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"Well, if it isn't Eli Donnelley." Sloane smiled at them. "Here for lunch?"
"You know it. This is my buddy, Hunter, and my friend, Holly. We're starving. Right, Hunter?"
The little boy nodded. "Yeah, starving."
"Get anything you want," Eli told him, "plus a dozen cupcakes to take home."
"Really? Wow! Um... what are you gonna have?"
Eli studied the menu above the counter. "Hmm. A chicken sandwich, a side of pasta, and a salad."
"I want the same," Hunter told Sloane. "With a cola. And some French fries."
"Wow, you weren't kidding about being hungry." Eli smiled at him. "What would you like, Wilkes?"
"A BLT and a side of French fries, please." She wasn't hungry, but if she didn't eat something, Eli would get suspicious.
"We'll order the cupcakes before we leave," he told Sloane. "I'll have water with lemon." He glanced over at her. "Holly?"
"Coffee. Two sugars, one milk."
"Great," Sloane said, punching their order in on a screen. "I'll bring everything over when it's ready."
Eli led them over to a large, wheelchair-accessible table. "This should do."
"I can't believe I'm having lunch with you," Hunter told Eli. "This is so cool. My friends are going to freak out."
"Want me to take a picture of you two?" Holly asked.
She was grateful to have something else to focus on instead of what had happened earlier with those guys. This adorable kid and his love of Kingsnakes hockey and Eli were the perfect distraction.
"Yeah!" Hunter pulled an Android phone from his backpack and handed it to her.
Eli leaned over toward the boy and cheesed at the camera. Hunter grinned from ear to ear as Holly snapped a few photos.
"Thanks," Hunter said as she handed him back the phone. "Now I have proof, 'cause I know Jackson will say it never happened."
"Who's Jackson?" Eli asked.
"This guy who lives on my street. He thinks he's such hot sh... er, stuff. We used to play hockey together. But he's turned into an ass...uh, idiot."
Holly bit her lip to keep from laughing at Hunter's attempts not to swear.
"Mind if I asked what happened to you?" Eli leaned back in his chair. "No pressure, though."
"I was in a car accident when I was nine. Two years ago. I was paralyzed from the waist down. It sucks all around, but it really blows 'cause I can't play hockey anymore. That's all I wanted to do. I wanted to be a hockey player. Ilovehockey."
Hunter tried to act brave, but his voice cracked as he looked down at the table.
She and Eli exchanged sympathetic glances before he turned his attention back to the boy.
"What do you mean, you can't play? You can still play, little man. Ever hear of sled hockey?"
Hunter frowned. "Sled hockey? No. What's that?"
"It's awesome, that's what it is." Eli's brown eyes twinkled as he gave Hunter a playful punch on the arm. "You play hockey, but you're on a sled instead of skates. I bet you’d be an awesome sled hockey player.”
“Really?” Hunter blinked. "And kids my age can play?"
