Rush the Edge: A Brother’s Best Friend Hockey Romance (Blue Devils Hockey Book 3)

I spent the day napping, tending to my plants, which always eases my stress, and avoiding my brother, who can’t help but dote on me when he knows I’m struggling.

Refusing to let my fatigue win, I pumped myself full of all the natural remedies I could manage in a day before slipping into my devil’s costume and showing up for the game.

I waited until the very last second before making an appearance because I’m a big ol’ chicken. I read through the texts between River and Kane that were left on my phone, and I’m happy to know that, for the first time in his life, River didn’t betray my trust when it came to his best friend.

Take that, Kane.

Of course, it ended with a lecture from River that I should tell Kane about my diagnosis because he could tell that he was worried. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that his best friend actually holds a grudge against me and that he only wants to know because he wants something to hold over my head.

Once the final period starts, I slip away and rest against a wall. Peppermint fills my senses, blocking out the smell of ice and sweaty hockey players, as I rub some more cream on my achy joints. There’s a TV off in the corner, displaying the game, so I stand back and watch the Blue Devils put in the work.

By the time the game is nearing the end, my hands are sweating, and my pulse is racing. It’s tied with two minutes to go. I pace back and forth, watching the second line jump over the wall and take the ice. Our goalie heads for the bench, pulling another player onto the ice to make it six on five.

Unable to watch from afar with the crowd roaring in the background, I anxiously rush toward the wall beside the bench. There are managers and security nearby, but with my devil’s costume on, I stand in between them without question.

My bottom lip is raw from nibbling nervously on it.

The clock is rapidly ticking away.

The puck ping-pongs between the Blue Devils. Back and forth. Back and forth. And then, it flies in the air toward our net.

“No!” I shout.

The security guard glances at me for a second before we’re both laser-focused on the ice again.

A hero comes out of nowhere in a blue jersey to snag the puck out of thin air with his gloved hand.

Number 3. Barlow.

He drops it down and skates viciously toward the other net, passing it back and forth.

“Come on, Kane!” I whisper-shout.

His stick winds backward, and just when I think he’s going to send it into the net, he surprises me and the rest of the arena by tricking the other team. He passes it to the left to Crew Hart, and into the net it goes.

The goal buzzer sounds, and I shout along with the rest of the crowd.

I’d forgotten how exhilarating it is to watch hockey, especially when you’re invested in it.

I’m invested because it’s my job, though.

There is no other reason than that.

I quickly move out of the way when the rest of the team takes the ice to celebrate.

Two hands grip my shoulders, and I spin around quickly. Cindy is standing there with a huge smile on her face before she crushes me to her chest to give me a hug. “What a game!” she shouts into my ear.

I laugh. “I know!”

“It’s so good to work for a team that is actually winning. Last year, we were shit.”

“Darn, I thought I was bringing the team good luck,” I joke.

She wiggles her eyebrows. “Oh, you are.”

Cindy pauses with her hands still on my shoulders. She pulls me in, and her nose scrunches. “Why do you smell like a candy cane?”

“Oh,” I half-laugh. “It’s my joint cream. It’s peppermint.”

She sniffs again. “Smells good. It blocks out the scent of sweaty hockey players. Anyway”—she pulls me toward the bench when the guys begin to make their way to the locker room—“I need you to go on the ice and announce the players of the night.”

“Huh?” My eyes grow large. “Right now?”

“Yeah, it’s something new. I think the new mascot attire put a bug in our marketing team’s ear, and now they’re on a roll—not to mention the ideas that Reese has come up with. You two may just be running this place by the time it’s all said and done.”

God, I hope not.

Better yet…Kane, you’re fired.

Cindy shoves a microphone into my hand and spins me toward the arena.

“We’ve already got the three players off to the side, ready for you to announce them. Do you know their names?”

On the inside, I’m a blubbering mess. Nerves settle in my lower stomach, and my legs suddenly feel as heavy as they did last night.

I move forward with Cindy shoving me from behind. I pull my chin upright when I see that Kane is staring directly at me.

Sweat drips down the side of his face, falling off the sharp edge of his jaw and to the floor beneath his skates.

“I know their names,” I say at the last second. “I’ve got this.”

Leave it to Kane to give me the confidence to pull myself together. It’s not because I need him to calm me or anything. It’s quite honestly the opposite. Watching him size me up is the push I need to prove something to him.

