“So yes, it is awful,” Thad admitted. “But not always the way people think.”
“I never thought about it that way,” Graham said thoughtfully.
“Most people have no reason to. But it’s been fourteen years since I got out, and I still carry some of the shit with me,” he admitted with a heavy sigh. “And I probably always will. It leaves its scars. As much progress as I’ve made, some things will probably be with me until I die.”
Graham pressed his lips to Thad’s shoulder. “I’d help you carry it if I could,” he whispered.
And Thad blinked, swallowing thickly, because that was the most meaningful thing anyone had ever said to him.
He couldn’t seem to get the words out to saythataloud, but he squeezed Graham’s hand tightly and hoped it would get his message across.
“I love you,” he finally said, though it came out thick from emotion. “And knowing you love me? That’s enough. It’s … enough.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
As the temperatures dropped and the days ticked by in early November, the team headed out on the road for a short trip.
Graham managed a short phone call to his parents to congratulate his mom on her win as district attorney of Allegheny County, and she congratulated him on how the team was doing.
Things were going really well with Thad too, though he didn’t tell her that.
It really was easier now that everyone in the Harriers Organization knew he and Thad were dating.
They still had separate rooms at the hotels, but no one blinked when Thad gave Graham a quick, hard kiss after a good game, or held him close and whispered in his ear for a while after a bad one.
Thankfully, the good games were far more frequent than the bad.
Despite the strange start to the season, the team was gelling now. All four of their lines were producing points and Erik was turning out to be a hell of a lot better of a player than anyone had anticipated.
Everyone had expected the rookie to get sent back to his major Juniors team quickly, but he’d made a case for sticking around during training camp, then performed far better than expected in the pre-season and early games. He wasn’t playingeverygame—Hoyt was keeping him out of the lineup as a healthy scratch periodically—to give him more time with the team.
Due to the collective bargaining agreement, NHL teams were allowed nine regular season games to test a Juniors player out, then could either keep him for longer—which would trigger the start of his entry level contract or ELC—or send him down to Juniors again.
There was no option to send eighteen-to-twenty-year-olds to the AHL.
Honestly, Graham had always felt it was a weird rule, but that was the way it had been for years and, at least for now, that was what they had to work with.
While Gavin and Coach Hoyt had been the ones with the ultimate say in whether the kid did stay up at the NHL level or went back down after nine games, they’d met with Graham, Connor, and Mickey to hear their thoughts on it.
All of them had agreed that despite his young age, Erik was playing like a genuine NHL player. Not perfectly. It was clear he still had a lot to learn. But he was holding his own with the physicality and the speed of the league, and no one could argue about what he was contributing to the team.
They’d also considered whether it was appropriate to give him the opportunity, given how drunk he’d gotten at the beginning of the season. To Graham’s surprise, it was Gavin who had argued most passionately about giving the kid a second chance.
“Look,” he’d said. “I get it. Playing in the NHL is a privilege. And we’ve all seen what happens in places like Evanston when head offices look the other way about problematic player behavior. But Erik didn’tharmanyone. He’s been contrite and has behaved in an exemplary way since. Don’t you think it’s worth giving him the opportunity to learn from his mistake and grow?”
So, in the end, they’d been unanimous in agreeing Erik should stay. Sending him down wouldn’t improve his play and off-ice behavior as much as learning from the veteran players on the team and getting NHL ice time.
“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Connor had said gruffly. “Make sure he’s sticking to what he promised.”
“And if he doesn’t,” Gavin had said, “I’m willing to burn a year of his ELC if necessary. It wouldn’t be my choice, but I’ll do it if I have to. I want guys to see that actionsdohave consequences, but redemption is possible under the right circumstances.”
Gavin had also suggested strategically resting him throughout the season, even when perfectly healthy. Load management to avoid long-term fatigue and injuries wasn’t common in hockey, despite the exceptionally long season, but it made a lot of sense to Graham.
The team had some cap space, they had talented guys they could call up from Concord to fill in, and it would help both the Harriers’andErik’s development.
Especiallybecause the Harriers were working hard to put themselves in a position to compete for the Cup this season.
The parity in the league was frustrating, because there were so many excellent teams out there, but as the Harriers settled into some nice long stretches of wins interspersed with the occasional loss, they slowly climbed the rankings.
