Page 59 of Hot Puck
On home ice.
I don’t know if the league did it to appease us after the debacle of our franchise announcement or if it was luck of the draw, and I don’t care because games one and two of our first pre-season are here, in Rogue Arena.
The crowd is pumped. So are the players. And the excitement levels of the Rogues staff this past week has been a living breathing thing in every hallway, every room. From basement to rafters, Rogue Arena has been vibrating with anticipation for days—weeks.
“Hey.” Oakley bumps her shoulder into mine. “Ready for this?”
“Been ready for months.”
“Have you watched them train?” Her gaze remains on the empty ice below us. “They look really good. Walker thinks they’re one of the most in sync teams he’s seen.”
“He’d know.”
“Yeah. And when pushed, Blake agrees.”
“Pushed?” I glance at her.
“She doesn’t want to ‘count her goals before they’re scored’,” Oakley mutters with a roll of her eyes.
I smile. “Sounds like old times.”
“Doesn’t it?” Her gaze moves away from the ice to the children in the corner of the owner’s suite who definitely weren’t part of those old times.
Cassidy and Crystal are entertaining Micky, while Candace sleeps in her stroller off to the side of them. She’s due to wake around the time the first puck drops.
“You going to let her sleep or wake her up?” she asks as if she can read my mind.
“Not sure yet. I’ll decide after the team hits the ice for warmup.”
“I’d wake her.” Blake bounces over beside us. “This guy is fussy as hell tonight. We don’t need two babes distracting us.”
“You should be down with the team.” I fold my arms, and stare at my best friend and business partner—the Rogues’ Assistant Coach. “There are plenty of us to watch Drew and your parents will be here any minute.”
“I know. I know. But…” she glances at her boy. “I hate it when he’s like this and there’s nothing I can do to soothe him.”
“He wants his daddy,” Oakley murmurs. “Micky was the same when I told him he couldn’t go with Walker.”
We all look over at her and Walker’s adopted son. “He seems okay now,” I say.
“Ice cream.”
“What?” I shake my head and look at Oakley.
“Pa promised him a triple scoop cone if he spent the game up here with me.”
“And where is Pa?”
“Who knows. He loves having full access to the arena. He’s probably in the locker room.” She eyes Blake. “Where our Assistant Coach should be.”
We’re interrupted by Crystal. “Candace is stirring. Did you bring the warmer?”
“Yes, it’s plugged in behind the bar and her bottle is in the fridge with the water.”
I might be the person taking care of Candace while her brother does his job, but the twins are just as hands on with their little sister as he is. I think it’s because they feel the loss of their parents deeply and subconsciously know Candace will never have a memory of them.
“The twins are good with the baby,” Blake comments. “I’ve seen them looking after her sometimes when Chase is training.”
“They are. We try to balance how much they help though. Chase doesn’t want them to become adults before their time.”
