Page 25 of Rainbow Kisses

“You know, if this is something you don’t even want to consider, I’m with you.”

His lips curved, and I swear he wanted to reach across the desk and ruffle my hair again, like he used to when we were kids. It’d always annoyed the ever-living fuck out of me, but I realized now it was his way of showing affection. I’d been a feral kid, definitely not a girly girl who loved sparkles and wanted to be a cheerleader. I’d grown up with three brothers. After I turnedfive, my mom didn’t even bother buying me dresses because I’d end up in my denim overalls and sneakers anyway.

And to their credit, my brothers had never treated me like a weak, giggly idiot. But I wasn’t an athlete. I loved our team, and I loved my job, but hockey wasn’t my identity. I mean, this team meant the world to me, but for Rowdy and Rebel, it was who they were.

I loved the creative aspects of what I did. I loved seeing people have fun with the promotions or compliment me on the designs for the sweaters. I loved getting butts in seats for games and organizing events to raise money for the various charities in the area. The Devils allowed me to do that.

Rowdy loved toplayhockey.

“I know,” Rowdy finally said. “And I appreciate it. But it goes the other way too. If this is something you want to do, or don’t want to do, I’m with you, Rainbow Brite.”

Grinning, I threw a pen at him for using that nickname. He caught it out of the air like he was a ninja master. Damn him.

“Okay, we’re on the same page. Let’s circle back to this after Christmas. Rocky’ll be home and maybe Rebel will be softened by the holiday spirit.”

We looked at each other and simultaneously said, “Nah.”

Laughing, I waved my hands at him, making a shooing noise. “Now go to practice so I can get some work done.”

He chuckled and got up, heading for the door. But before he left, he turned. “Hey, thanks for helping Brian and his niece get settled. I knew you’d be able to handle that better than me. I appreciate it, and I know he does too.”

For some stupid reason, my cheeks felt hot, but I nodded and smiled. “Of course. He’s a member of the team.”

Rowdy nodded, still staring at me like he could read my mind. And I really didn’t want him to read my mind, because whenever I thought about Brian, my thoughts got x-rated.Which was both inconvenient and stupid, because that definitely wasn’t happening.

When he opened his mouth again, I thought for sure he was going to tease me about Brian. Something stupid about me having a crush. I was ready to shut him down when he said, “If you and Brian are finally gonna do something about the fact that you both stare at each other like lovestruck teenagers, I don’t need to know.”

SEVEN

Brian

I leftthe gym an hour early so I could go to the hotel, pack up our shit, and get to the school on time to pick up Maddy. She really didn’t have all that much stuff, which made me a little angry and sad at the same time. She only packed a couple of duffel bags, one filled with clothes. The other one she’d never opened with me around. When I picked it up, I had to put a little effort into it, because it was heavy as hell.

The bell rang a couple minutes after I parked, and kids started streaming out of the building. Okay, more like sauntering. Most of the older kids headed for the parking lot, getting in their hand-me-down Chevy trucks and Honda Civics. No Beemers or Mercedes here, although there were a couple of classic muscle cars that made me smile. And a lot of the cars had Devils stickers on their bumpers or back windows.

Most of the younger kids headed for the buses lined up in front of the building, but there were a few who aimed for the parking lot and the line of cars waiting for them. Surprisingly, Maddy walked out with another girl, dressed in ripped jeans anda black hoodie, whose mouth never stopped moving. Maddie didn’t appear to say anything, though she nodded occasionally, red hair loose and falling around her face. Like she didn’t want anyone to notice her. Made my heart hurt to see it. But she didn’t look like she didn’t want to talk to the other girl.

Maddy looked up at that moment and searched the parking lot. I was pretty sure I saw relief on her face when she saw my truck. But she didn’t immediately make a run for it. She said something to the other girl, who smiled and nodded then turned in the other direction as Maddy made her way to my truck.

She grunted out a “Hey” as she got in, glancing at all our stuff piled in the back.

“Pretty sure I got everything,” I said as I pulled away. “Checked all the drawers twice and the shower.”

Maddy shrugged, like it didn’t matter. “Thanks.”

“Have a good day?”

Another shrug. “Okay, I guess. Just another school.”

“Homework?”

That got a huff. “Of course. It’s school.”

And that was the extent of my small talk.

Surprisingly, Maddy asked, “How was practice?”

“Not bad. Didn’t injure anything, so that’s a good day.”

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