“All I am is hockey,” he says again. “It’s all I have to offer you, Tess. I have no other way to earn a living. My dyslexia is so fucking severe—” He groans, pacing away. Behind him, the thunderhead rolls closer. The static rises in the air, the threat of rain looming.
“I barely made it through school,” he goes on. “They passed me through high school on a technicality. I took to the draft the first chance I had because I was never going to survive college. Tess, if I don’t have hockey, I have nothing. I have to play and earn and stay on the ice as long as possible. It’s not just about me and you and the life I wanna make for us. You know I’m putting Cassie through college too. And I’m hoping my mom will retire this year. It’s all on me.”
My heart thrums, loving how well he cares for those he loves. “Oh, honey, and no one can take that from you—”
“This can,” he shouts, shaking the papers at me. “I think this is a restraining order. Which means that if I get close to you, I can go to jail. Dealing with some bad press is one thing. Even with bad press, they’ll still let me play. But a criminal record for breaking a restraining order is a total non-fucking-starter. I’ll lose everything. My mom—my sister—” He spins away, shoulders heaving with emotion.
After a moment, I hold out my hand. “Give them to me, Ryan.”
He doesn’t turn around.
“Please,” I beg. “You said you trust me, remember? Did you mean it, or has this all been about the thrill of the chase?”
He spins around with a glare. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“You trust me when we’re naked. You trust me with your body. Trust me with your heart too. Trust me, Ryan. I’m not going anywhere. I’m sticking. You’re sticking, and I’m sticking too. I can help you. I will help you.” I hold out my hand again, waiting.
Slowly, he nods and hands the papers over.
I take them, and he holds his phone flashlight over the pages. I squint, trying to make out the text. He’s right, it looks like someone reduced the print size to like eight percent. “Babe, I can barely read this either. I don’t think you can even file it looking like this. A judge would have a cow.” I scan the pages as best I can, checking the signatures. Slowly, I look up, a smile spreading on my face.
Ryan holds his breath. “Wait, Tess—fuck, why are you smiling?”
I drop the papers to my side, breathing a sigh of relief. “Because we’ve got him,” I whisper.
“What?”
I close my eyes, body humming. Oh god, I’ve got him. In his rush to checkmate me, Troy left himself exposed at last. He’s made a critical error. For so long, I’ve been the one running as he chased me around the board, claiming all my defenses and boxing me in the corner. Now it’s my turn to step boldly forward, a queen in her crown. I have everything I need to checkmate him. I have everything I need to be free.
Ryan looks down at me, his eyes searching my face. “Tess—”
I step in, wrapping my arms around his neck, the fraudulent restraining order still clutched in my hand. Pulling him down to me, I kiss his parted lips. He’s stiff against me, his body still coiled tight by fear. But each kiss softens his hesitation. I press myself against him, willing him to feel how much I need him, how much I love him. His mouth opens, and I flick my tongue between his lips, coaxing him.
Be with me, your goddess, your queen.
“I love you,” I whisper against his mouth. “I will never let him hurt you. I’m your goddess, remember? I protect what’s mine.”
With a groan, Ryan pulls me to him. He wraps me in his arms just as the first drops of rain begin to fall. A flash of lightning sparks overhead and we both gasp, breaking our kiss. I look up into his eyes and the heavens open, freezing cold rain pouring down.
“Come on,” he shouts over the din, grabbing my free hand.
“Wait,” I cry, anchoring my feet in the sand.
He spins around. “Tess, it’s not safe out here—”
“I don’t care about our pasts,” I call out to him. “I don’t care about this,” I add, dropping the wet documents into the surf. The tide pulls them back and I lose them in the waves. “Stand here with me and let the rain wash it all away.”
He stands with me, our hands clasped together, as the rain pours down. “What are you gonna do now?” he calls over the thunder.
“Now, I make you a vow,” I say with a smile. “I am done running.”
He stills, the rain drenching his head and shoulders. It drips down his beautiful face. “Say it again.”
I step closer, gazing up at him. “All my life, I’ve been running and searching and looking for that place that feels like home,” I say over the rain. “All the while, I’ve been alone. I thought it was my curse. Poor Tess, destined to be alone forever.”
“And now?”
I smile up at him. “And now, tonight, I ran out here to find you. Ryan, I ran to you. I ran home. And now I’m done running.”
He cups my face with his hand, our faces inches apart. “That’s all I want. I’ll be your home, and you’ll be mine.”
I nod, covering his hand with mine. We lean in to kiss again, but a clap of lightning forks right above us and we duck on instinct, throwing our arms above our heads.
“Tess!”
“Ryan!”
We turn to see a group of people with umbrellas moving down the sand towards us.
“Get outta the rain before you get your crazy asses struck by lightning,” Jake shouts.
“Come on,” Ryan says, grabbing my hand again.
Hitching up my soaking wet dress, I run at Ryan’s side, racing back to where all the Rays wait at the end of the boardwalk. We sink in the deep sand, meeting them at the foot of the dunes.
“What the hell were you two doing out there?” Rachel cries, stepping forward with an umbrella, trying to cover us both.
Karlsson steps up on Ryan’s other side, raising his umbrella high.
We’re both shivering, wet through to the bone, with lovesick smiles on our faces. I look around and see that everyone is here, all our friends we love like family—Rachel and her guys, Shelby and Josh, Poppy, Novy and Morrow, Cheryl and Nancy and Joey. Everyone was looking for us. Everyone cares.
“Are you okay?” Rachel says.
Ilmari steps around me, wrapping me in his dry tuxedo coat.
“Oh—your speech,” I cry. “I ruined it.”
He gives my shoulders a gentle squeeze. “There’s always next year.”
I smile, my shoulders sagging with relief, even as I shiver.
“Troy left,” says Caleb, his eyes locked on me. “We watched him get in the Uber.”
“What’s the plan here, Tess?” says Jake. “That asshole’s never gonna stop.”
“No more playing defense,” Ryan says.
I glance up at him, my hand still clutched in his. “What?”
“I’m a forward,” he says at me. “That means I don’t sit back and wait to take the hits. I bring the fight to the other team. Let me do this, Tess. Let me help you. We tried your way. Now I want to try mine.”
“Let us all help you,” Jake adds.
“You’re not alone, Tess,” says Caleb.
Ilmari’s firm hand gives my shoulder another squeeze, and I have to fight back fresh tears.
They’re all here. They all care. My team. My family.
“Put us in, Coach,” calls Josh from under his umbrella, Shelby on his arm. “Just tell us how we can help.”
I look around at everyone, Ryan’s hand clasped in mine. Swallowing down my nerves, I clear my throat and shout out to the group, “I want to thank you all. Not just for coming out tonight and supporting our cause but…well, for supporting me. From the first moment I met you all, you’ve been so kind and welcoming.” I glance from Poppy to Shelby, who both offer me smiles.
“You took me in and made me feel like family,” I add, looking at Rachel and her guys. “Now Ryan is my family. Like the sea turtles we all came out tonight to support, Ryan and I are caught in a bit of a tangled net. We ask for your patience and your help as we fight our way free.”
“Anything you need,” Jake intones.
“Ryan’s a Ray and you’re with Ryan,” Josh adds. “We take care of our own.”
I nod, taking a deep breath. No more defense. We’re playing offense. We’re taking the fight to Troy. I have a plan, and I think it will work. My freedom is so close, I can taste it.
I turn to Ryan, squeezing his hand. “Babe, have you ever been to Cincinnati?”
65