First day of summer, eight in the morning, and one thing had just become abundantly clear: Rob “Roscoe” LeGrand was going to need a bigger set of balls.

“Knock it off, sixty-one,” he called out across the rink. “You too, thirty-four! Helmets stay on at all times.”

Fuckface. He’d said that last bit in his head, because cursing out kids less than half his age was a surefire way to end up on the wrong end of the publicity train. The Buffalo Tempest had done enough of that already, and as team captain he’d promised Coach Gallagher and the suits he’d help them turn it around, whatever it took.

Make himself available for more interviews and photo shoots than he could stomach? No problem!

Donate a fuck ton of money and signed merchandise to Children’s Hospital? Happy to!

Spearhead the team’s new youth hockey clinic? Bring it on!

Yeah… He probably should’ve read the fine print on that last one.

Because now he had less than half an hour before the PR manager—Chief Executive Ball Buster, as the guys affectionately called her—showed up with the photographer, which meant less than half an hour to organize this rabble into some semblance of a team, complete with newspaper-worthy smiles.

“This is a shit idea,” Roscoe grumbled, not for the first time that morning.

Henny, his right winger and second-in-command for this community enrichment fiasco, tapped his stick on the ice and shrugged. “No worse than getting caught on camera licking whipped cream off a woman’s—”

“Hey. That was a completely consensual licking. Gallagher’s overreacting.”

“Doesn’t matter.” This from Alex Kenton, Roscoe’s best defensemen and co-whipped-cream-licker. “We did the crime. Unless we want Gallagher up our asses all season, we’re doing the time.”

Crime? Technically, Roscoe hadn’t done anything. It was just a bachelorette party at Big Laurie’s—the pub Henny’s girl Bex owned—a few months back. A bunch of pretty, perky bridesmaids were looking for a few laughs with the hockey players, and Roscoe and company obliged. Despite the whipped cream, a few shared drinks, and autographs on various body parts, Roscoe had gone home alone that night, same as always. Next morning, he’d woken up solo, wearing nothing but a feather boa and red lace bra, phone blowing up with the news that some fanboy had caught the whole thing on video and uploaded it to YouTube. Shit went viral. Gallagher went ballistic.

That video, coupled with the Tempest losing the Cup this spring after last year’s big win, was the reason Roscoe had stepped up this summer. He respected his coach, loved his team, and there wasn’t much he wouldn’t do to boost their sinking rep in the community, including sacrificing his summer vacation to manage Gallagher’s latest pet project. Alex Kenton, Sven Jarlsberg, and Dimitri Kuznetzov—his bachelorette party partners in crime—had lined up to help, right along with Henny, whose only crime was being a damn loyal friend.

The boys had spent a few weeks planning their strategy while PR handled the marketing and media crap. It was supposed to be a cakewalk. Neighborhood kids, pro athletes, fun times on the ice? Guaranteed positive press.

“Settle down over there,” Roscoe shouted at the kids now, “or you’re all going in the box.”

Ignoring his lukewarm threat, two kids chased each other around the net while another entertained himself by spitting in the air and catching it on the way down.

Nice photo opp. PR’s gonna love this.

“They need to find a way to channel that into the game,” Henny said. “I’d kill for that kind of energy.”

“Yeah?” Roscoe chuckled. “Pretty sure Bex would kill for you to have that kind of energy too, old man.”

That earned him a punch in the arm.

“They’re not even human,” Roscoe continued. He was certain of it. Twenty minutes into the practice, and he still couldn’t get most of them to pay attention. Only one kid—number forty-four—seemed like he wanted to be there. The kid stood a little bit apart from the rest, eyes on Roscoe and Henny, tracking their moves like he was taking notes in his head.

But one decent kid wasn’t enough to make up for the rest of the bunch.

Roscoe shook his head. “Have I mentioned this is a shit—”

“Idea? Once or twice.” Henny laughed. “Thought you loved kids, Mr. Sunshine.”

