Withholding Secrets (11 page)

My heart jumped a little. If Kane was nervous about playing Jordan, why didn’t he keep him off until he was sure that the boy was ready? “We could have waited.”

“Actually, if he wasn’t at another game, they would pull him from the roster as a no show.” His head bobbled as his attention turned to the girls and their giggling.

I should have read the rules. I was so sure that Jordan would be the one to know what was acceptable and what wasn’t. When I got home, I would have to read them through so that I knew. Step one of becoming better at this parenting: read all the information that was being given in paper form.

“He will be fine. The first game is always the most nerve wracking one.” The slight chuckle erupted from him and I could feel the vibration of him through the airways. 

“Does the coach say when he will put the players on?”

“With your son being the better of the goalies, he probably will go out first. We already lost the first three games, and during practice, Jordan was a stopper. We need him to stay in the net.”

“If
she’s
not interested in her son’s activities, that’s her problem, Ben.” The wife snarled at me, giving me a sharp, piercing look that prickled my skin. “She’s a teenage mom and she needs to learn from her mistakes.”

“Yeah. I gave birth to him when I was ten.” Rolling my eyes, I focused on the vacant ice as the anger froze in my icy veins. Wrapping my arms around my waist, I focused my attention on the dark haired girl sitting right in front of me. The nerve of that woman thinking she knew anything about us. That was the kind of people that I stayed away from, and for that reason. Nobody needed to know our situation, because it wasn’t any of their business.

“I’m going to make some calls since this is taking
forever
.” Shooting up to her feet, her hand curled around the expensive looking phone and she smacked her lips while pushing her way through the crowded bleachers.

“Don’t mind her. She’s just here because I told her that she needed to be more involved in the kids’ activities.” Ben passed me over a soft smile while bumping his arm into my shoulder. I didn’t like when strange men bumped me, but this little bump sent comfort to flow through my body. “We’re divorced, by the way. I’m Ben Bradford.”

“I’m sorry.” Taking his large hand, I pushed a smile to my face. “Keri Borelli.”

“I’m not. It gives the two kids a better life than what they would have with us together. I have main custody, and she’s just a … bitch.” The pinch of anger lifted from his brows and the creases around his eyes lessened. His cheeks colored with embarrassment just as the realization struck him that he swore in front of me.

Pressing my lips together, I wanted to laugh, but I couldn’t. Heat filled my cheeks as I did a quick glance at the patrons down the bench from us to get a look at him. Ben was a nice looking older man in his late forties, which I was guessing by the crow’s-feet around his gray eyes. The smile was a handsome one, being soft and sweet to show the teddy bear nature he had about himself.

I didn’t need to think about anything except to find out where the money was going from my account and the two children who were under my care. With Jordan on the ice and shielded under Kane’s watchful eye, I had to focus on the one who was in heavy conversation about basketball with the blonde girl beside her. “Alicia plays basketball?”

“Yes; she does. I’m the coach for the school.” Dropping his arms from his chest, he leaned back, giving me a shot of his little stomach he had protruding from under his red team sweatshirt that had a prowling cat on the front. 

“Oh. Well, that’s good. Sky wants to try out, and I told her that she should.” As my eyes took him in, I gathered all there was about him. He was a very big guy, maybe a little taller than Kane. Older, but still very good looking. Though the interest and intrigue just wasn’t there like it was about that coach of Jordan’s team.

“I’ll be sure to let you know when the try-outs begin. If she needs a ride, I can drop her off. And the boys will have hockey practice at the same time, so I can wait there with her until you get there.” Grumbling something to the person down the bench from him, his large bear-frame tensed up. But when he released the laugh, the air lifted and the comfort swooped back in to take over, his attention coming back to me. “It’s hard being a single parent these days. If you need anything, just let me know. I have the kids most of the time during school, too.”

Shock blasted through me, freezing me into place. Someone
isn’t
wanting me to give Sky and Jordan up. I liked him now, for sure, but they always say to watch everyone no matter how they seem.

Before I could say anything, the two twelve-years-olds in front of us began to cheer as the team entered the ice and skated around. Ben went through, one by one, telling me about most of the players while they shot pucks into the net and skated around like they were on fire. When the game began, I started cheering, but as Ben’s comfort started to become more laid-back, he made sure I wasn’t cheering on the opposing team.

Half way through the first twenty-minute period, Jordan was put into the game, and he was nervous and a little scared, stiff and trying more than his best. After the other team scored a goal and the first period closed, the boys returned to where they came out, but Kane waited for Jordan, who was skating slowly with his head down, the anger frosting the area more so than the ice was. Instead of screaming at him, Kane put his arm across Jordan’s shoulders, talked to him, and Jordan’s body eased off the defense and loosened up. By the end of the little sidebar, Jordan was smiling and prancing down the tunnel with his head held high.

When the first period timeout was done, Ben filled me in on some mistakes that were being made and why some plays weren’t good while others were. When the second period began, I was on my feet the majority of the time each time Jordan stopped the puck. And did he ever do a good job. Some of the saves he made, I still wondered how in the heck he was able to move like that.

The third period was fast. Jordan was getting a workout with the game mostly down at his end. A few times, he shoved players out of his way, but he managed to stop the pucks; a few that were pretty close calls. In the last few minutes, our team was down by one goal and Ben’s son managed to tie it up. Hoping that we did get to go into overtime, the other team snuck in. Three players covered Jordan and practically pushed him out of the net just to score and win the game. Kane fought the goal, but wasn’t successful and had to let it go. Things happen and there would always be more games.

