Deserted - Auctioned

Gray grinned and leaned over the gate to plant a loud smooch on Jayden’s forehead, to which he giggled and quickly wiped off with his hand. “Your turn to show ’em who’s boss, boys.” He opened the gate and offered his hand to Justin. His blade covers were already off.

“I can help him,” Jayden said urgently.

“Hey.” Gray gave Jayden’s neck a gentle squeeze. “So can I. Put on your helmet.”

Jayden needed to relax a little. He chewed on his thumbnail while Gray helped Justin onto the ice, and the youngest boy exhaled a laugh when he noticed how slick it was. Just inside the gate were a couple traffic cones, and Gray grabbed one for Justin.

“Here, buddy. You can hold on to this and push it in front of you.”

Justin caught on quick and lit up, pushing the cone ahead of him and using it to stay upright. Jesus Christ, he was adorable. He giggled under his breath and was far from gun-shy. He ventured out to the center line without looking back.

It gave Gray an opportunity to have a word with Jayden.

He got down on one knee and adjusted the kid’s helmet. “Lookin’ sharp, champ.”

Jayden smiled unsurely.

“You don’t have to worry about Justin,” Gray explained carefully. “He’s safe with us, and I’m keeping an eye on him the whole time—even now. I see him in the corner of my eye.” He pointed, then stilled when he caught Justin falling over. He looked over and halted Jayden from rushing to him. “Give it a second. Look at him. What’s he doing?”

Justin was pretending to swim on the ice, that’s what he was doing. He was being a complete goofball.

“I don’t think there’s a word for that,” Jayden muttered.

Gray chuckled softly. “But he’s not upset, is he? He’s having fun.”

“Okay.” Jayden nodded once.

“It’s sweet of you to be protective of him, but don’t forget we’re here. It’s our job to look out for you so you two can have fun together.”

“Okay, we will,” Jayden promised.

“Good.” Gray stood up and watched Jayden skate toward the center cautiously, testing the waters on his way to Justin, and it called for some pictures. He left the ice and took off his gear in between keeping an eye on the boys. “I’m ready to be showered with praise for my performance,” he told Darius.

Darius smirked and gave Gray some space by stepping out on the ice. “We need to transfer your confidence from the ice to the field.” That didn’t sound like praise… “You’re an unstoppable force out here. You’re fast as fuck and strategic in your thinking.” He tapped his temple. “Don’t think I missed that. You predicted Gideon’s moves within seconds.”

“Keep talking. You’re making me hard.” Gray joined him on the ice once he’d shed extra weight. Jayden and Justin were enjoying themselves, watching Gideon practice slap shots on Gabriel.

“I’m serious, you shit,” Darius chuckled. “If you were half as cocky when you’re sparring with me as you are right here, I’d have one hell of an opponent. And that’s got fuck-all to do with skill. It’s all mental. You’ve trained enough to take down any average Joe in America without breaking a sweat.”

“That doesn’t help me when the target is a professional like you,” Gray said.

“But I’m not your target, Gray,” he pointed out. “I’m not the enemy. Jackie’s buyer is. And I can tell you one thing. He ain’t trained in shit.”

Gray hummed and skated a backward circle around Darius, processing what he’d said, and he had a point. Gray wasn’t where he wanted to be physically; he was far from ready, but he was ready to face Jackie’s buyer if things came to that.

“You wanna try?” Gray heard Gideon ask.

The question was for Jayden and Justin, who clearly wanted to try shooting pucks but hesitated.

“Come on, it’s fun,” Gabriel promised. “Gid will show you how.”

Gray nodded encouragingly when Jayden looked his way. It seemed to do the trick, and Jayden ushered Justin closer to the twins.

Gray brought out his phone and snapped a few photos of his brothers teaching the boys how to hold the stick and aim at the puck. As annoying as the twins could be, they were great brothers too, and they knew when to knock it off and get serious.

“I think we have an audience,” Darius noted.

Gray closed his eyes right away and didn’t bother following Darius’s stare. “Is he wearing a Trident windbreaker and a red baseball cap?”

“How did—”

“It’s Craig. My old coach.” Gray studiously ignored that half of the rink and focused on the guys. He didn’t know how he felt, only that he’d been hoping to avoid seeing the man ever again. It was embarrassing.

“Ah. Oh. You mean…”

“Yup. Him.” Gray wrung his hands and cracked his knuckles. His assertiveness took a nose dive, and he fucking hated it. He didn’t even know why. Craig meant nothing to him anymore. “I don’t know how to act. He doesn’t have a place in my life—I don’t care about him—but everything got so ugly back then.”