She saw him and for a moment, time did that weird thing where it stopped. She exhaled and nodded as the referee said something but she didn’t take her eyes of him.
The players were in position.
He nodded, hands gripped to his stick, every muscle in his body on fire with the need to react—to do something.
Time sped up.
Billie bent low, her legs spread wide, hands on her stick, ready to pounce.
The opposing team had pulled out all the stops. He recognized at least two hot shot former Jr. players. Guys that had cut their teeth in Canada. Guys that had most likely just missed the cut to play in the big league.
He also saw Seth.
Logan chewed on his mouth-guard. He didn’t like this set up. He wanted to be out there to take care of the Longwood situation once and for all. He put his glove on the door handle, but the puck dropped before he could do anything.
Billie won the draw, her clean, quick jab sending the puck back to Shane, who passed it to Danvers.
And then she was on the move. The way she skated was poetry in motion. Effortlessly. Gracefully. She wound around an opposing forward, keeping away from the boards as she skated toward center ice.
Seven seconds.
Danvers skated forward, but lost the puck at center ice, a quick poke from the other team.
Four seconds.
The puck deflected off someone’s skate and somehow Shane scooped it up and he immediately passed it up the middle, while the wingers checked and fought to clear a path for Billie.
Two seconds.
She was there, with Longwood on her ass. He jabbed her legs, hacking at the back of her calves, the dirty son-of-a-bitch, but she held on to the puck and let loose a hard wrist shot that beat the goalies extended leg, to land behind him.
The buzzer went.
The entire bench erupted in cheers and Logan tossed his stick, but his grin faded when he saw that Longwood wasn’t stopping and he was over the side of the bench in an instant, screaming Billie’s name, but with the noise all around she couldn’t hear him.
Longwood hit her hard and she didn’t have a chance.
The fury that rolled through Logan when he saw her crash into the boards was something he’d never felt before. In that moment he understood what it felt like to want to kill a man, because if he had his way, that’s exactly what he’d do.
His teammates went crazy, as did the entire crowd.
Shane grabbed Longwood and hauled him away but all Logan saw was Billie, crumpled up on the ice along the boards.
And she was still.
The linesman stood over her, his lips moving but Logan couldn’t hear shit from the roaring in his ears. He reached her side a second later and fell to his knees, his heart in his throat.
“Billie! Jesus Fuck. Are you all right?”
The linesman was yelling for a trainer, or anyone with medical experience, while the referee was yelling at Logan not to move her.
And all he could do was stare down at the woman he loved. A woman he’d walked away from without giving her the chance to explain and he knew that if something happened to her, he’d never forgive himself. She would be his biggest regret.
Something hot pricked the corners of his eyes and he kneeled down, his voice hoarse.
“Billie, don’t you dare flake out on me now.”
Was that a flutter behind her eyelids?
“Billie?” His hands were on her shoulders.
Her eyes flew open. “You’re late,” she said and then she winced. “Holy shit that felt like a freight train.” She struggled to sit and yanked off her helmet. “Was it Longwood? Because I’m going to—”
But she didn’t get a chance to say what she was going to do.
Logan pulled her close and shut her up the only way he knew how. He opened his mouth and kissed her, pouring all of his hurt and anguish and love into one kiss. He held her carefully, as if she was a breakable. As if there weren’t inches of padding and equipment between the two of them. As if they were the only two people inside the entire arena.
Because to him, she was the only one who mattered.
When he finally ended the kiss and pulled back, her mouth was bruised and her eyes were wet.
“You scared the shit out of me,” he said haltingly.
“Oh, Christ,” Dearling mumbled, “Forest is a pussy.”
Her eyes glimmered with unshed tears. She leaned forward and whispered in his ear. “I know how to take a hit, Forest. I kept my head up and my shoulders squared, but…” She exhaled softly and a shudder rolled through him as he felt her warmth against his cheek. “But what I can’t figure out, is how to ask you to forgive me. I don’t know how to explain what I did or why,” her voice broke and he thought his heart was going to snap in two.
“Shut up, kid, so we can get the hell out of here and work on it together.”
He stood and helped her to her feet, as the crowd clapped thunderously, yelling congrats and screaming their approval. He watched her face glow as she smiled up at her father, who thankfully was clapping and hollering along with the rest of the Barkers—save for the missing in action, Betty.
