Page 50 of Trick Shot (Bainbridge Hockey #4)

Pete

“ T his is our year!”

My battle cry has become the team’s new catch phrase, and someone starts chanting it nearly everywhere we go.

It’s been a week since we took home the national title, and we’re back on our home ice for the final event of the season.

It’s basically a community skate where we get to show off a little and share the ice with our hometown crowd.

It’s been called Bruce on Ice for as long as I’ve been here, and I think it was named for the first head coach of the Bainbridge Wolves.

Regardless, it’s one of my favorite nights of the year.

Before we take the ice, though, we have our final team meeting in the locker room. Rosco whistles and we all gather round. Typically, captains sit toward the front, but Booker and I are standing tonight. The team has voted, and in just a minute, the two new leaders will take their rightful spots.

It’s a bittersweet moment, for sure, but I remember how I felt when I was voted in last year, and I’m excited for two of my teammates to have the same honor.

Coach strides out of his office and the guy all quiet down. “Your captains have counted the ballots, gentleman, and I’m not one to make a speech, so let’s get to it. Serving your team as an alternate captain will be…JT Norris.”

Cheers erupt as JT stands to shake Coach’s hand.

A couple months ago, I wasn’t sure these two could even be in the same room together.

Coach has been overprotective of his niece, and he didn’t take kindly to the news that JT was dating her behind his back.

And when he found out Maggie was pregnant, well, Coach kinda lost his shit.

But JT’s a hell of a guy, and the best goalie we’ve ever had, so it’s an honor he deserves.

When the cheers die down, Coach clears his throat. This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for. While JT’s decision was unanimous, this one was won by a single vote.

“Next year’s captain is Will Franconetti.”

Cheers erupt again, but my eyes go straight to Ollie.

He’s taking this hard, no doubt. He’s been a presence on this team since he was a freshman.

He’s the one who brings us all together, the one who looks after us in his own special, weird-as-hell way.

The fact that the margin was so close won’t make him feel any better.

This has to hurt like hell, but the fact that he’s got Will wrapped in a bear hug speaks volumes about the kind of person he is.

It’s time to take the ice, but Rosco’s whistle has us all stopping in our tracks. “Booker has something he’d like to say.”

My co-captain is a quiet leader, but when he opens his mouth, everyone listens.

“This isn’t a speech, because there’s no way for me to put into words what the last four years have meant to me, what you all mean to me.

So instead of words, I thought I’d go with actions.

You guys need a house. And I just so happen to have one. ”

A few chuckles ripple through the room, because Booker doesn’t just have a house. He has a freaking mansion. His family owns the oldest building on campus, but it’s also the nicest one. He lives there with his closest friends, but they’re all graduating and moving on with their lives.

Wait. Is he about to do what I think he’s about to do?

Booker clears his throat. “As a way to show my thanks not only to the guys in this room, but to the hockey program as a whole, I’m designating The Chapel as the new hockey house.

But there are two conditions. The first is that my sisters will each always have a room there if they need it.

The second is that there will be a live-in house manager to ensure you guys don’t trash this place like you did the last one. ”

Stunned silence falls over the room. And then everyone starts talking at once.

“Wait, are there really three separate hot tubs?”

“I heard there’s a TV in the family room that takes up an entire wall.”

“Dude. I was there last summer. There’s like eight showerheads in the shower at the pool house. The freaking pool house!”

“I call the pool house as my room!”

“How much insurance do you have on this place?”

I’m laughing because I can’t even imagine what next year is going to be like for those guys.

“Not gonna lie,” Van says, “I’m a little jealous. We got to live in a shithole, but these guys get to move into a freaking mansion. That’s harsh. Awesome, but harsh.”

“Agreed. How long do you think it’ll take for one of them to set the place on fire?” I ask .

Van’s lips twist like he’s in deep thought. “Mid-October,” he says decisively, and I can’t argue with that.

Rosco lets out another ear-splitting whistle as Ollie hops up on the bench.

