The whiteboard is still there.
Full of bets.
Dates.
Predictions.
Right in the center.
Shelly – Already knows.
I shake my head.
Idiots.
Absolute idiots.
Still.
As the locker room noise fades behind me, one thought sticks in the back of my mind.
Not the jokes.
Not the bets.
Not even Dex running a gambling ring on my emotions.
Just Bobby’s calm voice earlier.
She fits.
And the irritating possibility that every jackass in this locker room might be right.
Chapter fifteen
Natalie
“Daddy’s going to score tonight.”
Maddie announces it with absolute authority while tugging on my hand as we step through the glass doors of the arena.
I glance down at her, trying not to laugh at the seriousness on her face.
“You sound very sure about that.”
“I wore my lucky socks.”
She lifts one sneaker slightly like she expects me to check.
I don’t see the socks, but the confidence alone feels powerful enough to change the outcome of a hockey game.
“Well,” I say solemnly, “in that case the opposing team should probably just go home now.”
Maddie grins.
The sound of the arena hits us before we even reach the seating level.
The low, electric rumble of thousands of people who came to watch something fast and loud and unpredictable.
