The New Beginnings (Books #1-3)

by Michelle MacQueen

  There were so many things he gave up to get to where he was. All he ever did was work to improve his game. But it was okay because it was all paying off.

  “What’d coach want?” Mack asked as they pushed through the glass doors into the sun.

  “Someone’s getting a new winger.” Josh threw an arm over Mack’s shoulders and punched him in the stomach.

  “Finally,” Mack said, ducking out of Josh’s grasp and shoving him. “Someone that will make me look good.”

  “Yeah, you need all the help you can get.” They were both laughing.

  “This calls for a drink!” Mack clapped him on the back.

  “If by ‘drink’ you mean delicious protein shake before a long nap so I can return here later to meet the new kid.”

  “All work and no play-"

  “Don’t finish that,” Josh cut him off.

  “Means you need to get laid.”

  Josh snorted. “Haven’t heard that variation.”

  “I wrote it just for you.” Mack held his hand over his heart before punching Josh in the shoulder.

  “At least you’re good at something.” Josh laughed before ducking away from a second punch.

  “Fine.” Mack sighed mockingly. “I’ll just have to enjoy tonight’s shenanigans and the puck bunnies I had lined up all by myself.” He shook his head dramatically. “The things I do for you.”

  “I’m going to try to forget you just said ‘puck bunny.’”

  “What?” Mack feigned insult. “I’m not going to pretend they’re only into me for my devilishly handsome looks.” He shrugged. “Doesn’t bother me. You should meet some of these girls.”

  “I don’t want a relationship to distract me from anything right now.”

  “Who said anything about relationships?” Mack winked.

  Josh chuckled beside him. Mack had been this way for the entire two years Josh lived with him. Some things never changed. Meaningless nights held no appeal for Josh, and anything more would just have to wait. He was a hundred percent committed to becoming more than a third line spare part to this team. Especially now that he was getting his chance. Nothing else mattered.

  Josh felt good as he laced up his skates. First line. He knew he’d never get that chance if it wasn’t for his closeness with Mack. An experiment. That’s all it was.

  Mack had an intensely creative mind when it came to hockey plays. The problem was, his wingers weren’t mind-readers, so his out-of-the-box plays fell flat. They wanted to see if their star center-man’s best friend could read his mind.

  Josh shrugged. He’d learned to take opportunities any way they came.

  He expected to run into the kid in the locker room and was surprised when he stepped out onto the practice rink to find him already there. Josh stood still for a moment, watching him run drills by himself. He was fast, that was obvious.

  Looking up into the stands, Josh realized he wasn’t the only one watching. Coach Scott sat there with the general manager.

  The kid on the ice was a highly touted prospect, Josh understood that. He was only eighteen, a very recent draft pick, and he looked every bit his age. His tall frame had yet to fill out, leaving him lanky and a little awkward-looking. But he didn’t skate awkwardly. He had a surprising mixture of grace and power.

  Josh moved forward and the kid finally noticed him and stopped skating.

  “You’re fast,” Josh said.

  “And you’re Josh Walker,” he responded, a tight smile twitching on his lips.

  “I am.”

  The kid skated over to the wall to take a long drink from his water bottle. “Carter Neil,” he finally said.

  “Coach send you out here?” Carter lifted his chin in Coach Scott’s direction.

  “He did, but I usually come back a few hours after practice for a workout anyways.”

  “Me too.” Carter took another drink before setting the bottle down. “What do you say?” He nodded toward the cones on the ice.

  “Let’s do it.”

  Carter explained the drill he was doing. Josh recognized it and they set off, each trying to best the other.

  Josh’s skating was a source of pride for him. The one part of his game he knew was better than most. Carter matched him stride for stride.

  They went through a few different drills and before long, they were soaked in sweat and breathing heavily. Josh loved that feeling: when his chest tightened and strained, when his legs ached. It told him he was working hard, getting better.

  They both stopped for water. “It’s a bit overwhelming, isn’t it?” Josh asked after a while. “Your first NHL camp.”

  Carter studied him for a moment. “I’ve been freaking out a bit,” he admitted sheepishly. “That’s why I had to be on the ice tonight. When I’m skating, it’s the only time I don’t feel like I’m going to puke.”

  Josh laughed. “We’ve all been there.”

  “But you did it. You made the team out of your first camp and never got sent down.”

  Josh quirked an eyebrow, and Carter shrugged. “I may have read up on the team a lot after I was drafted. I want this so bad. Ever since the Jackets called my name, I’ve told myself that this is the year. I’m ready.”

  “You’re not the only one who thinks so.” Josh gestured to where Coach Scott was still watching them, alone now.

  “But how do you do it? There are so many guys trying to make the team right now.”

  Josh smiled, flashing back to his very first camp. He’d had a similar conversation with Olle, who was now the captain. He gave him the best advice he’d ever gotten.

  “This is what was told to me at my first camp and they’re words to live by.” Josh paused, trying to recall the exact words. “Be the hardest worker out there. The most willing to drop down to block a shot. The first to jump into the fight. Keep your feet moving and your head up. Don't take stupid penalties. Don’t worry too much about scoring. The chances will find you if the rest of your game is solid.”

