start, and a chance to bond after the move…

But seeing the players face-to-face was not on my bingo card, not something I had even remotely planned for when I made these arrangements.

“Okay,” I finally concede, turning my frown upside down to the best of my ability. This move has been hard enough on Colton. What’s one more sacrifice? “We can go to the meet-and-greet, but then we’ve gotta get home. You start school tomorrow.”

His excitement dampens. “Let’s not talk about that.”

I give him a curt nod, ruffling his dark hair as we head out of the section.

Honestly, Colton could easily pass as my son.

We have the same shade of chocolate brown hair and the same hazel eyes—which my big sister Katie also had.

The differences are mostly in his facial features, like his strong nose, freckles, and lips.

They all reflect his father—and the older he gets, the more I see Brett in him.

“Do you think they’ll sign my jersey?” Colton tugs on my arm as we make our way toward the back of the arena. There, the hockey players are seated at a long table, and with me being, well, me , we’re at the back of the line.

“I’m sure they will,” I reassure him as I gaze through the crowd. I’m not tall enough to scope out where each of the players are seated, but I do see that they’re signing posters. “It looks like you’ll get a free poster.”

“Cool!” Colton is bursting with enthusiasm, and I usually try to mirror that. But instead, I’m stuck pulling my black coat tighter around my body, terrified of what my ex will think of me after all these years.

He’s a professional hockey player, living his best life.

While I’m just a middle school math teacher who’s since been married and divorced—and got custody of my nephew in the middle of it all.

My heart jumps to my throat, grief pulsing through my body.

It’s been five years since Brett and Katie’s car crash, but I still feel the loss every day.

“ Ugh , this line is gonna take forever,” Colton groans, raking a hand over his face. “What if they don’t wait for us?” He peers up at me, worry etched across his features.

“They’ll wait for us.” I squeeze his shoulder.

He nods, leaning into me as we slowly but surely move through the line of eager fans. My eyes flick up to the row of hockey players now, their foreheads still glistening with sweat from the game. It only takes me a split second to find the man I was hoping to avoid .

My stomach somersaults at the sight of his olive skin, fiery amber eyes, and dark waves matted to his head.

He’s as handsome as ever, and it’s almost as frustrating as it is nice to see him.

He was my first heartbreak—and ugh , did he break me, ending our nearly four-year relationship the day before I left for college.

I pretty much spent the first semester of my freshman year bawling like a baby.

“I think I wanna be a goalie,” Colton muses, once again bouncing with excitement. “Kade Santos is so baller!”

Baller?

I giggle and then swallow hard.

“Well, we’ll have to see about that. You don’t know how to skate, so we’d have to get you lessons…

” My voice fades as my brain immediately starts thinking about what lessons would cost. My new job here in Atlanta as the head of Meadowlark Middle School’s mathematics department came with a decent raise. But money is still tight.

Thankfully, I don’t have to explain any of that to Colton as we make it to the first hockey player who grabs one of the tiny posters and scribbles his signature on it with a Sharpie.

“I wanna play hockey,” Colton says to him.

“Yeah?” The blond-headed guy looks up with a grin. “You should tell your mom to sign you up.”

My cheeks blush a dark crimson from embarrassment. I don’t want to have to tell these hockey pros that I can’t afford it on my meager teacher’s salary .

“ Ella ?” A deep, baritone voice cuts right through my chest. “ Ella Smart , is that you?”

With a mouth that suddenly feels like it’s full of cotton balls, I adjust my gaze to the end of the table, where my ex is now boring holes into my head.

“Hi, Kade,” I choke out, butterflies coming from nowhere and fluttering all the way to my heart. “It’s me.”

“I can’t believe you’re here…” Kade’s voice trails off, and now I’m regretting being at the back of the line. He has some time to talk to me. His eyes drop to Colton as the other players finish signing the poster and we make it to him. “Is this…?”

“Colton,” I tell him, confident that he’ll know.

“Holy … you’re all grown up, dude!” He holds up a hand for Colton to high-five, and my nephew has never looked more confused in his whole life.

“You know Kade Santos? He knows me?” Colton whips his head around to me, demanding answers that I’m reluctant to give him.

“I dated Kade in high school. We were together when your mom gave birth to you,” I tell him, keeping it short and simple. Never mind the fact that Kade actually held Colton the day he was born.

“You dated Kade Sant—”

“It was a long time ago,” I cut him off, feeling heat creep up my neck.

There was a time that I’d imagined cheering Kade on at a professional hockey game—back when we were in high school.

Long before Kade was ever a hotshot NHL goalie.

But that dream never came to fruition. We broke up.

Which means, I never got to be the one who cheered him on through his college or professional days.

“How are you, El?” Kade asks, his eyes intently focused on me. “What’re you doing here in Atlanta? Did you just come for the game?”

“That’s a lot of questions.” I chuckle, feeling nervous as everyone starts staring at us. “Um, I just moved here.”

“ We moved here,” Colton corrects. “And I start stupid school tomorrow.”

“Don’t use that word,” I warn him, nudging his arm.

Kade’s thick, dark brows furrow, his eyes bouncing between us. That’s when it hits me that he doesn’t know.