Logan slipped Billie’s hand into his and eventually was able to lead her from the rink. He kept his promise too. He took her back to his place—after politely declining Thanksgiving dinner with his folks—and it took damn near the entire weekend for them to work out their issues.
It was the best long weekend they’d ever had.
Epilogue
It seemed like a hundred thousand multi-colored lights were draped across the top of the old arena. They twinkled and glowed amidst the steady snowfall—their bright colors somewhat subdued because of it. It had been snowing since noon and now, six hours later, there was a considerable amount of the white stuff on the ground.
There was a carnival atmosphere that permeated the air—kids running and laughing, throwing snowballs and ducking from the inevitable retaliatory missiles. Parents milled about, snagging hot chocolate passed out by Kendall and the rest of her teammates, while Frank Talbot and his wife replenished supplies.
Billie wiped a snowflake off her face and stood back, pride swelling in her chest at the sight of the newly minted sign hung above the main doors, [i]Barker’s School of Hockey Instruction & Training[i]. She still couldn’t believe things had moved so fast. Permits had been fast-tracked, the ice had installed and less than a month after the idea had first taken hold, she was up and running.
“Looks good, kid.”
A warm hand slid beneath her scarf and gently kneaded the back of her neck as a hard male body stood behind her. She leaned into him—eyes still on the sign—and sighed. “Hmm, that feels good.”
“Good,” he said, his other hand wrapping around her waist as he moved in closer to her backside.
Billie smiled. “Just so you know, my boyfriend isn’t exactly the type of man who likes to share.”
“Smart man.”
Shivers exploded along Billie’s neck as lips grazed her bare skin. His mouth was near that spot—the one that drove her crazy and she shifted slightly so that access was easily granted.
“He is a smart man and I love him like crazy, which is why I can only let you keep doing that for, maybe another half an hour or so.”
When warm lips nuzzled her just below her ear, she closed her eyes and would have fallen on her ass if not for the large, strong…
“Jesus, why don’t you two find a room?”
Billie opened her eyes to a scowling Shane, who stood a few feet away, hands shoved into his pockets, his wide shoulders hunched forward in black leather. He shook his head and turned to the building.
“Nice job, Barker.”
She grinned and grabbed Logan’s hand, from where it was settled against her ass, and yanked him forward. “Thanks. It’s pretty exciting.”
Several young boys arrived for the grand opening—all of them with skates thrown over their shoulders and sticks in hand. They waved to B
illie and strode inside, several girls following in their wake, along with a healthy dose of giggles and shoving.
“Hey, Forest,” Shane said. “How come the Pirates don’t have any puck bunnies?”
Logan linked his hand through Billie’s. “Speak for yourself Gallagher.”
“Come on, Logan. Let’s go inside.” She glanced at Shane. “You coming?”
Shane’s expression was unreadable and he shook his head. “Nah, I just wanted to come by and congratulate you in person. I’ve got a date.”
Billie was surprised but didn’t show it. “Who’s the lucky girl?” Shane had been an absolute bastard for the last two weeks—ever since Bobbie and Gerald announced their engagement.
“A bottle of Jack and a little blonde bitch named Pia.”
Okay, this was new.
“Who?”
“Shane adopted a dog.” Logan said.
“I didn’t adopt the damn thing, she just won’t go away.”
“Okay,” Logan said. “Whatever you say, Gallagher. Are you still coming over for Christmas Eve? Billie here, is going to try and cook.”
“No,” Billie tugged Logan’s hand and they started forward. “Billie is going to buy a bunch of pre-made food from the grocery store and throw it in the oven.”
Logan grinned at his buddy. “Aren’t I the lucky one?”
Shane nodded. “You are one lucky son-of-a-bitch and I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
Billie watched him disappear into the dark and snow and she shivered as Logan slid his arms around her.
“Do you think he’ll be all right?”
“He will,” Logan answered. “Eventually.”
“Good,” Billie said as she brought his hand up to her lips. “Because I hate seeing him so miserable.”
Logan kissed her again and glanced up at the sign. “I love you, kid.”
She grinned. “I’m not a kid, Logan Forest, and if you’re real lucky, I’ll show you exactly how grown up I am later when we’re alone.”
Logan led her inside the arena and just before they were accosted by half of New Waterford, it seemed, he ducked low, his warm breath caressing her cheek. “I’m going to hold you to that, Barker.”
And he did.
The end
I hope you enjoyed OFFSIDE! For more information about me, or to read exclusive excerpts of my upcoming books, please visit my website, www.julianastone.com
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