“I know, sweetheart,” Paige cooed, hoping to calm the child. “Was that your Daddy? Did you see him? Did youknow?”
Paige couldn't believe it herself. It was too ridiculous. But all she could hear were the words her Dad had said earlier:
“Maybe it's a sign.”
Chapter 6
Lance
The visitor's dressing room was in good spirits. There was nothing quite like a hard-fought victory on the road to bring a tight-knit team even closer. The team's victory song blasted over the stereo as the boys stripped off their sweat-soaked pads.
While the rest of the team laughed and regaled each other with tales of the game's big hits, goals and fights, the coach waved Lance over and pulled him outside the dressing room. Coach introduced him to two corporate-looking types: a man and a woman.
He regarded them skeptically. “Uh, hi, what can I do for you?”
“Actually, we're here foryou,” the woman said. “We're from Sterling Image.”
He was quickly losing interest. “Oh … right … the PR firm.”
It was the man's turn to speak. “We just wanted to saygreat jobtonight, Lance.”
“Thanks. What can I say. When the puck's going in, it comes easy.”
“I don't mean the game. I mean the adorable moment you had with that baby in the stands.”
“Huh?” Lance squinted. But the memory returned to him in a flash—the cute dancing kid that he waved at after he scored his second goal. “Oh. The dancing baby. Yeah, that was nothing.”
“No, Lance. That wasnot'nothing.' That'sexactlywhat we need to turn your image around. More moments like those—so the whole world can see your sensitive side. We managed to grab a clip of it from the broadcast and, well—here, have a look for yourself!”
The PR representatives showed him his hijacked Instagram account. The most recent posting was a clip of his moment with the baby in the crowd; specifically, the moment the little girl put her hand up against the glass and touched his. But the groan-inducing caption read,
“Yeah, when I'm not too busy putting the biscuit in the basket, I'm just making friends with all the little ones around the arena. I even made sure this baby girl went home wearing my jersey! #AlwaysTreatBabesWithRespect #GetOnMyLevel”
Lance tried not to gag. “Well. That's uh. Yeah, that's really something.”
The woman patted his shoulder. “This is going tohelp,Lance. I know that this is all a little out of character for you. But please, keep it up, and keep doing more things like this. You're already doing great.”
“Uh-huh. Right. Well, I'll see you guys later.”
Lance retreated back to the dressing room and hit the showers.
***
The Brawlers were scheduled to take an early morning flight out of Nashville, which left enough time to head back to the hotel and organize a team dinner.
“This time, anybody but Lance gets to pickthe restaurant,” Brooks growled as the team congregated in the hotel lobby. “That Zickell's burger I had for lunch sucked.”
“Fine by me,” Lance said with a grin. “We can always swing by Zickell's for drinks afterward.”
The boys groaned.
“I'm just joking,” Lance said.
“I don't think you are!” Ilya shouted.
Dressed sharply in suits and overcoats, the Brawlers called for a fleet of cabs and headed straight for a Nashville steakhouse.
Dinner was practically a Bacchanalian affair. Anytime twenty gregarious and starving athletes gathered on the road, they tended to get stuffed on too much meat and beer. By the end of it, Lance cradled his taut belly. He'd gorged himself on a ribeye steak with mashed potatoes and grilled green beans.
