Page 106 of Mine For The Winter

“Great.” Kris nodded, even though he felt anything but great.

He felt jealous. And annoyed. And like hitting the puck at the groin of the grinning man in front of him.

* * *

Christ, he was out of practice. Sure he’d hit the gym three days a week when he was living in London, and since he’d been here in Winterville he’d kept fit by helping North at the farm. But hockey required a whole new level of fitness, one he’d found so easy as a teenager with all the energy and loose muscles that came with it.

But now, five minutes into the second period and he was feeling every single slide of his skates as he raced after the damn puck.

Worse, most of the kids were smaller than Cole and he had to make sure to look out for the little ones in case he slammed into them, or tripped over them, or – horror of horrors – sent a kid flying.

“Ah shi—I mean crapola,” Greg shouted as he hit the puck and it went straight toward Cole’s stick. Cole looked like he couldn’t believe his luck, scooping the puck up and skating away at what looked like some kind of break neck speed.

The crowd roared, Greg groaned, and Cole grinned as he maintained control of the puck. His skates lit up the ice as he flew past the defense for the dad’s team, an expression of sheer joy on his face and a determined gleam in his eyes.

Kris turned on the ice, a smile pulling at his lips as Cole weaved through players both big and small, somehow still keeping control of the puck. The kid was good, no doubt about it – or maybe it was just that determination that kept him ahead of the pack.

As Cole raced toward the net Kris found himself watching intently, rooting for him, not giving a flying fuck that this would put the kids ahead of the dad's team. He held his breath as Cole hesitated a second too long, enough for Greg to almost catch him.

"Shoot!" Kris yelled.

A second later Cole was pushing his stick, the puck gliding across the ice. Kris' lungs were tight as the goalkeeper lunged toward it, his stick just missing the puck before it slammed into the back of the net.

The crowd erupted in cheers and Kris let out a whoop of his own, pumping his fist in the air. Cole skated back to his team, his teammates patting him on the back and congratulating him. Kris couldn't help but feel a swell of pride in his chest as he watched Cole skate by, still grinning from ear to ear.

“Did you see it?” Cole asked, his eyes shining behind the helmet guard.

“Yeah.” Kris fist bumped him. “You were amazing.”

The referee blew his whistle and Cole skated away, still looking like the cat that got the cream.

Kris felt his chest tighten with pride. The kid wasn’t his but he didn’t care. He loved seeing him happy. That was the truth of it.

And yeah, Kelly still didn’t completely trust him. But he’d do whatever to make sure Cole stayed happy. That they both did.

He was still smiling as he skated over to the boards. It was time for the dads on the ice to take a break. Even seeing Ian take his place didn’t annoy him like it should.

“That was my fault,” Greg said, sounding breathless as he joined Kris on the bench. “I shouldn’t have sent the puck Cole’s way.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Kris shrugged. “You made a kid very happy.”

“Yeah, but my kid won’t let me hear the last of it,” Greg muttered. “Nor will my wife.”

“You’ll get over it,” Kris assured him, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees as he watched Ian, the brother-in-law he already loved to hate, fall over his skates after a failed attempt at hooking the puck from a ten year old.

He chuckled to himself. All in all this game was going pretty well. Maybe dinner at the diner would, too.

* * *

The ten-year-olds won. Four-two. Your kid got chosen Most Valuable Player. He was pretty awesome, just like you. – Kris

He slid his phone back into his pocket and opened the car door so Cole could climb in. He hadn’t stopped grinning since the end of the game.

“Did Mom reply?” he asked, almost bouncing in his seat as Kris pulled his own seatbelt on.

“Not yet. She’s busy, remember? But she’ll check her phone as soon as she can. You can always call her when we get to the diner.”

“I’ll probably forget at the diner.” Cole wrinkled his nose. “Everybody wants to sit next to me because I’m MVP and I’ll have to decide who I want next to me the most.” He sighed. “It’s hard being popular.”

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