12. Dawson
CHAPTER 12
DAWSON
The day after the party, I drive to the Harrisons’ to fix Emmy’s flat tire. The car is gone. I find out from the housekeeping staff that Stewart had it towed to Mimi’s house without fixing it, which makes me even more furious.
So I head to her place and change the tire before she wakes up. Then I leave a note on her dashboard since her car is unlocked.
Thanks for last night. Thai-M to do it again soon?
A few days pass, and I still can’t stop thinking about her. The bike ride. Her laughter over pad thai. The way her eyes sparkled in the light. Sharing secrets until the restaurant staff finally kicked us out at closing time.
Things were so easy with her when it was just the two of us, but when I see her around Maple Falls, she’s like a closed book. Guarded and quiet. The restaurant was the start of unlocking her heart, one conversation at a time.
Even Dan notices I’m distracted at practice.
“Earth to Dawson,” his voice barks at me.
Dan faces me, stick in hand, waiting to shoot a few practice shots. “What’s up? You look distracted today.”
Your sister’s fault. I straighten my face. “Sorry.”
If he knew, he’d probably be only too pleased to whack me with a slap shot.
“Game jitters,” I say. “Still getting used to playing with these guys.”
I nod toward Cooper and Noah, who are facing off against each other with Ted waiting for a pass behind them.
I came here to prove myself. But now I feel like I need to do something so much bigger: win Emmy over. I’m not sure which is going to be harder.
“You’re ready for this team,” Dan says. “Which means I won’t take it easy on you.” He shoots me a confident smile.
“That’s good. Because I’m not taking it easy on you either.”
He readies for the shot while I take my defensive position. The puck hurtles toward me like a black bullet, and I block it with a quick movement.
“Nice,” he says. Others line up behind him, waiting their turn to pummel me with eighty-five-mile-per-hour shots. Noah, Cooper, Ted—even Scotty joins in to get a puck past me.
This is what I live for. Blocking everything out. The shots. The players. The audience.
I learned at a young age I was never going to be the fastest skater or the best shooter. But blocking shots? That was my zone of genius. It required every ounce of my attention, along with lightning-fast reflexes. I was a master at focus, ignoring everything else—a lesson that’s served me well in my career.
It only takes one mistake, one lapse in judgment, and the puck will slip through.
Someone in the stands catches my attention. A young woman wearing a white sweater and jeans takes pictures of us on her phone.
Her eyes land on me, and her face curves into a smile I instantly recognize. Emmy?
Whoosh . A puck flies past my head and sinks into the net.
“Dawson, pay attention!” yells Coach Strickland.
I look back to see Dan smirking at me. “Lost your focus?”
“Good shot,” I mutter.
Dan is always on point, but my distraction was clearly to blame.
He follows my gaze to where Emmy is, then glances back at me. “Are you looking at my sister?”
“It’s hard to miss her when she’s taking our picture.” Emmy is aiming her phone our direction. Until she leaves, I can’t focus.
I skate over to her as she quickly tucks her phone in her back pocket.
“Didn’t know you were so interested in hockey,” I say.
Her eyes flick away as she lifts a shoulder. “We’re a hockey family. It’s in the blood.”
“You were never into it,” I say. “I distinctly remember you having your nose in a book. Besides, if you need a picture of me, just ask. I’ll pose.” I flex my muscles.
She tries to hide a smile. “Who said I was taking a picture of you? Mimi enjoys when I show her shots of Dan.”
I nod. “He is cuter than me.”
She laughs. “By the way, thanks for changing my tire. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Yes, I did. You need a working car.”
“And you left me a new tire jack and tools for next time.”
I can’t believe she already found them next to her spare. “Someone’s learning. I don’t want you to get stranded and have to take another motorcycle ride.”
“It wasn’t horrible,” she admits.
“You wanna sneak out of town again? Road trip. You and me.” I don’t care if I’m pushing too hard—anything to be close to her.
“Nice try, but my car works fine now. But I want to pay you back.” She pulls out her purse.
“You’re not paying me to fix your tire.”
“For the tools,” she says, holding out some cash.
I don’t want her money. She needs it to take care of herself and Mimi. “Keep it,” I insist. “I wanted to help.”
“Dawson, I need to repay you somehow.” She gives me a frustrated look.
“Okay, how about this. You show me around Maple Fest, and we’ll call it even?”
Her brow furrows as she looks over my shoulder at the guys practicing. “But I thought the team was signing autographs at the festival?”
“We are. But I’ll put in my hour volunteering, and then we can enjoy the festival together. How about a hayride first, unless you already have plans?”
She shakes her head, loose waves of hair falling over her shoulder. I’m struck by how grown-up she looks now. She’s the same Emmy, with an adorable smile and a barely there dimple. I’ve always thought she was beautiful, but now she’s even more stunning.
“Dawson, are you done flirting?” Noah asks from the center of the rink. I glance over my shoulder and see him smirking at me. Dan’s face flicks toward us, and I can’t read his expression. At least he doesn’t look like he’s going to smack me with his stick.
“What about my brother?” Emmy asks like she can read my mind.
“What about him?”
“You guys are good friends,” she says slowly. “Do you think he’ll mind that you’re hanging out with me at the festival instead of him?”
I haven’t thought through this little wrinkle, and I know Dan wouldn’t be thrilled if he knew my feelings for Emmy. It’s not that he doesn’t trust me—it’s that Emmy is his little sister, even if she is grown up now.
I glance at Dan, then her. “What Dan doesn’t know won’t hurt him, right?”
Her lips curve into a smile. “Meet you at the hayride.”