“I’ll make this quick because we’ve got some skating to do. As you all know, our charity calendar is a freaking hit. It’s selling like hotcakes, whatever the fuck those are.”

I just shake my head as Ollie continues. I’m not surprised the calendar is doing so well, even if it is April. Claire does amazing work. And yes, I’m Mr. January. And yes, I’m dressed as a lumberjack.

“So, that’s the good news. We all look hot and people love us. But… it turns out that we aren’t actually a charity. I guess you have to file tax stuff for that?”

Rosco erupts into a coughing fit that sounds suspiciously like, “I told you so.”

“Yeah, anyway,” Ollie keeps going, “we had all this money, and we needed someplace to donate it to. We took a vote, and it was unanimous. The proceeds of the charity calendar will go to the cancer center at St. Mark’s hospital.

The docs and nurses there are caring for someone who means a lot to all of us, so this is a way we could give back. ”

The guys are clapping, but my brain is still catching up. Van gives me a knowing smile as he pats me on the back.

Rosco pumps his fist in the air. “To Mama Santos!”

“To Mama Santos!” the guys all cheer as they file out of the locker room, but I tap Ollie’s shoulder to get his attention.

“You…shit, I don’t even know what to say, man. That’s amazing. That money will help a lot of people. It’ll help Ma.”

“I know,” he says simply. “That’s why we did it.”

I don’t bring up the elephant in the room.

Now’s not the time to talk about the fact that he didn’t make captain.

The fact that half the guys on the team voted for a player who might not even be here next season.

Instead, I say what’s on my mind. “You’re the heart of this team, Jablonski. Don’t forget how important that is.”

He nods solemnly and follows me out the door. We make our way out of the locker room and into the tunnel that leads onto the ice. There are hundreds of people here tonight, but my eyes zero in on the person who matters most.

Claire Fowler.

At first, I wonder what she’s doing here, and if she came to see me. But when I see the camera around her neck, it’s pretty obvious she’s here for The Howler .

I feel pretty dumb. I haven’t talked to her since I said I needed space. Why the hell did I think she’d come to Bruce on Ice tonight to see me?

I shake off my melancholy mood and try to enjoy the next two hours.

The ice is open, so lots of little kids are skating around, and there are some couples, too.

Looking at them only makes me think of Claire.

I figured she’d be here with me tonight and that I could lead her around the ice the way Booker’s doing to Ian and Will is doing for Mel.

She must’ve have gotten enough pictures, though, because I can’t find her, no matter how many times I scan the crowd.

When it’s over, I head to the locker room to shower. I’ll be back later this week to clean out my locker, and since Van was officially named as one of the assistant coaches, I’m sure I’ll be back to help when they need an extra hand.

I open my locker to change, but when I do, an envelope slips out and drifts toward the floor. I scoop it up just before it hits the ground. When I open it, there’s a note on top, so I read that first .

Pete,

I don’t know what’s going to happen with us. I don’t know if we can bridge the chasm between us, or if you even want to. But no matter what the future holds, I want you to have these. I want you to see yourself the way I see you.

Claire

I reach into the envelope and find a stack of pictures.

They’re the ones Claire took of me in her bed before I left for regionals.

That was only a few weeks ago, but it feels like an eternity.

I’m afraid to look at them at first, partially because I know what my body looks like.

I don’t really need pictures of it. But mostly I’m reluctant to look at these pictures because they’ll take me right back to that moment, and that’s a place I already visit in my mind.

I give in to curiosity, though, and I’m amazed at what I see. I look happy, confident. Fucking sexy, if I’m being honest. That might have to do with the beautiful woman in my arms, though. We look so good together, so connected. But in reality, at the first sign of trouble, we splintered apart.

Ten minutes later, I find myself standing at Claire’s door. I don’t have the balls to knock though. I just stare at the door wondering if I can be the kind of man who’s worthy of a woman like Claire.

The truth is that I don’t know, so instead of rapping my damn knuckles on the weathered wood, I walk away.

That’s something I’m getting pretty good at doing.