“Raven,” Kenner greeted coolly.
The girl smiled sweetly at him, curling the end of her inky black ponytail around her fingers. “Coach. Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?”
Hell, I didn’t want to be introduced.
Kenner’s lips twitched. “Looks to me like you already know him.”
Her cheeks flushed. “You know what I mean.”
“Nice to meet you, Raven. I gotta jam. See you tomorrow, Coach.” I shoved off the edge of my skate, darting around the girl and toward the boards, but the moment I saw the two figures waiting there, I almost went back to the piranha in spandex.
Of all my siblings,of course, Trace and Shep were here. Every sibling seemed to have a role in my family. Trace always kept us inline, which was fitting since he was the eldest and had also become sheriff of Mercer County.
Shep was the caretaker, the one who always made sure we were okay. In the past, the well-being of others had come at the expense of his at times. But since meeting Thea, I’d sensed a shift in him. He was more balanced. But that didn’t change the number of times he checked in on us all.
I forced an easy smile as I skated over to the exit—the kind of grin my brothers expected of me. Because I had my own role to play. Easygoing. Daredevil. A touch reckless. It was easier to stay there than to let anyone in on the truth.
“Who narced on me?” I asked as I stepped off the ice and onto the mat.
“Chill,” Shep said. “No one narced. Thea has a friend with a kid in this camp. She wanted to know why Thea hadn’t told her you were one of the coaches.”
I winced as I sat on the bench and unlaced my skates. The accusation was clear in Shep’s words. He wanted to know why the hell I hadn’t toldhim. And Trace’s silent stare was enough to punctuate the point.
Sliding off one skate, I grabbed my carry bag. “New development. Linc and Coach Fielder thought it might be a good move for me.”
Shep and Trace were silent for a long moment as I took my second skate off. It was Trace who finally spoke. “Because of the media coverage lately.”
There wasn’t judgment in his tone, but I felt it anyway. In the sheer knowledge that he’d been checking up on me. Sometimes, Trace felt more like a parole officer than a brother.
I shoved my skates into my bag and slid on my sneakers. “You know the media are vultures.”
More silence. This time, Shep did the talking. It was like they were playing out some sort of good-cop, bad-cop routine. “What’s going on? There’s a video of you punching Marcus Warner without any provocation. That’s not you.”
My fingers fisted around the strap of my gear bag. No, it wasn’t me. And that should’ve been the first clue there was more to the story. But Shep wasn’t even giving me that.
And in some ways, I understood it. There was a reason I’d been named The Reaper. Because I was known for being brutal on the ice. If you came for one of my teammates, I’d come for you.
Which was exactly what had happened during that game against Dallas. It had been a bloody battle from the moment we stepped on the ice. But I’d felt it even before. A warning that crackled in the air.
My left wing, Louie, had gotten a stick to the ribs, and I wouldn’t let that fly. I’d gone for the Dallas player responsible, but it had left Teddy open. Two opposing players had taken him out, and he ended up with a brutal slice to his forearm that meant sitting out a few games.
I could still hear Marcus’s words from practice the next day.“Our teamcaptainjust had to play the hero. Didn’t you, Colson? But we all know the truth. The only person you give a damn about is yourself. And it could get the rest of us killed.”
“Cope,” Shep pressed. “Tell us what’s going on.”
I shoved to my feet. “Nothing. I’m good. Just the press biting at my heels, and it’d be nice if my brothers had my back instead of thinking I was a loose cannon about to explode.”
It was a dick thing to say, but I didn’t stop to apologize. I just headed for the doors and out into the summer heat. But the temperature did nothing to take the bite off the chill that had settled in my bones. One that said I was a hell of a lot worse than a loose cannon. And bashing people into the boards wasn’t keeping my temper in check the way it once had.
5
SUTTON
My eyes burnedas I pulled into the rink’s parking lot. These super early mornings were trying to kill me. Today’s extra cupcake order had been for an engagement party. Thankfully, the bride-to-be had wanted whimsical over tried and true bridal white. She’d asked for cupcakes representing significant moments in her and her fiancé’s lives.
It had been a fun project, where I’d gotten to hear all about their journey together. We’d opted for the mascot of the college they went to, which was an adorable beaver, a frisbee for their competitive frisbee golf hobby, a sunset over the mountains for where he’d asked her to be his wife, and my favorite, a likeness of their beloved schnauzer, Samson.
But the intricate artwork always took me three times as long as my more straightforward fare. I was exhausted, my back ached, and I was pretty sure my vision still hadn’t recovered from all the squinting. It was worth it, though. Because I was getting more and more referrals from within the community. And maybe if that kept going, I could find a way to keep the bakery and my apartment.
