For a big man, he was pretty agile out there on that ice. He used his size to intimidate the opposing players, or to sneak his stick between two people and whip the puck over to someone on his team. She recognized Zander Ross, Gretel’s boyfriend/fiancé/ex-husband, but no one else on the team.
“How do they even keep track of that little thing?” she marveled to S.G. as they shared a bag of corn chips.
“It’s black and the ice is white.” S.G. sat on the edge of her seat, completely wrapped up in every move the players made. “Did you know they’re not supposed to punch each other?”
“I did not. How unfair,” she said dryly.
S.G. waved at someone on the other side of the rink. Kate followed her gaze and saw a boy sitting alone on the far bleachers. He wore a thick gray fleece hoodie against the chill of the rink, so she couldn’t make out his face. He was watching the players very closely.
“Friend of yours?”
“It’s no one,” said S.G..
Interesting. S.G. was generally one of the most truthful people Kate knew. She usually only lied by omission, as in neglecting to mention that she had homework to do. In answer to a direct question, she always told the truth.
But obviously the boy wasn’t “no one.” In fact, the two of them seemed to be conducting a kind of silent communication by way of tilts of the head and shoulder movements.
“Why don’t you just go and talk to him?” Kate finally said, exasperated by all the twitching going on next to her.
“What do you mean?”
Fine, so she still wanted to play dumb. Have it her way.
“Goal!” the girl shouted and jumped to her feet, thrusting her arms into the air. “Darius just scored! Go, Darius!!”
Damn, she’d missed his big moment. She applauded and whistled along with the rest of the crowd. Darius circled the ice, waving his hockey stick in the air to acknowledge the applause, and she could have sworn he aimed a grin her direction.
Shortly after that, the first period ended. Darius pulled off his helmet and glided toward the area where Kate and S.G. were sitting.
“Come on, let’s go say hi,” said S.G., jumping to her feet. They made their way down the bleacher steps until they reached the protective boards placed around the rink.
“Nice goal,” S.G. told him. “I thought you were passing to the forward.”
“That was the plan, but I saw an opening.” He shoved a sweat-soaked chunk of hair off his face. “You guys having fun?”
“Actually, yeah,” Kate told him. “Other than freezing my ass off, I’ve had a great time.”
He blinked sweat out of his eyes, looking a little self-conscious. “Did you catch that last goal?”
His expression was just too cute for words. She hated to break it to him that she’d missed it.
“Sorry, I was distracted.” She pulled an apologetic face. “Next time, I’ll make sure to watch.”
“Next time? You think that happens often? It’ll probably be next year by the time I make another goal.” He laughed as he tugged his sweaty jersey away from his chest.
“How was I supposed to know that? I’m more of a basketball fan. People sink baskets all time.”
“Guess I’ll have to switch sports, then.” He skated backwards a few strokes, then forward again. Probably trying to stay loose. “Anything to impress my landlady.”
Oh, she was impressed. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was pretending she wasn’t.
She glanced at the spot next to her, only to realize that the girl had skipped away somewhere. Scanning the bleachers, she spotted S.G. huddled on the bench next to the boy in the hoodie. They were deep in a conversation.
“Hey, do you know that kid?” she asked Darius. “I think he’s a new friend of S.G.’s, and she’s being very weird about him.”
He turned to look for himself, then shook his head. “Doesn’t look familiar, but I can’t really see his face.”
A horn blared, which was apparently the sign for the players to resume their spots on the ice.
“Watch closely,” Darius warned as he plopped his helmet back on his head and fastened it. “I’d hate for you to miss another big goal.”
“Does it even count if no one saw it?”
He fastened his chinstrap with a flourish. “Read the scoreboard, baby. Read it and weep.” He dug the blade of one skate into the ice and turned with a swish, ice particles flying through the air. With swift, lethal strokes, he rejoined his teammates.
His use of the word “baby” sent the weirdest thrill through her. She imagined him saying it in bed, right before he stretched his big body over her. What do you feel like, baby? You want it fast or slow? Hard or soft?
Oh for fuck’s sake. She was totally losing it. Maybe she should have slept with Darius at the Moose is Loose after all. Then she wouldn’t still be fantasizing about it.
Flawed logic, obviously. She might still be fantasizing about it, except she’d have more concrete details to fill in the blanks.
Chapter Eleven
Over the next few weeks, five more fires got called in to the station. None of them caused any damage to a residence or a person. An empty woodshed out on MacKenzie Ridge burned down. A junk car got torched near the campgrounds. Two of the fires involved stacks of pallets. Other than the fact that they were minor fires, Darius could detect no pattern.
Even residents outside the volunteer fire department noticed the unusual fire activity. People started coming up to him on the street and asking him what was going on.
It was frustrating as hell.
Even more frustrating than living below Kate, listening to her move about upstairs, wondering what she was doing or wearing or saying.
Even though they kept a careful distance from each other, he’d noticed a few new things about her. For one, she was extremely cautious. She’d installed extra locks on the door. In a town like Lost Harbor, where some people didn’t even have locks, that was surprising.
When she hopped out of her Saab, she always held her keys so they could serve as a weapon. Who was she defending herself against? Stray porcupines?
He asked Maya about it one night at the city council meeting. The two of them were working on a bond issue to construct separate buildings for the fire and police departments. Right now they were located in the same compound and things could get a little tight.
As they waited to deliver their report to the city council, he leaned over and whispered, “Kate Robinson. My new landlady. Is everything okay with her?”
“What are you talking about?” Maya was in full uniform, with her hair slicked back and pinned tightly to her head. He wouldn’t be surprised if she gave him a ticket for talking.
“She seems a little extra vigilant.”
She folded her lips together, looking thoughtful. “Honestly? I don’t know. But trouble has a way of following Kate around. Always has.”
“But she’s a lawyer.”
“And? She’s still Kate. Also, her family is…” She trailed off, shaking her head. “Will you keep me informed if there’s anything I need to know?”
“As her friend or as the police chief?”