by Lynn Rush
Fans gasped. My teammates gasped.
But no one was as shocked as I was.
Did I just land a double salchow?
CHAPTER
TWENTY-EIGHT
Brodie
“Killer team this year, Wind.” Coach Noah stood behind his desk and handed me the roster over the top of it.
Willow’s name stood out as if it’d been printed in red. Willow Covington, starting goalie.
She’d done it. I wasn’t surprised, though—she’d worked really hard. The strength and determination that radiated from her was inspiring. I couldn’t help but be a little sad, though, that we were still teammates, which meant we couldn’t date.
But one really great thing about her being on the team was that we had a real chance to have a stellar season. Josiah could continue to get stronger, so if Willow got called up to an Olympic training team and had to leave, he could step right in.
If she gets on a skating team? I was living in denial, wasn’t I? Of course she would.
“She earned the spot.” Coach came around the side of his desk.
He was a stocky six-foot-six guy with straight brown hair and a crooked nose he’d earned during his five seasons playing pro hockey.
“I know she did.” I checked out the rest of the names, and it was everything I’d expected. She’d beaten Josiah out, fair and square.
“Having a girl on the team changes things, like it did for your Fall League, but you all did well with it, with a couple notable exceptions.”
Pax and Eric.
“You’re captain, Wind.” He clapped his hand on my shoulder. “You’re a senior. The team looks up to you, so how you handle things with Willow means something. They’ll follow your lead.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I know Coach Kurt instituted a no fraternizing rule for the team over Fall League.” He gave my shoulder a squeeze. “Make sure everyone knows that the rule still applies. Can’t have anything come between you all. We have a tough schedule, and if your team wants to make it to State, you all have to be at the top of your games. No drama.”
I nodded, my stomach sinking.
“Why don’t you go hang that up outside my door for me? I have a couple calls to return.” He winked at me. “One of which is to Coach Raymond from BC.”
“Really?” The name of Boston’s hockey coach caught my attention.
Coach Noah sat behind his desk again and grinned. “I’ll let you know how it goes.”
The paper in my hand started vibrating. Coach Raymond… Wow.
I hustled out of the small office and pulled the door shut behind me. If only I could have stayed in there to hear.
“What’s the verdict?” Pax came up behind me and sucker punched my stomach.
I stepped to the side and snagged a tack from the bulletin board beside Coach’s office door and pinned the roster to the corkboard. “See for yourself.”
“What. The. Hell,” Pax yelled, and several expletives followed that nearly made my ears bleed.
“What’s up?” Eric came up behind Pax and checked out the roster. “Shit.”
“Guys. Chill.” I elbowed him as I scanned the roster again:
Center: Nathaniel Baker and Jordan Wilson.
Right Wing: Ryan “Preach” Armstrong and Landen Jones.
Left Wing: Brodie “Wind” Windom and Jason Lopez.
Right Defense: Teddy Cook and Trevor Lee.
Left Defense: Pax Hunt and Eric Vang.
Goalie: Willow Covington and Josiah Brown.
Pax punched me in the arm. “This is bullshit, man. She is not better than Josiah.”
“Are you guys saying Coach is wrong?” I faced off with him and Eric. “That he can’t judge talent?”
“She’s a girl!” Eric said.
“She made it, didn’t she?” Nathaniel asked as he strolled toward us. Teddy and Preach were close behind him.
Preach hurried around Nathaniel and scanned the roster. “Yes! This team is going to rock it.”
Nathaniel looked over Teddy’s shoulder at the team line up while Preach came up beside me.
Pax jammed his forefinger on the roster. “This is bullshit.”
I shoved him a couple of feet from the board toward the locker rooms. A few people peeked through the doorway that led to the actual lockers and showers, but I nodded them off.
“Look, man. You’ve got to knock this shit off.”
“What’s your deal? You getting in that little sequined skirt or what?” He shoved me, then charged out of the locker rooms into the hallway.
Streams of students were charging toward the doors since classes were over, but I caught up to him near the water fountains beside the locker room entrance.
“She helped us nail a perfect season in Fall League, man. What’s your deal?”
“Josiah deserves that spot!” Eric said, coming up beside Pax. “She’s dividing us, man. Our hockey family. She’s—”
“Helping us win,” Preach said as he strode up, Nathaniel and Teddy close behind him. “You want State or not?”
My chest cramped at the mention of State. She’d probably be off training with a new figure skating team by then, but I didn’t say anything. We had her now, and that was what mattered.
“Win State? We’re not even going to be able to beat Twin River with her on the team.”
“Screw you, dude. We already beat them with her in the goal!” Nathaniel said.
“That was a fluke,” Pax argued.
“Hey, guys.” Willow skidded to a stop when we all looked at her. “Um…everything okay?”
Pax stepped toward her, and I tensed, preparing to push him away if he got too close. “You only got the starting spot because Josiah was injured.”
“You know what, Pax?” Willow stood tall, pulling her shoulders back and glared at Pax, then Eric. “You and Eric can both take a flying fuck off a cliff.”
