Yo Ho Ho, page 5
"No!"
She knew it was a bad idea even before it was shot down by Amanda and Logan at the same time. But the look on Logan's face was still worth it. It was kind of like horror, but cute horror, so he was trying to decide exactly how to react.
"Fine," she replied, pretending to be defeated. "But seriously, Saturday morning. Southfield. Small children with little skates on. And then we can do an interview afterward."
Logan smiled, and she could tell he was proud of whatever he thought he accomplished. "Deal. Oh, and can you bring me some cookies from Amanda?"
Amanda looked over with a beaming smile on her face. "No, but you have no idea what that does to a married woman's ego."
"I really liked those mint chocolate chip ones."
"You made him the mint chocolate chip cookies?"
Max's editor gave her an innocent shrug in response. She could tell Amanda felt no remorse for sharing her best cookies with people who didn't work in the newsroom with her.
"Of course, she did. I'm the best!"
"No, you're not," Max mumbled.
Of course, that was a lie. You know he was the best you ever had, she thought.
Logan pushed himself off her desk. "I'm heading out then. Max, I'll see you at the arena tomorrow and we can iron out details."
Max nodded. "Sounds good."
Amanda stood up and opened her arms to him. "Just a hug until I see you again, whenever that will be."
Logan smiled, his large muscular arms engulfing the petite editor. "Hopefully not too long," he said. "Seriously, let me know if you ever want tickets for a game."
He pulled away and Amanda gave him a sad smile. "I can't take gifts from hockey players."
Logan gave her a giddy look. "For another three weeks," he said. "Then no more stupid newspaper rules."
"Right."
Amanda was trying to give him a smile, but she wasn't doing a very good job. He didn't mean to make light of the fact that she was laid off, and to Logan's credit, he actually did notice her reaction.
"Sorry," he said quietly. "I was trying to lighten the mood."
Amanda gave his arm a gentle pat. "Well, you did much better than Alex would have."
Logan scowled. "That's not a compliment."
"It's as close as you're going to get for now." Amanda leaned in towards the defenseman. "But I may take you up on that ticket offer," she said.
"Good." Logan turned back, his eyes bright as they took in Max one more time. "Maxine! I'll see you tomorrow."
Why did he always insist on calling her Maxine to get her attention? The only person who did that was her grandfather, and Logan was definitely not in any way like her grandfather, that was for sure.
"Tomorrow," she said.
He nodded and finally headed out, his wool coat flailing slightly behind him. Heads turned as he passed the metro desk reporters who had been standing at that printer for no reason for at least the last five minutes. She had to give Logan credit. He knew exactly what they were doing. As he walked out, he turned and flashed them his killer smile, making even the men stare in awe.
Max wouldn't admit that she was jealous of the metro guys. That smile really was electric. But she also had other things to worry about. She had to prepare for an interview on Saturday with Logan Moore.
Chapter 8
Maxine Quinn was not a morning person, especially not a Saturday morning person. That was only reinforced as her cold feet crunched across the snow in the parking lot of the ice rink in Southfield.
One of the superficial reasons she chose to be a sports writer was because sports writers got to stay up late since games usually didn't start until seven o'clock. That also meant she got to sleep in most days, especially when the team was playing at home. Maybe she roll out of bed for a 10 o'clock practice, maybe take a nap before a game like most of the players did.
Of course, there were other reasons she was a writer. The biggest of them was that she wasn't a player. At least not anymore. Once upon a time, Max played hockey as a left winger. She loved it, adored it, and wanted nothing more than to play hockey the rest of her life.
She was 15 years old and the last girl still playing with her almost all-boys team. Then she got hit — hard — by a player on the opposing side. He was a year younger than her, but his body, like most of the boys his age, proved to be too much for Max to handle on the ice. He dislocated her shoulder. The pain was unbelievable and only made worse by the look on the guy's face as he watched them help her off the ice. He was heartbroken and completely shaken up. A few days later, he actually showed up on the front step of her house to personally apologize to her. Max knew it was an accident, knew he didn't intentionally hurt her, but she couldn't do that to another player. And with the pain she was in, she couldn't do that to herself again either.
So she hung up her hockey skates. She didn't even try out for the girls' team at school or look into an all-girls league. She just wanted a clean break from the sport for a while. Instead, she decided to try writing, which led her to her dream job. Now her dream job was about to get shoved into some dusty corner of her life, much like her old hockey skates.
Max just shook her head, trying to get the thought out of her mind. She had a few more weeks before she was out of a job and while it was good to start planning her next steps, she just wasn't ready to face that yet.
Plus, she had to get through the morning watching an attractive hockey player on the ice with a bunch of kids. It could've been worse. There could've been puppies there too.
After touching base with Richard, the paper's photographer, who arrived just after Max, she headed for the bleachers along one side of the rink. Parents were already sitting there watching their kids on the ice, who seemed to be having an amazing time. That's one thing that Max loved about watching little kids play hockey. They had so much enthusiasm for the game, and they just enjoyed playing it at that age. No extra pressure, no stress about what travel team they could try out for or what club team would want them. They were just having fun.
