Defending Dani

by Kat Mizera

  Zakk narrowed his gaze on Sergei and then cut over to Dani. He let out a huff and shook his head. “This feels like a set-up,” he muttered.

  “Sergei and I are dating,” Dani said quickly.

  “And I’m the last to know?” Zakk scowled. “I thought we were closer than that, Dani.”

  “We are. But you’re overprotective sometimes and, honestly, I’m not a child. Sergei is your best friend’s brother and I didn’t want everything to go to hell.”

  “I wanted to tell you in person,” Sergei added. “I told Dani I’d call you but it felt too high school-ish, so I thought I’d wait until I could tell you face-to-face.”

  “So you’re in love with my sister?”

  A muscle in Sergei’s jaw twitched as he struggled to come up with a response.

  “We’re not in love, Zakk. We’re dating. It’s barely been a month.” Dani wouldn’t look at him and Sergei felt like a jerk.

  Zakk turned assessing green eyes, exactly like his sister’s, to Sergei. “My sister is your summer hook-up then?”

  “No!” Sergei grunted in frustration.

  “What? No!” Dani spoke at the same time, folding her arms across her chest. “Stop it, Zakk. We don’t know what we’re going to do; we’re just taking it one day at a time. It’s new.”

  “I’m crazy about Dani,” Sergei interjected quietly, though his heart was racing and his stomach was threatening to revolt. “But she’s got big plans that are going to take her far away from Alaska, so we’re not rushing into anything. Down the road, when she’s done the things she wants to do, we’ll reassess.”

  Where the hell had that come from? Jesus, he was losing his mind over this girl and her brother’s unrelenting stare had reduced him to a nervous teenager. What. The. Fuck.

  “I know you’re a grown woman,” Zakk said, looking at Dani. “But you’ll always be my little sister and there will never be any guy, any relationship, any situation where I’m not concerned about your well-being.”

  “And I love you for that, but you have to trust that Sergei and I know what we’re doing. Please don’t embarrass me, Zakk. All of our friends and family are in there probably tripping over themselves to see what’s happening and that’s not fair—no one did that to you when you got your late coach’s widow pregnant before you were even in a relationship.”

  Zakk scowled but grudgingly nodded. “You’re right, and you have my word I won’t embarrass you.” He turned to Sergei. “But I need your word that you’re going to take care of my sister, in whatever way works for the two of you.”

  “Of course.” Sergei held out his hand and Zakk shook it.

  “So, you don’t need my word on anything?” Dani asked dryly, eyeing them. “I mean, I’m in this relationship, not the two of you.”

  Sergei chuckled as he leaned over to kiss her. “Sorry. You have my word I won’t piss your brother off.”

  She smiled but her good mood had been spoiled; she suddenly wanted to just go back to their easy life in Anchorage.

  * * *

  Dani came awake to warm lips nuzzling her neck and Sergei’s erection pressed against her back. She smiled in her sleep, wiggling closer to him and basking in his warmth. To her surprise, he pulled away after lightly squeezing her breast.

  “Rise and shine, birthday girl.”

  She opened one eye. “It’s my birthday and I have to get up at…” She frowned at the clock on the nightstand. “Eight twenty in the morning?”

  “Birthday shenanigans begin now.” He slid off the bed. “Put on workout clothes.”

  “Not only do I have to get up early, I have to work out?” she gave him a dirty look. “You’re not very good at this birthday stuff.”

  He laughed. “Actually, this isn’t my doing—this is Toli and Zakk’s gift.”

  She frowned, but he’d already pulled on shorts and slipped out of the room. She couldn’t imagine what surprise they had for her that included exercise but knowing her brother, it was epic. He’d given her an SUV for her twenty-first birthday and last year had flown her and Sara to a resort in Hawaii for a week. Excitement built up as she brushed her teeth and pulled on bike shorts, a sports bra, and a T-shirt. Zakk had to have something big up his sleeve if he’d enlisted Toli’s help, so she grabbed her purse and hurried downstairs.

