BrickWall_Kobo (20 page)

And started down the hall.

* * * * *

“Holy crap, I didn’t think this place could get any louder but damn.”
Faith had to raise her voice to be heard.
“I think my ears are going to bleed.”

Bliss nodded and leaned in to speak closer to Faith’s ear.
“I know.
It’s amazing, isn’t it?”

The sold-out crowd had been cheering since the start of the video showing highlights of the previous season and ending with solo shots of the team.
Her heart stuttered every time Shane’s picture appeared on the Jumbotron above the ice.

“I’m so glad you forced me to come to these games with you.”

Faith’s smile made Bliss put her arm around her friend’s shoulders.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”

Bliss had had to exchange the tickets Shane had sent her for handicapped access seats but the ticket office rep had been more than happy to make that happen.

“Yeah, well, the guys aren’t hard on the eyes,” Faith continued, “and the game
moves
.
I love that.”

Yes, Faith would.
Before her accident, she’d been a soccer player and a runner.
And if Bliss thought about that much longer, her good mood would evaporate.

Instead, she shoved the thought out of her mind and watched Shane step onto the ice.
In his gear with his mask on, he should’ve been indistinguishable from the other goalie.
But she would’ve been able to pick him out of a lineup of men in the exact uniform.
Something about the way he held himself captured her complete attention.

She didn’t take her eyes off him as he went through his pre-face-off routine, roughing the ice in front of his net, taking a drink, then tapping the posts with his stick in a certain rhythm.
Every goalie had their own routine.
Or so she’d been told.
She only ever had eyes for Shane.

Dangerous.
He was so dangerous.

And yet, when the first tickets had arrived, she knew immediately she was going to use them.

He’d sent her tickets to every home game with a bouquet of flowers.
The first bouquet had had fifteen daisies.

The second had had fourteen.
They’d continued to get smaller.
It had taken her until the start of the second series to realize that the flowers signified how many games they needed to win to capture the championship.

She couldn’t help but feel like it was also a countdown and that made her heart ache.

He would still be leaving at the end of the season, going home to Minnesota or elsewhere to train until training camp started late this summer in Philadelphia.

Which isn’t that far away.

She shook the thought out of her head.
She couldn’t go down that path.
Not if she wanted to keep her distance.

And do you?

Snapped out of her thoughts by everyone around her standing, she shot to her feet as a group of schoolkids sang the anthem, but she couldn’t take her eyes off Shane.
He wasn’t wearing his mask, of course, and she had the almost overwhelming urge to run her fingers along his jaw, covered by a thick beard.
Not even his playoff beard could disguise the handsome lines of his face.

She wanted to feel his beard against her skin, preferably between her thighs—

Shit.

Luckily, the ref dropped the puck.

And she sucked in a breath and held it.

* * * * *

Second period.

The Redtails were up by one but they’d been losing at the end of the first period.

The defense had scrambled after a broken play in the other end and Pittsburgh Spikes’ Greg Bruecker had skated off on a breakaway and scored the first goal of the game.

It’d been a beautiful shot and Shane would’ve been able to admire it—if it hadn’t been against him.

As it was, he allowed himself to be pissed off for five seconds and then he shut it out and reset.

Between periods, the defensemen had apologized before the coach ripped their asses for getting dominated that first period.

And the Redtails had come out flying at the beginning of the second period.

CJ had scored the first goal, which had lit a fire under the crowd’s ass.
And then their top goal scorer, Tyler Richardson, had scored a short-hander after a questionable penalty on Lad.

And just that fast, the ice tilted back in the Redtails’ favor.

Shane watched the play at the opposite end, never taking his eyes off the puck.
So he saw Riley whiff on a one-timer from the top of the left circle and watched the Spikes’ first line break away toward him with speed.

The Redtails defensemen scrambled to catch up and, as ten players raced toward him, Shane had a split second to set.

Skating out to meet the onrushing players, he kept his eyes on the puck as the right winger passed to the left winger setting up on Shane’s right.

He lost sight of the right winger but saw the way his guys were moving and knew that winger now had to be behind him.

Which meant he was blindsided by the crash.

All he felt was the rush of bodies crashing into him at high speed.

He went down, his head hit the ice, and bodies fell on top of him.

Everything went black for a second and he had the terrifying thought that he’d blacked out.

Then he realized someone’s arm had covered his mask.
But his fight response had already kicked in and he was trying to toss players off him as his ears began to ring.

Fuck.

As he struggled to his knees, lungs working to replace the air that’d gotten knocked out of him, he saw his guys ripping opposing players away from him.
Saw the linesmen jump in to separate bodies.

But it was all a little blurry.

Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.

Shaking his head, he tried to bring everything into focus.
And that was when he heard Lad shout for the trainer.

He wanted to wave him off, wanted to get off his damn knees and get his skates under him.

But he wasn’t sure he could do it without falling over.

So he stayed down and waited for the trainer.

