Page 6 of Playing the Neutral Zone

I took the brush from her and carefully ran it through her long hair, doing my best not to hurt her as I brushed out the tangles.Then, like my mother had taught me, I braided her hair and lifted her down off the stool she was sitting on.

“Thanks, Dad,” she said, running off toward her room.

“Okay, get your bag.We’ve got to go,” I called, glancing at my watch again.

She came running out of her room, her little pink backpack on her back.She came right over to the door, where she slipped on her matching pink running shoes.

“Got everything?”I asked.“Snacks, juice box, crayons, and coloring book?”

“Yep, but I thought there was a playground where we’re going.”

“There is, don’t you worry, you will have a blast.Daddy will be right down on the ice while you’re at daycare.If you want, you can even watch me skate around the rink from where you’ll be.”

“Why can’t I come skate with you?”

“You will one day, but not this morning.I have practice.Alright?”

She nodded her head and slipped her small hand into mine while I opened the door.I waited for her to walk out before I hoisted my hockey bag up off the floor, threw it over my shoulder, and pulled the door shut behind me.

Mia stoodbeside me while I emptied my gear out of my bag and into my locker.By some miracle we were early, and since the daycare area wasn’t open yet, we’d come down to the locker room to unpack my bag before taking her back there and dropping her off.She sat on the bench in front of me, swinging her legs as she sang along to some song she was making up.

I looked over at her and chuckled to myself as she hummed along, pausing and glancing over her shoulder as she heard a roar of laughter coming down the hall.She glanced up at me with worried eyes as the door opened and the guys poured into the locker room.

“Then I swear I just about died as she got down on her fucking knees and—”

“Hey, whoa!”I yelled, quickly covering Mia’s ears as I looked over at Colton, who was probably halfway through telling the guys about his escapades over the weekend.

The guys all stopped in their tracks, questioning looks on their faces as they looked over at me with my hands covering Mia’s ears.

“Younger sister?”Colton questioned, dropping his bag, a sly smile on his face.

I hadn’t told the guys about Mia.The fact I’d kept her hidden from them wasn’t something I was proud of.I’d just needed a break from being a dad for those eight months that my parents had her, so I could be reminded what it was like to not have such an immense responsibility hanging over my head every single second.

It probably would have been easier had they kept her during game time instead of off-season, but this was just as well.It gave me time to seek someone to watch her while I was at practice and game time, and for when I was on the road.

I cleared my throat and removed my hands from her ears.

“Mia, I’d like you to meet some of my teammates,” I said, kneeling so I could see her face.“That’s Dylan, Knox, Lucas, Clay, and the big guy over there is Colton.”

She eyed each one of them with a curious expression, then raised her little hand in a wave, smiling over at Colton.

“Hey, Mia,” they all said in unison and then looked at me, questions in their eyes.

“This is my daughter, and we are late for daycare.Come on, sweetie, let’s go,” I added, not giving one of them a chance to ask me anything while she was with me.

Purple lights shoneall around the arena as we crashed into one another on our first win of the season.The crowd screamed as music blared over the speakers.It had been a tense game, especially playing against my old team, the New York Predators.

We moved to do our post-game handshake, and when I got to Connor Bailey, he leaned into me.

“Hey, Anderson!How are you doing?You know Scottie is here, right?”

I looked over at him.Connor had been there for me after Scarlett tore my heart into pieces.He also knew I was still very close to Scottie.Scarlett not so much.

“No, he never mentioned he was coming out here,” I said, slowing down as the other players moved off the ice.

“She’s here too,” he whispered and nodded toward the crowd.“Somewhere up there.”

“I know, but thanks for the warning,” I said, slapping him on his back as I looked up into the area of the crowd above our bench that he’d gestured at.

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