Winning it All (Men of the Ice Book 3)

by Michele Shriver

  WINNING IT ALL

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Winning it All (Men of the Ice, #3)

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Epilogue

  Author’s Note and Acknowledgements

  Michele Shriver

  SMC Publishing

  Winning it All: A Men of the Ice Novella

  By Michele Shriver

  Copyright 2015 Michele Shriver

  Published by SMC Publishing

  All Rights Reserved

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, locales and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  “There are no environments where you're only going to win, because life just isn't like that.”- Bobby Orr

  Chapter One

  The little girl might have been completely bald, but it didn’t detract from her overall beauty in any way. She wore sapphire studs in each of her ears, her eyes were the color of the sky on a crisp, clear summer day and her smile was so bright and sunny, it could warm a room. Then there was her laugh—her laugh was absolutely infectious.

  It surprised Trevor Collison to hear such an obviously very ill child laugh so energetically, but maybe it shouldn’t have. After all, she had an NHL superstar making faces at her and generally acting like a total goofball. Nikolai Brantov was a natural with kids, and so was his girlfriend, Meryl Johnson. It made perfect sense why Meryl, the daughter of the San Antonio Generals owner, had been trusted with the task of establishing the fledgling Young Generals program, designed to bring hockey awareness and skills to local kids, and why she recruited Nik to help her.

  Less clear was why anyone wanted Trevor to be part of the program. He wasn’t sure himself why he agreed to be involved, other than knowing his image needed a major boost. Fresh out of rehab and having his contract bought out by his last team, Trevor signed a one-year contract with the NHL’s newest expansion franchise, happy to have one last chance to prove he could be a productive player. Assuming he could keep his nose clean.

  He hadn’t touched cocaine in almost a year, and he only drank alcohol occasionally. He also didn’t pick up cheap women after games anymore. Instead, Trevor went home to an empty apartment and thought about how different his life was now, as opposed to twelve years ago when he’d started out in the minors, paying his dues for San Antonio’s American Hockey League team, before making the jump to the NHL with the Ottawa Senators. How ironic was it that he was back here now, in the city where it all began, playing out his last chance?

  If Trevor flamed out here, Europe likely beckoned, but for far less money. He wanted to make this work, and since he currently stood at third on the team in scoring, Trevor was pretty confident he could. There was more to succeeding here than simply playing well on the ice, though. It was important to be involved in team activities throughout the community, such as visiting sick kids to try to cheer them up a little, which was why he found himself in the pediatric cancer ward of the San Antonio Children’s Hospital watching his teammate make faces at a patient.

  “This is Trevor,” Nik said to the girl. “He plays on my line, the other wing position.” Together, with team captain Colton Tremblay, they comprised the Generals’ top line and the main reason the team remained in the playoff hunt in its inaugural season, with less than a month left in the regular season.

  “I know who Trevor is,” the young patient said. “He’s my favorite player on the team.”

  How the heck did I get that honor? Trevor wondered as he approached the bed. “It’s nice to meet a fan,” he said, extending his hand. “What’s your name?”

  “Kaylen.” She gave him a limp handshake, and Trevor wondered if her medical treatments had tired her out. Probably. In spite of her circumstances, though, she remained upbeat. “And I really am your biggest fan, even if I’m not very big. I’m totally going to be there when you guys play in the playoffs.”

  If the team got there, and if she lived to see the day. Trevor hated to think that way, but this was a pediatric cancer ward, after all. “That’s great,” he said, trying to sound optimistic. He was there to try to cheer her up, even if he himself couldn’t stop thinking about the cruel hand life had apparently dealt this beautiful young girl. “You must really like hockey, then.”

  “She’s a huge hockey fan. She watches all of your games, and I’ve kept the recordings of the best ones so she can watch them again while she’s doing her treatments.”

  The voice came from the doorway of the hospital room, and Trevor turned around to face a woman with dark hair that fell just to her shoulder and the same striking blue eyes as the patient. Eyes he’d never forgotten, even though it had been more than a decade since he’d last seen her. His voice almost stopped in his throat as he said her name. “Dani.”

  ***

  Danielle Greer found herself staring at the past. A past she never intended to revisit. She’d been a hockey fan once, back when the AHL was in town, but when the team left San Antonio and relocated to upstate New York, Dani didn’t miss them. As a single mother raising a very ill child, she had other priorities, and hockey wasn’t one of them. But when the game returned to her hometown in the form of the Generals, her daughter took an immediate liking to the men of the ice. Kaylen didn’t have much to be happy about these days, with the chemo and radiation treatments seeming to be losing effectiveness, so Dani took her to the home games whenever she felt up to it, and allowed her to watch the rest on TV. Still, Dani never expected a face from her past to be standing two feet away from her, even if Trevor’s mug greeted her from a highway billboard every day as she drove to work.

  When he’d left town, his NHL dream finally a reality, Danielle hadn’t planned on ever seeing him again. Now, here he was. He was still handsome, no doubt about that, but there was a tiredness to his expression, as if his best years were behind him. At only thirty-three, Dani hoped that wasn’t true. In spite of what happened between them, she still wished the best for him. She just didn’t plan on getting close to him again. She couldn’t take the risk anymore.

