Edge(12)

He gave her a toothless grin and ran out the door.

“He’s cute,” I said. “But if he’s the only man in your life, why won’t you have dinner with me?”

“I can’t. I don’t see players outside of work.”

I remembered Tanner’s warning the day I arrived.

“Just dinner, Dell. I’m not trying to get in your pants.”

Her cheeks darkened and she looked at the floor. I was surprised how much I enjoyed flustering this otherwise confident woman.

“I just … don’t,” she said. “When I’m not on the road, I have dinner with Kyler.”

“Fair enough.” I wouldn’t push her any further. It was admirable that she put her kid first. “Speaking of him, I better get out there.”

She nodded and I hustled to the locker room to lace up my skates. When I went out to the rink, Kyler jumped up from the bench.

“Who are you?” he asked as I helped him over the wall.

“Luke Hudson.”

“Are you new here?”

“Yep. What position do you play, Kyler?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged and looked up at me. “We’re still learning fun … damentals.”

I grinned at the use of such a big word from such a little guy. His sandy brown hair curled loosely at the ends and his eyes were a hazel swirl of colors. Since he looked nothing like Dell, he had to resemble his father. The thought filled me with an unexpected pang of jealousy. She’d let some other guy do a hell of a lot more than take her out for dinner.

“You play full ice?” I asked, trying to remember what I played when I was his age.

“Half. But my grandpa plays full ice with me. What position do you play?”

“I’m a Centerman,” I said. “You wanna race?” He nodded up at me eagerly. He reminded me a lot of my friend Ryke’s daughter Melody. Ryke wasn’t even 30 and he was fully domesticated – married with two kids. I couldn’t blame him, he’d found a woman he couldn’t live without in Kate. But I didn’t plan to settle down for at least another decade.

Kyler skated with such heart that I had to suppress my laughter. The focus on his little face was like an Olympic athlete in the race of his life. He was fearless – thinking only of reaching the wall, not of the chance he might fall.

“Hey, Ky,” Niko said, skating up to us as we were catching our breath after a race.

“Niko!” Kyler beamed. “Wanna race us?”

“For sure. I know I can beat Luke, but I’m not sure about you. You’re pretty fast.”

“Kyler!” Dell called from the bench. We all looked her way and she was waving him over.

“Just one more,” I said, meeting her eyes. She rolled her eyes a little but nodded.

The other guys cheered Kyler on in our three way race, and we let him edge ahead at the end. His goofy grin reminded me how much I’d loved hockey as a kid. Back then there’d been nothing on the line. I only played for love of the game.

Kyler skated over to the wall and Dell reached for him, kissing the top of his head as she swung him over and he sat down on the bench.

“Nice kid,” I said to Niko.

“Yeah. She’s a good mom.”

“Where’s his dad?”

“He visits a couple times a month.”

We skated over to line up and wait for Tanner to start practice.

“She never got with anyone else?” I asked, watching Dell and Kyler laughing about something.

“Dell? No, she doesn’t date. Never has time for anyone but Kyler and us. Plus her dad would probably castrate any guy she tried to date. He still wants her to marry Kyler’s dad.”

I gave him a look of disbelief. “The kid’s what, five? If she hasn’t married him by now—”

Niko interrupted me with a laugh. “Yeah, well, Butch Price is pretty stubborn.”

“Butch Price? The Nashville coach?”

“You didn’t know Dell’s his daughter?”

I had to force my lips closed. “Holy shit, no. That guy’s the biggest asshole in the league.”

Niko nodded. “I heard he broke a player’s arm once.”

“But that’s … Dell’s nothing like him. He’s a lunatic.”

“Yeah. Rookies come here and get the warning from Tanner, but they still look at her … kinda the way you’re looking at her right now.” Niko arched his brows at me. “Then they hear she’s Butch Price’s daughter and they pretty much piss themselves.”

Tanner blew his whistle and everyone took a knee. I looked over at Niko and spoke in a low tone.

“What do you mean the way I was looking at her?”