Nathaniel gasped and pointed at Willow. “Oh shit! Get it, Willow!”
“Grow up.” She strode by him, knocking his shoulder, then shoved Eric by palming his shoulder, and tore down the hallway.
And I knew exactly where she was headed.
…
Gliding across the ice, Willow arched her back and her arms flowed smoothly through the air to an unheard beat. She wore Air Pods, so I assumed she had her music going, but I didn’t even need to hear it.
She looked amazing out there. By the time I’d left the school and gotten to the rink, she’d already changed into her figure skating outfit.
The tight leggings hugged her body, the muscles rippling beneath the fabric. She flipped around, skating backward, her arms out. With the ease of someone who’d spent a lifetime on the ice, she jumped, flying through the air and spun. Landing on one skate, she kicked her leg out and brought her arms around, jumping into a spin.
She moved so fast, she was practically a blur. Round and round, until she raised her arms above her, stuck her foot out, and planted it into the ice. She came to a stop, arms out, back arched, then held the pose, her chest heaving.
I clapped, and she jerked straight. The open ice time had just begun, and only one or two people milled around the bleachers, getting their gear on to skate, but they’d stopped when Willow had landed her jump.
Captivated, like I was.
She pushed off, making her way to me, and I leaned on top of the short wall, watching her. Her cheeks were flushed, and my chest ached. She was so strong and graceful on the ice, it kicked me in the stomach that just as she’d made the high school hockey team, she’d be leaving us soon to go back to her figure skating world.
I glanced down at the ice as I clasped my hands together in front of me so they hung over the wall. The cool air curled around me, and I drew in a deep breath. Even though I wasn’t on the ice, the smell and t
he chill were enough to calm and center me.
“Hey,” she said, breathing heavy.
“That was incredible.”
“Thanks.” She smiled and gave me a nod. “What are you doing here?”
“I knew this is where you’d come after Pax and Eric were such assholes to you.”
She huffed, and her jaw clenched. “They really are asshats. Don’t they want a winning team? I just don’t get it, Brodie. It’s bullshit.”
“And you shouldn’t have to put up with it.” I stood straight and ran my fingers through my hair. “I’ve talked to both of them a couple of times. Preach has, too. But maybe we should bring it up with Coach?”
“No. I’ll show them I was the best choice. I can take their shit.”
“As long as you have your figure skating to help calm you down…” I waited a beat for the sadness to fade from my voice before asking, “Was that one of your old routines?”
She nodded. “I won the Junior World Championships with it. Of course I didn’t do all the jumps, but the ones I did felt pretty good.” A smile curved her full, pink lips.
Her eyes lit up with a passion I recognized, deep in my core. Because I felt that way about hockey.
That was when it hit me like a slap shot to the gut. Figure skating was her true first love, and she’d always pick it first. Eventually, maybe even sooner rather than later, she would leave the team.
She’d leave me.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-NINE
Willow
“Oh look, if it isn’t Mr. Asshat,” I yelled at Matthew Halliday as he stormed the goal.
The puck had gone behind the net, and he charged it, fire in his eyes. He darted around, moving the puck out of Pax’s reach.
Oh shit. He flicked it my way, but I batted it down. The elusive black rubber disc shot to the side, and one of his guys passed it back a few feet. Matthew was there.
Damn, that guy was hard to keep track of.
He drew his stick back and slapped the puck. It shot at me like a bullet. I threw up my hand and kicked out my foot.
The slap of the puck hitting my leather sent a sting through my digits. I landed in the splits and bounced off the ice.
The crowd behind the goal gasped, and I heard a few moans. The guys on the team always did that, too, when I fell into the splits.
What was the big deal?
“I’ve got my stamps ready to send you this stat sheet, Matthew,” I said as I hopped to my skates.
I tossed the puck he’d just attempted to shoot past me onto the ice. The Twin River Fighting Pike captain huffed and skated away. I’d stopped every one of his shots tonight so far.
Served him right, too. It’d been nearly two months since I’d seen him at Homecoming, so it felt good to shut him down.
Nathaniel passed the puck to Brodie, and our captain worked his magic.
Moving the puck back and forth, so confident and sure, lit a spark of hope we might win this game.
Talk about a great start to the season. It’d been nothing but hard practices and scrimmages since I’d made the high school boys hockey team six weeks ago.
Brodie spun, keeping the puck close, then blasted into a sprint.
“Yes!” A breakaway. Brodie’s specialty. “Come on, Brodie!”
Thwack. His slap shot flew by the goalie, and the crowd roared to their feet, shouting, stomping, and whistling. The noise was so loud I couldn’t hear much else, but that didn’t matter. All I had to do was keep an eye on the puck.
Nothing would get by me.
Absolutely nothing.
Matthew shouted something to his goalie. I couldn’t make it out, but the tone in his voice was condescending and harsh.
He was the exact opposite of a team player. I couldn’t believe I’d fallen for his crap.
With the loud smack of Matthew’s stick hitting the puck, the game was back on, and his team advanced. My heart leaped to my throat. Adrenaline electrified the blood in my veins.
I was ready for this.