  Toli and Tessa were making waffles, Raina, Alex and Niko were eating, and Sergei had just poured a cup of coffee for her. He put a little cream in it and handed it to her, since he knew exactly how she liked it.

  “Happy birthday!” Tessa sang out.

  “Happy birthday!” Toli echoed.

  “Happy birthday, Auntie Dani.” Raina grinned at her with a mouth full of waffle.

  “Haffybirdy,” Alex chortled, waving.

  “Happy birthday, Mommy.” Niko gave her such a sweet smile her eyes grew a little misty.

  “Thank you, everyone,” she replied, walking over to kiss all three of the kids on the tops of their heads.

  “Sit down and eat,” Tessa said with a grin. “They have quite a morning in store for you.”

  “Do I get to know what it is?”

  “Not till we get there.” Sergei gently pushed her into a chair. “It’s your birthday, and one of my gifts to you is to spoil you.”

  She smiled up at him. “Okay. Can I help Niko cut his waffles?”

  “Nope.” Tessa winked at her. “I’ll do it.”

  “Fine.” Dani sat back and sipped her coffee, chuckling as Sergei got a plate of waffles for her and Toli topped off her coffee. “I could get used to this,” she said.

  “Eat up,” Toli encouraged. “We have to get going soon.”

  * * *

  Within twenty minutes they were on their way to whatever the surprise was. Dani knew right away they were headed to the Sidewinders’ arena but she wasn’t sure what that could mean. Even if Zakk had booked ice time for them, she didn’t have equipment or anything, so it had to be something else.

  Toli nodded at Sergei as they parked. “Take her inside. You know where to go.”

  “Yup.” Sergei took Dani by the hand and they went in through the players’ entrance as the security guard waved them by.

  “Happy birthday, Ms. Cloutier.”

  “Thanks, Ralph.” She waved back and followed Sergei. “Sergei, tell me what’s up.”

  “No.” He squeezed her hand. “You’re going to love it, so just go with it.”

  He led her back towards the locker rooms and she frowned. It was eerily quiet, and even though it was summer, she’d expected her brother to be here. She paused in the hallway, looking at Sergei. “I’m not being pranked, am I?”

  He shook his head. “No chance in hell, honey. I’m all about a good prank as long as it isn’t something hurtful, but not on your birthday. Promise.”

  “Okay.” She let him pull her forward and he stopped in front of the team’s locker room.

  “Happy birthday, sweetheart.” He stepped aside and she walked into the room. She’d only taken two steps before she faltered and then stopped completely. Her vision blurred with tears and she couldn’t manage a single word as she stared at the scene before her.

  At least half of the Sidewinders were in the room, standing in front of their usual lockers, even though the team cleaned everything out at the end of every season and they wouldn’t officially come back to work for more than a month. Sara was there, too, also wearing a jersey, using the locker next to Zakk’s.

  Lonnie Finch came out from the back holding a jersey with the back facing out. It had “D. CLOUTIER” printed across the top. “Happy birthday and welcome to the Sidewinders, Dani.” He handed her the jersey. “And to officially welcome you to the team, your brother and Toli asked if they could borrow my arena, my team and my staff.” He made a face, as if annoyed, but she knew better. If he’d been annoyed, this wouldn’t be happening, so she merely waited for him to continue. “Today you’ll play as a Sidewinder in a private charity exhibition game for a group of underprivileged chi
ldren. I’ll need you to sign this one-day contract to play for the team.”

  Dani’s mouth fell open.

  “I already signed mine,” Sara said lightly, grinning at her. “Hurry up so we can play!”

  “I, um, okay.” Dani took the pen someone handed her and blindly signed the contract.

  “It’s time to rock and roll.” Head Coach Brad Barnett came into the room and looked around. “You all look pathetic and tired. Except Dani. Happy birthday, sweetheart—why are you crying? Okay, are we gonna play some hockey or what?”

  Dani still hadn’t moved, except to sign the contract, and was staring at everyone.

  “Since it’s not appropriate for me to wear another team’s jersey,” Sergei came up behind her, “I’m going to coach the second team, and Coach Barnett and I are going to choose teams the old-fashioned way.”

