Page 131 of Axe-identally Married
“You love hockey more than anyone,” Kali added.
She was right. I did love hockey. But for so many reasons I never would have imagined before these last few months. I loved what it could do for all these kids. I loved the community it created. And I loved the dreams it inspired.
Out in the yard, my brothers were building a fire, and Debbie was chasing Thor, who was waddling around in his snowsuit.
At the end of the driveway, a group of older ladies were passing a flask around. Bernice had a large thermos and was joking around with several of the other knitting club ladies—Jodie, Steph, Erica, Gayle and MaryJo.
Erica broke into a large grin and waved when she saw me.
I waved back.
“All these people are here to support me?”
Willa squeezed my arm and nodded. “There were some unfortunate rumors spreading around town, so I took it upon myself to set the record straight. Bernice was outraged and said she’d rally the senior citizens.”
Emotion clogged in my throat. “I don’t know what to say.”
“This is your town. You belong here. You’ve convinced yourself otherwise, but look at all these people who love and support you.”
It was jarring, the sight in front of me. For so long, the story I’d told myself was that I didn’t belong. Not here, not anywhere. That I was destined to be the odd man out forever.
My eyes went hot, and my chest went tight.
But this heartwarming display of affection was interrupted by sirens.
I braced myself as the noise got louder.
And when two police cars pulled up, my heart sank.
The crowd of rowdy seniors refused to move from the end of the driveway, forcing law enforcement to park at the end of the driveway.
Chief Souza exited first, putting his hat on and striding up the icy drive, his focus fixed firmly on me.
Unsurprisingly, the various people milling around did not get out of his way, forcing him to navigate around them comically. As he approached the porch where we stood, Willa reached down and squeezed my hand.
“Mr. Cole Hebert,” he said at the bottom of the stairs while holding up a piece of paper. “You are under arrest. You—”
“You’re not arresting our coach,” one of the girls hollered.
The declaration was followed by a chorus ofyeahs as the girls crowded around him with their hockey sticks. A few of their parents snapped videos with their phones.
“He’s innocent,” Kali yelled. “We’re not letting you take him to jail.”
The chief barked a vicious laugh. “You’ve got children fighting your battles, Hebert? Good God, you’re pathetic.”
“No, what’s pathetic is you targeting and framing my husband,” Willa shouted. “We know what you did.”
Glowering, he said, “Watch yourself.”
His deputies had finally made their way through the crowd and stood next to him, hands on their tactical belts, looking confused and shaken.
Willa stepped between two of the girls on my team, glaring at the chief. “You put a controlled substance in his water bottle to incapacitate him and frame him for a crime he didn’t commit.”
A gasp went around the crowd.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” he hissed.
“Actually, I do. Because despite how good you’ve become at lying and manipulating over the years, Chief, you can’t control science.”