“Used to. Until about twenty minutes ago.” Besides, all of the kids in Roscoe’s life were under the age of ten, a whole brood of adorable nieces and nephews still young enough to think he was cool. The punks on the ice today were teenagers, and judging from the scowls on their faces, Roscoe’s coolness factor was at an all-time low.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. He was supposed to win them over, inspire them to greatness, all that jazz. But they’d barely paid attention to his intro speech, didn’t even cheer when he and Henny showed off some of their best tricks. Roscoe was starting to feel like a glorified babysitter.

“Maybe I should go Russian mafia on them,” Kuznetzov deadpanned. He’d spent the morning trying to talk to the kids about the importance of stretching and warming up, but all they wanted to know was whether he’d ever taken a shot to the nuts. “My accent can be pretty scary.”

“Your face can be pretty scary, Kooz,” Jarlsberg said.

Kooz cocked his head and smirked. “Not according to your mother, my friend.”

“Knock it off, children,” Roscoe told them. “Or you’re going in the box, too.”

“My offer is still on your table,” Kooz said, the accent making him sound like every Russian mobster in every Russian mobster movie Roscoe had ever seen. “I will tell them of my Uncle Yuri. Yuri is in Siberian prison since I was small boy.”

“You’re full of shit,” Jarlsberg said, laughing. “So is Uncle Yuri.”

Kooz raised an eyebrow and lowered his voice. “Do you know what happens to man who calls Uncle Yuri full of shit?”

Roscoe sighed, dragging a hand through his hair. Tempting as it was to let Kooz put the fear of God into these kids, he gave the idea a pass. Ultimately, turning this sinking ship around was his responsibility. He was the team captain. The leader. And, according to his teammates and family and basically everyone who’d ever spent more than five minutes with him, a nice fucking guy.

Probably explained why he kept going home alone at night. Too nice, they all told him. Even the women themselves.

Especially the last one, right before she packed up and bailed, two nights before he’d planned to propose.

It’d been a few years, but he’d only just gotten rid of the ring. He’d kept the damned thing locked in a box in his closet all that time, like some old relic to happier days.

Roscoe took a deep breath, shook off the funk. What did he have to complain about now? He had great friends and a big, closer-than-close family. Loved his city, his job. Got to spend his days on the ice, teaching kids how to shoot and score and charge down the rink. That’s what it was all about.

“Thanks, Kooz,” he said. “I’ll take it from here.”

“Sure you’re up for this, Mr. Sunshine? Or would you rather go get a manicure?” Henny nailed him in the shoulder, but real concern flickered in his eyes.

“Got one last week. Hasn’t even chipped yet.” Roscoe wriggled his fingers in Henny’s face, his mood brightening. Yanking his helmet into place, he knocked it once and said, “Let’s roll.”

Roscoe and Kooz scooted down to the net, zooming around the cluster of kids gathered in front of it, herding them like cattle into a tightly packed group. Henny and the D-men fell in line behind them with a puck, the five of them passing it back and forth, showing off some stick work.

But damn, those kids were a tough bunch.

“What about us?” one of them shouted, and the others nodded along. Number sixty-one again, Roscoe noticed. The alpha. Every group had one, and Roscoe knew from experience with his nephews that kids like that would set the tone for the whole pack. “When do we get sticks?”

“Not yet.” They weren’t ready for gear, that was for sure. They hadn’t even mastered the basics yet; most hadn’t even paid attention during the safety drill.

“Come on,” sixty-one whined. “We came to play hockey, not watch from the sidelines. Let us make a move here, Feathers.”

Feathers?

Before that moment, Roscoe hadn’t realized teen boys could actually giggle.

Before that moment, Roscoe hadn’t realized his teammates could giggle, either, but Henny and Kenton were quickly challenging that assumption.

Roscoe looked over his shoulder at Henny. “Did he just call me—”

“Feathers?” Henny could barely contain himself. “Yeah. Yeah he did.”

“What is American saying?” Kooz asked. “If your feather bra fits?” Bastard really got the kids going with that one.

That’s it.

Ignoring his boys, Roscoe skated up to the kid who’d just given him his new moniker. “Name?”

The kid sniffed, jutted out his chin. “Nick Harper.”

