Best Of Both Worlds (Colorado Black Diamonds #4)

Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

NOAH

“ I s it weird to be here?” Piper asks, getting out of the car in the VIP parking lot.

“Would you quit asking me that?” I groan.

When Piper said she would take me to my appointment today and then to the game tonight, I figured she’d be the best option. No nagging like my mom.

“If I could smack you, I would.” Piper rolls her eyes at me. “I have not asked you once. Just because Mom and Dad are being overbearing, doesn’t mean you have to take it out on me.”

“Fuck. I’m sorry, Piper.”

I wrap my arm around her shoulders, and we flash our badges to the security guard and head inside. It’s nice that the security guard looks new and I don’t recognize him. As much as I love the people in this building, I want to make it to the family suite without having to be stopped every few feet.

“You’re lucky I love you, Noah. Otherwise I would not have brought you here and made you ride with everyone else.”

Since the Knights are in town, my dad and all his old playing buddies, plus their spouses, will all be in attendance. I haven’t seen many of them since I got home, opting to hide out in my room under the guise of healing.

Tonight? I’ll be under the microscope, so the less time with them, the better.

By the time we get to the suite, Piper bounds over to greet the host like an old friend. Wearing her fiancé’s jersey, she fits in well here.

A few of the players’ spouses are here, some I recognize and some I don’t.

Angie is already here, walking over to greet me.

“Hey, stranger.”

“Hey.” I wrap her and her growing baby bump in a hug. “How you feeling?”

“Good, but I should be asking you the same thing.”

“Okay.”

“Yeah?” she asks, rubbing a hand over her stomach. “Piper says it’s been a hard few weeks.”

“Just getting used to not playing. That’s all.”

Even though it has been a hard few weeks, and Piper knows more about the why than anyone else—the only other person besides me and Graham—I know she wouldn’t have told anyone else. She’s one of the people I trust most in my life.

“I know your team misses you. Troy and the guys do too. Make sure you call them while you’re home, okay?”

“Yes, Mom.” I laugh.

“Hey. Gotta get some practice while I can.”

“You’ll be a great mom.”

I’ve known Angie as long as I’ve been alive. When Nick came along, she loved showing him off to everyone she met. Babied him within an inch of his life.

She was born to be a mother.

“Thanks. We’re ready.”

“And I’m ready to be an honorary aunt.” Piper walks over to us.

“He’ll be here soon enough.”

“If it isn’t the apples of our eyes.”

Turning my head, I watch as the number of people in the suite nearly triples with the arrival of our families.

“Wait. Why aren’t you wearing your brace?” Mom asks, immediately zeroing in on the fact that my right arm is no longer locked to my body in the contraption that I’ve been wearing for the last few weeks. Leave it to her eagle eye to notice it before anything else.

“Cleared to not have to wear it anymore.”

The look on her face is one of relief. “That’s great, sweetheart.”

“One step closer,” Dad tells me. “Keep doing what you’re doing.”

“I will.”

Uncle Alex, standing beside my dad, is studying me, and I squirm a bit under his gaze. With glasses hiding his eyes, I have no idea what he’s thinking.

“How are you doing otherwise, Noah?”

“I’m doing fine. Thanks.”

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve muttered that I’m fine in the last few weeks. Or good. All to get people to stop hovering. Now that the doctor has cleared me to increase my workouts and not wear a brace, I feel like I’ll have more of a leg to stand on when I tell them I am fine.

“Good. We’re all here for you if you need it.”

“I know.” I really shouldn’t be ungrateful. Not when I have so many people in my corner. “I appreciate it.”

“I won’t ask how you’re doing since you’re doing so fine,” Knox tells me with a smirk on his face.

Seeing him might be the hardest of all. All because he reminds me of what I don’t have. Graham is a spitting image of his dad.

I miss him. I hate how much I do.

“The finest of fines.” I laugh.

“Good.” Knox claps me on the back. “Keep it that way and you’ll be back with the Knights in no time.”

“Not too soon.” A new voice enters the fray of people lingering in the suite around the food tables. One I recognize well as soon as her face pops up. “I wouldn’t mind you being out to make it easier for my boys.”

