Page 31 of Captain's Claim

Before I can process that, something small and fast rams into my shin. I yelp, nearly tripping over a—a baby goat?!The little menace stares up at me, chewing smugly on my coat string as I try to pry it away from it's damn teeth.

Before I can argue with livestock, a voice calls out, “Sophia! Hey!”

Natalie is leaning over the fence of a petting zoo stall, casually laughing as a second baby goat tries to eat her scarf.

Could this day get any weirder? What in the hell is going on?

I go to open my mouth, but before the words come out another woman appears beside her. She's holding a fluffy gray rabbit and looking at me like she just caught me sneaking out of a stranger's hotel room at 3am.

"This is Mia, she's one of our local vet nurses, and this is her stall," Natalie says, wrestling her scarf from the determined goat. "And you look like you've seen a ghost. A very tall, hockey-playing ghost, might I guess?"

Mia's eyes dance with amusement as she shifts the rabbit in her arms. "Ohhhh, this is the marketing exec? The one Blake's been—"

"Don't." I hold up a hand, but my cheeks betray me with their burning.

"She's right… Whydoyou look like you just made out with an NHL player behind a snow cone stand?" Natalie's grin spreads wider.

"I... that's not..." I smooth my hair, which probably gives me away even more. "There was a snowball fight."

Mia hums, examining me like one of her feline specimens under a microscope. "Messy hair. Swollen lips. The slight dazed, ‘where am I?’ expression. Yep. Classic post-makeout syndrome.”

“I WAS HIT WITH A SNOWBALL,” I blurt out abruptly to the stunned face of what I can only describe as a stranger I've never met before.

A passing festival vendor literally pauses mid-step, giving me a side-eye before moving on. The baby goat also looks skeptical.

"Uh huh." Mia exchanges a look with Natalie. "Is that what the kids are calling it these days?"

Natalie hands the goat a fresh piece of hay, still smirking like she's won something. "You clearly need us more than we realized. You, me, Mia, and a lot of cocktails. Girls' night at Summit Café soon?"

"I don't usually..." I trail off, distracted by movement on the other side of the walkway. A flash of broad shoulders and gruff features.

“Are you saying no?”Mia narrows her eyes.

I blink absently. “I—I just meant—”

Natalie gasps, clutching her chest. “Mia. She’s rejecting us.”

Mia nods solemnly. “Tragic. First Blake, now us."

“Oh my god,” I groan, rubbing my temples. “Fine! Yes! Girls’ night. Happy now?”

Natalie beams, victorious. “Ecstatic.”

Mia grins. “Don't worry. We’ll corrupt you properly.”

I nod, barely processing what I'm agreeing to as I spot Eli Thompson across the walkway.

"Uh. I gotta go," I blurt out, already stepping backward. "Talk soon and Natalie, thanks for showing me around—Mia, stop smirking at me!”

Mia grins like the Cheshire Cat. “No promises.”

I groan and roll my eyes, turning on my heel and heading straight for the man with all the answers I need right now. It's clear that EliknowsBlake. And if my mom taught me anything, it's that when you have a problem, you go straight to the top.

And who's the biggest hero the Icehawks have ever had? Who understands the team better than anyone?

"Eli!" I smile brightly at him as he stands near a wooden whiskey-tasting stall.

From what I've heard these past two weeks, this man is an Icehawks legend. A retired enforcer with a face carved from stone and a presence that makes people shut up and listen. He’s the kind of guy who knows everything that happens in this town… probably before it even does.

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