Skate the Line: A Single Dad Hockey Romance (Blue Devils Hockey Book 2)

I called her Sunshine.

The team set me up for failure. They kept fucking taunting me with the nickname, and then it effortlessly slipped from my mouth.

It did shut her up, though, so at least there is a silver lining.

The dish rag stained with blood is bouncing right along with her leg on the passenger side of my truck.

She’s filled to the brim with nerves. Tight shoulders, tense spine, firm grip on her injured hand. That plump bottom lip of hers has to be raw from the incessant chewing she’s doing. In the worst way, I want to take my thumb and free it from her teeth, but that’d be certifiable, especially for me.

“You good?” I ask. “You’re making me nervous.”

I never get nervous.

Sunny swings her head to me. “I’m great. In fact, we can go back home.”

Home.

When did she start calling my home her home?

I mean, it technically is her home as of late, but hearing her say it is sobering.

“You need stitches,” I say.

She rolls her eyes. Why is that so tempting?

The night lights blur against the side of her cheek, accentuating the soft curves of her face as she stares at me. “I really am fine. I can just…go to the doctor tomorrow.”

I flick the blinker on. “You’ll bleed out by then.”

It’s not true, and it’s dramatic as fuck, but I’m not turning around.

Her sigh fills the entirety of my truck. The fit she’s throwing is amusing. I have to actually try not to smile at her scowl.

When I pull into a parking spot outside of the ER, she sits up a little taller and stares at the flashing sign. I observe her from the driver’s seat.

Why is she so bent out of shape?

Is she afraid of needles?

It seems unlikely that she’s afraid of blood. She didn’t act squeamish when I lifted our hands to examine the cut a half-hour prior. It was only when I mentioned going to the hospital that she clammed up.

“Are you afraid of the hospital?” I ask with a tone I only use with Ellie.

Until now, I didn’t realize I could use it with anyone else.

She answers too quickly. “Of course not!”

I turn the truck off. “You don’t have to lie to me. I won’t think anything less of you if you say you’re afraid.”

“I’m not!” she blurts.

Liar.

“Okay, then.” I leave my seat and round the front of my truck. I open her door and stand there, waiting. After a few seconds of her not moving, I sigh. “Come on, Sunshine. Let’s go.”

Her warm, doe-like gaze clings to mine, and fuck, she’s terrified. A layer of moisture muddies the brown color of her eyes, and her lip is swollen from the nibbling. She climbs out of my truck slowly on shaky legs.

Part of me wants to help her, but it feels too…personal. So instead, I walk side by side with her until we’re outside of the automatic doors.

They open once, and she makes no move to go inside.

Then they close.

Then they open again.

Fuck it.

My hand slips into hers.

I can’t remember the last time I held a woman’s hand, but I know for absolute certain that it didn’t feel like this.

Surprisingly, Sunny lets me guide her inside.

I walk us up to the window and do all the talking without unclasping our hands.

“Do you have insurance?” I ask in a low tone.

That bottom lip plops out from her teeth, and she shakes her head.

“Just bill me,” I say to the woman. “I’ll take care of the cost.”

Sunny attempts to jerk her hand out of mine with a shake of her head, but I refuse to let it go. Otherwise, she may jolt right out the door.

“If you just go ahead and take a seat over there and fill out the paperwork, someone will call you back shortly.”

I thank the woman and guide us to a secluded part of the waiting room. A few people side-eye us, but I put my back to them, hopeful they don’t come up and ask for an autograph. This isn’t the time.

After sitting down, I finally release Sunny’s hand so I can fill out her paperwork. She doesn’t argue or ask to do it herself. Her leg bounces up and down, shaking both of our seats.

“Will you calm down?” I ask. “You’re worse than Ellie.”

She snickers and glances away.

I finish most of the paperwork, putting my info down for who is the responsible party for payment, but then I get to the medical history part.

“Are you allergic to anything?” I ask.

She shakes her head but doesn’t look at me.

“Have you been out of the country in the last six months?”

She shakes her head again.

“Have you been hospitalized or seen at a hospital in the last year?”

The pen hovers over the no checkbox, but no answer comes. I turn toward her and focus on her facial expression. Her thick dark eyelashes flutter. That same lip slips into her mouth again, and she angles her body to the side, like she’s shielding herself from me.

Well, this is intriguing.

“So that’s why you’re nervous,” I note.

Sunny turns to me, but before she can say anything, her name is called. She tightens with fear, and I don’t like the way it makes me feel.

“I’m going back with you.”

It’s not a question, and I don’t give her a chance to refuse. I grab her gently by the elbow and usher us both toward the nurse.

It takes no more than a few minutes to get her vitals done. The nurse and I make eye contact with one another when the heart monitor beeps loudly from the racing of Sunny’s heart.

She pats Sunny’s shoulder but quickly releases her hand when Sunny jerks away.

