Page 44 of Broken As Puck

I drew back, surprised by the strength of her tone. I hadn’t expected that from someone who’d, thus far, seemed quite timid. “It doesn’t matter. It isn’t a problem.”

I wasn’t going to begrudge anyone the need to let off a little steam, and if I complained to Jane, then it might get back to Austin, and the players may be held accountable. Now, accountability wasn’t a bad thing, but I also needed their cooperation and if they actively disliked me, that would only make my job harder.

Best to continue as we were.

The song changed, signaling that the players were about to emerge onto the ice, so I scrambled off the seat.

“Lovely to meet you all, but I’d better get back to work.” I hurried off, shuffling between people until I’d made my way back to Max and Patrick. They glanced over as I approached but neither spoke. Patrick was stretching to see the changing room doors and Max was fixated on his video camera.

While they were otherwise occupied, I opened the camera case around my neck, pulled out my camera, and made sure the settings were correct for me to snap a few photographs during the game.

Both teams were on the ice now, warming up. Jesse was showboating as he stretched, and I aimed my camera at him and pressed the shutter. I took advantage of the opportunity to photograph each player while they were moving more slowly.

Eventually, the game began, and I settled in to watch. It wasn’t long before I wished I’d bought a snack, but with the score nil-all, I wasn’t about to leave my seat. There was no way I’d risk missing a goal.

Near the end of the first period, Delacrue foot-tripped a player from the other team. He wasn’t obvious about it, but the referee noticed and he was sent off the ice, scowling and muttering to himself. I wanted to grab his shoulders and shake him. Didn’t he realize how hard we were trying to change the team’s image? Pulling dirty crap like that certainly wouldn’t convince the commissioner to give the Chaos another chance. Had he forgotten that the cameras were rolling?

When the first period was over, the score was still nil-all. Entering the second period, the Chaos came out hard. Jesse bolted up the ice with the puck, but the opposition intercepted him and sent it flying back the other way.

Matt caught the puck on the end of his stick and glided out of the defensive zone, evading their wing before passing the puck to Harris, who took it past the defensemen, then flicked it over the goalie’s shoulder and into the net. I clicked the shutter just as the goalie dove for the puck and captured the moment Harris realized it had gone in and pumped his fist.

I cheered, but my voice was lost among the din in the stadium as supporters leapt to their feet and hollered encouragement.

No further goals were scored in the second period, and by the third, it was clear both teams were tiring. A few minutes in, an opposing forward took a run at the goal, and when Matt got in the way, he body-checked him into the barrier. Matt smacked it hard and I winced, remembering the bruises he used to sport after games. I bet that would leave a mark.

Would he remember to rub an anti-inflammatory ointment on the bruising? Or did he forget that kind of thing now that he had no one to look after him?

Stop worrying. It isn’t your job to take care of him anymore.

Unfortunately, that was easier said than done. It was only too easy to recall the intimacy of massaging ointment into his skin and keeping him supplied with ice packs when he needed them. It had taken months to get out of the habit of always having extras in the chiller.

Each team scored a goal by the end of the period, meaning the Chaos won 2-1. As the buzzer sounded, a roar tore through the stadium. All around, fans got to their feet. They shouted, waved their arms, and grinned at each other. On the ice, the players huddled together, hugging and exchanging high fives.

I just sat there and soaked in the atmosphere. There was something about winning a home game that brought out the good vibes.

“Chelsey?”

I looked over and found Jane standing beside me. “They did it!”

She grinned. “They did. We’re all heading to Rinkside—that’s the bar down the road—to celebrate, if you’d like to join us.”

I considered taking her up on the offer, more tempted than I would’ve expected to be. The atmosphere at an after-game event on a night like tonight would be wild. Also, if any of the players were going to go off the deep end and do something over the top that might result in the loss of first draft round picks, this seemed a likely time for it to happen.

That said, I hadn’t been hired to police the players’ behavior and it didn’t seem appropriate for me to try to. I also didn’t want them to feel restricted by my presence, or like I was some kind of corporate spy. They were more likely to accept me and go along with my plans if they felt like I respected their boundaries.

“I’d better not.” I softened the words with a smile. “But thank you for the invitation.”

Jane nodded. “If you change your mind, you know where to find us.”

She said a quick goodbye and went off in search of her fiancé. Meanwhile, I reported to Patrick to find out what they needed to finish up for the night. I helped dismantle their equipment, and then Max walked me to my car. I was about to start my engine when I remembered the way Matt had been smashed against the rails earlier.

Was he hurting?

Not your business.

Although…maybe it kind of was my business? Not because I was in a relationship with him or entitled to know how he was feeling, but he was clearly still taking up a lot of real estate in my mind, considering I’d let my worry about working with him cause me to delay doing something related to my job.

We couldn’t go on like that. Something had to change.