“You won’t be saying that in four months when you’re playing in the AHL.”
“I’m good enough to make it without your help, Josh,” Jack said through clenched teeth.
“Well, Jacky boy,” Josh said, using that infernal nickname Jack had hated for his entire life, “I’m your big brother, and I want you to have the best shot at the NHL. Playing in the A is it.”
“You think I don’t know that?”
Of course, he knew that. Everyone knew that. A lot of the time, players who remained in college all four years weren’t quite good enough to jump straight to an NHL roster. Time in the minors was exactly what players like Jack—and Aiden, and even Brent Jean—needed after college to get used to playing a bigger and faster game. Jack had no delusions about his talent level. He was good, but not jump-straight-from-college-to-the-NHL good. He was more than willing to put in his time in the AHL—or even the ECHL—pay his dues, and hopefully get a shot in the show. And if he never made it to the NHL? That would be fine, too. At least he’d be playing professionally, doing what he loved for a living.
But there were also those Russian offers to consider…
“What do you guys know about the KHL?” Jack asked, referring to the Russian Kontinental Hockey League.
“Not much other than it produces some insanely talented Russian guys,” his dad said. And he would know firsthand, having taken multiple trips overseas to watch said guys play.
“Did Darren say something?” Josh asked.
“Yeah, he said the SKA in Saint Petersburg and the CSKA in Moscow inquired about me, too.”
“Hey, that’s great, kid!” his dad said.
“Are you seriously considering going over there instead of staying in the States?” his brother asked, incredulous.
“I don’t know,” Jack said.
Next to him, Aiden coughed something into his fist, something that sounded suspiciously like “liar.”
“What was that, Fuller?” Josh asked. “C’mon, don’t be shy. Share with the class.”
“He’s considering it,” was Aiden’s reply.
“You asshole,” Jack said, shoving his teammate so hard that Aiden fell off the bed, hitting the floor with athudand string of impressively filthy expletives. Instead of rejoining Jack, he crawled onto his own bed and stuffed his AirPods in his ears. The faint, heavy drums of rock music filtered to Jack’s side of the room.
“What is he talking about?” Josh asked.
Jack sighed, knowing he wasn’t getting out of this one. Jack’s mom was an amazing woman to have tolerated the three of them this long, because they were nothing if not annoyingly persistent when they were on the scent of something fishy.
And this was definitely fishy to his dad and brother.
“Okay so, you know how Jessica and I are together now, right?” They nodded in response. “So, Jessica wants to be a teacher.”
“She can teach anywhere,” Josh said.
“You would say that,” Jack said with an eye roll. His brother’s sole focus was his career, and he’d be damned if he let a womanderail that. But to Jack, Jessica wasn’t just any woman. She wasthewoman. The only one he wanted forever. “She could be a teacher anywhere, yes, if she wanted to be your run of the mill school teacher. But she doesn’t. Jessica wants to teach English as a second language, and she’s applied to jobs all over the world. Well…not all over. In Spanish speaking countries, and in Russia.”
“Ahhhhh,” his dad said, dragging out that single syllable.
“So you’re going to give away your shot at the show for a girl?”
“We haven’t made any decisions yet,” Jack said. “But I’d be lying if I said those Russian offers didn’t sound like a gift right about now.”
“This is the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard,” Josh said, and a moment later, his face disappeared from the screen.
His father sighed. “I don’t know how you two can be so alike, yet so different at the same time.”
“You mean how he’s a hot head and I’m the most laid back guy on the planet, but we’re both incredibly smart, loyal, and love hockey?”
“Pretty much,” his dad said with a laugh. “Look, Josh was out of line. You’re an adult, and you can do what you want. But…”
