Page 34 of Shot to the Hart

Wait… Is he serious? I mean there's definitely energy with Maverick. I can’t quite figure out what kind but this energy kicks butterflies up in my stomach.

Me

Be serious.

Maverick

I am. We’ve developed a friendship and a routine, and I miss it.

Maverick

…And you.

Remembering that I forgot to congratulate him on his win, I add that into my response.

Me

We miss you too, Big Guy. I should probably head to bed. Good game tonight! I still had no idea what was going on, and you move so fast, but I think I may understand it a little better now. Have fun tonight and we will see you Tuesday morning.

Maverick

Thanks Kodi. I’m glad you watched the game. Goodnight!

Right after I read that text, soft cries flow through the monitor app on my phone. I look at the camera feed and see Bella sitting upright, her cries getting louder. Floppy has been thrown out of her bed and she looks disheveled.

Rushing down to her room, the tears streaking down Bella’s face break my heart. I find myself wondering what could have scared her this much that she’s almost inconsolable. Pulling her into my arms, I find myself swaying back and forth with her in my arms, gently humming in the same way I remember Maverick doing that day during my interview. It seems to help her calm down some, at least to the point that she’s no longer sobbing and I can sit in the rocker with her in my arms. Yawning, I look over to her sound machine to see that I’ve been holding her for almost thirty minutes, and when I look down at her face, those sweet, blue eyes while they look exhausted, are still wide open.

I sit on the rocker for another ten minutes before I give up, grabbing Floppy and carrying her down the hall and into my room. I turn on soft music on my phone, grabbing all of my spare pillows, setting them carefully around the perimeter of the bed before sliding in and snuggling Bella into my side. Eventually her breathing evens out, but moving her to her room is a risk I can’t take if I want to sleep tonight, so I let myself drift off with her.

20

MAVERICK

GOOSEBUMPS

The arena is loud and filled with people wearing white and light blue in contrast to our maroon-and-black jerseys.

Standing in the tunnel waiting to skate out, I take a steadying breath, ready to help bring home a win for the team. I wonder if Kodi is watching the game tonight, she said she wanted to learn more about the sport I play. I even got my dad a seat with Tatum and a couple of the other families who came to support the team. The music and the cheers grow louder, and Nik, our captain and goalie, leads us out onto the ice taking his place in front of the net while the rest of us get into position for the puck drop.

The puck hits the ice with a thud and I immediately take possession of it, trying to push it to the opposing side of the rink. I barely make it five feet before I’m checked into the boards and California’s defense takes the puck, beelining for Nik and the goal. Our fans lose it, banging on the plexiglass and yelling for the ref to call it, but he doesn’t. Dominic screams in rage at the ref, getting himself put in the box for two minutes, meaningone less person is defending Nik and the net, which pisses me off more than being checked into the board. Collins had to fight to keep the puck and speed with it down the ice because the defense is trying to keep a gap between us. We were passing the puck back and forth more times than I can count even with that barrier. Nik did everything in his power to keep the puck out of our net, only letting one get by him while Dom was in the box, which he kicked himself for as he watched it happen.

We won. Barely. After making sure my Dad got back to the hotel, we are now sitting in an overcrowded bar, beer and buffalo wings spread about the table. Women, presumably puck bunnies, trying to grab our attention from across the bar. “Ya’ll celebrating in more than one way tonight?” I direct towards both Dom and Nik, knowing they typically will bring a puck bunny back to the hotel if they are still riding the high of a close win.

“Not tonight,” Nik says with a scowl.

At the same time Dom says, “Maybe. We will see what the night brings. How’s the hot nanny doing so far?”

“I bet that it’s hard to focus when you’ve got a distraction sleeping in the room next to you. I know it would be if it were me,” Tatum chimes in.

“She has a name and she’s not a distraction. They seem to be doing fine,“ I retort with clenched teeth and balled fists. Aggravation at him calling her hot roiling under my skin. My phone vibrates against the table. I checked in with Kodi after the game, but she didn’t respond when I told her that I did miss her, just as I missed Bella.

Kodi

We miss you too, Big Guy. I should probably head to bed. Good game tonight! I still had no idea what was going on and you move so fast but I think I may understand a little better now. Have fun tonight and we will see you Tuesday morning.

“Why are you smiling at your phone like that? Stop, it’s creepy,” Collins says as if I’ve personally offended him, which maybe I have, it’s hard to tell with him, but I wipe whatever look I had off my face.

“Nothing man,” I say as I clear my throat and quickly text her a response.

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