Page 38 of Rowdy Hearts

“You really wanna talk about this now?”

Bobby shrugged, grabbing his helmet off the bench next to him and tapping his stick blade against my pads. “Just thought I’d find out what’s up. You ready for the game?”

“I was before you started asking me questions like we’re in junior high.”

Bobby huffed. “Neither of us have been in high school in a long time.”

“Jesus, now you’re calling me old. Next you’ll be telling me I need to retire.”

“Don’t get ahead of me. Just saying we’re not getting any younger.”

“Now you really sound like my mom.”

Bobby’s smile was designed to get a rise out of me. “I like your mom.”

I threw an elbow hard enough to make Bobby grunt. “Don’t even go there.”

Bobby shrugged. “I like your sister, too.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” I stood, my skates an extension of my body, my uniform a second skin. “Devils! Are we ready?”

“Yes, Captain!”

The cheer rose up from the team, who stood and slapped their sticks on the floor.

I looked around the room, at the excitement on the rookies’ faces and the smiles on the veterans’ faces. And if the sight didn’t make me as excited as in years past, well, I’d just keep that to myself.

CHAPTER NINE

Tressy

“Mommy,can I have popcorn? Or ice cream? Or cotton candy?”

“How can you still be hungry? You just had dinner. And we’re going to a party afterward. You don’t want to have an upset tummy for that, do you?”

Krista pouted, her face screwed up with little lines. “No, but?—”

“Krista, honey, if it’s okay with your mom, we could go check out the kids’ area. There are all kinds of games and lots of other kids to play with.”

Krista and Raffi looked at me with almost identical expressions of expectation. I would’ve laughed, but I didn’t want to offend Raffi in any way. The woman had seemingly fallen in love with my daughter overnight, and my daughter had decided Raffi was her best friend. The bond between them was practically visible. I would’ve felt slighted except for the fact that Raffi treated me like another one of her children.

Dinner tonight had just been Raffi, Rain, Krista and me. With the Colonel, Rowdy and Rebel eating with the team, I had insisted on taking Raffi and Rain out to dinner as a thank-you. The four of us had gone to a small Italian restaurant where everyone knew Raffi by name and the chef came out to say hello then invited Krista back to the kitchen to watch her make the sauce.

Raffi had kept the conversation on neutral ground, not digging for information. I had found myself wanting to spill my guts, to confide in this woman who seemed to want nothing more than to help.

But I couldn’t find the right words. At least, I couldn’t find the words that wouldn’t make me sound like an ungrateful daughter and sister.

“Sure, honey. Be good for Miss Raffi.”

“You could come with us, Mommy.”

I would’ve thought Krista actually wanted me to join them, if not for the fact that I knew my daughter and knew that look on her face. Krista wanted her new friend to herself. Krista loved her Gigi—because, of course, Bebe Meyers wouldn’t want to be called Grandma—and her Aunt Tiffy, but they didn’t see her often because they lived in Los Angeles.

Krista made the same face when our neighbor, Rosa Santiago, who was nearing sixty, took Krista for their weekly brunch date on Saturday. Which reminded me that I needed to contact Rosa and let her know we were okay. And to somehow not tell her where we were so Rosa didn’t feel obligated to lie to anyone who might ask.

“That’s okay, sweetheart. You and Miss Raffi have a good time. I’ll be fine.”

Krista’s smile could brighten the darkest day.

---