“Bexley. It’s nice to see you.” I extend my hand out to her. “I wish I could be out there to beat them.”

“I know you do.” She smiles at me. “I wish you were out there. It’s a shame what happened.”

“I’m getting better.”

Bexley nods at me. She exudes a warmth that makes me see why Nick fell for her so easily. “I hope you do. The Knights won’t be the same until you get back out there.”

“I appreciate that.”

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go encourage my team to be the ones to win tonight.” Bex winks at me in a playful manner.

Having been with the Black Diamonds for most of my playing career, I know she likes to be in the locker room prior to the game. She was always down there encouraging us. Hyping us up to play our best.

Bexley really was the best GM I’ve played for. Nashville’s is great, I can’t deny that, but Bexley really does love her team, and it’s evident in everything she does for them.

“Nice seeing you, Bex.”

“You too. Good to see you on your feet.”

She’s out the door, and before someone else can come talk to me, I take my place in the back corner of the two rows of seats that overlook the ice. Both teams are out there warming up.

This is the first time I’ve been in an arena since my injury.

The sounds of the crowd.

The skates on the ice.

The cold air, the smell of hockey—that smell that you can’t describe but any hockey fan would know—goes a long way to soothe the constant ache in my bones.

It settles me in a way that nothing else has been able to lately. It reinvigorates my drive to be able to get back out on the ice. To push all the wayward thoughts of this being the end for me out of my head.

The normal pregame routine starts, amping up the crowd. It’s something I’ve never gotten to experience like this. I’ve always been down with the team. The home crowd is rocking, and when the Knights are announced, the boos are so loud, it could trigger the Richter scale.

My eyes trail over every guy on the ice—purposefully avoiding Graham—and they look good. Ready. Even though I can’t be down there on the ice, I know they’re ready.

We’ve been talking about this game all season. About wanting to beat the Black Diamonds again, this time on their turf and when it matters more than the preseason game played at a neutral site. It was a good win. But this one? It would be huge for us.

The game starts and the crowd settles down around us.

“Nick is looking good,” Piper tells me, dragging a carrot through her hummus before crunching down on it. “He’s really worked hard to up his game this season.”

“Our guys will beat him. Just you wait.” My voice is cocky. I know we have what it takes to beat this team. I want it so bad, I can taste it.

“You sure about that?” Piper asks. “Reigning cup champs. That last win was a fluke.”

I shake my head at her. “You know that doesn’t matter season to season. The Knights are good. Not a fluke, sis.”

“Uh-oh. Fields siblings are getting snippy.” Colin laughs. “I don’t know who I’m placing my money on.”

“I do,” I say confidently. “Knights are winning.”

Piper sets her plate on her lap and turns to face me. “Alright. What are we betting? I’m taking the Black Diamonds. Obviously.”

“Loser has to pick up the tab when we go out to celebrate our victory.”

Piper holds out her hand to shake. “You’re on. But not just my drinks, the team’s drinks too.”

“Hope you’re ready to lose.” I squeeze her hand harder than necessary, but hey, it’s what siblings do.

“Not a chance.”

There’s a smug look on Piper’s face that I hope the Knights wipe away at the end of the game. Play is fairly even during the first period, and early on in the second until Marcus gets a breakaway and is able to put the puck in the back of the net.

“Yes!” I jump up, mindful not to throw up my arm while it’s still healing, and cheer my team on. “That was a thing of beauty.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Piper dismisses me. “Easy. We’ll get it back.”

The Knights do a great job at keeping the Black Diamonds at bay, but only for so long. A loose scramble for the puck ends up past our goalie, evening the score.

By the time the third period starts, play is starting to get chippy. With the score staying at 1-1, each team is looking for whatever advantage they can find.

“Knights are looking good.” Alex drops down into the seat in front of me and turns around. “Looks like Coach Andrews has done a lot of good for the team.”

“He has.” I sip on my water. “I hope I get to play with him for a lot longer.”

“A good coach can make or break a team. You’re lucky you didn’t have to play with their old coach. I never heard great things about him.”

