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“It’s a lot of work trying to boost my ego all by myself. I haven’t always had that self-belief.”
“But people must have believed in you as a kid. You had to start somewhere with hockey.”
He gripped her waist and pulled her close. “People saw something in me, a talent on the ice. But they weren’t really thinking of me, more of how it would benefit them. How much money they could make.” His mouth twitched. “Why else would someone pick me out of nowhere and tell me I was worth something? Because I wasn’t. At least not up until then. Once I figured out the hockey thing, I realized I had something to contribute. And as long as I have this to offer, then someone will always want me.”
What a dummy. “You have more to offer than hockey, Dex.”
“Tell it to the judge.” He grimaced. “Sorry, just an expression. I don’t really think you have to say that to anyone.”
The quid pro quo hung between them. Deciding it was better not to think of it, she thought back to something else he’d said.
“Why did you think you weren’t worth anything before someone discovered you could play hockey?”
“Because I was just some useless kid in foster care. No one could deal with me. I was like Bandit, snapping at every hand, making enemies before they could kick me, wearing people out. That’s what I do. That’s what I did and Ruby paid the price.”
Ruby? She needed to tread carefully. “How did you wear people out?”
“Mad energy, playing the attention hog, the usual.” He bit his lip, seemed to think a moment before going forward. “Like now. It’s always about me.”
But he was going to say something else. Something about his mother.
“You came to hockey pretty late?”
“Yeah, Clifford Chase—he used to own the Rebels, you met his daughter Isobel tonight—saw me on a rink when I was twelve and put me in touch with a coach, Anton. He let me live with his family for a while but then his wife got cancer and it was too much work to have an extra kid in the house. So I ended up back at the care home, then eventually billeted with another hockey family, the Hughes. That’s when I came into my own.”
There he went again, assuming that he only deserved good treatment because of his talent. She wanted to shake him.
“Wait a second. Hughes. Is that something to do with Kyle Hughes?”
He scowled. “Yep. I lived with his family for a year and let’s just say, Kyle and I did not get along. We came up around the same time, but I was the better player. There’s always been friction.”
“Is that why you guys got into that bar fight?”
“He slashed my wrists on the ice. It should have been an ejection but all he got was a major. By the time the game was over and we were in the Empty Net, it was a powder keg ready to blow. He was a prick to his girlfriend and I used that as an excuse to go nuts on him.”
There was something else. Ashley could sense that wasn’t the whole story.
“What did he say to provoke you?”
He paused before responding. “That I was a charity case and that was why Clifford Chase took pity on me.”
Anger flared. “What an asshole. He’s lucky he only ended up with a broken nose!”
Surprise at her response flashed in his eyes.
“I don’t like bullies,” she said quietly.
“Neither do I. I’m not proud of my reaction. It was immature and now I need to pay the piper.”
“Sounds like you’ve grown up a lot in the last few weeks. The lessons of cat litter and dog poop.”
He chuckled and nuzzled his nose against hers. “I’ve learned so much.”
“What were some of the other foster families like?”
“Mixed. A lot of them are just interested in the monthly check, so they’re letting you run riot. But if you’re too wild they need to rein you in because they don’t want to risk children’s services getting involved.”
“Rein you in how?”