I’d show this team what I was made of.
Passing it to his left winger, Matthew charged forward.
Pax attacked. Matthew rammed his elbow into him, throwing him into the boards.
I shouldn’t have smiled at my teammate getting hammered, but it was Pax…so I didn’t feel quite so bad.
My shoulder still ached from when Pax brutally slammed me into the boards at practice the other day. It was nice to see him get some.
Instead of popping back up on his skates, Pax laid on the ice, causing the ref to blow her whistle and skate over to him. Teddy got there before her and helped him to his feet.
Coach shouted out onto the ice and then asked the ref for a time out.
I left the net, meeting up with everyone else near the player’s box.
“You okay?” I smirked at Pax.
“What did you just say to me?”
“Dude, you hit me ten times harder at practice. I was just giving you a hard time.”
Pax glowered at me.
Shaking my head, I turned my attention back to Coach Noah.
A few seconds later, the ref blew her whistle.
“On three, Falcons,” Coach said.
We all put our sticks in and began counting, “One, two, th—”
Something slammed into the back of my calf and sent me flying forward. I bumped into Teddy, who barely budged, but that didn’t stop me from hitting the ice, hard.
“Pax! What the hell is wrong with you?” Brodie shouted.
“Willow, are you all right?” Teddy asked, pulling me to my feet.
“Pax is done.” Brodie pointed to the bench. “He just took Willow down.”
“No way! I’ve already stopped twelve goal attempts! I’m the reason we’re winning,” Pax spat.
Coach pointed to the bench, his eyes narrowing in on Pax like a guard dog about to attack. “You’re done! Eric, take his place and stay on Halliday.”
The ref blew her whistle a second time. “Let’s go!”
At the drop of the puck, Twin River took control and advanced on me.
Teddy charged Matthew, but the Fighting Pike defenseman was too fast. He whipped his stick back and hit the puck with so much force, I half expected flames to shoot out the end.
The puck slapped into my mitt, stinging my palm. Flipping my mask up, I glared at Matthew and gave him a wry grin. “Nice try, loser.”
“What did you just say to me?” Matthew whipped off his mask and closed the space between us.
With the puck still in hand, I squared my shoulders. “I said, ‘Nice try, loo-ser.’” I made sure to enunciate the last syllable. The buzzer went off, indicating we’d won the game.
Dropping his stick, Matthew shoved me with both hands. Completely surprised by the attack, I stumbled over my own skates and landed on my butt beside my goal.
Ugh, these pads. They still tripped me up. Heat steamed up my neck and pooled at my cheeks as I scrambled to my feet.
I spun around to face-off with Matthew, tossing my mask to the ice.
The ref blew her whistle and shouted, “Break it up!”
Brodie’s gloved hand rammed into his chest, pushing the jerk-wad away from me. “I guess you didn’t get enough last time.”
Matthew’s face turned bright red. “Get your hands off me.”
No way. Brodie does not get to handle my fights.
Pushing Brodie out of the way, I dropped my gloves, planted my skates, and shoved Matthew with all my might.
“Bitch,” he screamed as he fell back.
As his skates flew into the air, Brodie spun around, and his elbow rammed my shoulder.
Falling for the second time in minutes, I put my hands out to brace myself, but the flash of the overhead lights reflecting off Matthew’
s blades seared my eyes.
And then the cool, razor sharp metal slid along my steaming-hot cheek. I landed on my shoulder with a thud, thankfully keeping my head from smacking against the ice.
As I turned over, red splattered along the smooth ice. Gasps ignited around me.
“What?” I asked, my voice sounding small. Distant.
The ref pulled Matthew back and motioned for his coach to come get him.
My face throbbed. I eased my helmet up, and more blood splashed on the ice beneath me.
Wait a second, that was coming from me.
CHAPTER
THIRTY
Brodie
Pushing up with one hand, Willow cupped her other one to her cheek as she made her way to her feet. The crowd gasped as red streamed down the front of her jersey.
My legs nearly gave out at the sight.
“Are you okay?” I reached for her cheek. She batted my hand away, giving Matthew one last glare. The color drained from his face as he stared at us.
Served him right, that son of a bitch! His ass better get suspended from some games for this shit.
“Willow—”
“I’m fine. Get out of my way.” On wobbly skates, Willow pushed off toward our team’s bench.
Coach met her on the ice with a towel. “I see stitches in your future.”
I guided her to the bench and set her down carefully. “Where’s your bag?”
She grunted and pointed to the side and behind her.
“You’re a badass, Ice Capades,” Nathaniel yelled from the ice.
I made quick work at getting her skates off and into her bag, but after digging for a few seconds, I couldn’t find her shoes. “Where are your shoes?”
“The ambulance is stationed out back.” Coach handed her another towel, but this one was wrapped around ice.
“It’s just a little cut. I don’t need an ambulance.”
“One’s always here for tournament insurance reasons. They’ll decide if you need transport. Are your parents here?”
“Yo, Wind,” Preach said over the wall.
I bolted to him. “Can you take care of Caleb? I need to stay with Willow.”