“Oh my gosh,” Savage muttered, collapsing on the bench as the crowd surged to their feet in anger just as the Wolverine Mascot hooked a leg above the boards – and the door swung open with the Wolverine comically perched on top, like a flag in the wind. “Can this get any worse?”
“And the penalty shot is awarded to the Kodiaks…”
It just got worse.
Much, much worse.
“NOOOO!” Coach Starnes screamed angrily, squatting down and pulling at his hair before shooting to his feet, grabbing Savage on the arm and shaking him. Heck, he was shaking the entire bench as everyone stared in horror as the Kodiak player sank the puck, shooting it right past Larsson’s skates.
Yeah, it was going to be a rough night.
2
HARPER
Everything hurt.
Not in the dramatic, broken-bones sort of way. Her knees ached, her hands were sore in the oversized mascot mitts that protected her palms from the ice. Her neck was stiff - and her pride?
Gone.
Obliterated.
Sayonara.
Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine that filling in for her next-door neighbor – the guy who used to teach ice skating locally – would ever result in her making an absolute idiot of herself in front of thousands of fans and millions of other ones on national television. One minute, she’d been riling up the fans, hyping them up with massive blue fuzzy arms pumping wildly in the uniform. She fed off their energy, realizing that this had to be the hardest and most fun job in the world as she waved two blue flags for the Wolverines hockey team. The energy is electric, the feelings staggering, the roar – deafening. She felt amazing, like she was ten feet tall in that suit.
And the next moment?
Right over the boards.
Well, maybe not ‘the’ next moment.
It was more of a precarious wobble, a motion, a subtle shift in her balance where it felt like the staggeringly hot-and-heavy mask was almost falling off her head. She felt it tilt forward, her body moving to balance it and keep it from flying off during a game, which, according to Toby, could not ever happen!
‘Do anything to keep the fans pumped and happy – but never let them see it’s you.’
Toby had been clear about that. He talked about image, about working the crowd, made it sound so important that she be there putting her everything in the big furry blue suit that reminded her of Cookie Monster – complete with a muzzle and plastic-covered canines.
Toby—the former local skating instructor turned beloved Wolverines mascot—was going to be off his feet for weeks recovering from surgery. All he’d asked was for her to fill in for a handful of home games. Nothing fancy. Nothing dangerous. Just waving, cheering, and keeping the fans entertained.
She’d needed the money.
She’d wanted to help her favorite hockey team and her neighbor.
And she genuinely liked Toby and his wife, Marianne.
Now…this.
The coach was giving her the stink-eye now that the Kodiaks had scored a goal on them. Several of the players weren’t even trying to hide their irritation, shooting her looks sharp enough to cut through the furry costume… except one. Pale green eyes watched her with understanding and sympathy as he pointedly scooted over on the bench.
Her stomach twisted.
Television cameras were all over her as she went to sit on the bench next to Marcus Shaw. She could hear muffled laughter from inside the Wolverines Mascot's helmet. They obviously thought she was headed for the penalty box, so she decided to ‘ham’ it up. Taking her big mitts, she put them over her eyes and pretended to sob before putting her ‘head’ on Shaw’s shoulder.
The crowd loved it.
She heard Shaw’s nervous laugh, like he wasn’t sure what to do about the distressed mascot, suddenly looking to him for comfort. She saw through the mesh eyes on the mask that the image of them was on the Jumbotron – and Shaw was awkwardly patting her head.
