Page 1 of The Pucks We Freeze
Chapter One
Willow
I probably should’ve stayed in Braysen.
The thought had crossed my mind more than once since we pulled out of the parking lot that morning. I sat quietly on the bus, my camera bag resting against my knees, my head tilted against the cool window as familiar scenery started to roll by.
Originally, I planned to stay behind and cover the women’s basketball team. They were headed into March Madness with a real shot at going all the way, and I wanted to be there for every second of it.
I’d been with the team since the first tip-off. Every game. Every win. Every interview. Following their season wasn’t just an assignment. It mattered to me. Still did.
Especially with Mila Kinnick at the center of it all. She wasn’t just leading the team. She was the team. Smart, intense, and impossible to ignore. The kind of player who made even the national media pay attention.
Covering her this season had been the highlight of my portfolio. Now missing her shot at a national title? It felt like I was leaving my best work unfinished.
But when I got the call about my dad’s surgery, everything shifted.
Heart surgery. Not something small or routine. Serious enough to shake me, even after all this time apart.
We hadn’t spoken in months. Not since everything fell apart between us. Yet when I heard the words open-heart surgery, everything else faded into the background.
I’d already lost my mom unexpectedly in a car accident. That kind of loss rewired you and made you brace for impact, even when you tried not to. Now the thought that something couldhappen to him… it felt like a rug was being pulled right out from under me.
No matter how strained things have been, the idea of losing him too? I didn’t think I could handle the thought of it.
So when Gemma pitched the idea of covering the Rixton vs. Braysen hockey game and traveling with the team, I told her no at first. There were too many reasons not to go. Too much history in that town. Too many loose ends I wasn’t ready to face. Guilt could be persuasive. And deep down, part of me knew I’d regret it if I stayed away, especially now.
Dad offered me the cabin behind the lodge. With spring rolling in and the Frozen Four on the horizon, the resort was already packed. Sports fans filled every available room, and the usual seasonal rush was starting to build. I didn’t doubt for a second that everything was booked solid.
I agreed, mostly because it’s easier than disappointing him with the truth. Even though I hadn’t set foot on the property since the divorce. Coming back now felt strange. Like trying to squeeze into a version of my life that no longer fit. It was familiar, but something felt off. Like the place had shifted while I was gone, and now I couldn’t tell if it was the resort that changed or if it was me.
I tried not to think too hard about what else might be waiting for me there. But that never really worked, did it? Especially not when it came to Kade Brooks.
I hadn’t seen or spoken to Kade since the night of my graduation party. One impulsive, unforgettable hookup with the guy everyone warned me about. We weren’t close. Just two people who moved in the same orbit. He was intense and quiet, with an edge that made people keep their distance.
Then I left for college, and that night became something I filed away in the “bad ideas I don’t talk about” folder. I never planned to see him again.
So walking into my dad’s house and seeing a worn pair of hockey skates and a Rixton U duffel bag by the front door stopped me in my tracks. The name stitched across the side in faded white thread readBrooks, and the second I saw it, my stomach dropped.
I stepped around the gear slowly, my suitcase thudding softly as I set it down in the entryway. The house smelled different. Warm and woodsy, like vanilla and cedar. A candle flickered nearby, and a throw blanket I didn’t recognize was folded neatly over the arm of the couch. The whole space felt softened, touched by a hand that wasn’t his.
It didn’t feel like home anymore.
I moved farther inside, each step tentative, unsure what I was even walking toward. That was when I saw it. The photo canvas above the fireplace—oversized and carefully centered, like it was meant to be the heart of the room.
My breath caught the moment I registered what it was.
My dad stood in a suit, smiling the kind of smile I thought he’d forgotten how to wear. The woman beside him looked calm and certain, her hand resting gently on his. They looked… happy. Like two people who had spent a long time searching for their other half and found it.
But I had no idea who she was.
I blinked, trying to push down the sudden rush of emotions. There hadn’t been a conversation. Not even a heads-up. No text, no phone call, nothing to prepare me for this image. For what it meant.
Still dazed, I drifted in that direction, needing answers.
Then I stopped short in the doorway.
Kade stood barefoot in the middle of the kitchen, shirtless, holding a carton of orange juice up to his mouth.
