Page 43 of As You Ice It

“Nope. Camden changed his mind when he saw Liam in the group,” Parker says. “And I know this because I was helping the first week. Saw it with my own eyes. Some kids were picking on Liam?—”

“What?!”

Parker shifts, putting a hand on my knee like she can sense I’m about to jump out of my seat and give some kids—and their parents—a few choice words.

“Camden handled it,” Parker says gently. “I guess Liam didn’t tell you that either?”

“No. He did not.”

I work to steady my breathing. Liam is fine. Right now, he’s doing some kind of exercise involving exaggerated steps from side to side. His face is a mask of pure concentration. Cam glances over at me, like he feels the force of my attention. At my expression, he frowns, but then focuses back on Liam, who’s asking him a question.

“Sorry. I might have overreacted.”

“Don’t apologize—you’re just worried about your son. He’s in good hands here,” Parker says. “We don’t tolerate that kind of behavior. The one jerky kid was not invited to continue in the program.” She looks smug about it.

“Really? What about the other?”

Parker nods toward the ice, where Liam is taking a water break by the benches. Another kid who looks a little older is talking to him. Both are smiling. Camden stands a little way off, watching.

“That’sthe other kid,” Parker says. “I think Camden made quite the impression, and now he’s been checking in on Liam.”

“Aw,” Greyson says. “That’s really sweet.”

“Yeah,” I say, swallowing around a sudden massive lump in my throat as I watch Camden watching the boys. “It is.”

“I think it’s good for Camden, too. He’s been down this year.”

I know she’s not making a pointed or passive aggressive comment, but guilt still squeezes around me.

“He’s been especially distracted and distant the past few weeks. Logan mentioned it, and I was getting worried. Camden doesn’t seem to realize this, but he has a quiet way of impacting the team. If he’s off, they’re off too.”

Interesting. But I can see it. Last summer, I did the lion’s share and a half of talking. Even when he isn’t saying things, Camden has a presence about him, a quiet way of making an impact. I could definitely see that having an impact on a team.

Parker turns to me with a smile. “So, with you in the mix, things seem to be looking up.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” I say, but Parker only smiles.

“Did you meet my brother yet?” Greyson asks, and I’m glad for the subject change. “The guys call him Van.”

“I’m not sure. Maybe?”

“You’d probably remember,” says Grey. “It’s hard to miss his mouth. His figurative mouth. Not like he has a weird clown mouth or anything. He just says a lot of things that are ill-advised.”

I laugh. “Okay, I think I did meet him last week. Was he with Camden while they were stitching up Liam?” I ask Parker.

“Yup,” she says. “He’s a founding member of the Dream Team.”

I raise my eyebrows. “The Dream Team?”

“It was a nickname the core group of guys on the team got in the press. They really leaned into it. Now they have a group chat named after it and everything. They think I don’t know they named it that, but sometimes Logan lets me peek. Only when it’s not, like, private stuff,” Parker adds quickly.

“Is Cam one of the Dream Team?” Somehow, I can’t imagine him being part of a group chat.

Overall, this is a kind of culture shock, seeing Camden now in his more natural home environment after knowing only the vacation version of him: Vacation Camden. Not that he seems like two different people, but more like I’m seeing the person he is in different settings.

“Yep. He’s not as into the group chat as the other guys,” Parker says, which tracks. “Poor Dominik keeps hanging around, hoping for an invite. One of these days, he’ll wear them down.”

“Is Dominik out there?” I ask.

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