A Feel For The Ice Ch. 01

She was grinning broadly and had one slender hand on the shoulder of the dark-haired boy. Her hair was dark brown like the boy's, and fell in large curls to her shoulders. From this angle and distance, Hayden couldn't see much beyond her wild hair and smile, but it was enough. He hadn't felt such a strong, immediate reaction to a woman since before he'd met Ellie.

"Z!" someone called out to him and he started at the sound.

Turning, Hayden looked over to see Nathan skating closer. "Aren't you going to warm up?" Nathan asked.

Hayden blinked, coming back to the present. Right, he thought and nodded at his captain. The game. Warm up.

He fought the urge to look up at the woman and two children again and skated away from the boards. Just as he moved away, he heard a shout; "You're the best, Zimmerman!" Glancing back, he saw the same two boys jumping up and down. Avoiding looking at the woman, who was presumably their mother, Hayden moved further away.

This was a game night and she was a complete stranger. Time to focus, Z, he told himself.

***

The game passed by in what felt like no time at all. Anna, Riley, Kevin and Nick were sitting in absolutely amazing seats behind the penalty box on the first level. From there they could see most of the action on the ice and they had a perfect view of the player's bench. By the time the third period rolled around, all four of them were hoarse from screaming and Anna was dreading the effort it would take to get Riley to bed that night.

As the horn sounded to announce the last minute before intermission was over, the players emerged from the tunnels. Five of them from each team, plus the goalies, skated out onto the ice and circled their respective zones. Anna found herself looking for the number 40 and her breath caught when she spotted him slowing near the boards right below them. He was facing away from them and lifted his stick over his head to stretch his upper body.

"Hey, that's Zimmerman!" Riley exclaimed, noticing the player for the first time. He leapt to his feet and screamed at the top of his lungs. "Zimmerman! You rock!"

Even though he probably couldn't hear Riley over the roar of the entire crowd, Zimmerman turned in place and looked up into their section. Anna sank back into her seat, blushing while Riley jumped up and down on the spot. Nick joined in a second later and Zimmerman grinned before moving away.

A minute later, he was at center ice, facing off with an Avalanche player in the beginning of the third period. It was a fast-paced period, each team working hard for the win. The Red Wings were leading by one goal and had been for most of the game. When it came down to the final minute, the Av's pulled their goalie and the players met in frantic scrambling near the Red Wings goal. Carter Osbourne was in top form tonight and Anna found herself gasping out loud several times as the Avalanche forwards peppered the Wings' goalie with shots.

Then the play shifted. Number 15 on the Avalanche fumbled the puck and Derek Hart scooped it out from under him before he could recover. Suddenly the Red Wings were pushing the Avalanche back into the neutral zone and one red jersey broke away from the rest. Anna and the boys were on their feet with the rest of the crowd as Zimmerman accepted the pass from Hart and maneuvered around an opponent. Someone collided with Zimmerman and he stumbled to one side, off-balance. He snapped his wrists, flicking the end of his stick and sending the puck down the ice as he fell. The puck was beyond everyone's reach by then and slid unimpeded into the empty Av's net, sending the crowd inside Joe Louis Arena into a frenzy.

"Ah!" Riley screeched from Anna's side and she felt his arms clamp around her middle a second later. "Did you see that Mom?" he screamed. "Did you see it?"

Laughing, Anna nodded, one hand around her son's shoulders and the other in the air in celebration. Down on the ice, Zimmerman was being pummeled by his teammates as he got to his feet. The grin on his face was noticeable even across the distance and Anna couldn't stop smiling and laughing as he and his line-mates headed towards the team bench.

A minute later it was all over. There was a late scramble by Colorado but Detroit was leading by two goals so it didn't matter. The horn sounded and the crowd cheered outrageously for their team.

A short while later, Anna and the boys rose to follow Kevin as they joined the throng of people climbing the stairs from their section. As they paused near the top row, someone called Kevin's name. He turned and looked over to see a man leaning over the row of seats in front of him.

"Gerry?" Kevin said and laughed. "Hey, man! How are you?"

"I'm great, Kevin and how are you doing?" Gerry replied.

Kevin made his way across the steps to the row Gerry was in and Anna pulled the boys aside, out of everyone else's way while they waited for him. Anna could hear bits of the conversation from where they stood but not enough to know what they were talking about.

