Page 19

Chapter

Fifteen

I showed up at the Dome Student parking lot Friday morning with my small suitcase and my pillow.

Shar and the guys greeted me with hugs. We tried to get Crystal to come along for the weekend, too, but she had commitments she couldn't ditch on last minute.

Plus, it was her brother's birthday, and we were all going to be together for the weekend after Canada West anyway.

A couple of the other guys' girlfriends were driving separately, but Shar and I were given VIP seats on the bus.

If you could call them that. Technically, I was the only VIP, but when I expressed to Coach Blakely how I'd rather not be the only girl at a sausage party—not in those words—he agreed to let Shar ride with me instead of taking Rob's truck.

She was more than grateful not to spend the gas money.

I scanned the lot as the driver loaded in the gear. Coach Blakely and the Outlaws' assistant coach, whom I didn't know, stood near the door of the bus. Blakely scribbled something on a clipboard.

"He's not here," Shar whispered.

“Obviously.”

“I guess he's driving over on his own.”

My heart slipped a little. What did I think, that we were going to sit together on the bus, hold hands, and have a heart-to-heart in the middle of the entire Outlaws team? I dragged in a breath then slowly released it.

"Have you talked with him?" Shar asked, keeping her voice low.

I shook my head. There hadn't been tutoring hours on Thursday since Chase had a conflict and the guys were getting ready for their tournament. I hadn't seen him since I walked out of the study room with my tray of Rice Krispies treats, which wasn’t good for my head.

Did he regret it? Was he embarrassed? Or worse, was he going to pretend it never happened, and I was going to go the rest of my life wondering if I’d made the whole thing up?

At Blakely's signal, we loaded onto the bus. Axel saved me a seat since Shar was spoken for by Rob, and Rory dropped into the seat across the aisle. He may have failed his quiz, but at least we had specific concepts to work on and he wasn’t lacking in enthusiasm.

Rory came prepared, too. His flashcards were stuffed into the water bottle holder on his backpack.

Blakely introduced our driver, who elicited cheers from the guys when he told them he planned to play country hits the entire way to BC, and then we were off.

The time went fast sitting with Axel and Rory, not only because we were going through problem sets and then working as a threesome to quiz each other on anatomy and musculature—they were both thrilled that they knew some answers that I didn't—but also because they brought snacks.

All-dressed chips, fuzzy peaches, wine gums, and whack-a-Mack toffee.

I could barely eat a full Teen Burger meal when we stopped at A&W for lunch.

Axel bought two full meals, brandishing a stack of cash as he sat down in our booth. “I’m flush, buds.”

Rory shook his head. “Not even yours.”

Axel grinned. “Until Coach Wilson gets to the hotel, it is.”

My eyes narrowed. “That’s for him?”

Axel nodded. “Yup. I owe him big time.”

I speared two fries and a cheese curd with my fork as Shar and Rob sat down at the table across from us. “Why do you owe your coach?” I asked with some hesitation, not sure I wanted to know.

Axel exhaled. “Saved my ass. I owed rent and didn’t have it.”

I blinked at him. “He paid your rent?” Was that even allowed?

Axel shoved the cash back in his pocket, unwrapped his burger, and took a massive bite. “Half of it.”

I chewed on that. “Wow.” So . . . I felt a bit sheepish for accusing him of gambling with students. But why didn’t he just tell me that?

We finished our lunch, and as we got back on the bus, I was headed back to my seat when Coach Blakely stopped me. "Madelyn, I was wondering if I could steal you for the next part of the drive?"

I pursed my lips to hide my shock. "Yes. Of course. What do you need?"

He motioned for me to sit next to him, then pulled out a spreadsheet. "Normally, I'd run this past Coach Wilson, but he's not here, and he made it very clear that you were the brains behind this analysis anyway."

My heart warmed. So Chase hadn't been making that up. "Sure. I'd be happy to take a look."

I wondered if this was the data Chase had been looking at on Tuesday.

They had stats not only on the Outlaws from the last game but also from Clearwater.

We analyzed the numbers at a high level, then dove into special teams and penalty-kill strategies.

Clearwater was disciplined. They rarely got sent to the box, and while the Outlaws weren't especially chippy, we could expect five to ten minutes of penalty time based on our track record so far.

