Page 61 of Icebound Hearts
“What did he say?”
I sigh, my heart hurting all over again just thinking about what Jake asked me. “He asked if I thought he was a bad kid. Ofcourse I told him no! That seemed to cheer him up a bit, but I could tell he was worried.”
“Ugh. I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize. I’m glad he talked to me about it instead of keeping it to himself, you know?”
Sawyer groans his agreement. “True.”
“But he also asked me about me leaving Denver. I told him I had to move to California for work in a few months, but that I’d still come to visit since Reese still lives here, and I’d make sure to see him too. And you know what he said?”
“I bet I can guess.”
“He said, ‘Mommy said that too.’ God, Sawyer, it crushed me. I almost broke down crying right along with him while I held him in my arms. I didn’t know what to say, so I just told him he’s an amazing kid and how lucky I am to have met him.”
Sawyer doesn’t say anything for a few seconds, but I hear him sniffling on the other end of the line and it almost shatters my heart all over again. “Ihatethat his own mother has set such a low bar for him like this, but thank you for being so great with him. I can’t even tell you how much that means to me.”
“It’s easy to do. He really is a great kid. I know you’re worried about the whole single parent thing, but from what I’ve seen, you’re doing an amazing job.”
“Thank you, seriously. That means a lot to me too.” I can hear the smile in his voice, and it brings one to my face as well. “Is he asleep now?”
“Yeah, he’s out cold. He wanted to hear a story about where Chewy came from, so I made one up on the spot. You’ll probably have to fill in some more details about the faraway land of Hoppington, so heads up.”
Sawyer laughs. “Okay, I think I can handle that. Anything else to report?”
“I don’t think so. It was a pretty chill day here other than that.”
“Good, glad to hear it. Well, listen, I don’t mean to run off, but I should get some sleep so I’m not passing out on the ice for the game tomorrow.”
“No worries. I should get to bed too.”
“Okay. I’ll see you and Jake soon. Sweet dreams, Violet,” Sawyer says, and my skin erupts with goosebumps.
“Goodnight,” I say back, almost breathless, and hang up but lie on the bed staring at my phone with my head and heart buzzing. When I finally come down, I plug my phone in to charge and set it on the nightstand by the bed, then go to the bathroom to wash up and brush my teeth.
But when I turn off the lights and crawl under the covers with them pulled up snug against my chin, I can’t stop hearing Sawyer’s sweet, almost suggestive voice in my head when he wished me sweet dreams. It whispers against my ear like he’s lying in bed right beside me, even though I know he isn’t there.
And that he can never be.
You can’t get too attached, Violet. Don’t forget, you’re going to be leaving soon, just like you told Jake, and the next couple of months are going to fly by. Don’t screw this up.
Chapter 19
Sawyer
The center for the Utah Grizzlies hurtles toward me, his body shifting left and right with each huge stride of his skates, and I tense up as I get ready to intercept him. We’re tied 1-1 with the Grizzlies, and I’m not about to let this guy score on me, even if he is as massive as the grizzly bear his team is named after.
He tries to juke around me, but he’s so big that his movements are much easier to read. I head him off, and he almost crashes into the boards trying to dodge me but manages to skid to a halt at the last second, spraying the glass with shaved ice from his skates. He passes quickly in the opposite direction to the Grizzlies’ left wing, but Theo’s on him and intercepts it like it’s nothing.
Breathing hard, I shake my head in relief as the small group of Aces fans who traveled to the Grizzlies’ arena cheer Theo on. For a second there, I really thought I was going to get bulldozed by the Grizzlies’ center, and I’m not sure I would’ve gotten through that without an injury.
The horn blares to announce Theo scoring a goal, but the Grizzlies fans aren’t happy about it—and neither are the Grizzlies as they skate furiously back to center ice and get ready for the next face off. Both teams have been playing their assesoff, keeping us locked at one goal each for all of the first two periods, but with Theo’s goal just now, we’re up with about ten minutes left in the third period.
That’s great news for us, but it just means the Grizzlies are going to put up even more of a fight to make sure we don’t run away with this game. I stick to the center of the defense line, ready and eager to bolt to either side to defend Grant if one of the Grizzlies takes the puck. But Reese takes it instead and streaks off toward the Grizzlies’ goalie with the whole rest of the team hot on his skates.
There’s a scuffle for control of the puck that I can’t make out from where I’m standing, and it passes ownership several times before the Grizzlies’ center emerges from the fray with the puck and barrels toward me like a runaway train. My body tenses up all over again, and my heart hammers in my ears as the guy moves much faster toward me than anyone his size should be able.
Come on, Townsend. You’ve got this.