How can he not know?

I brush my hair out of my face, not really wanting to drop the bomb that my big sister and her husband died and now I’m the sole guardian of Colton in front of all these people. Instead, I stand, hovering in the awkward silence, while Kade tries to piece together the scene before him.

“You guys wanna see the locker room?” Kade asks. “Does that sound like a good plan?”

Colton eagerly nods. “ Yeah! That’d be so cool!”

Kade turns to me as he rises from his seat. “Are you okay with that?”

“Sure.” I nod, taking in his six-foot-four frame. “As long as it’s not too much trouble.”

“It’s no trouble at all,” he says before turning to his teammates to let them know he’ll be stepping away for a minute. I forgot how intimidating his size was—which makes sense since he’s a goalie, but still…

He always made me feel so … safe .

And then he shattered my heart.

I swallow down those memories as I nudge Colton to follow him. He jogs to walk side-by-side with Kade, peppering him with questions about hockey. My Converse squeak on the floor as I walk a couple steps behind.

“Dude, this is so awesome !” Colton erupts as soon as we enter the empty locker room. There are bags and things scattered about, but all the other players are still out in the lobby.

I crinkle my nose at the scent of cologne mixed with body odor. I guess some things don’t change between high school athletes and professional ones. Well, other than the fact that the cologne smells a lot more expensive than Axe body spray.

“It’s so crazy to see you.” Kade bumps my arm, and I peer up at him, catching my breath at the sharpness of his jaw and the dark stubble lining it. I’m livid at how handsome he’s become. Meanwhile, I’m still the same pale-faced nerd that I’ve always been .

“So…” Kade nods toward Colton, who’s busy studying the pictures on the wall. “You two…?”

“I got custody of Colton after Katie and Brett passed away five years ago,” I tell him. “Car crash.”

“Oh my gosh…” Kade’s voice grows thick with emotion. “I’m so sorry, Ella. If I’d known … I’d…”

“It’s okay.” I hold up a hand. “Apart from the grief, having Colton in my life has been nothing but good. Well, the best I could make it, anyway.”

“Right…” He eyes me, and I hate the sympathy in his irises. He has no idea how hard it’s been, but I wouldn’t change it.

Well, I would change the car crash, and I think about that often, but as far as everything else goes…

No.

I love my life, and even though caring for Colton comes with its own challenges, he’s given my life purpose. And I like to think I’m making my sister proud.

“And where’s … what’s-his-face?” Kade pulls me out of my thoughts.

“Landon?” I furrow my brow. “We didn’t work out.”

“You married him,” Kade says flatly.

“And it didn’t work out,” I repeat, not really in the mood to try to explain how Landon couldn’t handle the pressure of becoming a parent, so he left .

My gaze jumps to Colton. The divorce was painful not just for me, but for him , too. Landon chose not to stay in Colton’s life. So…

It’s just us.

I wave a hand. “But there’s no need to talk about any of that.”

“Okay, well … how’s your mom?”

“She’s doing … about as good as she can,” I relent. Kade knows my mother well. We were together when she got her early-onset dementia diagnosis our senior year. “Her memory has gotten worse.”

“Gosh, I’m so sorry to hear that.” He shakes his head. “Is she still living back home?”

“No, actually.” I think back to how difficult the past year with my mom has been.

She still has good days, where she remembers my name and asks about Colton.

But last year, she wandered out of the house in the middle of the night.

“The doctor recommended 24/7 care about a year ago, so she’s been living at a memory care facility here in Atlanta.

It’s why Colton and I moved here—to be closer to her. ”

It’s not at all what I pictured for my mom, but it’s what she needs. She’s safe, with around-the-clock care—plus, they let her garden, which she loves. And her caretaker, Chandra, is amazing; I trust her with my mom.

“You’ve been through a lot, El.” Kade’s voice is soft as it cuts through my thoughts, his gaze holding a mix of empathy and guilt. “And it sounds like you’ve been handling everything on your own.”

The weight of all the responsibilities I carry hits me like a ton of bricks as Kade’s concerned gaze lingers on me.

Despite my best efforts to put on a brave face for Colton, the reality of managing everything alone gnaws at me sometimes.

From juggling work and taking care of my mother’s needs to being the sole guardian for Colton—it can be overwhelming.

I don’t have any help from my dad—he left when I was just a baby—or from Brett’s parents, since they live across the country.

But before I can say anything in response, Colton spins around. “You know, I really want to play hockey, but Ella says I need to learn how to skate first.”

Kade’s brows raise. “I know a guy who can help.”

Wait, what?

“I’d be more than happy to give you some skating lessons. It would be a great excuse to catch up with you guys,” he adds, eyeing me.

“Um…” I start.

“ Yes! ” Colton cheers, then turns to me. “Please? I want this so bad.”

I sigh, raking my fingers through my hair. “How much?”

“Huh?” Kade looks confused. “We could do lessons maybe … twice a week? After school, at the practice rink?”

“I meant, how much will it cost?” I ask, already wary of the way Kade’s mouth is peeling upward into a grin.

“ Free .”