  “Okay.” Carter breathed out slowly, looking more freaked than before.

  Josh put a heavy hand on his shoulder. “You’ll do fine, kid. You know how to play this game. You’ve been doing it your whole life. Just play your game. Now let’s see what you can do with a puck on your stick.”

  He skated away to grab their sticks and a bag of pucks.

  Carter was an adequate puck handler, but he’d get better. Josh watched patiently and gave him a few adjustments. They spent the better part of an hour on the ice before hitting the showers and going to grab a bite to eat.

  Josh genuinely liked the kid and wanted to see him in the locker room come opening night. All he could do was work with him and hope for the best.

  Chapter Four

  Classes started for Taylor without much fanfare. It was a massive school, meaning she could disappear in a lecture hall full of students. It suited her just fine.

  She was getting along with her roommate, who stopped nagging her to go to parties after she refused for the hundredth time. They didn’t talk much. Abigail seemed to get that Taylor needed her space. She was sweet, but also loud and a little wild.

  In college, people liked to congregate. It was the thing to do. They find a suite on their floor and never seem to leave, and Taylor had the immense pleasure of living in that popular suite. Her suite-mates seemed to revel in it. They were making new friends by the boatload. Taylor knew no one ever makes as many friends as quickly as they do during their freshman year of college, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t interested.

  Most of the people around her were a year younger because of her year off, but it seemed to her there was so much more separating them.

  Taylor rolled her eyes as she walked past the group of people surrounding Abigail in their common room and slid into her room, shutting the door behind her. The noise was immediately quieted. She breathed a sigh of relief and set her bag on her desk.

  Grabbing the sweatshirt off the back of a chair, Taylor pulled it on and ki
cked off her shoes. Her phone rang, and she reached into her bag to pull it out.

  “Hi, Mom,” she said.

  “Hey, honey, tell me all about your first week!”

  Taylor knew her mom wanted nothing more than for her to be excited about it. College was something she’d been looking forward to for years. Every high schooler dreams of the day they get to leave lockers and homerooms behind for something better.

  “It was good.” Taylor tried to infuse some kind of emotion into those words. For her mom, she decided it was time to start acting like she was happy. Then the questions and looks would stop. Then her mom wouldn’t be so worried all the time.

  “I need more than that,” her mom huffed. “Tell me about your classes. Have you made tons of new friends?”

  “School is fine. Stupid, boring freshman classes,” Taylor replied.

  “And?”

  “And I’m working on the friend thing.” It was a lie, but a lie with good intentions.

  It seemed to appease her mom, and they talked for a few more minutes.

  “I forgot to tell you,” her mom said suddenly. “Your dad is out of town for a preseason game, but his opening night is next week and I know it’d mean a lot to him if you were there.”

  “No.”

  “But, honey, it’s his first game here in Columbus.”

  “I said no.” She flopped back on her bed. “I gotta go.” She hung up without a goodbye as her breath caught in her throat. She pushed it out and then lay there with her chest rising and falling rapidly until the door opened.

  Abigail came in, laughing and talking to two boys who were right on her heels.

  “Tay!” she squealed as if they were long-lost friends finally reuniting. “This is Colin and Anthony. Anthony really wanted to meet you.” She tried to wink, but it caused half her face to scrunch up awkwardly.

  “Hi, Taylor.” Anthony shuffled his feet nervously.

  “They’re sophomores,” Abigail said, as if that was a huge selling point.

  Colin sat on Abigail’s bed and pulled her into his lap as Anthony continued to stare at the ground. The color rose in his cheeks when she finally looked up.

  Taylor removed her glasses, cleaning them on her shirt before replacing them. Abigail’s giggling pierced the silence, and Taylor couldn’t take it anymore: the sound of Abigail’s southern voice, the expectation in Anthony’s eyes, the noise coming from the common room.

  Suddenly, the room felt suffocating and the massive school seemed way too small. Taylor grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. Anthony watched her as she left. He was probably the only one of the three that noticed.

  Not for the first time, Taylor was grateful that her parents let her have her car on campus. It was an easy getaway. She threw her bag in the passenger seat of her old, boxy, eyesore and pulled out of the parking lot at the base of the tower.

  Taylor hadn’t done much exploring of her new city. She knew of very few places she could go, especially since she wanted to get off campus. There were only two routes she knew by heart: the way home to her parents and the way to the diner she met her dad at. That was as good a place as any.

  High Street took her from campus straight into the arena district. Taylor didn’t look up at the arena as she turned the corner. Luckily, it couldn’t be seen from the diner. That was probably why her dad chose it the first time.

  Cutting the engine, she got out and went inside, finding a booth in the back. She didn’t know why she came. These sudden urges to be alone weren’t anything new, but she wished she could understand them. She wished she could move past them.

  Pulling out her Kindle, she touched the screen where it showed an icon for the first book in the Outlander series, wanting to disappear into the eighteenth century Scottish Highlands for a while.

  “You’re doing well, kid,” Olle said, placing a hand on Josh’s shoulder as Josh bent over with his hands on his knees.

  They were finishing up some skating drills before calling it quits for the day.