"No! You're kidding me!" Kevin exclaimed and laughed. "Holy crap, I am definitely in!" He spun around and met Anna's eye. Waving one hand, he beckoned them closer.

Since the crowd had thinned even more in their section, Anna moved the boys across the aisle and up the steps to Kevin and his friend.

"Anna, this is an old college buddy of mine, Gerry Anderson," Kevin introduced them. "This is my neighbor, Anna and her son, Riley. And this is my youngest, Nick."

"Nice to meet you," Gerry said with a wide grin.

"Gerry just offered to take us to meet some of the players," Kevin announced.

Nick and Riley's mouths dropped open and both of them stared disbelievingly at Kevin. Laughing, Kevin reached out and ruffled their hair.

"No fooling?" Nick breathed.

"No fooling," Gerry answered with absolute seriousness.

Riley and Nick looked at each other before screaming at the top of their lungs. Anna laughed as she moved forward to shush them.

"You need to calm down if you want to meet them," she ordered. "And promise not to hurt them."

Kevin and Gerry laughed while the boys jumped up and down on the spot, unable to contain their giggles of excitement. Gerry and Kevin chatted for a few more minutes before Gerry disappeared at the top of the stairs.

"How can he get us to meet them?" Anna asked as the four of them sat down in the now empty seats of the row they were standing in.

"He works on the staff apparently," Kevin said. "He can take us 'backstage' after the press corps has left."

"Won't the players be gone by then?" Anna asked, assuming none of them would stick around for very long after a game.

"Some might be gone but Gerry says some of them don't leave right away after a game," Kevin replied and grinned. "Especially after a game like that. I bet Zimmerman will be held up for hours with that goal he scored at the end."

Overhearing the adults, Riley piped up and began chattering about the empty net goal Hayden Zimmerman had made. Nick joined in and Anna could only watch with a bemused expression as the two of them jumped up to reenact the whole thing. Gerry reappeared at the end of the row a short while later and Anna and Kevin gathered their hyper sons to follow him.

Down below the main concourse, Gerry led them through a few tunnels and hallways until they emerged in the hall containing entrances to all the locker and equipment rooms. Quite a few people were gathered in spots; family members and staff mostly. Then Riley spotted one of the players and pointed while his mouth opened and closed in excited silence.

"Come on, kids," Gerry said and took them by their hands. "Come meet Nathan Langston."

Anna and Kevin stuck close, grinning and laughing alternately as the boys met the captain of the Red Wings. The players gradually filed out of the locker room, all damp and fresh from showers and most of them were gracious enough to stop by Gerry and the kids. Anna could see how impressed Riley was with everyone and his face was positively glowing. It pleased her to no end to see her son so happy and she was beyond grateful to Kevin for making this entire night happen. She could see Riley's eyes wandering often to the locker room door and she knew he was still waiting for his hero.

"I can't thank you enough, Kevin," Anna said as she watched Riley watching the locker room. "This has been an unbelievable night."

"All I did was take some tickets from a friend," Kevin replied with an easy smile. "And meeting Gerry here was a complete fluke. We haven't spoken in years!"

"That's crazy," Anna said and shook her head. "But I'm so glad this has worked out."

"Me too. Have you ever seen the two of them like this?" He nodded his chin towards their eight-year old sons and grinned.

Anna shook her head again, unable to call any memory to mind where she'd seen her son so ecstatic. Then he took it to another level as his hero at last emerged from the team locker room.

"Zimmerman," Riley breathed and the hockey player paused by Gerry.

"I didn't know you had kids, Gerry," Hayden commented with a smile.

Gerry laughed and shook his head. "Yeah, right. These are friends of mine and they're big fans. Right, guys?"

Both boys bobbed their heads in agreement and gazed up at Hayden Zimmerman with equally awestruck expressions. Hayden leaned close and spoke to them quietly. Anna couldn't hear what he was saying but the boys were both listening with an intensity she didn't know they had. Satisfied that her son's dreams had all just come true, Anna let her gaze wander over the man speaking to him.