“That was a pretty good game.” I smiled at Ben as we both stood while everyone in the arena was practically running out of the bleachers. Just as I turned my head, my heart skipped a beat at realizing just how big Ben was. His son was tall, which I gathered, but Ben had to be at least six-six. When his daughter stepped up on the bleacher beside me, the air shot out of my lungs, blazing a trail behind it. Even she was taller than me. If the height was being sold at the local diner, I needed to get me a plate so I could grow a touch in order not to feel so tiny.

“If we had another two minutes, we could have tied them.” Ben chuckled as he turned to Alicia, the tiredness weeping around his gentle, gray eyes. “We should go and find your mom.”

“Do we have to go with her tonight?” Her eyes filled with sadness and her shoulders slumped, making her the same height as me now, and she looked at Sky. “Maybe we can hang out next weekend.”

“I would like that.” Sky’s hand slid into mine, and the grip tightened as the wave of people were coming our direction. With the missing girls and the arena being filled, I wasn’t going to let her go.

“We’re going for pizza in a little bit. You are welcome to join us,” Ben offered as he cleared his throat and dug in his jean’s pocket for his set of keys. “Most of the team goes after the game. Kind of a little
good
game
type of thing.”

“Sure we can.” I had some money in my pocket, and Jordan’s involvement was important. He really enjoyed the game, and his attitude even lifted. Shunning him because of my unfortunate banking error would be wrong. I would just have to skip a couple lunches, not that it mattered to me. Besides, coming Monday, the bank would have my money back into my account and we would be just fine.

The gentleman in Ben allowed the girls and me to step into the aisle and down the steps first before he led us out of the arena to the warmer entrance area. Ben greeted a few people and jumped into a conversation with them right away, and Sky was already going on about basketball and school with her new friend. And I was there, just waiting. 

When Jordan finally emerged from the locker room, his face was hard with anger and his hair was damp from the shower to where the beads were still balled at the ends. Andrew came out behind him with his bag slung over his shoulder, a team bag that I was sure the parents had the option to purchase. Another thing that I would have to try to purchase once the bank figured out their error.

“Dude, don’t let it get you down. You did damn good out there for this being your first game.” Andrew clapped Jordan on the back, but the pep talk didn’t do any good on breaking Jordan’s concrete face.

“I screwed it up. I should have had that last puck, but that moron literally tugged me out of the net. How can that
not
be my fault?” His words were thick with the hatred and the anger he once carried into our house. This time, the anger was directed to him and not on me.

“We had a lot of screw-ups out there, and it happens. Not everything is caught by the officials.” Andrew’s blond head of hair turned to his taller dad, acknowledging the parental aspect of his life. “We will take him down next time.”

Jordan nodded, his eyes easing back from the anger deep within himself to a shade of dark disappointment. Everything about him changed in just this short time that he really was turning everything at him instead of others. Jitters ran through me, though, at the same time my stomach knotted with knots of sorrow for just how much he was putting on his own shoulders. Maybe I would rather him direct the anger back at me.

Instead, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, not thinking that Andrew was standing right by us. Hugging was always my mom’s deal, and it must have rubbed off. A hug always made me feel better when I didn’t do as good at something as I hoped. “You were awesome out there.”

“Thanks, Keri.” His voice shied as the shame colored over his face and settled deep into his cheeks. “I’m sorry.”

“You played great. Sometimes you might lose, but it’s all how you play the game, Jordan.” Withdrawing my arms, I stepped back and slipped my hands deep into the pockets of my jeans, hoping I didn’t embarrass him in front of his friends. “I’m proud of you. Are you hungry?”

A little smile came as his cheeks darkened. Maybe I shouldn’t have hugged him, but damn, the sadness that was filling him was insisting that my heart crack in two. “Starving.”

“Alright. Ben was saying that the team goes out for pizza after the games. Why don’t we join?” Giving his back a little circular rub between the shoulder blades, my view shot over to the rather large bear-man that was looking directly at me. My heart jumped a little as hundreds of thoughts ran through my mind. I just hoped Ben wasn’t getting the wrong idea. Cheering Jordan up was my main priority, seeing as I knew how his anger could get. These kids needed someone who wasn’t afraid to show them that they loved them. They never had that before, and I knew Jordan put everything he had in that game. There was no reason for him to feel that bad about it. And if he was starving, I needed to get him something to eat before he withered away on me.

We followed Ben over to the pizza place that was right in the downtown area. The place wasn’t busy and the free-standing tables were all put together in one long row. Parents were filling in the booths while the players were filling into the spots at the table. Jordan chose to sit next to Andrew and talk about the game some more. Looking around at the groups that were already seated together, I could instantly see the comradery that was holding strong with the parents.

Ben waved us over to the booth where he and his daughter were sitting on one side. “You can share with us. Susan isn’t going to be here.”

“Thank you.” I nudged Sky into the seat and slid in next to her, brushing the knees of the man across from me. I tried to situate mine to the side in order not to give him any inclination that I was drooling after him or even thinking of him in that kind of manner. But, my heart settled its rapid beating and returned to normal as if there was nothing more than a good friendship with this man. 

“Sky, are you going to try out for the basketball team?” Ben rested back, letting his belly show a little more through the long sleeved shirt. “Next month, the tryouts will start.”

Her cheeks darkened as she nodded, curling her body closer to mine and reminding me of the damage that had been done to this innocent little girl. Though the happiness washed into my veins, knowing she trusted me this much to protect her. And I would, no matter what. She was my daughter now, and that was my job.

“We have a pretty solid team already, so I would practice as much as you can.” His soft, grey eyes that were surrounded by exhaustion and age shifted over to me, getting the assurance to back his attention off her because of her actions. In time, she will be able to trust him a little more, and with being friends with his daughter, that would help even more.