When Coach Blakely paused to pull out his water bottle and some black licorice, I mustered up the courage to ask, "So why isn't Coach Wilson here?" It was a natural question, considering I was sitting there helping with his job. I hoped he couldn’t see the blush threatening to rise to my cheeks.

Coach Blakely popped a piece of licorice in his mouth. "He had a media appearance this morning. He probably won't get to the hotel much later than we will, but he couldn't leave until ten."

A media appearance? Chase had played for one, possibly two feeder teams, but that was at least a year or two ago. "Why would he be doing an appearance that wasn't connected with the Outlaws? Is it something to do with his scout?"

Blakely shook his head. "Nope. He's doing an interview for Young Pucking Players. YPP. Heard of them?” I shook my head, and Blakely grinned.

"It's a youth organization, started a couple of years ago by Alvin Bennett to help support players who are currently homeless or who may need to get out of a rough situation. Chase serves as their COO."

My mind was now exploding. First, rent money for Axel, and now this? Also, Chase knew Alvin Bennett? The Alvin Bennett? The soon-to-be NHL hall-of-famer who was all over the current Canadian Tire commercials? Not only that, Chase was only twenty-four, and he was serving as a COO?

This was not the Chase I knew in high school—the Chase who didn’t show up for class or who laughed about waking up passed out in the back room of a Pizza Hut.

"It's a nonprofit volunteer position," Blakely continued, taking a swig from his water bottle.

"When does he have time for that?"

"He makes time. Had some kids over here at the rink after our six-to-one win the other night. Spent time with them on the ice. Let them meet some of the players."

My mind whirled back to Chase entering Ranchman’s with Melody Sanchez. He met me after.

"Well, I won't keep you from your friends." Blakely patted a beefy hand on the stack of papers attached to his clipboard. "You've really got a talent for this, Madeline. Have you considered going into coaching?"

If my jaw hadn't already been on the floor after hearing about Chase and Young Pucking Players, it would have dropped then. "Coaching? I've never played hockey."

"You don't have to play to be good with the numbers." Blakely gave me a smile. I sat there stunned for a moment, then pulled myself together and rose from my seat. Had he really just suggested I think about coaching hockey? Was it strange that the first person I wanted to tell was Chase?

“Thanks.” I gave a smile, then moved down the aisle to my seat.

We arrived at the hotel just before four, which meant we had three hours to rest and relax before the guys needed to be at the rink to gear up and run an extended warm-up before their game at eight thirty.

It was going to be a late night, especially if they won and we all ended up at the bar after.

But at least their next game wasn't until two p.m. Saturday afternoon.

Then if they won, they'd play the championship game Saturday night.

Shar and I went straight to our room and crashed.

We didn’t have to wake up that early, but talking nonstop on the bus was surprisingly exhausting.

After sleeping and grabbing dinner at the hotel bar, we took the shuttle to the arena, where the guys were already on the ice.

The Outlaws had been begging for a rematch against Clearwater since our Invitational, but we had to get through the Fraser Valley Lynx from Chilliwack first.

"Have we played them before?" I asked Shar as we settled into our seats.

She shook her head. "I don't think so."

I scanned their players, but it was hard to tell who would be our biggest threat when they were all seated on the ice, stretching. Their navy, silver, and deep forest green jerseys bordered on pretty. “I kind of want a shirt that looks like that.” I pointed, and Shar laughed.

“Pretty sure you could find it at Northern Reflections.”

After introductions and the national anthem, we finally got to puck drop. Our guys were fired up from the get-go. Strong on the forecheck and winning their puck battles.

Rob scored at the six-minute mark after a beautiful backdoor pass from Axel.

They celebrated in the corner then skated back and tapped gloves with the rest of the guys on the bench.

Rory scored late when Rob took a wrister from up top and the puck rebounded off Fraser Valley’s goalie's stick.

He was in position to snag the puck and flick it in, elevating over the goalie's pads and hitting top shelf.

When it was 2–0, I breathed a little easier.

Our boys were dominant, controlled, and only gave the Lynx four power play minutes the whole game.

Shar and I stood and cheered for the last minute and a half, then escaped the arena to wait for the guys at the small bar that shared a parking lot with the hotel.

While most of the guys opted for pizza instead of drinks, we still managed to stay out until one in the morning. The buzz from my beer had nearly worn off when Shar looked at me, bleary-eyed.

"Sleep."

I nodded. "Did you even drink tonight?" I asked as we dropped from our stools.