Page 103 of Puck to the Heart
The meeting went amazingly,with the kids offering input on meetings and spaces, and energy surged through me, ready to build a schedule of demonstrations, hands-on experiments, and speakers.
A few minutes before I wrapped things up, Ash slipped in the side door. The hat he wore might have kept the coffee shop patrons from recognizing him, but I clocked him the second he stepped inside. There was no mistaking his height and those wide shoulders, no matter how small he tried to make himself. Like heavenly bodies, my center of gravity shifted when he entered my orbit, his presence constantly pulling me toward him.
Once the kids and parents all cleared out, Coach, Grace, Dante, and Ash approached while I sorted permission forms and straggling papers.
“This is going to be amazing!” Grace’s enthusiasm was catching, and I perked up, the flagging energy I’d garnered from the staggering attendance already drained away.
“You think so?”
“The girls willlovethis. I can’t wait, either. Let me know if you need help with anything.” I was truly glad to have met this wonderful woman.
“You’ve already helped so much—” I started.
“Just take the help, Liv. She won’t take no for an answer,” Coach cut in.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught both Ash and Dante nodding. “Okay. Thank you?”
“Excellent. I’ll see you soon!” The Olsens swept out, and Dante waved as he exited close behind them.
“Wow.” I dropped into a chair, utterly drained. “I didn’t expect any of this.”
“You deserve it, Barnes.” Ash held out a hand, tugging me up. “Let’s go home.”
I must’ve fallen asleep in the car; one moment we were pulling out of the parking lot, and the next we were pulling into his garage. Ash caught an Uber to the coffee shop, so he drove my car to his house. Yawning, I stretched, cracking my neck.
“We should celebrate.” Ash’s voice was low, but it still took up every inch of my tiny car.
Well,thatwoke me up. “What did you have in mind?”
Ash’s eyes flashed dark as he smirked. “You’ll see.”
Epilogue
Sometime next season…
The ice wastreacherous beneath my shoes as I took tentative steps forward. One foot in front of the other. Almost there.Breathe.
Pretending to ignore the ever-how-many-thousands of people watching me from the stands, I made my way to center ice. My knuckles clenched tightly around the microphone until it grew slick in my palm. Great, another thing to focus on in a million scattered bits and pieces.
Breathe.
It was all I needed to do until I reached my destination.
But once I reached it…
It’s for the kids, I reminded myself.For the kids.
It was family night at the arena, and KIST was one of the foundations doing demonstrations and outreach. When I wrangled the promotional spot doing a demo before the game, in my excitement, it slipped my mind thatIwould be the one out on the ice in front of a truly frightening number of people.
But Ash and the team did it all the time. If they did it a million times a season, I could survive at leastonce. Probably. Maybe.
Help.
I skidded to a stop right in the center, standing on the circle where the face-off…faced off. Bob the Announcer tapped his foot as I paused to take a breath. How did he get out here so much quicker than me? Without falling? At least I made it eventually.
Impatiently, Bob introduced me as a special guest. Blah blah, visitor from the university, blah blah outreach program. Okay, maybe not blah blah, but my brain was short circuiting enough to only hear something like every third word the man said.
Feedback whined through the arena as I stepped forward to take his place, and Bob shot me another irritated look. I would’ve flipped him off if several thousand people weren’t watching. Actually, I considered it anyway, but let it go.
