Chapter 9
Georgia
“Oh. My. God.” I gawked at the women blanketing the parking lot, many of them dressed as if they were auditioning to become showgirls.
Granted, there were plenty of what I’d called normal women in jeans and team sweatshirts on both sides of the equation, but I had a sense they’d drop everything to be with a hockey player.
“A lot to deal with,” Roxanne mused as she pulled me through a huge crowd, many of whom were holding signs. “It didn’t used to be this way. So crazy I mean.”
“Why the change?”
She tossed me a look, carefully avoiding being attacked by a male tailgater.
There were plenty of guys dressed up as hockey players in the mix, some a little too garishly for them to be in public.
“Shifters. Once they came on the scene, people just went nuts. Look at the press. I know this is an important game and the eleven o’clock news always provided highlights, but this is like a three-ring circus. ”
I took a few seconds to scan the crowd as we moved to the back of the line. The parking lot was insane with the number of people. Including some of the same assholes picketing both the event and the players involved.
Shifter players.
Go chase rabbits
We don’t want your kind
Bloodthirsty animals
And another one that would remain on my ‘best of’ list.
A hunk, a hunk of burning beastly love
“Wow,” I murmured without realizing it.
Then I noticed the woman I’d had a run-in with before and offered a growl.
“What are you doing?” Roxanne noticed my line of sight. “Oh, the woman you told was missing out on hot sex. Is there something you’re not telling me?”
“Please tell the whole thing hasn’t spread too far.” The woman with the picket sign turned away, almost as if shaking from fear. I almost pounded my fist in the air, until reality set in.
“Oh, girl. I think you might be famous.”
“No. No. No!”
“Oh, yeah.” She snickered and I was ready to crawl under a rock. My life couldn’t get any worse.
“I can’t breathe.”
“Oh, stop it. What you did in taking up for the shifters, brilliant. I wish I’d done the same thing. Did you see any of the recent headlines?” she asked, the line moving fairly quickly.
“No. I try not to pay attention to the news as you well know.”
She chuckled while pulling out her phone, scrolling with her thumbs. “Look at this one.”
Vancouver Tribune: Does Ford ‘The Wolfman’ Kendrick Have the Moves or Ready to Crash and Burn?
“That’s not so bad,” I suggested.
“How about this one.” She shifted to another page.
Los Angeles News: Ford ‘The Wolfman’ Kendrick, a Shifter Gone Rogue
“Trust me. You’ll get used to it or the nasty words will simply drive you crazy. There are still people trying to pin whatever horrible crime on shifters and the more popular the person, the better. Who knows. Maybe they’ll come to you for an interview.”
I was going to be sick.
Now I also felt the need to swing my fist against someone. How ironic. There were times I wanted to kick Ford in the butt, yet I also had a need to protect him. To a point.
We continued walking with the line, finally able to provide our tickets. At this point, the crowd was getting wilder and louder. Thank God, she knew where to go, moving us through the meandering folks as they showcased their ridiculous outfits with family and friends.
How was I going to look the players in their faces after what I’d said? How would I deal with Ford? Oh, God.
“Here we go.” Roxanne pointed toward a group of seats while I was fighting nausea and claustrophobia given the huge crowd.
“I don’t know about this.” I stood with a huge drink in one hand, clinging to my purse with the other as I stared at the seats. The arena was full of people. I had no idea how many people could fit into the iceplex, but there had to be ten thousand people if not more.
Roxanne chuckled and pulled me out of a line of traffic. “The first time is the worst. Don’t worry, you’re no longer a virgin.”
“What?” I struggled to keep up with her, already feeling claustrophobic as hell.
“With a hockey game. At least we were invited to sit with the family in their special area.”
“What family?” She’d all but dragged me here, stopping by the house I was renting and refusing to leave until I agreed to come to the game. “Your dad has a special area?”
She didn’t say anything at first and I was too busy avoiding being run over to even notice the people around me. They were all a sea of faces, jerseys, hats, and banners with the team’s logo and name.
And everyone was hyped up like I’d never seen before.
“Um, Ford’s family.”
She made the statement in passing, maybe hoping I wouldn’t notice it. No. No way.
By the time I did, grabbing her arm and trying to stop her, a vision flashed into my focus, an entire family that looked as if they belonged on some magazine cover.