  “Hello, Trev,” she said. “It’s been a while.”

  He jammed his hands in the pockets of the black jeans he wore, paired with his maroon and gray Generals jersey. Number thirty-seven this time, and Dani wondered about the significance. He’d worn number twenty when he’d play here before, with the San Antonio Stampede.

  “It has, yes,” he said. “So, um, how have you been?”

  Was he serious, or merely making conversation? She decided to go with the latter. Surely, he didn’t want the truth. No one did. The truth sucked. “I’m good,” she lied. I have a daughter who may not live to see her next birthday, and I work sixty hours a week to try to pay the medical bills and still eat macaroni and cheese most nights because it’s cheap. Yeah, I’m just living the dream. To the extreme. “How about you?”

  “Oh, you know... the same. Playing the game I love and hoping we can sneak into the playoffs and surprise someone.”

  It sounded so much better than her own life, and reminded Dani that she and Trevor were in different places in their lives. They had been twelve years ago, too, but the differences were starker now. “
I hope so, too,” she said. In spite of everything, she wished nothing but the best for Trevor.

  “Trev, are you coming?” One of his teammates asked, and Dani recognized him as Casey Denault, the Generals’ second line center. Since Kaylen was such a fan, Dani knew most of the players.

  “Sure, yeah.” Trevor nodded at his teammate and gave a thumbs up before turning back to face her. “I should go,” he said. “Other patients.”

  “Right, of course.” Dani swallowed hard and nodded. There were so many sick kids in the hospital. What a cruel freaking world. “Thanks for coming by. It’s a good thing you guys are doing, visiting these kids.”

  “It’s nothing, in the grand scheme of things,” Trevor said. “But if we can put a smile on their faces or brighten their a little bit, it’s worth it.” He walked back over to Kaylen’s bed, lifted one of her limp hands, and kissed it. “I’ll see you around, Special Kay.” And just like that, Trevor was gone and her daughter had a new nickname.

  “I like him, Mommy,” Kaylen said. “He’s nice.”

  What was she supposed to say to that? Sure, Trevor could be nice. He could also be selfish and immature, with a propensity toward self-destruction. Unfortunately, Dani remembered both sides of him, although by the end, it was mostly the latter. “I suppose,” she said. “What about the other players that were here, like Nikolai, Casey and Thomas?”

  “They’re nice enough, too, I guess.” Kaylen shrugged. “Trevor’s my favorite, though.”

  “I know, honey,” Dani answered. He’s mine, too.

  ***

  Because he had little choice, Trevor went with his teammates to the room of the next patient. That was the expectation, after all. His heart wasn’t in it, though. He’d left his heart back in room 536 with Kaylen.

  “You okay, man?” His teammate, Thomas Rodriguez, asked. “Is something wrong?”

  Trevor shook his head. “No. Nothings’s wrong.” I just found myself face to face with the first woman I’ve ever loved and her very ill child and... No! He wouldn’t go there. He couldn’t.

  He approached the hospital bed, occupied by a boy who looked to be about seven. “Hey there, buddy,” Trevor said, taking the lead this time. “What’s your name?”

  “Cameron,” the boy answered. “I go by Cam.”

  “I’m Trev. Short for Trevor,” he said. “And I’ve got Nik, Casey and Thomas with me. We play hockey for the Generals.”

  “Yeah, I know,” the boy answered. “I like football better, but the girl next door, she talks about you all the time.”

  Trevor nodded. “Yep. I met Kaylen already.” And she kind of stole my heart. Just like her mother did more than a decade ago.

  Chapter Two

  They visited four more patients after young Cameron, and it was obvious from the smiles that they were making an impact. Trevor was grateful to have the opportunity to be a positive presence for these kids, something he admittedly hadn’t focused enough on during the early days of his NHL career. It impressed him that Nik had so quickly embraced his position as a budding superstar on the team, and the opportunities and responsibilities that went along with it. The kid got it. Trevor thought he got it, now, too, but it had taken him a long time to figure it out.

  As they left the room of the last patient, a teenage boy named Micah, who suffered from bone cancer, but vowed to play soccer again, Casey and Thomas invited Trevor to join them for dinner. Nik, not surprisingly, had plans of his own with Meryl. Trevor considered the invitation, but shook his head. They were both young, single guys and a quirk in the schedule left them with a couple of days off before their next game. A night on the town would most certainly involve a drink or two, and probably picking up women. Trev didn’t want to cramp their style. More importantly, he didn’t want the temptation. “Not tonight, thanks.”

  The other guys got on the elevator to leave, but Trevor hesitated. Casey reached a hand out to stop the door from closing, and Trevor waved it off. He watched the doors close, leaving him standing in the pediatric cancer ward. He didn’t know why he lingered. He hated illness and should have been in a hurry to leave, but he wasn’t. Instead, something compelled him to stay.

  He turned and walked down the hall in the direction of Kaylen’s room, pausing in the doorway. The young girl’s eyes were closed, but her mother remained by her side, absently thumbing through a magazine but not appearing to read any of it.

