Steele (Arizona Vengeance 9)

Jett and Bain peel off at the family room, heading for the food. They’ll both eat now and again about an hour and a half before the game.

Riggs, Kane, and I continue to the locker room.

“Do you have an IG account?” Kane asks me.

“Yeah… just one to follow Lucy. Guess I’ll have to figure out how to use it a little better. Lucy can show me the ins and outs.”

“Fuck if I’m getting one,” Riggs mutters as we reach our cubbies.

Kane and I shift toward him. Not in surprise, because that’s just his demeanor, but merely to see if he’ll clarify that statement.

“I don’t want anyone poking around in my personal life,” he scoffs, reaching for his duffel hanging on a hook inside his locker.

“Got dirty secrets to hide?” Kane teases while grinning.

“Got a little sister I’m raising, and I don’t want her in the limelight,” he replies.

We’d heard through the gossip he was raising a sister, but it’s the first time he’s mentioned her. Kane is too nosy to do anything but ask a direct question. “Why are you raising your sister?”

“None of your fucking business,” Riggs growls. It tells me there is something nefarious behind his situation. He’s overly protective of her, much more so than a dad or older brother would be.

I try another tact. “My daughter Lucy is thirteen. Not sure how old your sister is, but maybe we can introduce them. Lucy can help introduce her around to the other team kids.”

Riggs, obviously tensed and poised for a fight if pushed the wrong way, relaxes a tiny bit. He concedes, “Yeah… sure… maybe.”

“You should bring her to the Halloween family party next week,” I suggest, giving him a push to integrate with our team. “It’s a great event, and Dominik goes all out with games and rides. It’s like a mini carnival just for the Vengeance family.”

Riggs considers, then nods. “I’ll ask Janelle if she’s interested.”

Pretty name—Janelle. I don’t comment on it because no telling how Riggs will react. But I’m going to continue to remind him of the event. Maybe I’ll even put a bug in Dominik’s ear that he should perhaps “encourage” Riggs to come.

Maybe even make it mandatory.

I don’t normally meddle in such things, but I want Riggs to personally integrate on this team. Eventually, he’ll learn we are his family. By extension, we will be Janelle’s family. But I think he’s going to need a whole lot of gentle pushing to get there.CHAPTER 9EllaThis is different. For years while following my husband through his professional hockey career, a night out after a big win was usually done with a high-energy celebration. When Jim asked me to come watch him play tonight, there was never any answer but “yes”. I have always been his biggest fan, even when separated. He might not have known it, but I never missed watching him on TV even after we parted ways. Given what that promise ring seems to represent… a new commitment by him to me, I was thrilled he’d invited me to the game. It felt good to be back among the crowd, wearing the number 42 Steele jersey.

When Jim also invited me to go out after the game, I had some reservations. I absolutely wanted to spend time with him, but I was nervous about being back among the team and his friends. It was going to be slightly awkward explaining my appearance by his side again, but then again, Jim may have told his teammates we were trying to reconcile.

My biggest hesitation was that a post-game celebration usually meant little time with my husband. I mean sure… there were moments when he’d be by my side, arm around my waist as we talked to some other players.

And many, many moments he’d be pulled off by his teammates to be drawn into a ribald conversation or pose for pictures with fans. Jim likes the limelight, and I understand it. I love watching him because he positively glows when he’s in his element, and I am happy my husband loves what he does.

But in those many moments when he’s pulled away from me, despite the fact I have plenty of others to talk to, I feel as lonely as if I were abandoned on a deserted island and it was simply for the fact that my husband never seemed to glow when he was by my side.

It really hurt.

I could have easily said no to going out after the game, expecting all the same hurts would be dredged up, but I also made a promise to myself when Jim made his to me as he slipped that ring on my finger. I vowed to give him a fair shot. That meant I had to put myself out there with him in the normal situations we often found ourselves.