But the person who seemed to be having the most fun on the ice wasn't a kid. It was Logan Moore. Sure, he was 29 years old and a veteran in the league at this point after spending almost a decade playing in the pros. And yes, he was a big guy, tall and all muscles. Max knew exactly what he was hiding under the track suit he was wearing today. She had seen him plenty of times without a shirt on in the locker room — and once in her hotel room.
But today she focused on Logan the player, who was helping a group of small children try some crossover drills and failing miserably. The kids would find it amusing to fall on the ice since they were all decked out in padding that was too big for their little bodies. Logan would laugh along with them, exaggerating his responses to make the kids enjoy themselves even more.
There were also a few times when he would skate by, bent at the waist as he glided along with a kid next to him, trying to give them pointers on how to adjust their skates or their sticks. One particular girl looked to be extra small, which meant Logan had to bend down extra low as he skated by. Max heard at least a few sighs in appreciation from the hockey moms in front of her, either because of his adorable interaction with the little player or because his amazing hockey ass was in perfect view of the parents on the bleachers. Most likely, it was a little bit of both.
Matt Jackson was also on the ice, off to the side showing some little goalies how to defend the net, and Logan would bring a few kids over at a time to see how Matty was doing.
"Oh, that was a tough break, but it was close!" Logan told one goalie after a little girl scored on him.
"Where did you learn that awesome move?" he asked a boy whose goalie pads were as big as he was.
"Matty taught me!" the boy excitedly responded before giving Logan a fist bump in triumph.
There was also the time Logan skated by as the head of a hockey dragon with Matty bringing up the tail, roaring as the kids all tried to stay in a line behind him. That's when Max could tell Logan spotted her, his face breaking into a huge smile, his roar becoming louder as if he was trying to impress her more than the kids with his dragon impression. He was definitely impressive, that was for sure.
The kids played a few more games with him and his Pirates teammate before he finally corralled all of them to the end of the ice for a final practice pep talk.
"You guys did an excellent job today," he said in an exaggerated tone with an extra big smile on his face. "I think you can all be hockey stars like me or Matty someday, but you have to keep practicing and listening to your coaches, OK?"
The kids all nodded, particularly a girl in the front with her pigtails sticking adorably out of her helmet.
"And do you know what the most important thing to remember about playing hockey?" A few of the kids actually physically leaned in, hanging on to the next words out of Logan's mouth. "You have to have …" The kids leaned closer. "Fun!"
He quickly got up and started chasing the kids around as they squealed in sheer delight. It was the perfect end as they finally got off the ice with Matt and Logan giving them a hand.
But while the kids' practice was done, Max's day had just begun. She still had to interview the head of that dragon and knowing Logan, that wasn't going to be the easiest of prospects. She just hoped she could get enough material to write up a good feature piece without doing too much damage to her personal life.
She only had a few more weeks left to work, but she was going to do it. Then she could walk away from the Pirates just like she walked away from hockey when she was 15.
Of course, hockey had a way of pulling her back in. She just hoped that history wouldn't repeat itself again. As much as her body was telling her she wanted him, her brain had to remind her that it wasn't a good idea to get involved with a hockey player, especially if that player was Logan Moore.
Chapter 9
Becca had been giddy when she met up with Logan on Friday afternoon before the Pirates' game against Chicago.
"Max Quinn asked to interview you at the Kids Can Skate event tomorrow, and I told her that would be a great idea. Fans love seeing you guys with kids." Then the public relations guru's bubbly voice turned serious. "Don't screw this up for Max before she's out of a job."
He didn't want to tell Becca that he already knew Max was going to call. He didn't want to mention that he had gone to the Detroit Herald's office to talk to Max about a possible story.
Instead, Logan gave Becca a "Sounds great," and tried to pay attention as she talked about the set up for the interview. Max would be waiting in the stands for him after the event. There would be a photographer there. The conversation would be lighter for a feature piece instead of the usual quick sound bite after a game. He was supposed to be the fun and happy media personality that Becca had helped him cultivate as part of his public relations training when he arrived in Detroit a few seasons ago.
But that didn't mean he enjoyed it. He hated when the media tagged along for these charity events. It just seemed a little too opportunistic for him. Like, "Hey, I'm the famous hockey player that's doing this volunteer thing so pay attention to me!"
Events that promoted things like the Kids Can Skate program, which gave hockey equipment and training to underprivileged kids, were about the people who used these programs and benefited from them. It wasn't about the big star who would jump in every once in a while for an event or an auction or some other thing. Sure, Logan knew that's why he was there. He knew he was being used to draw attention to the charity, but that attention seemed unearned.
He wasn't like the volunteers who worked tirelessly for the program. He didn't have a lot of time to devote to something like Kids Can Skate during the season so he would just show up here or there to skate with the kids, which he really did love to do. Plus, the kids were always so enthusiastic and excited to see him. They would cheer for him, try to impress him with their skills, and hang on to every word of advice he would give them.