  “I, um, okay.” Dani nodded and looked at Coach Barnett. “I know it might throw things off balance, but I want my brother on my team—we’ve never played a real game together.”

  “Works for me.” He nodded back.

  Dani walked over to her brother and threw her arms around him. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” He hugged her tightly before looking at Toli. “This was actually Toli’s idea—I came up with the charity game part.”

  “Thank you all.” Dani turned to her brother’s friends and teammates, many of whom were her friends, too. “You don’t know how much this means to me.”

  She got a bunch of high fives and hugs while Sergei and Brad flipped a coin to decide who would choose for their team first.

  “Let’s do this!” Brad said with a grin. “I won the toss so I pick first and I take Dani and Zakk.”

  Sergei grinned back. “I’ll take Toli and Vlad.”

  “The Russian connection!” Brad laughed.

  “Hey, don’t start without me!” Eighteen-year-old Anton Petrov came barreling into the room, a huge smile on his face.

  “You’re late, son!” Toli said to him.

  “You left without me!” Anton shot back, sinking onto the nearest bench.

  “I choose Anton,” Brad said, looking right at Toli, who stuck his tongue out at him.

  “Fine,” Sergei interjected. “I take Karl. We’ll leave you the old man.”

  “Hey!” Rob Rousseau, the team’s thirty-nine-year-old back-up goalie gave Sergei a sour look but they both laughed.

  Sergei and Brad made a show of choosing the perfect members for their teams.

  “That’s it, gang,” Brad said, rubbing his hands together. “My team will wear home jerseys and Sergei’s team will wear away jerseys. The away team can head over to the visitors’ locker room and we’ll get ready to rumble. Remember, this is modified rules—no checking, no roughing of any kind, especially you boys that like to goof around.”

  He eyed Toli and Zakk, who raised their eyebrows as if asking, “Who? Us?”

  24

  Coach Barnett split them up on different lines and the excitement building inside of Dani was almost more than she could stand. No, this wasn’t the real thing and it was all for fun and charity, but the Sidewinders were real. They were professional hockey players and for today Dani was one of them. And she was actually playing a real game on the same team as her brother. Brad had them on a line together and she listened intently as he drew up a few plays on a dry-erase board.

  She was excited to be playing with Anton as well. He’d been drafted by the Sidewinders this past summer and would be playing for the Boston College team in the fall, which was also Sergei’s alma mater. Coach Barnett had been Sergei’s coach back then and they all had a special bond. Sergei had gone to college with two other Sidewinders, Dom Gianni and Cody Armstrong, and the friend in college who’d died had been Coach Barnett’s son, Brian, so they were a lot closer than other players and coaches. Even Sergei, who didn’t play for them. Anton was the next generation and they were all so excited that he intended to play here after graduation.

  “Mom and Dad are here,” Zakk whispered as they walked down the hall to the tunnel leading to the ice.

  “They are?” Her eyes widened. “Aw, Zakk, this is amazing. Thank you so much. I love you.” She hugged him again.

  “Love you, too, kiddo.” He gave her a nudge. “You’re the birthday girl, so you lead the team out onto the ice.”

  “Isn’t it always the goalie?” she asked, frowning.

  “Not today.” He winked. “Go on.”

  She skated out onto the ice and was shocked to see a fairly large crowd filling almost all the lower level seats. Her parents were against the glass holding a big sign that said, “Happy Birthday, Danielle!” and next to them were Tiff, the twins and Savannah. On the other side were Tessa, Rachel and a few of the other wives and children. Everyone was waving and cheering, while music blasted through the loud speakers.

  She skated out to warm up, waving to her parents and friends. Glancing over at the other side of the ice where the “visiting” team was warming up, she couldn’t help but smile. Toli and Vlad weren’t really warming up but were standing by the bench talking to Sergei. Anton skated over to them and said something that made them all laugh, before skating back to his side of the ice.

  “Sorry you’re not with your dad,” she called to him.

  He waved her off. “It’ll be more fun to play against him.”