  As if sensing his presence, Dani looked up from the magazine and turned to the doorway. “Trevor, hi. I didn’t think you guys would still be here.”

  “We’re not,” he said. “I mean, the rest of the guys took off. I...” I what? Couldn’t walk out of this hospital without seeing you again? No. He probably shouldn’t say that. “I thought I’d stop and say goodbye to Kaylen.”

  “She’s sleeping.” Dani got up from her chair and walked toward him. “Her treatments make her so tired.”

  Trevor nodded. “I’m sure.” He didn’t know the exact nature of those treatments, but he had a pretty good idea, and figured the toll on her small body must be enormous.

  “It’s nice of you to come by again,” Dani said. “When she wakes up, I’ll tell her you came back to say goodbye.” The slightest hint of a smile appeared on her weary face. “She’ll be sorry she missed you.”

  Was she telling him he should leave? It sounded like a dismissal of sorts, and Trevor didn’t blame her for being wary. They hadn’t exactly parted on the greatest of terms, and if she’d paid any attention at all to the NHL over the past eleven years, she had to know his reputation. It followed him everywhere he went. “Are you hungry?” he asked. “Maybe we could go grab something to eat, and by the time we get back, Special Kay will be awake.”

  “I shouldn’t leave the hospital.” Dani twirled a strand of dark brown hair around her finger. “I work a lot during the week, so I try to make a point of spending the whole weekend here with her.”

  She must be exhausted, and Trevor wanted to ask if she had any help. A husband, Kaylen’s father... but she wore no ring on her finger. Was he reading too much into the absence of a gold band? “We don’t have to leave. We can just go to the cafeteria here. It can’t be that bad, right?”

  “It’s... decent,” Dani said. “Or maybe I’m just getting used to it, since I spend so much time here. Are you sure you don’t have other plans? You don’t have to hang around just to see Kaylen again.”

  “No plans,” Trevor said. “And as special as she is, I wouldn’t just be hanging around for her. I’d like to spend a little time with you, too.”

  ***

  “Oh.” It was such an inarticulate word, but all Dani could immediately muster. She had no idea what to make of Trevor Collison’s sudden reappearance in her life. She knew only that it had the potential to thrust it into complete chaos, and she didn’t have time for chaos. He was hard to say ‘no,’ too, though, and always had been. Besides, she craved a little adult conversation. “Sure,” she said after a minute. “I can leave for a little bit and we can go grab a bite. I am kind of hungry.”

  “Great.” Trevor pulled his his Generals jersey over his head, leaving him wearing a white button-down shirt tucked into his black jeans. “Do you mind if I just leave this here?” He set the jersey on the back of the chair.

  Dani shook her head. “That’s fine. I wouldn’t want your adoring public to harass you for autographs.” She smiled as she said it, and grabbed her purse from the floor by the chair.

  “I wasn’t worried about that,” Trevor said. “I’m hardly a superstar anymore. The jersey just gets kind of hot.”

  “I bet it does.” Back in her days as a Stampede fan, Dani had owned a few team jerseys, and they could definitely get hot. What she wasn’t ready to admit as that she still had one of Trevor’s AHL jerseys hanging in her closet and every once in a while, she still put it on and wondered what if. What if he’d been a little more mature, and her a little more daring? What if she’d had more confidence in their relationship? What if
she’d trusted him enough with her heart and accompanied him to Canada?

  She gave another look at her daughter, and Kaylen still slept soundly. She needed the rest, so Dani was happy to have something to do to pass the time. She led Trevor to the elevator, and they rode to the main floor, which housed the cafeteria.

  “Is there anything you recommend?” he asked, as if it were actually a fine dining establishment.

  “The taco salad.” A smile tugged at Dani’s lips. “At least I’ve never had to check myself in as a patient after eating it.” She selected one from the shelf of chilled salads.

  “Sold, then. I’ll have that, too.” Trevor grabbed his own taco salad.

  “There’s salsa and sour cream over here.” Dani pointed, then went over to stock up on sour cream, which in her estimation made just about everything better, including an average taco salad. She made her way to the cashier and reached into her purse for money.

  “I’ve got both of these,” Trevor said, pulling out his wallet and handing the cashier a twenty dollar bill.

  “You don’t have to do that,” Dani said, “but thank you.” She wouldn’t turn down the offer. It was another week until payday, and things were tight.

  “You’re welcome.” Trevor pocketed a little change and they made their way over to a table and sat down.

  Dani ripped open one of the containers of sour cream and poured it over her salad. “I’m surprised you don’t have other plans tonight,” she said. “There are plenty of nice restaurants in town. And nightclubs, too.”

  “Yeah, I know,” Trevor said. “A couple of the guys were headed for one, and they invited me to join them.”

  “Yet you chose me, the hospital cafeteria, and a chance to see my sick child again.” Dani was unsure what to make of that.

  “Yeah, well, she’s a pretty special little girl,” Trevor said with a shrug. “And nightclubs aren’t my thing anymore.”