Hot Puck (Rough Riders Hockey 2)

Beckett straightened. “What? Why? Andre didn’t call me. Are they okay?”

“They’re fine.” Sarah’s calm tone reassured him, and he relaxed. “She called because Dmitri put gum in his hair, and she couldn’t get it out.”

He huffed a laugh, thinking of the couple’s two-year-old. “Beautiful.”

“Easy fix. Peanut butter, for your future information.”

“Good to know.

Hope I never have to use it.”

“Oh, you will,” she said, smirking. “Anyway, when I asked Nika how Dmitri got the gum in his hair, she told me that she’d been cooking for some Russian tradition, I don’t know which one, and that while she was busy in the kitchen, Dmitri went unsupervised for about fifteen minutes because Andre took a detour on the way home from the game and ended up at Top Shelf.”

Beckett’s humor slid away, the same way this conversation was circling the drain. “Uh…huh…”

Sarah sat back. “You’ve been incredibly discreet with women since Lily came into your life. So hearing that you were all over one last night made my sisterly antennae vibrate.”

Ah fuck. “The reason you think I’ve been discreet with women over the last year,” he told her, “is because there haven’t been any.”

“Seriously? You expect me to believe that? Hello. I get the whole puck bunny thing. I know how hard women chase you guys down.”

“I misspoke,” he said deliberately, holding his temper. “There haven’t been any here. I may have hooked up a couple times at away games, but that’s it. I can’t kiss anyone in public in the greater Metro area now?”

“Sounds like you were doing more than kissing, bro.” Sarah lifted her hand to halt the argument she could evidently see coming, because she continued, “I’m saying that you’re a dad now. A dad going after full custody of a little girl. You shouldn’t be doing shit like that in public. You have every right to mess around however you want to mess around, but get a room.”

Beckett exhaled heavily. He was thirty-one years old and his big sister was bitching him out for getting caught kissing a chick in public. Okay, yeah, he’d been doing more than kissing her, which others might have suspected, but no one knew for sure. Either way, she was probably right. He’d lost his head with Eden.

“Now, tell me about her,” Sarah said, excitement replacing the censure in her voice. “If you haven’t been hooking up much, there must have been something special about this woman. Jesus, Beck, it’s about damn time.”

“Don’t start. I’m well aware of my age. I’m reminded every time I step on the ice or the team picks up fresh meat—like Andre. And I’ve already got a perfect five-year-old. What more could I want?”

“How about a perfect sibling for that perfect five-year-old?”

His father returned to the kitchen. Beckett gave his sister the shut-up look. Sarah rolled her eyes and dropped her chin into her hand.

“You played great last night,” his father said. “How are you feeling about your game against the Sharks next week?”

Beckett didn’t want to talk hockey right now. After thirty-six hours without Lily, he just wanted some focused baby-girl time. But another wave of giggles came from some distant place in the house, so instead of interrupting Lily’s playtime to fulfill his own selfish needs, Beckett talked with his dad while Sarah cleared plates.

The patter of little feet turned Beckett’s head just as Lily launched herself at him. His reflexes kicked in, and he caught her with a “Jesus, Lily…”

But her giggle infiltrated his heart and melted the irritation that came with the shock. So he tickled her, and her laughter spilled out and filled the kitchen.

And Beckett’s whole world righted. His entire life turned into sunshine and Hello Kitty and My Little Pony and butterflies and rainbows.

He was so fuckin’ lost over this kid.

“You monkey,” he said, laughing. “You’re getting too big to be doing that.”

“Daddy, stop.” The words popped out of her on bubbles of laughter. “Daddy.”

He propped her on his lap, facing him. He lifted one of her wild curls and pulled it in front of her eyes. “What the heck is going on here? This mop’s all over the place. Jeez, the things your grandma and your aunt let you get away with.” He let the curl bounce free and stroked his daughter’s dewy pink cheek. Love swamped him. Sometimes his love for Lily felt so big, he feared it would overwhelm him. “Did you have a good night?”

“Uh-huh.” She nodded emphatically, all her baby teeth glowing. “We watched movies and ate popcorn and colored and played games.” Her exuberance faded a little. “Grandma said you’re going away today.”

His heart pinched. “I am.”

She curled her little hand around two of his fingers, as if trying to hold on to him. “For games?”