Maybe to prove that I’m fine, because after our tiff this morning, I know he’s not going to give up that easily.

I skate onto the ice with the microphone held tightly in between my fingers. The arena is basked in various blue lights with a spotlight centered directly on me.

“Let’s give it up for our three star players of the night!” I hold my trident up in the air, and the sea of blue-and-black jerseys stand and cheer.

My gaze slips off to the right. I don’t have to look at Kane to know he’s staring at me.

“First up is the guy with the winning goal: Crew Hart!”

Crew takes the ice and holds his hand up to wave at the crowd. He nods at me on his way past, and then he rushes off the ice for the next guy.

Malaki zips onto the ice after I announce his name and does a few circles around me with a grin on his face. His smile is contagious, so I find myself smiling along with him. He winks at me before heading off toward Kane, who just so happens to be scowling.

Figures.

“Last but not least, we have our very own Kane Barlow, who had the assist for our winning goal!”

The crowd grows even louder when he takes the ice.

Kane skates aggressively without even so much as a closed-lip grin. He’s stoic, serious, and annoyingly hot with his scowl. He stops in front of me, taking me by surprise, and plucks my trident right out of my hand.

He takes off toward the glass and throws it over the edge to a fan.

What the hell?!

I manage to keep my expression smooth, pairing it with a fake smile.

It takes all my effort to remain poised when he doesn’t stop there. As if he needs to gain any more fans, he drops his helmet to the ice, along with his gloves, and pulls off his jersey in a single motion. My jaw begs to slack right along with all the other women in the arena, but I clench my jaw tightly when I see what’s on his wrist.

A thin black hair tie.

The same one he wore for every game his senior year of high school.

The same one he stole out of my hair one night after he and River rescued me from a party.

My thoughts run wild as he balls his jersey up in his hands and tosses it to a group of college girls who are no doubt fighting over it by now. I can’t seem to look at them to find out, because Kane is zipping toward me with a devilish glint in his eye.

What are you doing?

My heart pounds so loudly I can’t hear anything but the whooshing of his skates toward me. He puts out his hand for me to take, and I stare at him for a split second before remembering that we’re on national television in front of thousands of fans.

He’s doing this on purpose.

I growl quietly, thankful the microphone is off now.

When our palms collide, heat coats my skin. He pulls me toward the opening in the ice, and I can’t get away from him fast enough.

The second we’re closed off from the cameras, I rip my hand out of his.

“What the hell was that?” I seethe.

I place my hands on my hips, and he follows the motion with a teasing glint.

“What?” He plays coy. “Me escorting you off the ice?”

“I told you I was fine! I don’t need you to hover over me because of last night.”

Kane lifts an eyebrow. “I wasn’t trying to hover. I was told to do that.”

A flush creeps up my neck and lands on my cheeks. My gaze cuts to Cindy, but she isn’t paying any attention.noveldrama

Kane pops his helmet back onto his head, stowing his sweaty hair away. “And prove it.”

I pull back after glancing at the hair tie on his wrist again. “Prove what? How, with every interaction, you seem to irritate me even more?”

I have the sudden urge to pull on the elastic to snap it.

His mouth twitches. “Prove that you’re fine and that you don’t need me to…hover…over you.”

The way he says hover makes me blush even harder. An image fills my head that has no business being there.

“That’s why you’re living with River, huh? So he can take care of you?”

“No!” I shout.

The more he talks, the more frustrated I become.

“And when he’s at the hospital, working endless hours, he expects me to be there for you, doesn’t he? He thinks you’ll call me when you’re sick and needing someone.” Kane glances down the hall with a shake of his head.

“I don’t need you to take care of me!” I drop my attention to my hair tie. “And give me back my hair tie!”

He laughs out loud. “No, and again, prove it.”

When he begins heading toward the locker room, I panic. Is he going to start showing up unannounced? Watching my every move? Demanding that I rest or stay in when he suspects that I’m sick?

“Wait!” I blurt.

Kane stops walking but doesn’t turn around.

“How do I prove it to you?” I’m hesitant, but I don’t know that I can handle him being around even more than he already is.

“Meet me on the ice in an hour,” he says.

Before I can question him, he’s out of sight.

I turn back toward the ice and sigh.

Peppermint fills my senses as I lather myself again to hopefully prepare myself for whatever Kane has up his sleeve.