Page 130 of One Winter Knight
“Sounds good to me. I’m kind of tired,” Carlos admitted.
I called housekeeping to ask for more blankets and placed an order for snacks. After all, what was a movie without tasty treats?
Carlos came downstairs wearing a Christmas sweater and his Knights beanie. “My phone has powered on!” His face fell. “I can see all the texts people sent, but I can’t reply. I see that people called me, but I can’t hear their messages, or call them back.”
“Aww, we’ll get you a new one tomorrow.” I kissed him.
Carlos plopped down on the couch as he went through his text messages, and I sat down next to him.
“My cousin Jorge is worried about me. He’s one of my bestfriends and plays for the Mexico City Tigres. He thinks I’ve gone missing again.” Carlos thought for a moment. “Which I guess I kind of did.”
He pulled a picture up of two people in full hockey gear. Their jerseys were bright orange. One of them had an orange helmet, but the other helmet was hot pink and sparkly.
Carlos sucked in a breath. “No way. Did I miss this?”
I got surprise, pride, and a little sadness through the bond as he continued to pour through his texts.
“What did you miss? Which one’s your cousin?” I asked.
“Orange helmet. Fucking shit. She did it. I told her that they were going to sign her.” His face fell. “I missed her first pro game. Everyone went to see it and I wasn’t there.”
“I’m sure there will be more games. I’m not sure what’s going on here.” I frowned at his sadness. “Someone got traded?”
“My friend Gwen got a hockey contract for Christmas. She was signed to the Mexico City Tigres. They’ve been watching her forever. I’m so happy for her. Sad I missed her first game, but glad she got a team.” He smiled.
“A hockey contract for Christmas? What an amazing present. Good for Gwen, but then I remember your season opener,” Dusty said.
“For some reason I can’t open my photos, or I’d show you a better picture of her. If she’s playing for Mexico City, she probably won’t be at Dimitri’s party. I’m sure you’ll meet her eventually,” he added.
“Gwen’s the purple-haired one right? I probably have a picture.” Hale got out his phone.
“Why do you have a picture of her?” I asked, surprised.
“Because she and Mercy are the chaotic besties of doom. Mercy also has a bestie in Rockland, but those two are more the small-country takeover squad,” he explained.
“Why stop at a small country?” I really wanted to meet his sisterMercy.
Hale showed me a picture on his phone. In the center was an absolutely striking woman that I swore I’d seen in advertisements–or maybe even a runway show at Fashion Week. She had dark hair, wore a stunning dress, and leaned on a hot pink forearm crutch. Next to her was a tiny woman with long dark hair and red lips who looked straight out of a fairytale–both vulnerable yet formidable. As for the third person, I didn’t get a good view of her face, because she was laughing, but she had an athletic build, purple hair, and wore a sparkly purple dress.
“Gwen’s the one with the purple hair. In the center is my sister Verity. I can’t ever remember who the third person is. I think her brother is on the team,” Hale said.
“That’s Valya, Dimitri’s little sister,” Carlos replied.
Hale nodded. “Yes. Sometimes she joins in on chaotic adventures.”
“What kind of chaotic adventures?” I asked, curious.
“Things like shopping, spa days, and pedicures involving alcohol. Oh, and tattoos,” Hale replied.
We had very different ideas of chaotic adventures. But that sounded fun.
“Here's another one.” He showed me the same striking woman, the same small fairytale girl, Gwen with her purple hair, now in a floral dress, though I still didn’t get a good look at her, and a very young woman with her brown hair in Dutch braids.
“That's my sister Mercy, the skate smasher,” Hale added.
“Your sister in the center? I swear I’ve seen her face on the side of the building or something.” Also, the purple-haired girl looked a little familiar, but I had no idea why I’d know a beta goalie from New York.
Oh, I probably saw them all in Quebec. Yeah, that was it.