“So you’ve spent some time trolling me on YouTube, Nick Harper.” Roscoe said. “That where you learned your stand-up routine, too? Pretty amateur, if you ask me.”

“At least I don’t wear a bra, bro.”

Everyone laughed at that, even Roscoe. Damn, these kids didn’t miss a beat.

“That a fact?” Roscoe asked, keeping his tone light. Teasing was all part of the game, and as long as they all kept things good-natured, he’d play along. “Seems to me, hanging out on the Internet all day doesn’t leave much time to work on your weak-ass game.”

The kid’s cheeks turned red behind his face shield, but to his credit, he didn’t back down. “I got plenty of game, Feathers.”

“Yeah?” Roscoe got right up in his face. Smiled that sunshine grin of his. And handed over his stick. “Don’t keep us in suspense, sixty-one.”

Nodding once, Nick took the stick, zoomed down to the blue line at the other end of the rink. Henny followed, passing the puck good and hard.

The kid actually caught it, right in the sweet spot of the stick. Kenton went after him, but Nick was quick, dodging and weaving, charging down the ice. Kooz positioned himself in the net, ready to block.

The rest of the kids were cheering Nick on, shouting as he slipped past Kenton and Henny. He got in position for the shot, wound up…

Out of fucking nowhere, another kid swooped in with a stick and stole the puck, right from under Nick Harper’s nose.

“Who’s that?” Roscoe asked, impressed.

“Forty-four,” Jarlsberg said.

Roscoe pulled the roster from his pocket, scanned the list. Reggie Heinz. Fifteen years old—a year younger than Nick Harper. Fast as hell, too.

The kids on the sidelines went wild again, whooping and hollering as Nick and Reggie fought for the puck. They chased each other around the net, stealing and blocking, but their antagonism quickly morphed into mutual respect. Soon they were passing like real teammates, testing each other’s skills and limitations, uniting together in a quest to get that puck into the net. It was a damn thing of beauty, and as the kids zoomed together toward the goal zone, Roscoe’s heart warmed at the sight of it.

Nick got in position for the shot, catching Reggie’s perfect pass. He arched his stick, took the shot hard and straight…

No dice. Kooz dove and blocked the puck—good thing, or Roscoe would’ve benched his ass for letting two kids beat him on the first day—but hell, Roscoe cheered anyway. These kids knew their stuff.

Holding out his hands for the sticks as they skated back toward him, Roscoe nodded at them, acknowledging their skills. “Alright, sixty-one. You’ve got some moves. You too, double-fours.”

Both kids beamed.

“Damn straight we do.” Nick punched Reggie’s shoulder.

“I can teach you guys a few more,” Roscoe said, “if you’ll let me.”

Roscoe stuck out his hand. Reggie shook right away. Nick hesitated only a moment, then reached out. Roscoe went in for the shake, but Nick fist-bumped, and Roscoe totally fumbled the follow-through.

Roscoe laughed. “Maybe you can teach me something, too, slick.”

“We’ll see about that, old man.” Nick gave him another fist bump and a big, genuine smile. Reggie hadn’t said a word, but he hadn’t stopped grinning, either.

These kids were happy. No hiding it.

And just like that, the whole morning turned right around.

The kids just needed to play—to be kids. Let off some steam, expend some of that pent-up energy before they got serious with all the rules-and-regulations bullshit. Roscoe had his own reasons for being there, but for the kids, this wasn’t the NHL. Wasn’t a job.

“Alright.” Roscoe clapped once, turning toward the rest of the group. “Everyone grab a stick. Let’s play some hockey.”

The kids erupted in cheers, damn near killing each other to get to the box where they’d stashed the rest of the equipment.

Since Nick and Reggie seemed to know their way around the rink, Roscoe paired them up with Kenton and Jarlsberg to help out some of the younger kids, then sent Kooz and Henny to scope out the rest of the crew, gauging their skill level and physical fitness so they could assign official positions before the photographer showed up.

Roscoe kept his eyes on his star players, Nick and Reggie. In their short time together on the ice, they’d already bonded, already had that connection that allowed them to communicate wordlessly in a game.

