Page 87 of Heartless As Puck

“I’m so glad you can still smile.” She gestured behind herself. “Come. Sit with me and the kids.”

My insides warmed. “Thank you. That’s so sweet of you. I have my family with me, though.”

“Even better.” She peeked around me and waved. “This way. We’ll make room. Come on, Jane’s family.”

Mom and Dad looked at me questioningly. I shrugged and did as she said. I suspected that Maribel saw herself as a den mother to the other players’ partners, and if she wanted to fuss over me, that meant she’d fully accepted me as one of them.

We passed the Taylor youngsters, and I sat on the far side of Maribel. Dad took the seat beside me and glanced around as though prepared to throw fists if anyone looked at me sideways. It was a strange expression on him, considering how easygoing he usually was.

Simon was sitting in the row below me, and he turned and passed me something. I took it, grinning when I realized it was a package of chocolate-covered Oreos.

“You always seem to have Oreos, and I didn’t know what else to do,” he said in explanation.

My heart warmed. “Thank you, Simon.”

He flushed. “You’re one of us. We’ve got your back. Amir is furious. Colorado better watch themselves because he has a lot of angry energy to get out of his system.”

I winced and gestured at my parents. “My brother plays for Colorado.”

“No!” His eyes widened. “Who is he?”

“Alec Wright.”

He covered his mouth. “That is one gorgeous man.” He peered at me for a minute, as if trying to determine whether I resembled him at all. “I can see it. There’s something similar in the structure of your faces and your coloring.”

I wasn’t convinced, but if he wanted to see it, then good for him.

“He is fine,” Maribel agreed.

Music started and the players glided onto the ice and began to warm up. I kept an eye on both Austin and Alec, silently comparing the two. They played the same position and had similar playing styles. Both liked to pass a lot to keep the opposition on their toes and both were fast, although in my opinion, Austin was faster.

Who, exactly, was I supposed to be cheering for?

I’d always felt conflicted when the Chaos played the Dragons, so I usually kept quiet or just cheered for both of the players I cared about, regardless of the fact they were on different teams.

As we waited for the game to start, I realized that the Chaos’s most tight-knit supporters—the families and partners—had formed a protective ring around me, keeping others away.

I blinked furiously, ordering myself not to cry. It felt nice to be someone they cared about.

“I’m going to get a drink and some snacks,” Hazel said, rising to her feet. “Anyone want anything?”

She took our orders but received so many that she couldn’t possibly carry it all, so Violet and Regina, two of the other girlfriends, went with her. When they returned, they distributed the drinks.

Hazel passed me a sweetened coffee and a chocolate bar. I thanked her, my heart swelling. I still didn’t know her that well, but she was beginning to feel like family. In fact, all these people were.

The referee directed the players to prepare to start, and the coaches called them in for their last-minute team chats. When the players separated, some heading for the bench while others assumed their positions on the ice, I noted that both Alec and Austin were in the starting lineups. Not that I’d expected anything less, since they were both great players and Joseph Trent hadn’t seen Austin’s interview yet.

“What do you think of the new uniforms?” Maribel asked, leaning closer so I could hear her above the roar of the crowd. There was a level of tension throbbing through the stadium that was almost impossible to ignore. The Chaos’s supporters had caught a glimpse of hope in their last game and were here in greater numbers than they’d been in years.

“I like them.” To be honest, the uniforms weren’t all that different from the previous ones. On the chest and back was the new logo, a blue fox head silhouette with a silver muzzle against a silver background. The main body of the uniform was royal blue, with black and silver stripes on the arms and a black strip around the shirt that had the player’s name written on it to the back.

“Me too.” Maribel rolled her eyes. “Although I might like anything that signaled a clean slate. They needed that.”

I nodded.

Play began with the Dragons getting the puck. Within a few minutes, I could tell that while this game might not be as violent as the one against Milwaukee, it was certainly going to be intense.

I screamed encouragement as Alec flew up the ice with the puck on the end of his stick. Maribel elbowed me, presumably to remind me that my loyalty ought to be with the Chaos. On my other side, my parents hollered even louder.