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Unless we lost.

Because Tuesday was an elimination game. We were down 3-2 in the series. A win on Tuesday would force a game seven. A loss…

A loss would mean I was available to have dinner with my dad.

I swallowed. “Well, I’m sure we can do something after the playoffs are over.” Which could be Tuesday. It could be Thursday. It could be two, three, four weeks away. There was no telling.

But holy shit, I was suddenly determined as hell to make sure Icouldn’thave dinner with him on Tuesday. The Bearcats had come too far to give up now, and my father’s presence would just drive me on.

“Well,” he said. “You played well tonight, Sabrina. I’m sure you will on Tuesday, too.”

I was again brought up short. That didn’t… It didn’tsoundbackhanded. “I did?”

He laughed, and it actually sounded genuine. “You came away with four points. In a playoff game.” He paused. “Though you could’ve had a hat trick if you’d shot instead of passing to Lawson.”

Holy shit. Hehadwatched.

“Oh. I…” I cleared my throat. “That goalie’s blocker side is a lot weaker than her stick side. Lawson had much better odds of finding the back of the net.”

He chuckled a little condescendingly, but to my surprise, he said, “Better for the team to get the goal by any means necessary, I suppose. Especially in a tight playoff game.”

“Yeah. Yeah, that’s what I was thinking.”

“All right, well, I’ll let you go. Good luck on Tuesday.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

We ended the call, and I stared at my phone as my stomach roiled. All my damn life, I’d wanted my father’s support. I’d wanted him to come to my games and cheer for me. I’d wanted him to pay attention to how I played and see that I really was a good hockey player.

Now that he was maybe doing all that…

I didn’t know how to feel.

This was something I’d wanted my whole damn life, and now that it was quite possibly here…

Fuck. Was I just being ungrateful? He’d finally seen the light and realized I was good at a sport that was worth playing. Why was I looking this gift horse in the mouth?

Sighing, I picked up my phone again and started typing a message to Lila.

Hey, sorry for the slow reply. My dad called. (skull emoji)

Uh-oh. What did he say?

I chewed the inside of my cheek.That he’s coming to Tuesday’s game. And he watched tonight. And he thought I was good?

Oh wow. That’s new, isn’t it?

Very.

Now that you mention it, the network showed an interview with him during the game. He was more positive about it than I thought he would be.

I stared at her message before thumbing back,They did what now?

Yeah. It was kind of weird, honestly. He’s acting like he’s supported you all along.

Which network?

She did me one better and sent a link to the interview. I tapped it and hit play.