“Oh, no. We are not sitting with Ford’s family. They will toss me out.” Or worse.
Roxanne stopped just as a girl who was about our age started to wave. “Are you kidding me? With what you did for Ford and how you handled the press today, you’re practically family.”
“I didn’t do anything. Not really. And the press? I just told that woman off, which is what she deserved.” And I’d talked about hot sex, which I knew nothing about.
Her giggle was more intense than before. “Yeah, well, very few people take up for the shifters, at least openly. It’s like a little dirty subject everyone whispers about in the dark, fearful monsters are listening. Come on.”
Her words should generate a shiver at minimum because there was some obvious underlying truth, but another wash of excitement caught me off guard. Maybe I was far too curious about a shifter’s world.
“There you are,” the girl said as she greeted Roxanne, pulling her into a hug. I took it they were at least friends.
“I had to coerce my companion to come with me,” Roxanne tossed out. “Everyone, this is the lifesaver we’ve all heard about, Georgia Wallace. This is Patrick and Margaret Kendrick, Mom and Pop. These are Ford’s two brothers, Beck and Cole, almost as decent of hockey players.”
“Oh, please,” Beck snorted. “I could beat that boy’s ass every day of the week and twice on Sunday.”
“No, he couldn’t,” the girl said with her hand held against her face as she spoke. “And why are you introducing me last? I’m all that matters, sister Samantha. No wonder my brother talks about you all the time.”
“He does?”
Samantha winked and I wanted to crawl into a hole.
“Oh, you are as beautiful as I’ve heard,” Margaret said as she grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the group.
Whatever the reason, including believing I’d had a hand in healing their family member, I wasn’t going to be allowed to say no.
I’d never felt so welcome or so helpless in my life.
I’d grown up in a small family, longing for siblings that were never meant to be, I was a little befuddled as to how to handle the situation.
But I certainly couldn’t say no.
When I was pulled onto the seat cradled by Margaret on one side, Roxanne on the other, and the line of the Kendrick family stretching out on both sides, a smothering effect should have taken hold.
It didn’t.
For a little while, maybe I could almost feel as if I belonged.
There was no reason for me to feel stiff, but every muscle was still tense. Margaret patted my leg as any mother would do when consoling their child. “Don’t allow Ford’s caustic behavior to fool you. He’s a wolf cub inside, all happy and giggly.”
“Giggly? Do you wolf pups actually giggle?” Was I seriously having this conversation?
“They do, but not the way you’re thinking. With teeth and growls instead.”
Wow. That was comforting.
“He’s very good,” I told her. “As a hockey player. Just a player. That’s all I’m talking about.”
“Relax,” Beck told me while leaning over. Why did he also wink? Oh, I was so cooked.
Margaret shook her head and there were memories lashing her expression.
“Ford always wanted to be a hockey player. Some people don’t believe this, but his first steps were taken on the ice.
He’d grabbed Patrick’s stick and managed to get away from us, crawling away in a few seconds.
That split second where I almost lost my mind, but there he was, on the ice at barely one year old, dragging the stick around.
By the time he was three, I couldn’t get him off the ice. He’s always loved to play.”
Her face clouded over. “What’s wrong?” I dared to ask.
“Nothing is wrong. I just… Well, I hope my son’s quest at becoming the next great one doesn’t destroy his love of the game and the freedom it allows.”
As I’d suspected with Ford, there was more of a story behind the man. I shouldn’t care, but everything about him intrigued me in ways that didn’t make any sense.
The family bantered as I’d always thought should happen. My father had told me my ideals were grandiose, that I was jaded by watching one too many shows on television where the episode ended with squabbles being solved, families embracing closeness.
At least while the stadium rocked with electric vibes, I was able to relax. Still wide eyed at the almost cultlike following.
There were even dudes in the stands without shirts, jersey numbers painted on their skin. You would think this was the Superbowl instead of a regional sports event.
But I had to admit the energy was catching, the atmosphere keeping a vibrating hum drifting up and down the length of my body.
“Oh. Oh,” Roxanne said as she squeezed my arm. “The announcement of the teams. Now you’ll truly get the whole team spirit thing.”
She wasn’t kidding. With every team member announced, the crowd went wild. Even with the players from Manitoba. Well, there were a few expletives used, but for the most part, the audience was fairly nice to them.
But the home team. Forget about it.