He was even more impressive in person. His longish brown hair was swept back from his face and was still damp from his shower. In his plain clothes and without padding or skates, he looked smaller but he was still an imposing figure. Standing close to six feet tall, he was broad through the shoulders and chest and his muscled legs strained the dark jeans he had on. His jacket hung open in the front, revealing a snug maroon sweater underneath that showed just a hint of muscular contour beneath. He had a few day's growth of beard on his face but Anna didn't mind. She was a sucker for a man with facial hair. There was something so innately masculine about it that she couldn't help her physical reaction.

Shifting her stance and clearing her throat, Anna tried to halt the flow of blood and moisture to the middle of her body but it wasn't something she could control. When Hayden lifted his head and his dark eyes met hers, she thought she might be imagining the sexy grin that immediately split his handsome face.

"Is that your mom and dad?" he asked the boys in front of him, nodding his head in Anna and Kevin's direction.

"That's my mom," Riley said.

"And that's my dad," Nick added with a pointed finger.

Hayden nodded, his eyes flicking briefly to Kevin before settling back on Anna. She flushed to the roots of her hair but couldn't look away from him.

"I'm Hayden Zimmerman," he said and stepped close with his hand held out.

"Kevin Granger," Kevin introduced himself and shook his hand. "Very nice to meet you, sir."

Hayden smiled and inclined his head towards him. His eyes went to Anna and he moved his hand to her. "Hi there," he said. His voice was deeper than it sounded on television and she felt herself leaning forward ever so slightly.

"Anna Willis," she said. "You played great tonight." She wanted to smack her head for such a lame comment. 'You played great?' she thought as his warm fingers closed around hers. That's the best I can come up with? Then his fingers tightened around hers and she sucked in a breath at the sensation.

"Mom, have you got a pen?" Riley spoke up from Hayden's side.

Tearing her gaze away from the hockey player before her, she glanced down at her son. "What? A pen?"

"Yeah," Riley said with a nod. "I want Mr. Zimmerman to sign my shirt."

She winced when she heard that; he was wearing a brand new grey T-shirt with the Red Wings logo on the front. Still, she wasn't about to ruin the evening for her son. "Sure," she said and dug around in her purse until she found the black marker she carried.

"Thanks," Hayden murmured and took the marker out of her hand.

The contact of his hand on her skin again was warm and as he crouched down to sign Riley's shirt, she took a very deliberate step back. Glancing up, she saw Kevin giving her a strange look. Then he grinned and winked at her, drawing yet another blush to her cheeks. She looked away, wishing she wasn't so transparent.

"Dad, can he sign mine, too?" Nick asked.

Kevin nodded and Nick excitedly hopped on the spot until Hayden turned to him. When he was done, Hayden straightened and held the marker out towards Anna, that playful grin on his face again. At the last second, he pulled his hand holding the marker back. "Don't you have anything you want me to sign?" he asked and glanced at Kevin. "What about you?"

"I'm not into clothing signatures, thanks," Kevin replied with a laugh. "And I've got nothing else."

"Me either," Anna said, unconsciously pulling the ends of her open jacket together even though the thought of Hayden's hand sliding over her body as he signed her shirt was more than appealing.

"What about your ticket, Mom?" Riley piped up.

Blinking, Anna's hand went to the back pocket of her jeans where she'd stuffed the strip of paper after arriving at the arena. "Uh, sure," she said and drew it out. "I guess you could sign this."

Hayden took it from her and turned to the wall to write on the ticket. Anna flushed when Kevin winked at her again and she narrowed her eyes at him in warning. She knew without asking that he was going to tease her relentlessly for this, possibly for weeks. Hayden finished a few seconds later and handed the marker and ticket back to Anna.

"It was very nice to meet you all," he said and crouched down in front of the boys again. "You two behave yourselves, all right?"

Riley and Nick nodded, matching expressions of adoration in their eyes.

"Be on time for school and always try your best at hockey, all right?" he added and pointed to each of them in turn, ensuring they were listening to him.

Again, the boys nodded, still in awe over meeting their idol. Hayden rose and shook hands with them all again, adding a clap on the shoulder for Gerry before heading away down the hall.

"Well!" Kevin exclaimed a moment later, startling all of them. "I can't thank you enough, Gerry. This was amazing."

"Anytime, man," Gerry replied as they shook hands. "Here's my card. Give me a call. We should meet up for lunch. You can meet my wife."

"Sounds great," Kevin agreed as he accepted the business card from his friend.

