Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79564 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79564 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
I glance at Rafferty, who’s sitting on the other side of Foster. He arches a brow at me, clearly thinking the same thing I am. This is bad. Really bad.
It’s not just the turnover. It’s the hesitation, the bad passes, the complete lack of focus. Penn Navarro doesn’t make mistakes like this. He’s the best player in the league for a reason. His focus, his skill, his ability to see plays developing before anyone else.
But tonight?
Tonight, whatever that bear represented, it rattled him hard.
“Come on, Penn,” I growl under my breath as Coach calls for the next line change. “Get your head in the game.”
But even as I think it, it’s obvious something bigger than hockey is affecting him. I can only hope that he doesn’t spiral to a point where he can’t be helped.
CHAPTER 16
Farren
Snow crunches underfoot as we make our way toward the clearing where the sled dogs are waiting.
I have to let that replay through my mind one more time.
Where freaking sled dogs are waiting!
I still can’t believe such a thing is possible only thirty miles outside of the city. More importantly, I still can’t believe I’m here on a “date” with North, hanging out with his teammates and their significant others. He let the cat out of the bag before the home game against the New York Vipers last night.
We did not, however, make our first appearance as a “couple” following the game because it was a dismal loss and we went to North’s house after.
The team itself seemed just a little off, although Penn Navarro was way off. North told me last night about the teddy bear delivery with the cryptically ominous note left with it. We spent a long time in bed last night talking about all the possibilities and Penn remains a bigger mystery than ever.
But today is the day that people will preview me and North as being together and I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was a little nervous. The air is icy and crisp, the scenery so beautiful I don’t care about the cold. There was a nice snow yesterday and the pine trees are ladened with pillows of white fluff, the sky a brilliant, cloudless blue.
North walks beside me, his gloved hand brushing against mine occasionally as we follow the guide. His cheeks are tinged red from the cold, his breath forming little clouds in the air. He looks so damn good bundled up in a thick coat, beanie and scarf that I have to remind myself not to stare.
“Cold?” he asks, glancing at me.
“All good,” I say quickly, even though my toes are slightly numb despite my winter boots. “This is nothing. I’m Canadian, remember?”
He smirks. “Right. We’re practically immune to frostbite.”
“You should’ve seen me and Raff when we were kids. We’d stay outside so long our lips would turn blue and Mom would make us take hot baths the minute we came inside to warm us up. I remember being so cold it was painful when we submerged into that hot water, but it never deterred us.”
“Sounds about right,” he says with a chuckle. “Always been a little wild, haven’t you?”
I don’t respond, but his words sit with me. Wild. Free-spirited. It’s what everyone thinks about me. But North is the only one who knows it’s a mask. I was honest with him about it to some extent but without details, and now he knows a little something about me that I’ve never even admitted to those closest to me. Namely my brother and parents.
When things get serious, I get going.
“All right, folks,” one of the guides calls out, drawing my attention back. “We’re all set up and the dogs are ready to run!”
Ahead of us, King and Willa are already at one of the sleds, Willa crouched to pet a husky that looks like it’s about to vibrate out of its skin with excitement. Foster and Mazzy stand nearby, Mazzy snapping pictures while Foster smiles in amusement.
“Atlas is missing out,” Mazzy comments as we join them. “I can’t believe he bailed when he heard this was a couples thing.”
My stomach tightens at the word couples, and I sneak a glance at North. He doesn’t react outwardly, but his jaw tightens slightly, the only tell he’s heard it too. He implored his buddies not to make a big deal out of this in deference to my unease, and it freaking makes my heart thump a little with tenderness that he’s trying to make this easy on me. While protecting my boundaries, he’s protecting me, and it makes me like him all the more.
So damned dangerous but I don’t walk away.
“Not his scene,” North says lightly, stepping closer to the sled. “He’d rather be home doing whatever Atlas does.”
“Probably working out,” King says with a shrug. “The guy doesn’t take a day off.”