“Do you need me to give you something to calm you down, sweetheart?”

It’s admirable the way Sunny angles her chin and shakes her head, like she’s in no need of anyone’s help. “I’m fine, thank you.”

The nurse, Patty, flattens her lips before leaving the room.

Sunny shifts on the bed, still holding the bloody rag against her hand. She tilts her head and stares at the ceiling.

“Take some deep breaths. It’ll help.”

Instead of arguing with me, she does what I say.

It seems to be working.

Her chest isn’t rising as fast as before, and the spot on her neck that I can’t stop staring at is no longer thumping with her flying pulse.

The screeching of a moving curtain draws our attention to the doctor coming into the room.

“So, we have a cut, do we?” he announces, sitting down in a swivel chair.

Surprise flickers across his face when he lands on his patient. It’s the same look every man has on his face when they lay eyes on her.

They’re stunned by her subtle beauty. It likely steals their breath, just like it did mine.

As if he’s caught, he quickly turns to me and tries to mask his thoughts while introducing himself.

I read them as if they’re my own, though. My jaw clenches, and I’m not sure if it’s because I’m feeling protective over her or if it’s something else.

Like possessiveness.

There’s a deep-rooted part of me that wants to stand up and bang on my chest like a fucking caveman. I want to say, She’s mine, Doc. But that’s absolutely fucking insane. She’s my daughter’s nanny and nothing else.

Other men can look at her.

Other men can have her too.

“Can I take a look?” the doctor asks, moving closer to her and farther away from me.

Sunny holds out her hand and stays as still as a statue while he pulls back the rag. The wound is split wide open with fresh blood still pooling. “I’d say you need no more than seven stitches.” He places the rag back onto her hand. “Have you had stitches before?”

She finally makes eye contact with him. She nods, but that lip stays trapped in between her teeth.

“Okay, good, you understand the process. Can I ask where you’ve had stitches at?”

Sunny’s swallow is loud enough for the patient in the next bay to hear. “My head.”

“Your head? Were you young or…”

She shakes her head, and now my heart is racing.

“A little over nine months ago,” she whispers.

The doctor’s eyebrows furrow. He says nothing as he rolls over to the computer and starts typing quickly. I watch him closely. His eyes move back and forth, like he’s reading something. Then, his furrowed brow smooths, and a noise leaves his throat.

He peeks over his shoulder at Sunny then to me. “I need to ask her some questions.”

I stare at him.

“Alone.”

What?

Sunny shifts. “No.”

“No?” the doctor questions.

She shakes her head as if she’s clearing her thoughts. “I mean, you can ask me questions. But I’d like him to stay. I’m already nervous and—” Sunny stops herself from saying anything else. Her words are rushed.

I don’t like seeing her like this. She’s full of nerves, and it dulls the sunshiny vibe she always has.

“That’s fine, Allison.”

She winces.

Is Allison her real name? Why didn’t I know that?

It must have generated after they entered her social security number, along with her past medical care.

“Do you currently feel safe?”

I grip the handles of my chair.

“Yes,” Sunny answers quickly, and I’m certain she is keeping her gaze away from me on purpose.

“Are you experiencing any more abuse?”

Abuse?

The doctor glances at me, as if I’m the one who has abused her.

“No,” Sunny answers, quieter than before.

The doctor clears his throat and asks another question. “Are you experiencing any emotional symptoms related to past abuse?”

Is that why she’s so jumpy?

I swallow thickly. I am on the edge of my seat, both physically and mentally.

“Not really.” She shrugs.

“Not really?” The doctor’s question lingers.

I’m seconds from pacing.

Sunny sighs. “Is this really necessary? I just came to get some stitches for my finger.”

“And how exactly did you injure your finger?” The doctor glances at me with a look that I can’t help but feel offended by.

“For fuck’s sake,” I snap. “She cut it with a knife as she was cutting up a cucumber for her salad. Now go get the nurse for her stitches so we can get out of here. She’s clearly uncomfortable at hospitals and even more so with you implying that I’ve hurt her.”

“I’m not implying that,” he states calmly.

Sunny sits up taller. “He most certainly did not hurt me, Doctor Cline. In fact, I asked him to stay here with me because he’s right…I’m uncomfortable at hospitals. The last time I was seen at a hospital…” Her words trail, and I silently beg her to finish. “Well, you know.” She nods to the computer. “I appreciate you asking the right questions and inquiring, but that is in the past, and I’d really like to be on my way.”

Doctor Cline clasps his hands. “Okay. Well, I’ll have the nurse in within a few minutes to get you stitched. However, if you need…help…you know where to find me.”

He can fuck right off.

If she needs help, she can ask me.

Sunny nods once, and then he’s gone.

Tense silence fills the tiny space, and she won’t meet my eye.

That’s perfectly fine with me, though.

I’m not going to question what just happened.

Not yet, anyway.