Page 54 of My Brother's Enemy
“Can I have some candy, Mom? We should take something to Grandpa.”
I sat paralyzed on the toilet. I didn’t recognize their voices, but what were the odds?
The woman chuckled. “Of course, you adorable little munchkin.”
“Mom!” Dylan giggled. “Only Daddy can call me that.”
“Oh really? Only Daddy gets to call you that? I don’t think so.”
A burst of shrieks and giggles pitched through the air until the mom suddenly seemed to remember where they were. “Okay, okay. Let’s finish up, and then we’ll grab treats to take back to Grandpa Keith.”
The stall began to swim around me.
“Yay! We need to get the licorice he likes.”
“We will.”
I stayed quiet until they’d both used the bathroom and the sinks. I left my stall just as they were leaving. I stepped out in time to get a brief glimpse at the little girl’s face, and I was speechless. Stunned.
Dylan, which was my name. Grandpa Keith. Licorice, which was my father’s favorite thing to eat at hockey events. He liked popcorn for football games. Hot dogs for baseball, but hockey was his favorite, so he ate his favorite candy. Red licorice.
This was the VIP floor.
We were playing Boston.
That little girl could’ve been my twin at her age.
I was pretty sure I just saw my niece for the first time.
36
TYLER
The puck dropped, and three seconds later, so did the gloves.
Bruge squared up against one of Boston’s enforcers. The problem was that the Grays had one enforcer. Boston had four on their team. The Grays only played against Boston twice in the season, playoffs not included. But New York played them a lot more, so I was used to their enforcers. When the first penalties were handed out and Bruge went to the box, along with one of Boston’s players, my line got on the ice.
The crowd went nuclear. “YOU RAT BABY, GRIFFIN!”
I lined up for the face-off against Rain’s brother and bent over, ignoring whoever that fan was. I was impressed with his volume level, but not his taunt. I’d heard that one when another of their players got traded to Florida. They needed new material.
“How’s it feel to be a bigger loser than you already are, you defecting piece of shit?”
I looked up, met Dane’s ice-cold eyes, and realized they were the same as Rain’s. Except there was a void in Dane’s while Rain’s were warm. Kind. There was so much humanity in hers, along with pain. I realized that with a start too.
“Is that what they’re saying about me?”
“You boys ready?” The ref held the puck between us, waiting.
Dane ignored him. “Isn’t that what you did? Running back home to your family? I don’t believe it for a second. What are you hiding from, you fucking coward?”
I didn’t understand any of what he was saying and shook my head. “As if you can talk about family. At least mine’s proud of me.”
He straightened abruptly. “Whatthe fuckdoes that mean?”
I straightened too, and the crowd went nuts again, thinking their star had decided to take on enemy number one, forget using the enforcers.
“You know exactly what that means.”