Then he would give each one of their gloves a fist bump and head home. If there were other Pirates with him, they may grab some lunch afterward and talk about the season.
A few days later, the public relations office might send Logan a video of him out on the ice with some kids or a photo that made it on to some hockey site with women commenting about their ovaries exploding or something. He just had to show up and someone else would edit it to make it look good. He wouldn't have to feel dirty answering questions or hogging the spotlight. That was for the games at the arena, not here. No mess, no fuss. Just some skating with some kids.
Except for today.
Logan was already on the ice playing with some of the kids when he noticed her in the stands. Brown hair pulled up in a ponytail, fleece jacket, black leggings and winter boots. She looked like the other hockey moms sitting in the stands watching their kids play, but she still easily stood out from the crowd. He couldn't explain why. She just did.
He quickly turned back to the kids, trying to distract himself from looking up again in the stands. A little girl with her pigtails hanging out of the top of her helmet wanted to show him her backwards skating.
"My coach said if I can get better at it, I can be a good defenseman like you."
She smiled up at him in a way that almost melted his heart.
"What did you say your name was again?"
"Emily."
He put his huge padded glove on her shoulder. "Emily, with a little practice, I think you could do it. Want to try it again?"
Her grin took up her whole face and without saying a word, she sprinted down the ice, quickly turned and started to skate backwards. Then she fell over.
"Don't worry, Emily! We can practice that!" he yelled over to her.
She stood up and brushed herself off, then gave him a sort of thumbs up with her gloved hand and went skating off to do the next set of drills.
He could only shake his head and start talking to the next set of kids who had come him way and wanted his attention. All while he tried desperately to not look at Max or make eye contact with her.
But that was easier said than done. At one point, he took some kids down to where Matt Jackson, the Pirates goalie, was helping out some other players. He would cheer for everyone: the girl who scored a girl, the boy who made a cool save. Whatever he needed to do to not look at Max.
As the session started to wind down, Logan rallied the kids together for a final ice dragon drill. It was one of his favorites. He would pretend to be the head of a dragon, roaring along with the kids all following him.
"The goalies have to go to the back because they can't skate very good!" Logan announced.
The kids laughed as Matt scowled. "Alright, goalies. We're going to prove that defenseman wrong, right?"
The goalies gave this cute battle cry that made even some of the parents in the stands laugh.
So Logan started his hockey dragon, telling all the kids to duck down or stand up. Turn this way or that way. As he got close to Max's spot in the stands, he figured he would make his roar a little louder under the guise of winding up the kids a little more. He wouldn't have to admit that he did it to wind up a certain reporter in the stands too.
By the time he was finishing up his final pep talk, he was ready to go up and do his job. Because of course he was doing his job. It wasn't to spend more time with Max on a project that he had easily agreed to so he could spend time with her. It was something he had to do for work — or whatever.
The kids gave him and Matt fist bumps as they headed off the ice, which was a little trick they used to help the kids off without them realizing they were getting help. As the last of them got off the ice, Logan and Matt headed to the adult locker room for quick showers and a change into clean clothes.
"Hey, you want to do lunch?" Matt asked as they got dressed into clean track suits.
"Can't. Have to do an interview," Logan said.
"I thought you hated doing those at these charity things."
"It's with Max." Logan pulled on his t-shirt, trying to hide his expression from his goalie. "I figured I should do it to help her out since she only has a few more weeks left."
Matt stuffed the last of his goalie gear in his huge bag. "Yeah, that sucks for her, but I'm glad you're doing that interview instead of me."
"Another time?" Logan asked.
"Yep," his goalie replied. "I'm headed out then. Don't say anything stupid to Max."
Logan gave him a lopsided smile. "We both know that's probably going to happen."
Matt laughed and the two of them headed out of the locker room with their gear. Logan held the door open for Matt as they chatted and walked to their cars, tossing their gear in their trunks. Then after a quick goodbye, Matt headed out and Logan walked back for his interview.
The ice had been cleared of most of the gear for the kids. The parents had all left to meet up with their little hockey players after the morning skate. Max was still hanging out on the bleachers, talking to someone with a camera.
"Hey."
Logan tried to sound casual as he approached the pair, hoping he didn't come off as being jealous of the man who was sitting so close to Max.
"Oh, hi," she said. "Logan, this is Richard, our photographer."
Richard smiled and held his hand out. "Hey, I was just showing Max some of the shots I got from earlier."
Logan shook his hand firmly. "Hope you got some good ones."
"Definitely." The photographer turned back to Max, who was holding his camera, paging through some photos on the viewer. "That dragon thing you did with the kids was really cute."
Logan flinched a bit. Cute? He was a manly hockey player. He wasn't cute.
"Don't do that look," Max told him.
"What look?"
She scrunched up her face. "'I'm a manly hockey player. I'm not cute.'" She let her face relax into that natural smile of hers. "You know, that look."
Richard gave him a sheepish look. "Sorry, I usually shoot parades and carnivals on Saturday mornings, not sports."
