Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 84200 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84200 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
I pause, taking everyone in. Some of the guys stare at me with open mouths, others smile. I swear I see Kirill dab at his eyes.
“I think it’s great you’re with Danica.” My head whips toward the voice… the most important one. Coen. He gives me a thumbs-up. “I think you two make a great couple and Mitch would approve.”
Someone in the back whistles… Andrei Komokov. “Go for it.”
Someone else yells out, “We all approve.”
“But hurt her and we’ll kick your ass,” another says, the obligatory big-brother act.
One by one, the guys come up to fist-bump, bro hug or slap me on the back. They offer words of support and congratulations. Coen mutters, “I thought I saw something there at the housewarming party. At least I know I wasn’t crazy.”
When everyone is back at their cubbies, I feel someone walk up behind me. I pull my T-shirt over my head and turn to find Coach West standing there. “That was some speech.”
“It was from the heart,” I say.
Coach nods. “That it was.” He turns to walk away but not before saying, “You two make a really cute couple.”
CHAPTER 28
Danica
“Go, Travis… go!” I scream from the stands as he accepts a pass from a teammate and shoots down the boards. It’s only a practice scrimmage before their first game next week, but I’m about to jump out of my skin with excitement.
Mainly from the fact that Travis was so hyped up today he was bouncing around like a rabbit all morning.
I’m out of my seat, hands clasped hard and my breath held deep in my lungs. I exhale on a whoosh when Travis tries to get a shot off but tangles up with another kid as they scrabble for the puck. I plop back down.
A woman sitting on the bleacher bench in front of me leans back and touches her hand on my knee. “Is it going to be like this all season? Because I’m not sure my heart can handle it.”
Laughing, I give a rueful smile toward the ice. “I think we’re in for several years of heart attacks and heartaches.”
“But the smiles on their faces are worth it,” she says.
“Yes, they are,” I agree softly.
It warms me to my bones that Travis is finding joy in the same sport his dad played. He might have gotten off to a bit of a rocky start but with a few extra practices with Camden and—
Stop it.
Stop thinking about Camden.
I force myself to concentrate on my kid, looking adorable at this stage of his young career. Sometimes he looks in command and other times he looks wobbly. It’s all part of growing strong, learning the sport and pulling on that DNA I know he has from Mitch. I can’t wait to watch every second of it.
The coach blows the whistle and gathers the boys in. I don’t know what he’s saying but he pats a few of the kids on the helmets. Travis hasn’t mentioned any further negativity going on, so maybe Camden’s talk with—
Stop it. Stop it. Stop it.
The kids skate off the ice for the locker room and I grab my purse, sidestepping down the bleachers. It will take Travis a few minutes to get changed and I walk slowly to the front of the complex, chatting with a few other parents.
Someone taps me on the shoulder and when I look back over it, I see one of the dads there. He points toward the front lobby area. “Aren’t you friends with Camden Poe?”
My heart gives a wild, painful thump of confusion as I turn that way. Sure enough, Camden’s standing there with the sunlight from the double glass doors painting him into a silhouette. I can’t quite see the expression on his face, but he’s definitely staring at me.
Or rather the group of people I’m walking with.
As we get closer, I confirm that his gaze is leveled with mine and within his eyes I see a request to come talk to him. I say goodbye to the parents and turn toward him, trying to quell the gallop of my heart, blinking against the prick of tears.
I didn’t realize how bad it would hurt to see him.
I’m nervous as I come to stand a few feet away, my hands clutching at my purse straps over my left shoulder. “What are you doing here?”
He stands casually, hands in his pockets. “Came to see Travis’s scrimmage.”
“Oh.” The disappointment that he’s here to see my son and not me is almost crushing.
“He tried to ping me a few times this week to play online with him, but honestly… I didn’t know what to say. Didn’t know what you’d told him about us, if anything, so I told him I was too busy on the road trips.”
“He hasn’t asked,” I admit.
Camden’s head drops as he nods. When he lifts his gaze, I’m stunned by the worry I see there. “How are you doing? Are you okay?”