Page 44 of Home of the Brave

I’d only made it a few blocks when a large group stepped out of a store in front of me. I moved toward the street to stay out of their way, but someone called my name and I faltered.

“I thought that was you.”

It took me a split second before I recognized Derek Aston. “Wow, it’s been a minute.”

He came over and gave me a side hug, pulling me toward the group. I didn't have to look to know who was joining.

“This is Amelia, my wife.”

I smiled at the brunette and shook her outstretched hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too. I’ve heard good things about you.”

My eyes flicked to the other men, catching on Henson before returning to hers.

“She wrote a really nice piece about me and Olli, and the accident.” Derek squeezed my shoulders before stepping away. “Her words really helped me accept my new role.”

“Aw, I didn’t know that,” Amelia’s smile grew wider. “That was nice of you.”

I could feel everyone’s eyes on me. “He was a great goaltender, Olli too. I was always a big fan of them both, and couldn’t imagine what it was like to have to step into your mentor's shoes so unexpectedly.”

“So you can write nice things?” Erik Schultz teased. Luckily, he was grinning, and Josh immediately elbowed him. “Sorry. I had to get one last jab in.”

“No, you really didn’t.” Josh shook his head. “It’s all in the past.”

Amelia looked between him and me. “Oh, you’re that reporter.”

I cringed, and Hartman took over. “It was a mistake and miscommunication. We’re all moving on.”

Erik crossed his arms and winked when I glanced over. “He’s right, but you could throw up a few flattering posts of us to make it up to Josh.”

I cracked a smile. “Already done.”

“Perfect,” he beamed.

“Where were you headed?” Amelia asked.

“Nowhere in particular. I just wanted to get out of the hotel and figured I’d stumble into something for dinner on my way to see some of the monuments.”

“We’re heading to get dinner now, if you’d like to join us,” Hartman offered.

I couldn't help it. I glanced at Josh, who offered a small smile. I wanted him to say something, like yeah, please come or no, stay away, you awful woman.

But he was leaving it up to me.

“Are you sure I won’t mess up your reservation?”

“Not at all. We invited Coach Abrams, but he had meetings, so there’s an extra seat,” she explained.

With no other excuse, I agreed. I was hoping an idea for dinner would appear to me, and it did. Just not how I expected.

“Okay, thanks.”

“And everything’s off the record,” Derek pointed at me. “No insider intel.”

“Oh, stop!” Amelia swatted at him. “As if any of you have anything juicy to tell.”

“We’re all old and boring,” Erik agreed. “We can tell you about our wives and kids.”