Thirty minutes later, both teams have left for the locker rooms, and I just want to go home. But Molly and Celie are determined to see Daddy.
“Did he give you a clue what he wanted?” Celie asks me for the tenth time.
“Not exactly.”
I wouldn’t say the pre-game run-in with my father went great. Then again, it went pretty much the way things always go with him.
My excitement over the win is gone, and now all I feel is numb.
“Hello, girls.” We all turn to see Daddy walking toward us.
He climbs into the stands, gives me a big hug and kiss as if we didn’t see each other already, and then he does the same with Molly and Celie.
I return to sneezing. As Molly reaches into her purse to hand me a tissue, Cam steps out from the Cannons’ locker room. He waves but doesn’t come over.
* * *
Cameron
My hands clench into fists at my sides as I watch Savannah stand across from the man who broke her. The fact that he’s her father makes me loathe him even more.
But I fight back a smile when I take a closer look. Savannah’s so strong, and as she nods a response to her dad, I relax when her mouth twists into a half-frown.
She’s not going to give in to him. Never again. I can tell. Her head is held high and her shoulders back, almost like she’s spreading her wings and getting ready to fly away from him and all his fucking abuse.
I’ve fallen for her. I haven’t told her because I don’t think that’s something she’s ready to hear, but I care about her so much that having to see her with someone who treated her like crap kills me. But I respect her just as much, and I’ll shake her dad’s hand if that will help her to heal. As much as I want to break him in half and destroy him for what he did to her when she was a helpless child, I know Savannah wouldn’t want that from me. She needs me to be a better man than he was, not engage with him in a war over her past.
I catch her eye again and make the motion of pretending to hit something with a phantom hockey stick. “Use your stick if you have to,” I mouth.
Her face lights up in a smile, and she beckons me over.
* * *
Savannah
Molly congratulates Daddy on his upcoming nuptials and impending fatherhood while Celie stands silently.
I glance back at Cam, and as he playfully pretends to swing an invisible hockey stick, I lip-read his words.Use your stick if you have to.
I want to jump into his arms and make love to him right then. He always knows exactly what I need.
I smile and wave him over, and he heads for us immediately.
I introduce him to my father whose eyes narrow on Cam.
“You didn’t play for me when I coached here. Declan Wild’s brother. I’d sure remember the hottest new star in the AMHL.”
“Hello, sir.” Cam’s voice is calm, but his expression is feral like if he had his way, he’d deck my father on the ground right now. His dark eyes pin Daddy in place, and my father twitches like he felt the silent threat thrown his way.
He extends his hand, and Daddy takes it. “Maybe I can persuade you to join the Caves when your contract’s up.”
“Not a chance,” Cam says lightly. “I like it here.”
“Are you okay?” I ask Cam, gesturing to the cut on his face. “That must hurt.”
“I’m fine,” he assures me. “The trainer cleaned it out. Didn’t even need stitches.”
We all walk outside together, and as Daddy walks ahead with Celie and Molly, Cam takes my hand immediately, firmly, and in a “you’re mine” kind of way. He holds onto me so gently, with such care, that I stop worrying about Craig or anyone on the Cannons seeing us. And I temporarily stop sneezing.