  Sergei watched the game through the eyes of a stranger. Though he was right there, coaching from the bench, laughing and goofing off with his team, his eyes never really left Dani. Not only was she strong and beautiful on the ice, she was in her element. Though she hadn’t played in about a month, she was leaner, stronger, and tougher than she’d been five or six weeks ago. Seeing her skate alongside Zakk was eerie because they played with such a similar style. They were both tall and fast, and when he passed a backhand shot to her that she promptly put in the net over the right shoulder of one of the best goalies in the NHL, Sergei’s heart swelled with pride. Damn, she amazed him every time she was on the ice and for the first time he understood her reality as a female hockey player. She would never have what he had, or what she was experiencing right now. She could play professionally, but the women’s league wasn’t big, wasn’t widespread and no one could afford to live on the salaries they paid.

  It was a serious issue. Making an average of ten grand a year, with all the teams located in the northeast where the cost of living was astronomical, who could afford to play? With a master’s degree under her belt, Dani deserved to make a good living and the Sidewinders were offering her that opportunity after the Olympics. Watching her with her friends and future coworkers, Sergei realized this was exactly where she needed to be. This was her future and it would be good for her. Not only would it pay well, it would keep her around the game she loved so much and close to her brother and friends to boot.

  “She’s amazing, eh?” Toli stood beside him as they watched Dani score yet again.

  “She is.”

  “I can’t wait to see her in the Olympics.”

  Sergei’s chest tightened painfully but he nodded. “She’s going to kick ass.”

  “Do you think she’s happy? With her birthday present?”

  Sergei forced a smile. “She’s ecstatic. Look at her out there. She’s played almost every shift and doesn’t get tired.”

  Toli followed his gaze. “She makes you happy, doesn’t she?”

  “Yeah.” Sergei turned away and tapped Vlad on the shoulder. “Get out there, lazy!”

  Vlad laughed and lumbered to his feet. “Relax, Coach. I’m going.”

  * * *

  The home Sidewinders team beat the visitors 6-4 and Dani was thrilled as she skated off the ice, Zakk’s arm around her shoulder and Sara on her other side; she’d never had so much fun. Even playing against guys who were bigger and faster than she was, she was exhilarated and excited. If the Olympics was half this much fun, it would rock her world. She was so ready for Colorado Springs she could taste it. She ha
dn’t realized how much she’d missed a competitive level of hockey until now.

  “Today rocked,” Sara was saying as she pulled off her jersey.

  “It did.”

  “I think you’re supposed to go to lunch with your parents and Zakk and Tiff. Are you going to invite Sergei?”

  Dani hesitated. She’d been prepared to tell her brother about Sergei, but she hadn’t known her parents would be here and that added a level of complexity to the situation.

  “You don’t want your parents to meet him?” Sara looked puzzled.

  “It’s just… My dad isn’t as overprotective as Zakk, but he’ll be more focused on the future, like wanting to know what Sergei’s intentions are. Zakk mostly understands keeping things casual, but I don’t think my parents will. They’ll think it’s serious.”

  “It’s not?” Sara was frowning at her.

  “It’s complicated,” Dani muttered, tugging on a T-shirt. She desperately needed a shower but she hadn’t brought clean clothes since she hadn’t known about this.

  Dani hurriedly gathered her things and went to find her parents since most of the Sidewinders were signing autographs now. She ran into Sergei in the hallway and instead of the usual warmth at seeing him, all she felt was frustration.

  “You were incredible out there,” he said softly, pulling her against him. “I’m so proud of you, baby. No one watching would ever know you aren’t actually a member of the Sidewinders.”

  She flushed with pride. “Thank you. It felt really good to play at that level.”

  “Zakk and Tiff planned a big family lunch for you guys, so we should get going. I’m sure you want to shower. I’ll drop you off at home and then come back to hang out.”

  “Aren’t you coming to lunch?” she faltered, feeling a little confused and foolish. Why was this suddenly so hard? In Alaska it had been stupidly easy.

  “I wasn’t invited,” he said simply.