And hoped like hell that he could finish the game.

* * * * *

Bliss saw Shane go down under a pile of bodies and, around her, the crowd gasped and shouted.

She could do neither.
She could barely breathe as her heart jumped into her throat.

She watched as his head hit the ice right before he disappeared from view as the teams swarmed around the net.

Several players paired up to fight but she only had eyes for Shane.

Rising slowly, too slowly, to his knees, he sat with his head down, unmoving.

Her lungs seized and she had to force air into her lungs.

“Oh my god,” Faith muttered.
“Is he okay?”

She couldn’t answer.
She could only watch as CJ leaned down to check on Shane then made a beeline for the bench, where the trainer took CJ’s arm so he could race to Shane’s side.

As the linesmen and refs got the fighting under control, everyone’s attention turned to Shane.
The crowd seemed to hold its breath waiting for him to get up.

The longer it took, the harder it was for Bliss to breathe.

She didn’t realize she was on her feet until Faith took her hand.

And when it took two players to help him to his feet, she wanted to run for the stairs.

But she knew she wouldn’t be allowed downstairs.
She wasn’t family.
She wasn’t even his girlfriend.

And still, she couldn’t take her eyes off him.
She watched as CJ and Lad helped him off the ice, watched him disappear down the hall to the locker room, the trainer on his heels.

She only returned to her seat when Nate came onto the ice to take Shane’s position.

“Hey, hon, are you okay?”
Faith had leaned in to speak into Bliss’s ear because the crowd had erupted into boos as the announcer listed the penalties, including one for goaltender interference.

She had the totally insane urge to walk down the stairs to the penalty box and coldcock the player who’d taken out Shane.

Shaking her head, she turned to Faith.
“I don’t even know who to ask to make sure he’s okay.”

Faith’s lips turned up in a bittersweet smile.
“He’ll be back.
He’s tough.”

But he didn’t return by the end of the second period.

And she honestly thought she might sit there and cry.

Until her phone vibrated.

She grabbed it before she considered the fact that it might not have anything to do with Shane.
And slapped a hand over her mouth to stop her cry of joy when she realized it was from Jake.

He is fine.
Be back third period.
Name on list to come down.
Be there.

She was going to kiss Jake when she saw him.

After she hugged the hell out of Shane.

“So are you gonna tell me what you’re smiling like a loon about or just leave me in the dark?”

Faith’s wry voice drew Bliss’s attention away from her phone.

“He’s okay.”

Faith smiled.
“Glad to hear it.
But are you?”

Bliss didn’t even have to think about it.
“No.
I think I screwed up.”

“Yeah.”
Faith nodded.
“I’m pretty sure you did.
But I don’t think it’s unfixable.”

“We still have the same problem, though.
He’s eventually going to leave.”

“And you’ll go with him.
And when he’s done playing hockey in ten or fifteen years and you want to come back, then you do.
But if you love the guy, and you must because you don’t get this upset over someone you don’t love, then you’ve got to make a choice.”

Faith made it sound so easy.
Bliss knew it wasn’t.

She only knew she didn’t want to be on the outside again.

* * * * *

After spending time in the dark room to assess for a concussion, Shane was pronounced fit to play by the doctor.

Damn right he was.
He’d started this.
He was finishing it.

“Guess you really are made of brick.”
Jake bumped his shoulder as they lined up for the start of the third period.
“You okay?”

“I’m good.
Ready to get this done.”

Behind him, the rest of the team shuffled on their skates, sticks tapping.

“She’s here.”
Jake leaned in to speak directly into Shane’s ear.
“In case you wanted to know.”

The music queued up, the fans began to scream, and Shane’s adrenaline began to pump.
He could’ve said it wasn’t because she was watching.
He would’ve been lying.

So he turned to Jake and smiled.

“Yes, now that is the face we need.”
Jake nodded.
“And so we go.”

Shane shook his helmet into place and led his team out.

He’d win the game and then he’d get the girl.

Seemed like a plan.

* * * * *

Bliss gave her name to the guard at the stairs and practically held her breath.
But he didn’t even need to check his list.
He just waved her through.

So she could have a momentary panic attack as she walked down the stairs.

What if Jake was wrong?
What if Shane didn’t want to see her?

Then why was he sending you the tickets?

Letting him go the first time had been heart-wrenching.
If she was wrong about this now, her heart might just break.

Faith had assured her she’d be fine taking a taxi home.
So here Bliss stood, smiling at the small talk between the wives and girlfriends but not saying much.
She knew most of them by name now and, for the most part, they were sweethearts.

They didn’t say anything about the fact that she hadn’t been here for the past games.
They just welcomed her back with smiles and continued on as if nothing had happened.

Which left her alone to gnaw over every little worry.

Her head popped up when she heard Chrissy squeak as her boyfriend, forward Colin Johnson, snuck up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

Bliss looked down the hall, hoping to see Shane.
A few other guys made their way out of the locker room but not hers.