"To get out to the main parking lot, you just head up those stairs," Gerry said and pointed the way before leaving them as well.

Anna and Kevin herded the star-struck eight-year olds up the stairs and outside. As soon as the boys were put in their sleeping bags on Riley's bedroom floor, Kevin sat down at Anna's kitchen table with an expectant expression on his handsome face.

"What?" Anna demanded as she put water on to boil.

"You know what," Kevin replied in a playful tone. "There were some serious sparks bouncing around back there."

Anna fixed him with what she hoped was a serious look but she couldn't be sure because Kevin chuckled.

"Nothing happened," Anna muttered and turned away, unsure why she was even defending herself. Nothing had happened apart from being introduced to her and Riley's favorite player.

"I didn't say anything did," Kevin replied mildly and Anna glanced over to see him casually leaning back in her kitchen chair. "But there was certainly the desire for something."

Anna's face flamed and she pulled open the refrigerator door to both hide herself, and cool her steaming head. Kevin laughed and she could have died of embarrassment. Thankfully, he didn't say another word about it all night. They chatted for almost an hour while sipping their tea and Kevin went home shortly after midnight.

Anna dragged her tired ass upstairs and checked on the boys before heading to her own room for the night. She yawned as she pulled her shirt off. Her hands mindlessly searched the pockets of her jeans a minute later before she pulled them off and for a second, she wasn't sure what she'd tucked in her back pocket. Then it all came back in a rush and she pulled the signed ticket out with a grin on her face.

Instead of finding just his signature, she was greeted by the sight of a short little note. Her blush returned full force as she read it and she clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her giddy laughter.

"'Boyfriend? Or husband?'" she read aloud in a whisper. "'Call me and let me know my odds. Hayden Zimmerman.'" The signature was completed with a telephone number.

Staring in wonder at the ticket in her hands, Anna couldn't believe her eyes. She read it repeatedly, running the pads of her thumbs across his signature so many times she was surprised it didn't rub right off. With a sigh, Anna placed the ticket on her dresser and walked to her bed. She buried herself beneath her cool sheets, still half-dressed. Her mind was gone though; unable to perform even the most basic duties.

***

As the landscape of Phoenix rolled by beyond the bus, Hayden stared blankly out his window. He was thinking about her again, for probably the thousandth time in two weeks. When he'd walked out of the locker room after the Avalanche game at home, he hadn't noticed her at first. He'd seen Gerry with a couple of starry-eyed kids and gone over to talk to them. It was later when he'd asked who they belonged to, that he'd noticed the brunette standing nearby.

Even then, he hadn't recognized her from the crowd. She'd blushed under his gaze and he'd been completely smitten. His teammates had accused him in the past of always liking the models, the tight bodies and the carefully made-up faces. Sure, he found those types of women attractive but he'd be lying if he said no one else turned his crank. One look at Riley's mom, Anna, and he'd wanted to get to know her better.

She was short, probably five-two, maybe five-three and her hair was as unruly as he remembered seeing when she'd been sitting in the stands. Her smile was lopsided and the tiny glimpse of her teeth that he'd seen when she'd smiled had revealed uneven teeth along the bottom. Her face bore a few recognizable scars, probably from teenage acne, and she was wider around the middle and in her arms than Ellie had been. Not surprising, considering the fact that she was a mom. All together though, Hayden found her incredibly attractive. Throw in those sparkling hazel-grey eyes and he was sold.

But she hadn't called him.

In two weeks, she hadn't once even tried. He kept track of all his phone calls. The only calls he'd had since that night that he didn't recognize were from a pay phone when Derek had called for a ride one evening, and another from someone trying to reach 'Jimbo.' He was beginning to think she might never call.

God, what was I thinking? he wondered, scowling at his reflection in the window. She must think I'm crazy for giving my number to a strange woman.

Either that or she thought he did it all the time. Maybe she just hadn't been attracted to him.

Maybe I imagined the entire thing, he thought, and cast his mind back to that evening. He remembered the pink glow in her face when he'd approached and he'd more than felt the weight of her gaze as he spoke with her son. His mind conjured up the image of the man who'd stood beside her and he frowned again. Maybe she's married to that guy and thinks I'm a jerk for hitting on her in front of him.

"What's up, Z?" Carter asked as he plunked himself down in the seat beside Hayden.