Page 57 of Icebound Hearts

And how I’m going to handle it.

I push the thought down as far as I can, resolving to cross that bridge later, and finish the rest of my breakfast so I can get ready for practice.

Violet takes Jake to school after we finish breakfast, and I head out shortly after.

It’s not unusual at all for us to have various groups visit the practice arena to watch us run drills, so the vibe isn’t any different than a usual day as my teammates and I gear up in the locker room. It’s fun having a bunch of kids in the stands—although they’re young enough that they might not understand all the ins and outs of what we’re doing, their energy is infectious.

Coach Dunaway doesn’t take it easy on us just because there are kids in the stands though, pushing us through several drills and a scrimmage before our practice finally ends. It feels good though. We’re hitting a solid stride, and I’m feeling optimistic about the games we have coming up.

Once practice is done, Margo and the rest of the PR team ask everyone who’s willing to stay a bit longer to remain on the ice. Most of my teammates stay, which makes me grin.

Several of the Aces staff have been doling out ice skates to kids and teachers, and people start to line up at the door to the rink. Jake and Violet are toward the front of the line, and I’m a little disappointed when I see Violet is still in her shoes, not ice skates, but Jake spots me and starts jumping up and down with one hand in Violet’s and the other waving to me ecstatically. Hisbeaming smile takes the disappointment away, and I wait for them to get to the front of the line, then skate up to meet them.

“You make that look so easy,” Violet says, and I laugh.

“It’s almost like I’m paid to do it for a living or something. I take it that’s why you aren’t joining us?”

“Trust me, you wouldn’t want to see me out there. Reese gotallthe skating genes in our family. I’d only embarrass you both.”

“I already tried to talk her into it, Daddy,” Jake says, waddling toward me on his skates. He reaches for my hand, so I take it and help him step onto the ice so he doesn’t slip. “She’s scared, but that’s okay. We all get scared sometimes, right?”

“Right. Totally normal,” I tell him, then lock eyes with Violet again. “Last chance. Are you sure you don’t want to strap on a pair of skates and come with us?”

She bites her lip, looking torn, but shakes her head. “Maybe next time.”

“Fair enough. Come on then, Jake. Let’s show ’em how it’s done.”

“Yeah!” Jake exclaims, his voice echoing across the rink and making him laugh.

My son has been skating practically as long as he’s known how to walk, so he’s a natural on the ice. I do a few laps with him before we find some of the kids who look a bit more unsteady on their skates and offer them some tips and advice.

Watching his patience and gentleness as he helps a somewhat frightened looking girl about his age wobble her way across the ice makes my heart expand so much that it feels like my chest might burst. I wish I could’ve given him a family that didn’t splinter into pieces, but despite it all, my son is one of the best people I know.

After a while, I glance down at Jake. “Want to take another lap with me? As fast as we can go?”

His eyes light up. “Yeah!”

“Okay, then.” I grin. “Hold on tight.”

With that, I lift him onto my shoulders and dart off across the ice, holding him tight. He wraps his hands around my neck and squeals happily as we soar around the perimeter of the rink. As we circle back around to where Violet is watching from the stands, he points at her.

“Daddy, is that one of your friends talking to Ms. Violet?” he asks over the rush of the wind in our ears.

The grin that’s been plastered on my face falls when I see that Violet is talking to some young guy who seems to be a chaperone for one of the groups of kids that came today.

The man is sitting next to her in the stands, one arm draped across the armrest as he leans closer to speak to her. He’s clearly flirting with her, and I can’t tell if she’s just being polite or not, but she laughs at something he says.

My stomach twists.

I want her to laugh like that for me.

Slowing down, I lift Jake off my shoulders and deposit him carefully on his own skates. He takes my hand, and when I glance over at Violet and the other chaperone again, my jaw clenches as I see her reach inside her purse for a scrap of paper and a pen. Is she giving him her number?

Irritation pricks at me. Everywhere she goes, men keep hitting on her, and while it’s hardly surprising—she’s a beautiful, vivacious woman, after all—it bothers me more than I’d like to admit.

I’m just being protective of her, that’s all,I tell myself, although part of me knows that’s a lie.

When we get off the ice, Violet stands up to greet us, beaming at Jake.

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