Page 15 of Pucking Around

“Operations Manager,” he replies. “She’s a real ball-buster.”

“And who is Avery?”

“Head of PT.”

I run down the growing list of names and positions in my head. Right, Todd Avery is his name, I think. “And is he a nice guy?”

“I don’t work with him much,” Caleb replies. “He’s tough. Has a bit of an attitude. Guys don’t have much to say about him yet. We don’t really have any major injuries yet though, so ask me again in a month.”

Right, brand new team. New staff. Clean slate. Everyone is untested, not just me.

“Doc Tyler is popular though,” he adds. “He’s got great energy. And the first thing he did was make the dietitians up the guys’ daily carb intake. That went over well.”

I smirk. It’s a clever way to gain loyalty. People don’t bite the hand that feeds.

I relax back into my seat. “So, what do you think of the team so far? Do we have high hopes for a good first season?”

He shrugs. “First seasons are always rough. The guys have to figure each other out. They can practice all they want, but the only way forward is to just play the game. They need experience. Real experience playing as a team when it counts.”

“Hmm, trial by fire,” I say. “Or in this case ice.”

“Exactly. You can see the arena now,” he adds with a point.

I peer out the front windshield, unable to hide my smile as the unmistakable silhouette of a brand-new arena comes into view.

“They’re still finishing construction,” he says, needlessly pointing to the pair of cranes. “But the practice center is off to the left over there.” He points towards another smaller complex. “The center is finished and all the support spaces, the gyms, the offices. First ten games of the season had to be switched to away so they could finish up the new arena. The travel will be brutal, but the tradeoff is then we’ll be home for like a month solid. That pretty much never happens.”

I sit back again, fighting the buzzing of nerves rising in my stomach. It feels like the first day of school. “So, tell me about the guys. Any divas I should know about? Bad blood? Feuds?”

He glances over at me with a frown. “Did you doanyresearch before taking this job?”

“Nope,” I reply cheerily. “No time. I was waitlisted for the Barkley Fellowship, and I only found out I was getting off the bench exactly…” I check the time on my phone. “Yep, 48 hours ago. In that time, I’ve been a little preoccupied with packing up my entire life, getting stuck in airports, hunting down bags, getting locked out on my own balcony, and dealing with your grumpy ass,” I add with a side glare. “So no, I can honestly say I don’t know a damn thing about the Jacksonville Rays. I can’t name you a single player. I didn’t even know the team existed until they told me I was moving here. But I’m a quick study.”

He huffs a laugh. “Jeez. Talk about your trial by fire.”

“Right?” I add with a grin. “So, maybe my new key-wielding wall mate can help a girl out…give me the deets. What’s the skinny? What’s the haps? The dirt?”

He groans. “Please stop.”

“Talk, or I keep going,” I tease. “The 411, the gossip, the—”

“Fuck,stop,” he growls. “God, you’re worse than a chihuahua.”

“And I haven’t even had caffeine yet,” I reply with a smile.

He sighs, his hands flexing on the wheel. “The guys are cool. Some have worked together before, like Karlsson and Langley. They’re the first-string wingers. They’ve got a good rhythm. The goalie is dynamite. He was the first guy the Rays signed. Mars Kinnunen. They call him the Bear.”

“Oooo, why do they call him the Bear?”

He smirks. “Meet him and find out.”

“And defense?” I know enough about hockey to know how important the defensive players are. They typically work in pairs, and some players can go for years skating with the same guy if the chemistry is good.

“Solid,” he replies. “More solid than offense. Today they have an exhibition game.”

I nod. We’re pulling into the training complex now and I lean forward, excitement humming through me.

“My buddy is on the team,” Caleb goes on as we drive into the dark parking garage. “He was the first defenseman they signed.”