“Yeah, he’s been okay though, right?”
She shook her head. “I can tell he’s hurting, but everything seems okay…”
“Yeah, that’s what Karson said. We just need to be there for him.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Kacey said and Lacey nodded.
“I know, but he really needs to cut that woman out of his life.”
“You’re right.”
As the puck dropped, Lacey looked away, her attention on the ice as Kacey looked on too. The Assassins were hosting the Panthers, and within seconds, Kacey knew it was going to be a good game. They both wanted that first win of the season, that was easy to see, and soon Kacey was on the edge of her seat. As Phillip Anderson sent the puck back to Jordie, she watched as he skated around the net, watching at his forwards got into position. Sending the puck to Karson, he skated up as Karson whizzed it up to Anderson, who passed it quickly to Erik Titov. He shot, hitting the goalie’s leg pad, which gave off one hell of a rebound. Anderson got it, sending it to the goal again, but again it was rebounded back to the corner. Brooks rushed the boards, getting the puck and sending it out to Karson, but he didn’t put his stick down in time and it went out of the zone. They changed up, and the game continued as Shea and the new kid, Sinclair, sent puck after puck at the net. The goalie was giving up huge rebounds, and when one came back, right onto the stick of Baylor Moore, Kacey held her breath as she shot top shelf, scoring the first goal. She had forgotten all about Baylor because of Jordie, and her stomach fluttered as Baylor held her arms up, everyone hugging her, and the crowd losing their shit.
“That should be you!” her father yelled, but Kacey didn’t agree. She was where she was supposed to be. In love and happy with Jordie. She sent her dad a smile as everyone cheered but then it dropped when Mena started crying. Taking her from Karl, Lacey cuddled her as they lined up for the next puck drop. Winning the puck back, Jordie was the first to pick it up, sending it quickly up to Anderson, who was rushing the net. He was stopped though, and the puck was swiped from him. But Jordie got it, shooting it hard to the net. The goalie blocked it though, sending it back to Erik, who sent it fast to Jordie, who acted as if he was going to shoot, but instead, sent it to Karson, who went five-hole, getting another goal.
Kacey was the first one to say that she loved hockey. Lived and breathed it. And when her brother scored, with the help of her boyfriend, she was so proud. But when she saw the grin on Jordie’s face, it wasn’t the goal Karson scored that brought her to tears, it was the happiness in Jordie’s eyes. The guys were wrapped up in a huge bromance hug and Lacey was hollering beside her as she just stood there, tears rushing down her face. Wiping them away, she shook her head and knew that this was what Jordie had needed. He’d needed to be on the ice to help push him along the road to recovery.
And now he was.
Moving her nose along Jordie’s jaw, Kacey let out a long breath.
She didn’t want to let him go.
“I want to go play, but I don’t want to leave you,” he said, reading her thoughts as his lips skimmed along the middle of her brow. Closing her eyes, she held on to him tighter, nodding her head. She knew that he had to go, it was his job, but it didn’t suck any less.
“I don’t want to let you go,” she agreed, taking a huge sniff of his beard, memorizing the smell, though she couldn’t forget it if she tried. “I sent you an email with AA groups in every city.”