Page 3 of Hot Shot
“Don’t thank me yet. If he hurts you like that again, I’ll cut his balls off.”
“You don’t think he’s suffered enough?”
My brother’s face scrunches with pain and sorrow and regret. “No one should suffer like that.”
“Agreed. Now I really have to go. Give my love to Cash when you see him.”
“Will do. Call me after you get things sorted with Branton. I’ve got a lead on a goalie for you. If you’re interested.”
I straighten, my interest definitely engaged. “Yeah?”
“He’s young, or he was, he’d be twenty-one now, still young I guess. I don’t know the full story yet but I’m getting it because I’ve seen him on the ice. Then and now.”
“Give me his name, his details? I’ll get Nat to look into him.”
“Not yet. Get this thing with Branton squared away first.”
Scowling at my brother, I hope my death glare will change his mind but all I get is a laugh followed by I love you before he disappears from my screen leaving mine the only face left.
I can’t stop the growl of frustration dealing with my family has rumbling in my chest.
“Mason has a goalie for us?”
I look up to find Nat standing in my doorway, Oakley behind her. Nodding I say, “Not that he’s sharing.”
“Hmm…” Nat doesn’t say anything else. But the frown on her face tells me my brother will be receiving a call from her in the near future. She’s not one to sit around and wait and I have to grin at the thought of how that call might go. Oh, to be a fly on the wall…
“C’mon, let’s go,” Oakley says. “Walker and Micky are waiting with their gear to check out the practice rink.”
Pushing back my chair, I stand and move around my desk. Scooping up my own bag of gear and slipping it over my shoulder, I make my way over to them and bring up the elephant in the room. “Cami coming?”
Nat scoffs like I’m an idiot for asking and Oakley laughs, though there’s no humor in it.
“Right. That’s a no.”
Oakley shrugs. She’s getting better at letting Cami keep her distance. I understand why she wants her here—involved with the Rogues—and I understand why Cami doesn’t want to be.
She’ll come around, I know she will. Once the team is here, once we start playing in the league. I’d put my gold medals down on the fact she’ll be as deeply entangled in the Rogues as the rest of us once the arena is finished and the staff and players start wandering the corridors, skating on the ice. Speaking of…
I slip my arm through Oakley’s, drag her to catch up to Nat and loop my other arm through hers. “This is it, ladies, everything we’ve been working toward is right at our fingertips.”
“Not everything yet, but we’re close.” Rolling my eyes at Nat, I poke my tongue out at her. “Oh, very mature.”
“Stop raining on my parade,” I say.
“I’m being realistic.”
I halt our movement, yanking them both back a little as I do. “I’ll give you realistic. We own a hockey team. In thenationalleague. Themen’sleague.”
Smiles curve both their mouths.
“Damn straight we do.”
Spinning around, our arms and feet get tangled and when the three of us finally right ourselves I don’t know which one of us is more shocked.
“You came.” Oakley’s words are filled with disbelief, but her face shows the relief the sight of our fourth partner delivers.
“We get to see the finished practice rink today, right?” There’s a little insecurity in Cami’s voice and I launch forward and pull her into a hug.
