“I went for the net, and the puck appeared when I needed it too.”
“Close,” said Harrison. “The puck appeared when Bracken saw you were open and had a clean shot at the net. He doesn’t make passes, he makes goal-scoring assists. Which means if you put yourself in the best position to score, the puck will find you.”
Cote tapped his skates to the ice, fidgeting restlessly. “I know, but it’s hard to play half-blind.”
“You need more experience,” said Harrison. “And you need to have faith that your captain will get the puck to you if he thinks you can shoot it in the net. Stop looking at his face and watch the puck instead. And if you feel like you’re not getting it, stand back and watch how Jett receives his passes.”
“Fraser doesn’t even slow down enough to catch those passes.”
“I know,” said Harrison. “Because he knows as long as he breaks through the opposing team’s defence and gets in front of the net, Bracken will get him the puck.”
“Okay, fine.” Cote looked tense, but not because he was angry or frustrated. “Let me try again. I’ll figure this out.”
Harrison nodded and let him go. He knew there was a reason Adams wanted Cote on the first line, and he had a feeling it wouldn’t take long to see why.
The next attempt failed—and the one after that—but Cote didn’t lose his temper again or show any signs of frustration.
It wasn’t until the third try that a puck finally got past Powers and into the net.
Bracken and Jett skated to Cote’s side to celebrate, maybe too obnoxiously, but Harrison allowed it while he skated to the other side of the rink to meet with the rest of the team, who were shooting at Rose.
“Killinger, what brings you to our side of the rink?” Wolf asked, smiling widely. “You come to give usSchnecketips so we can keep up with the fast ones over there?”
Harrison didn’t know what aSchneckewas, but he was sure he understood what Wolf was hinting.
“No point in trying to fix something that can’t be changed,” said Harrison, ignoring the frown that quickly formed on Wolf’s perfect European face. “But I think you’ll enjoy what I have planned next.”
When he explained what it was, all the guys lit up with excitement, including Wolf, who was trying to keep his scowl going.
“I thought you were building confidence up, not bending it over to fuck it,” said Wolf, earning himself a wave of laughter. “That’s what Coach told you to do, no?”
“The kid got one puck in the net,” said Harrison. “Confidence built. Time to play and learn for real now. No point in going easy on them, not when there’s no time.”
Wolf was hard to read, especially when his default settings were anger, flirting or sarcasm, but he came over to Harrison to give him a couple of claps on the shoulder.
“I like you, Killinger. You are funny guy. I’m starting to see why our little ferret likes you so much.”
Harrison smirked. “That and other reasons.”
“Oh Jesus,” said Hellström. “Let’s keep the focus on hockey, guys. Wolfy can choose another time to get pointers for his bi-awakening.”
“Is not awakening,” said Wolf. “I told you this, Ivan, what matters is the face, not is what is between their legs.”
“And the tits,” said Cormier as he skated past. “Guys or girls, you never shut up about them.”
“Tits, yes,” Wolf drawled. His eyes flicked over Harrison appreciatively. “Can’t forget those.”
Harrison raised an eyebrow as Wolf skated past, grinning to show off his longer-than-average canines. He had heard from Jett how open the Sunburst guys were and how confident they were in their sexualities. There was a reason why they were the most gay-friendly team in the league, but it was startling to see it up close.
Willem Patrickson, their other defenceman on the first line, stayed behind to follow Harrison to center ice. “If Wolf bothers you, tell Ryan. He’s the only one who can keep the feral idiot on a leash.”
“He’s fine,” said Harrison. “I’ve watched enough interviews to know how he acts. Things have been tamer than I expected.”
Patrickson elbowed him gently. “That’s the spirit, Coach!”
“Nota coach,” said Harrison. He stopped once he reached center ice and blew the whistle, drowning out the laughter around him with the shrill sound. “Alright, guys. Time to have fun.”
Bracken pulled off his helmet and shook his sweaty hair out of his eyes. “Why do I feel like your version of fun is our version of hell?”
