I watched the kid take his seat on the bench, getting back slaps from everyone but Liam, who pulled his helmet off and ruffled up his hair. I couldn’t help but grin—what was it about hockey that made these giant men turn into little boys when they scored goals?
But we were still down by one and the clock was ticking. On his next shift, Liam went hard for the net, shaking off a defensive player. He took a shot that just missed before grabbing hisown rebound. Without even pausing, he planted his skates and swung his stick back, firing off what I was pretty sure was the hardest slapshot I’d ever seen. The goalie didn’t even seem to see the puck as it sailed over his shoulder into the net. Tied up.
Andy was grinning even as his eyes went back and forth between the ice and the time clock. If the game was tied at the end of regulation, there would be one five-minute, sudden-death overtime period. If no one scored, they’d move onto a shoot-out. It would be a pretty exciting way to end the first game in the arena, but I knew Andy would much rather see the team get the win straight out.
Down on the bench I could see Liam hollering at his teammates, banging his stick against the boards, trying to rile them up.He’s a good captain,I thought to myself.
I was still watching Liam on the bench when the crowd drew a collective sharp breath. Liam jumped to his skates, his eyes on the net, and I quickly tore my attention back to the action. When I did, my heart stopped. Two guys were barreling down the ice towards Enzo, not a single Sting defenseman in their way.
The entire arena seemed to hold its breath as the forward took his shot and then?—
“Holy shit!” Greg called out, pounding Andy on the back. “That’s a hell of a goaltender you got there!”
I could only stare at the ice in shock. Damn, that had been a pretty save. Like, highlight-reel worthy. But there wasn’t time to catch my breath because Dalton had grabbed the rebound and was streaking back up the ice. Twenty seconds left now, as he dodged a defenseman and got past the blue line. He fired off a rocket of a shot but it was wide, there was no way it was going in—and then Jay appeared right next to the goal on the other side, an opposing defenseman practically hanging off his back to keep him from getting into position. There was a scrum of players by the net and I was sure the officials were going to blowtheir whistle any second—until Jay somehow managed to grab a bouncing rebound and just tip it into the net.
The red lamp went off. 4-3. We won.
Down on the ice, Jay was staring at the net in what looked like confusion while the rest of his teammates swarmed him, streaming off the bench to go celebrate the first win of the year. When Liam got to his friend he tackled him, knocking Jay off his feet and into the net, slapping his helmet over and over while the two laughed like little kids.
Next to me, my brother’s grin matched the ones down on the ice.
After lots of hugs and handshakes around the owner’s box, I followed Andy downstairs. The hallway outside the locker room was chaotic, reporters and family members all trying to get to the players. Andy shook a few hands before a pretty blonde in a red suit and yellow blouse—team colors— came to direct him to a side room for the press conference.
“You’ll speak right after the coach and before the players,” I heard her tell him. Andy held up a hand to stop her and turned back to me. “You okay down here?”
“I’m fine, Andy. Go gloat about your team.”
He winked at me before allowing the woman to drag him off to meet the press.
“Miss K!” A familiar voice called and I spun to see Josie pushing past the adults who clogged up the hallway. I bent at the waist just in time to catch her as she threw herself into my arms.
“Did you see that?” she cried in my ear. “My daddy scored twice! And my Uncle Jay scored, and he like,neverscores!”
I laughed, squeezing her tight, making a mental note to tell Liam how excited she was, just in case she reverted back to moodiness by the time he saw her.
“Those were some awesome goals,” I said, releasing her.
“Glad to hear you think so,” a deep voice rumbled, and I snapped my head up to see Liam towering over us. He’d already taken his shower and was now dressed in a shirt and tie, his hair still wet around his ears. My knees felt a little weak—God, the man was gorgeous.
“Daddy!” Josie cried, flinging herself at him, and I could see the way his entire body seemed to melt with relief as he lifted her into his arms. My heart ached as I watched him pick her up off the ground and hold her tight, whispering something in her ear that made her laugh. Every ounce of his love for her was clear on his face, and it really hit home how hard these last few months must have been for him, watching helplessly as she turned away from him over and over.
“Not a bad game, son,” a man said, coming up next to Liam. I did a double take when I realized it wasn’t Peter, who I had been expecting. No, this was a man I hadn’t seen in a decade. Josie’s other grandfather—Liam’s dad.
“Hey,” he said, setting Josie down, his entire face lit up and happy. “I didn’t think you guys were gonna make it when I heard the flight was delayed!”
“We barely had time to pick Josie up at Evelyn and Peter’s,” Mr. O’Conner said, then grabbed his six-foot-five son into a bone crushing hug.
“Nana!” Josie called, bouncing on her feet in excitement, “come meet my teacher!”
My mouth dropped open a bit when I saw Leigh O’Conner coming up behind her husband in the crowded hallway. It had been years since I saw her last, and while there was a lot more grey in her hair, mostly everything else remained the same. Same short, roundish figure. Same soft blue eyes, the exact shade as her son’s. Same sweet, loving smile.
When she saw me, she gasped. “Grace Knight, is that you?”
I swallowed, feeling a lump come to my throat as the woman threw her arms around me. A hundred memories rushed over me as I took in her familiar scent—cinnamon and vanilla, exactly the way her kitchen always smelled.
“Hi,” I managed to whisper, feeling close to tears, and she tightened her arms around me. This was the woman who had cooked more meals for me than my own mother, the woman who had taught me to bake a cake from scratch, taught me to knit. Came to more than one of my senior year debate club matches because she knew I was the only person on the team to never have a familiar face in the audience. I didn’t think Liam had ever realized just how much his family had meant to me back then.
“When Liam told me he’d been traded to Andrew’s team I just prayed it meant he’d see you again,” she said into my ear. “And then he told us you were Josie’s teacher! I couldn’t believe our good luck.” Her voice sounded choked up. “It is so,sogood to see you, honey.”