“Left winger and center, I’m thinking,” Henny said. He’d left Kooz with the less experienced group and joined Roscoe in watching the standouts.

“You called it,” Roscoe said. “Nick’s got a bit more technical finesse, but Reggie’s faster. His heart is all in, too. Kid like that was born to play.”

They both watched in awe as Reggie sped past, demonstrating a move for the others. He skated a little too hard, undisciplined and rough around the edges, but he was definitely talented with the stick. He switched from the left side to the right, equally adept at both. And when he faked out Kooz and made a shot that some of Roscoe’s own pro teammates might’ve missed, Roscoe wanted to weep with joy.

Not that he was the type to get weepy on the ice, but still. The shot was fucking beautiful. Kooz would catch hell for the miss later.

“Nice work, forty-four,” he called out. Then, to Henny, “Let’s send him through the special backward crossover drill.”

“Eva’s?”

“Why not?” Roscoe asked. Eva was their skating coach, the kind of woman who took a special pride in torturing Tempest players as often as she could. She was also engaged to Tempest starting center Walker Dunn; the two were currently island hopping in the Caribbean, scouting out wedding locations.

“You want the kid to quit on us?” Henny asked. “My legs are still screaming from the last time Eva worked me over.”

“Dude. She’s been on vacation for two weeks.”

“My point exactly.”

“Let Reggie try,” Roscoe said. “I need to see how hard he’s willing to push.”

“You’re the boss.” Henny called out to Reggie, and the kid skated over to them, barely winded from all the hard work he’d already done.

“You up for a challenge?” Roscoe asked.

“Yes, sir.” The kid squared his shoulders, nodding so hard Roscoe thought his helmet might pop off.

“You familiar with backward crossovers?”

“Totally.”

God, he sounded so young. Young and enthusiastic.

“I’d like to have you try our special version,” Roscoe said. “It’s like the backward crossover, but with a twist.”

“More like a kick in the balls,” Henny grumbled. “With another kick in the balls right after.”

Ignoring him, Roscoe explained the deal, then sent Reggie off to give it a try.

Kid fucking nailed it. Not only that, but he swung back around for two more runs.

“Is it weird that I wanna adopt that kid?” Roscoe asked Henny.

“Totally weird.”

“Look at him,” Roscoe said. “When was the last time you saw a fifteen-year-old kid with stamina like that? Not to mention stick control.”

“You want a kid, pops? Make your own.” Henny laughed and nodded toward the seats, where a few parents had gathered to catch the rest of practice. “Maybe one of the hockey moms will help.”

Roscoe barked out a laugh. “Yeah, there’s a brilliant idea.”

“Glad you think so. Because here comes your future baby mama.” Clamping a hand on Roscoe’s shoulder, Henny jerked his head toward the tunnel, where a blonde woman was stomping toward the rink.

Even at this distance, Roscoe could see the anger in her eyes.

One of those kids was in serious trouble.

“Christ. I’d better take care of this,” he said to Henny. “Can you help the guys out there? I want Nick on left wing, Reggie on center. See what the other guys think about the lineup. Then you need to get them calmed down for the photo opp.”

“On it,” Henny said. Then, just before he skated off, “Hey. I was just kidding about the baby mama thing, douche bag. Don’t get any bright ideas.”

Too late, though. One look at those plump, heart-shaped lips as she came out into the light, and Roscoe’s head was swimming with ideas, each one filthier than the last. So much for being a nice fucking guy.

Now that is a hockey mom I’d like to f—

“I’m here to pick up my kid,” she said, skipping right over the pleasantries. Her short blonde hair was windblown and wild, her face pink, her blouse pulled back off one shoulder, revealing a blue bra strap. “Reggie Heinz?”

“I, uh…” Roscoe blinked, forcing himself to pay attention. Reggie Heinz, his new starting center. Best kid on the team. And the one with the hottest mom he’d ever laid eyes on.

“There,” the woman said, pointing to the ice. “Forty-four. Also known as Grounded for Eternity.”

