Page 67 of Keeping it Real

“Yes!”

He was pounding down the stairs when she remembered the strange phone calls he’d been getting.She raced into the hall.

“Hey, Finn?”

Two strong arms grabbed her around the waist and tugged her back in the direction of her room.

“You’re going to pay for that little shove at naptime today,” Alek growled against her ear.“I have lots of ideas of how to punish you, too.”

Her body reacted with an delighted tremor.“Should I be scared?”she whispered.

“Very.”

“Oh, Hattie what did you do?”Finn yelled from the vicinity of the kitchen.“Aunt Sheri!!Hattie ate another pair of Alek’s underwear!”

Eighteen

The Mayhem wontheir fourth straight game behind the magic of a shut-out by Alek.Gus and Picard each buttered a biscuit while Valentine slapped in two.The visitors’ dressing room was bumping when the team came off the ice.

“Way to come into someone else’s house and grab the dub,” Coach told them in his post-game speech.“That was some fantastic puck handling on the penalty kill, boys.”

The room broke out in applause and wolf whistles.

“And Valentine, helluva goal on the power play.”

“Hear, hear,” the guys chanted.

“I’m proud of you boys for tuning out all the chatter and going balls to the wall to get us over five hundred in the win column.We’re finally playing Mayhem hockey.Let’s keep it up.”Coach smacked Alek on the shoulder on his way out of the dressing room.

“Great fuckin’ skating tonight, boys,” Picard said once the coach left.He pulled the medallion chain out of his stall.“Twos, you played lights out tonight.”

Everyone cheered for Valentine.He shoved his fists in the air and mimed a boxing match.

“But I gotta give this one to Ice-Berg for blocking eighteen effing shots on goal and keeping them all out of the crease!”Picard yelled above his teammate’s catcalls.

“Speech.Speech.Speech,” the guys shouted.

Alek stood, taking the chain and putting it around his neck.“Great game out there, boys.Let’s go home.”

The room erupted in more cheers.The players began to peel their sweaters and pads from their bodies, tossing them into the laundry baskets.Someone turned on the AUX, and Motley Crüe burst from the speakers.Soon, everyone was singing along about home sweet home.

The red-eye from Quebec would put them back in Milwaukee a little before daybreak.If everything went as planned, he’d be home in time to see Finn off to school and to spend a few glorious hours between the sheets with Sheridan.After a five-day road trip, he was ready to see his makeshift family again.He missed Finn’s laugh and his incessant questions.Hell, he even missed Hattie’s toys strewn all over the house.And it went without saying, he missed everything about Sheridan.

“Are we bringing these home with us?”the equipment manager asked.

“I do believe Hattie has become a bigger celebrity than Sloane,” Valentine said as he eyed the bag of dog toys.“And did I hear your agent is representing her now?”

Alek scoffed.“Collin talks a lot of shit when he shouldn’t.”He turned to the equipment manager.“Someone from a local shelter is supposed to pick them up from Will Call.Lori reached out to them by email last night.Can you check with her?”

It seemed that in every arena the Mayhem played, fans were tossing dog toys onto the ice before the game.Under Lori’s guidance, Finn established the Hat Trick Foundation as part of a class project.Miss Lane even helped Finn make a video for social media.In it, he explained the toys would be donated to local pet shelters in the cities where the Mayhem played.It was crazy how well the thing had taken off in only two weeks.

“If Hattie continues chewing up Ice-Bergs’s jockstraps, she’s gonna find herself at the local shelter, too,” Valentine joked.

“Nah,” Picard said.“Ice-Berg’s been playing better since the dog became a social media sensation.Who cares if Hattie is chomping on his skivvies?Don’t do anything to mess with the Mayhem mojo.”

Gus snorted beside Alek.“I doubt it’s the dog that got you out of your funk,” he murmured.

Alek glanced around the room.Valentine and Picard were already on their way to the showers.

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