Page 5 of The Pucks We Freeze
Her dad, Jed, and my mom didn’t wait around to see how bad it would get. They packed up and left for Knoxville earlier this afternoon, so they’d be close to the hospital by morning.
I didn’t even remember deciding to head over. One second, I stood in the doorway, staring out at the snow, and the next, I was inside the lodge.
Willow was supposed to be holding things down while my mom was in Knoxville, and from the looks of it, she’d been here a while.
The lobby was warm and quiet, lit by the soft glow of amber sconces and the fire burning low in the stone hearth.
Thick wooden beams stretched across the ceiling, their edges worn smooth with time, and the scent of pine and cedar lingeredin the air. A couple of leather chairs sat angled in front of the fireplace, a folded quilt draped over one arm. Faint acoustic strumming spilled from the speaker, the kind that filled a room without taking up any space.
No guests around. No movement. Just her.
She stood behind the counter, head tilted, eyes locked on the screen. Her fingers flew across the keyboard, typing with purpose as if she hoped that staying busy would keep her from facing the storm—outside or in.
She didn’t see me at first.
I took my time crossing the room, letting the silence sit between us until it became almost unbearable.
“You always this good at pretending I’m not here?”
She startled slightly, eyes flicking up. The cool mask she had been wearing snapped back into place. “Didn’t see you come in.”
“I got that,” I say, resting a hand on the counter. “You’ve been doing a good job of not seeing me since Friday.”
Willow didn’t answer. She simply dropped her gaze and began shuffling papers that didn’t need sorting, just something to keep her hands busy.
“You planning on avoiding me the whole time you’re here?” I asked, careful to keep my tone casual.
“I’m not avoiding you.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Really? Coulda fooled me.”
She let out a breath, more tired than annoyed. “Kade, I’m just trying to get through the week. Help out. Be here for my dad.”
“I get that,” I said, and I did. I also knew she was using it to build walls between us. “I’m not trying to make this harder for you.”
She looked up at that, her expression tightening. “Well then, maybe don’t.”
I let the silence hang for a second before shifting gears. “I saw you after the game on Friday. At the press conference.”
Her arms crossed. “I was covering it. It was part of my job. Braysen’s social team wanted full coverage. Game highlights, interviews, photos. I didn’t exactly have a choice.”
“Still,” I said, my voice low, “you didn’t have to stay the whole time. You could’ve slipped out after the final buzzer, but you didn’t.”
She didn’t say anything right away. But her shoulders tensed, giving her away, like she knew it meant more than she wanted to admit.
“Look, you can keep pretending what happened between us didn’t mean anything,” I murmured, my voice low. “We both know it did. And now we’re stuck here—storm rolling in, just the two of us running the lodge. You really think you can outrun this when there’s nowhere to go?”
Her expression shifted in an almost imperceptible way. I noticed the set of her jaw and the flicker behind her eyes. She took a step back, spine straightening as if bracing herself.
“I’m not pretending,” she said, her voice tight. “You said one night. No expectations. That’s what you offered me. So why are you standing here now, going back on what you promised?”
Her words hit hard. Not because they were wrong, but because she remembered. Because I did say that. I told her it didn’t have to mean anything.
But it did.
And looking at her now, standing just a few feet away in this quiet lodge, her dirty-blonde hair falling loose around her face and those piercing blue eyes cutting through every defense I had left… I knew exactly how badly I broke my own rules.
I shook my head. “Yeah. I said it. I thought I could mean it. But you…” The rest caught in my throat.