“Graham wasn’t a fan of his,” Knox says as he takes the seat next to him. “But what can you do? You have to play the hand you’re dealt.”

The two of them start chatting together as the Black Diamonds head toward our goalie. He deflects the pass with ease and it’s Graham picking it up.

“C’mon. C’mon.”

Graham is flying down the ice. His puck control is flawless as he fires off a slap shot toward Nick, and it flies right past his shoulder and lights the lamp.

“Yes!”

Fuck. That goal was a thing of beauty, putting us in the lead against one of the best teams in the league. My old team.

Alex is congratulating Knox after the goal as the guys swarm Graham on the ice. If I were on the ice, I’d be down there. Right in the thick of it.

Thinking of how we would be celebrating later if that were the case has a dull ache settling in my gut. Because that is not going to happen anymore.

I push it away, trying to keep the energy up for the team as they battle it out for the last few minutes. The home crowd is trying to get the Black Diamonds back into it, staying on their feet for the rest of the game to try and even the score. Even when they pull Nick from goal, it’s a fruitless effort.

The Knights beat the Black Diamonds 2-1.

“Hell yes!”

The guys are clapping each other on the helmets before heading off the ice. It was a hard-fought win against one of the best teams in the league. The Knights looked fucking amazing out there. Sure, there are things we need to clean up, but that’s how most games go.

Piper saunters up to me, her arms crossed and an annoyed look on her face. “Pretty proud of yourself,” she tells me.

“The guys looked fucking awesome out there.” I can’t hide my excitement for them. “C’mon. You have to be a little excited that your brother’s team won.”

“After you beat my fiancé’s team? We’ll see.”

I don’t miss the smile on her face as she turns to head back into the suite.

The feeling of victory is something I’m used to in this building. I thought it would be harder to see my team win without me on the ice, but it wasn’t.

It felt amazing to see all of their hard work pay off. We still have a long way to go if we want to make it to the playoffs, but the Knights have a bright future ahead.

One that I’m ready to play an active role in as soon as I’m in shape again.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you this happy in a long time.” Dad comes over to my spot in the suite and stands next to me. “It’s nice.”

“I know I wasn’t out there for the win, but I felt like I was a part of it, you know?”

Dad nods. “I know the feeling. It’s still your team out there and you want them to do well.”

“Doesn’t hurt we beat my old team.”

I never would have heard the end of it if they beat us. At least I can rub it in their faces when I see them.

“That’s the spirit.”

The stands are emptying around us as I take some time to savor this moment.

“You know, Dad, over the last few seasons, I was really starting to wonder if I was more harm than good to my team.”

“Noah—”

“No, I’m serious,” I interrupt him. “It seems like I’ve been riding the bench more than I’ve been on the ice, but maybe it just means I’m moving in a different direction. That I can help coach my team and help the younger players learn more than just being the star.”

“That’s a good attitude to have. The team wouldn’t have put you on IR if they didn’t care about you as a player. I can attest to that more than anyone.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I wish I could be out there with the guys, but maybe I’m up here for a reason.”

What that reason is, I’m still figuring out. But at least I’m starting to get my sanity back and not be so tied up in the fact that I’m not playing right now.

“I’m going to head down and see the team.”

“Want me to go with you?” Piper asks.

I shake my head. “No. Go see Cash. I’ll be fine.”

“You sure?”

“Go.” I push Piper in the opposite direction of me. “I promise, I’m good. Break the news to Cash that you’re buying all of us drinks.”

Piper rolls her eyes at me before dropping a kiss on my cheek. “Even if Cash doesn’t win, I’m still happy your team won. Because I want you to win another cup too.”

“Really?” I ask.

“Really. But try not to beat Colorado for it, okay?”

“No promises.” I laugh.

Following everyone out of our suite, I take a few deep breaths. I want to see the guys. Congratulate them on their big win.

Seeing Graham though? I haven’t seen him since I left our place in Nashville. Well, his place. Do I want to see him?

At this point, I feel like I can see him and it won’t rip me in half.

I only hope he wants to see me too.