Oh, fuck. Roscoe hoped the eternal grounding didn’t apply to hockey practice.

“Sure,” he said. “We’ve still got about twenty minutes on the clock, though. We’re waiting for the photographer.”

“Photographer?” Her light brown eyes widened in shock.

“Didn’t you sign the release? It should’ve been in the packet you filled out this morning.”

At this, she laughed, sharp and cold. “No. No I didn’t.”

Roscoe waited for her to say something else, but she folded her arms over her chest, her jaw clenched.

“Are you okay to wait,” he asked, “or do you need to—”

“No. Now would be best.” She forced a smile, but it wasn’t real. Whatever Reggie had done, the poor kid was in deep shit. Like, wait-till-I-tell-your-father, you’re-never-leaving-the-house-again kind of shit.

Nodding, Roscoe turned toward center ice and blew his whistle. “Double fours,” he called out, waving. “Bring it in.”

The kid looked up and skated toward Roscoe, then froze at the sight of his mother.

“You are in serious trouble.” The woman took a step out onto the ice. Soon as her foot touched down, she lost her balance.

Roscoe saw it coming a mile away. He lunged forward and grabbed her arms, steadying her right before she went down. They were closer now, so close he could smell the faint scent of her shampoo, like lemons and sugar, cookies left out in the sun.

It took her a second to realize what had happened.

“Thank you,” she finally said, a little breathless.

With a cocky grin, he said, “Not as easy as it looks, is it?”

“You can say that again.” For a moment she seemed to forget about Reggie, whatever screwed-up thing he’d done to invoke her ire. She was clutching Roscoe’s arms, looking up at him through dark lashes, her eyes sparkling under the arena lights. They weren’t just brown, he saw now, but amber, ringed in dark honey and flecked with gold. She smiled at him—a real one this time—a little shy, a whole lot sexy, and absolutely worth the wait. It was easily the most beautiful smile Roscoe had ever seen; it took every ounce of brain power he possessed just to remember his own damn name.

“You okay now?” he asked softly.

“I… I think so. I’m not really a fan of ice rinks.”

“I see that.” He smiled softly. “Name’s Roscoe LeGrand. I’m heading up the youth clinic.”

“Reggie’s mom,” she said. “Um. Ally Heinz.”

They were in their own little world now, all the sights and sounds of the arena fading into an indiscernible buzz as Roscoe continued to stare into her eyes.

“Nice to meet you,” he said.

“You, too.”

After a second that stretched out like an hour, he finally said, “Well, Reggie’s mom, you’re welcome to keep holding onto me, but eventually we’ll need to go home, and driving like this could be a challenge. I’m up for it if you are, but—”

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry.” The woman—Ally—blushed again, another smile appearing on her face. Roscoe could’ve stared at that mouth all day.

“Mom?” a small, desperate voice squeaked out from behind a face shield, breaking the spell between Roscoe and Ally. The kid’s voice sounded nothing like the fierce player Roscoe had seen on the rink. “Don’t freak out. I can totally explain.”

Ally’s smile vanished, ice rushing back in where the warmth used to be.

Game over.

She righted herself, straightening her shirt and turning all her attention on the kid. “You’ll have plenty of time to explain later. Right now I want you to take off that helmet and apologize to Mr. LeGrand for wasting his time today.”

Roscoe wanted to tell them both it was unnecessary, but if he’d learned anything from his years of summer vacations with his parents, four brothers, one sister, five siblings-in-law, and all his nieces and nephews crammed into a five-bedroom cottage and a couple of pup tents, it was this: never come between a mama bear and her cub. Especially when the cub did some dumb-ass shit to piss off his mama.

“We’re waiting,” Ally said.

“God. Fine.” The kid took off the helmet, shaking out a head of long, honey-blond hair the same color as Ally’s. “I’m sorry I wasted your time.”

Roscoe stared into a pair of bright blue, tear-filled eyes, trying not to show his utter shock.

Reggie, number forty-four, the player he’d already pinned all his hopes on for the youth cup and for all the youth clinic summers to come, was a girl.