Dear Roomie (Rookie Rebels #5) - Kate Meader Page 0,92

was right about one thing. If Reid wanted that contract, he had to give it his all tonight. Prove that he was worth the shot and not even his more talented brother could stop him. No one could. Then it wouldn’t matter that he didn’t have Kennedy.

It wouldn’t matter at all.

Bond came off and tapped Reid’s stick. “Don’t go easy on him now.”

That almost made Reid laugh, except he wasn’t in a laughing mood. His skin felt too tight, his usually normal pulse pounding.

It seemed like the whole world had been waiting for this showdown, and finally it was here.

He jumped the boards and moved into position. The electricity in the arena was a breathing charge passing from fan to fan, streaming through the players like a live current.

The first fifteen seconds of the shift went by so fast that Reid was barely aware his brother was on the ice.

Lie. Of course he was aware, but he was doing his best to not let it get under his skin.

Bast had to be nervous. How else to explain why he turned over the puck the second Reid got close? Reid passed to Foreman, skated forward, took the pass back. No room to move, then he felt a resounding force to his side. A standard check. Not enough to make him part ways with the puck, but hard enough to send a message.

He pivoted to find his brother staring him down.

Allons-y. Let’s go.

The first period ended and Mia turned to the party assembled in one of the Rebels’ private suites with what Kennedy could only describe as a look of oh-shit.

“That was intense.”

Kennedy had thought so, too, but maybe hockey was like this all the time? Something about the pre-game interviews and commentary indicated it might be outside the norm. Blood in the air, someone had said. Reid and Bast had blown it off as nothing, but Kennedy sensed that this clash was years in the making, fueled by Henri’s pugnacious personality and his unreasonable demands of both his sons, but especially of Reid.

Seeing it from above like this gave her the sense of gods watching mortals in battle.

“Are there usually that many hits and …”

“Penalties?”

“I’d say that set some sort of record for the first twenty minutes of a game,” Casey said. “Those guys are going all out.”

Sadie sipped her wine. “I hate it when they get hit like that. Gunnar had a concussion in the early season and it scared the bejesus out of me.”

“Concussion?” Kennedy tried to keep the worry out of her voice. They wore helmets and enough padding to protect a matchstick model. “Does that happen a lot?”

“God, yes,” Tara said. “Some of it’s terrifying. Broken bones, split lips, skates to the neck—”

“Maybe don’t scare the newbie, T.” Mia glared at Tara. “Reid seems to be playing more aggressively tonight. Almost like he has something to prove.”

“His father’s in town,” Kennedy said. “Apparently, watching his sons face off gets him hard.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard stories. This guy I knew in college was on a Bantam team with Reid, and Henri was so pissed at a result that he went off at him in the locker room. Had to be told to leave by the coach.”

“He seems really anxious to make him proud. It’s pretty toxic.”

“Well, we’ve all been there,” Tara said. “The people who are supposed to love you unconditionally are often the ones trying to drain your life force.”

Kennedy exchanged a glance with Mia. She didn’t know Tara all that well, but their interactions rarely touched on anything deep.

Casey nodded wisely. “Best to cut them out with the sharpest implement you can find.” Said with feeling. “We need more Chex Mix.” Said with even more feeling.

“Okay,” Mia murmured, watching Casey head over to the snack counter to replenish the bowl. This suite was something else—big TV screens, a help-yourself bar, cupcakes. (Cupcakes!)

Tara turned to Kennedy. “Ken, have you succeeded in your mission?”

“What mission is that?”

“To keep poor Reid on the straight and narrow … into your vagina!”

“Tara!” Mia mimed shock then grinned at Kennedy. “You may as well tell her.”

Tara screeched. “It’s happened? But shouldn’t I have felt a disturbance in the force?”

“I guess it wasn’t that good,” Kennedy said, trying to remain serious. “Nothing all that earth-shattering.”

“Liar,” Mia said. “You should have seen them at brunch a couple of weeks back. Even dared to be cuter than me and Cal!”

“Aw, you guys are double-date brunching already?” Tara sighed wistfully. “Livin’ the dream right there. So, he’s