Jaxon grins as he pushes to his feet and holds his hand out to me. His glove is warm as he hauls me up. “All part of the plan.”
Coach skates over, still laughing, and tosses the puck to another kid. “Show ’em how it’s done.” The boy takes off, trips over a stray stick, and sends the puck flying toward Jaxon. He swerves, the puck ricocheting off a snowbank and bouncing back to me.
I line up a shot, but a flying snowball—definitely Coach’s doing—smacks me in the back. I stumble, and the puck slides right past me, straight into our own net.
The kids erupt into cheers while Jaxon and I freeze, staring at each other.
“I can’t believe you scored on our own net,” he laughs, shaking his head. “We’re doomed. Absolutely doomed.”
The whistle blows again. Coach claps his hands. “Well done, kids. Quick hot chocolate break, then we add snowball penalties and extra pucks.”
I groan and strip off my gloves. “You hear that? Snowball penalties. I’m never surviving this.”
Jaxon leans in with a smirk. “Oh, come on. Snowball penalties are the best. And let’s be real. You probably deserve a couple to the head after what you did to Santa.”
I shove him playfully. “You’re lucky I’m too tired to fight you right now.”
“Seriously,” he says, softer now, “I’ve never seen you have this much fun.”
I shrug. “Kids are fun.”
He bumps his shoulder against mine. “Yeah. And you showed them what you’ve got.”
I groan. “By scoring on my own net?”
We fall quiet as we skate toward the edge of the pond. Just before stepping off, Jaxon turns to me, his expression shifting. “It’s going to be okay, Penn. We all make mistakes. Suspensions happen. And honestly, I’m sure Santa deserved it.”
“He did,” I admit. “But still. I risked my career.”
“Would you do it again?”
I let out a humorless laugh. “Probably.”
“Good.” His grin flickers back, but there’s something steady underneath it. “You didn’t mess anything up. Once Jaylynn cleans up your image, you’ll be fine. I’m looking forward to playing with you again.”
“Yeah?”
“When you get back. Let’s run some practices. You and me. Winger to winger.”
“I’m not?—”
“Not yet,” he cuts me off, skating toward the table piled with donuts and hot chocolate.
I trail after him, grabbing a cup of my own. Across the way, Jaylynn catches my eye, grinning as I lift my drink in a small salute. Warmth slides through me despite the cold. After a quick drink and a donut, we’re back on the ice, getting our asses handed to us—and I wouldn’t have it any other way. When the little ones score again, making it double digits to zero, Coach blows his whistle. Good thing too. The kids are flagging, and who knows, we might have actually found a scoring chance.
“Great game,” Jaxon says, clapping me on the back. “See you tonight.”
“Tonight,” I answer. “Beer and pool.”
Jaxon’s a really great guy. Easy to be around. Honestly, I’d love to play on the same line as him sometime. As he heads toward one of the benches to take off his skates, I notice the woman from the dining area this morning standing there, waiting for him. I can see him tense, and I’m about to head over when Jaylynn calls me to her.
The sky has grayed since we started playing, and I know she’s anxious to get to the country club before the snow starts falling. I skate over, and she must sense my distraction. She glances around and frowns when she sees Jaxon.
“He doesn’t look happy,” I say, stating the obvious.
She crinkles her nose like she’s debating whether to intervene or not when suddenly another woman walks up to them and slides her arm through Jaxon’s.
“Whoa,” Jaylynn breathes.