  “Thanks,” Josh wheezed.

  “I mean it.” His Swedish accent had lessened a bit over his years in North America, but it still colored his words. “This could be your year to show them you’re more than they say you are.”

  Josh straightened up and grinned. “With that kind of pep talk, maybe you should be captain or something. Oh, wait…”

  Olle knocked him upside the helmet. Josh reached up to straighten it as he followed his captain off the ice. Most of the team was away at the final preseason game, but Coach decided a few of them deserved a rest before regular season started. Josh had argued that he wanted to play, but Coach wouldn’t hear of it. He said it was a reward for an excellent preseason.

  A couple of nights off. That’s what coach ordered. Josh didn’t know what to do with free time. Mack was off with the rest of the guys. So was Carter. It was only him, Olle, and a couple other veterans that stayed home. They all had families. Josh had hockey.

  After showering in the eerily quiet locker room, he decided some food was in order. His favorite diner was within walking distance so he headed out.

  On the way, he pulled out his phone and dialed Michaela. He hadn’t talked to her since he finished training in New York and left for the memorial service in Portland. He hoped she wasn’t in class.

  The phone rang three times before her familiar voice filled his ear.

  “Don’t you have a game tonight?” she asked immediately. “You never call on game days.”

  “Keeping track of my schedule?” He laughed. “Your transformation from a Rangers fan to a Jackets fan is complete.”

  “Dude, it was complete the day you were drafted.”

  “I miss you, Mic.”

  “And I you, Joshy.” She sighed before speaking again. “How was the memorial service?”

  “As you’d expect it to be,” he answered. “A lot of fake celebration.”

  “I’ll bet.”

  “Sorry I haven’t called in a while. Training camp is kicking my ass.”

  “I seriously doubt that,” she said.

  “Yeah, well, there’s that, and Ethan’s been calling me.”

  “Yeah?”

  “I haven’t answered,” he said quickly.

  “Josh, he’s your brother. Maybe it’s time you guys patched things up. I don’t want there to be a rift in your family because of me.”

  “It’s not because of you. It’s because of him.”

  “People can change.” She sighed.

  He matched her sigh. “New subject please.”

  “Okay, on to better stuff.” Her voice rose an octave. Josh was always amazed at how quickly her mood could shift. “The wedding!”

  “Oh yes, the big day. Have a date?”

  “First, Jason had a question for you.”

  There was some rustling and then the voice on the other end changed.

  “Josh, man, how are you?” Jason asked.

  “I’m good. You?”

  “Just ask him,” Michaela yelled in the background.

  “You up for being a groomsman?”

  “Sure, dude. Sounds cool,” Josh answered calmly.

  “That’s it?” Michaela stole the phone back. “'Sounds cool’?”

  “Michaela,” Josh laughed. “We’re guys. I’m not going to go running down the street screaming in excitement.”

  “Fine. Well, forgive me if I offend you, but you’re not going to be an All-Star this year, right?”

  Josh barked out a sudden laugh. “I don’t think so, no.”

  Michaela was still laughing as she explained that they wanted to have the wedding over All-Star weekend so he could be there.

  “I wouldn’t want to do this without you,” she said.

  Josh walked through the door to the diner and stopped when he saw a familiar face near the back wall.

  “I wouldn’t miss it,” Josh said into the phone. “Look, Mic, I’ve got to go.”

  He hung up and shoved his phone in
to his pocket before looking at the girl again. The last time he saw her, she had long hair and was soaking wet. This girl had her hair styled short and a pair of glasses sat snuggly on her face. But, the sharp eyes behind those glasses were unmistakable.

  He knew she lived in Columbus now. Sarah asked him to watch out for her and he didn’t even try. Everyone kept telling him this was his year to break out. He’d been focused on that.

  His feet moved of their own will as he crossed the diner, stopping in front of her booth. She was too engrossed in her book to look up.

  “Must be a good story,” he finally said.

  That got her attention. She jumped in surprise and then her gaze slid up his body, finally stopping on his face. Recognition lit in her eyes.

  Josh slid into the booth uninvited and leaned over the table. “What’re you reading?”

  She stared at him for a second. “Outlander.”

  “Oh, those are good. I read the series last year.”

  Her eyes widened like he had just sprouted a second head, and he chuckled softly.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  He knew she didn’t mean in this diner.

  “I live here.”

  “You didn’t tell me that before.”

  He shrugged before waving down a waitress. “Can I get a coffee and a chicken sandwich with mustard, lettuce, tomato, and onion?”

  “Eating healthy?” Taylor asked, glancing down at the burger, fries, and milkshake in front of her.

  “I have to.” He stole one of her fries and leaned back, not wanting to elaborate. When you tell someone you’re a professional athlete, it tends to change the way they see you. For some reason, Josh didn’t want Taylor seeing him in that light. “I like the hair,” he said after a few moments of silence.

  “Thanks.” She ran a hand over the top of her head, but didn’t smile.

  Josh caught her stealing a glance at him before looking down at the table. He grinned, not taking his eyes from her as they ate.

  “I don’t know how you do it,” he said seriously, watching as she drew a breath in sharply.

  She finally met his gaze. “Do what?”