Free On the Fly (Crimson Romance) by Katie Kenyhercz Page A

he gave you the team because he knew you could handle it. And he knew I couldn’t.”
    “Mad … ” Tears stung the back of her eyes.
    He shook his head. “It’s okay. He was right.”
    Her lips parted as she searched for something to say, but before anything came to her, a buzzer sounded. The conversation wasn’t over. She’d corner him later. And she would
not
give up the team.
    The guys filed back up the tunnel to the ice, looking grim and smelling like low tide. She choked and held a hand over her mouth. “You weren’t kidding about the smell.”
    Madden laughed. “Wait till they come back after the second period break.”
    Jacey lowered her hand and settled for breathing strictly through her mouth. When she spoke, it sounded like she had a sinus infection. “Great.”
    Like the last period, this one started with Carter in the face-off. The puck dropped, and in a flurry of stick blades, it slid to Dylan Cole, who ran with it toward the Kings’ goal. Just before he was slammed into the Plexiglas, he sent a backward pass to Carter, who shot it to Kevin Scott. And faster than she could follow, Kevin fired it into the net, right between the goalie’s legs. The foghorn sounded five times, and a track from
Jock Jams
filled the arena along with the screams and applause from Sinners fans. Jacey and Madden jumped and cheered too. The players embraced, patting each other’s helmets, then returned to the bench. Carter grinned and winked at her. She felt a jab to her side and frowned at Madden’s smile. “What?”
    “Uh huh. Don’t suppose I have to tell you that it would be a disaster to get involved with one of your players.”
    The next puck dropped. “I’m not involved with Carter.”
    Madden raised an eyebrow, and she amended, “Phlynn.”
    A burst of noise directed their attention back to the ice, and her heart fell when she saw the fight for the puck taking place a little too close to their goal. The fans screamed and so did Nealy from the players’ box. She leaned her palms on the railing. “Reese, you keep those legs together like a virgin on prom night!”
    Hard to pick between laughing until her sides hurt and paying attention to the game. Jacey stopped laughing when more than half of the arena echoed with boos. Reese missed another one. The Sinners picked up the pace on defense after that, but by the time the second buzzer sounded, they were still down two to three. Going back to the locker room, the guys looked like a funeral procession. They could not be looking forward to what Nealy had to say.
    “I don’t think she could make them feel worse than they already do.”
    “Then you don’t know Nealy very well.” Madden barked a laugh. “They need to hear it. You know what makes a winning hockey team?”
    “A good game plan?”
    “Focused aggression. Nealy’s just … sharpening their focus.”
    Jacey nodded and studied her brother from the corner of her eye. He looked sort of rough around the edges. His five o’clock shadow had a five o’clock shadow, he had bags under his eyes, and his skin appeared a little sallow. Madden on a bad day could out-charm just about anyone else on a good day. But he seemed tired and stressed. “You look like you missed a couple days’ sleep.”
    “Huh?” His attention had been on the team’s devil mascot, Sinbad, and his lady helpers as they tossed T-shirts into the crowd. The lady helpers winked at Madden. He grinned back.
    Jacey rolled her eyes and pinched his arm. “You. You look worn out.”
    “
Ow
. Jeez. I’m fine. Just worked a couple late nights.” He rubbed his arm but didn’t look away from the women in spandex pants and child-size Sinners’ jerseys that exposed their midriffs.
    “Late nights? Where? Not here.”
    Madden opened his mouth. A flush crept up the back of his neck. Fair-skinned people couldn’t lie well. “Just a few business propositions I’m working on. It’s all on the up and up. I promise.”
    Jacey had a rebuff