Page 11 of That Thing You Brew
“Don’t worry, Opa,” I’d said when Dad left the room.“The girls and I love it here. We’ll make sure it stays in the family.”
“Swanny! Heads-up!”
Too late.
Ow.
I’d caught a puck.
With my face.
It was wedged between my visor and my temple. Luckily, I’d made it to the ledge in front of our bench, so when it knocked me off-balance, I had something to grab on to.
I blinked and saw red. Half hanging over the ledge with my back to the ice, I eased myself to standing so the trainer rushing over could look at the side of my face.
Ryleigh’s advice had been solid. My headwasn’tin the game tonight.
The trainer gently pried the puck out from under the plastic and pressed a gauze pad to my face where the puck had been as I slowly lifted my helmet off. “That’s a lot of blood, Schwann. Probably a dozen zips. Let’s take you back and check for signs of a concussion.”
“I feel fine,” I insisted. “Just a bruise. My sisters throw snowballs harder than that.”
“They put rocks in ’em?” Bryce asked, skating up to us. “You okay?”
“Just a bit embarrassed,” I admitted.
“Is he out?” Bryce asked, concern in his tone.
“We’re going to give him a thorough check,” the trainer replied.
I sighed. “Fine.” I followed him back through the tunnel. By the time the team returned from warmups, I had six stitches in my temple and had been cleared to play.
Somehow—and I think Jason was behind it—the crowd forgot about Dex the Halls, because when I scored five minutes into the first period, they chanted “Stitch-es, stitch-es!”
I’d take it.
I loved this game. I loved our fans. I loved my teammates.
When we left the ice at the end of the second period, our sideline reporter waved me over. Bailey Dexter Brewer, or B-Dex, as we all called her, was Jason’s younger sister and a former hockey goalie herself. She loved the game as much as I did.
“Xavier, the fans on social media have questions.” She held up her phone. I peered at the post. It was the picture Brady had taken of us on his lawn that morning.Liked by RenFaireAspen and 643 others.
RenFaireAspen was Penny. We followed each other.
My arms tingled, and my lips spread into a wide grin. “Whatcha got, B-Dex?”
“Well, first I want to know what ignited that grin.” She peered at her phone and signaled the cameraman to wait. “You’ve got a thing for Penny,” she whispered.
“What?” My heart raced. No.Wait.
Yeah, I guess I did. She was sweet, smart, beautiful, talented, and the reason I was in the big show.
How could Inothave a thing for her?
“Mm-hmm. You should do something about that. We’re live in 3, 2, 1…”
I stared into the camera and tried to keep my expression neutral.
“Swanny, you started this game with six stitches.” She paused and looked up at the crowd.
