Cole POV
I let myself in through the side door with the spare key Coach never bothered taking back, skates already laced before I crossed the lobby. Eleven was the only hour Crestline belonged to nobody — not my father, not the team, not the cameras waiting outside every other ice surface in this city. I needed that more than I needed sleep most nights.
The ice was empty except for me, which was exactly how I liked it at eleven at night. No whistle, no drills, no one grading every stride. I heard the door at the far end of Crestline open and close. I didn't have to look to know who it was.
She didn't call out. She found the third row of empty stands, sat down without announcing herself, and let me keep skating. She seemed to understand that stopping wasn't an option yet.
I ran the sam
