Peyton lets go of my hand as Ashley keeps talking.
“Something’s different with you,” she says quietly.
I keep my eyes on the ice. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
“I mean, the last bunch of times we’ve talked on the phone, you’ve seemed sadder than usual. But, you’ve looked happier tonight. And I don’t know, you and Hunter last night…you two couldn’t have hung out like that before.”
“We hung out in high school.”
“You fought in high school,” Peyton says. “Then, you’d hook up. Then, you’d fight again. Obviously, you two have chemistry for days, but you couldn’t handle it when you were young.” She puts her hand on my arm. “Maybe it was too big for teenagers to process, you know?”
“Hunter is a force of nature,” I admit. “He could light a place on fire with his energy.”I think maybe that scared me. It still does.
“And you take over a room full of people with yours.” Peyton laughs. “You two are so alike, actually. You’re used to being in front of thousands of people, but you fear intimacy.”
I’m not sure what to say to that. I’m actually not comfortable in either situation.
I turn to Peyton, deciding to ask the question that’s been on my mind since I moved back home.
“Do you think the police will ever re-open Mr. Storm’s murder case?” I ask.
“Not without a lead.” She frowns. “It sucks, but some criminals are never caught.”
No. Sometimes they’re not.
But sometimes, the stars align. Even if you weren’t the one who turned them in, sometimes the bad guy does have to pay for what he did. I know that firsthand.
I wonder if Hunter’s bad guy will ever have to suffer the way he made the Storm family.
“You okay?” Ashley gives me a closer look.
I nod quickly, feeling like she can see right through me. There’s nothing like old friends—they cut right through the bullshit. “Fine.”
I return my attention to the game. As I watch Hunter steal the puck away from a defender and take off down the ice, I forget everything but him.
He passes the puck to Liam, who pulls up on the left wing close to the goal. He maintains possession of the puck with two players between him and the net. I lose sight of Hunter until all of a sudden, he appears from behind the net just as Liam flicks the puck over to him, and Hunter slots it in with his stick.
The puck moves so fast I don’t realize it’s a goal until Liam and Hunter start cheering and getting mobbed by their teammates.
My throat burns as I scream. Scott kisses Peyton, Ashley and I hug each other, and the entire arena stands and cheers as time runs out.
Peyton’s right. I haven’t had this much fun in ages.
“Let’s go wait for Hunter and Liam so we can congratulate them,” Ashley says.
Peyton and I look at her. “You mean, so you can say hi to Jared,” I tease her.
Ashley flushes red. “Jared and I are just friends.”
Peyton snorts with laughter. “Right.”
Ashley grabs my hand. “Come with me. Unless you want Hunter to be surrounded by puck bunnies instead.”
I flush with heat. Jealous? No doubt.
“Okay,” I say. “Let’s go wait for them.”
CHAPTERNINE
