“You would know these things if you did not hide in the woods, my friend.”
“Mikal! Honey, not vinegar!”Anya yelled.
I wouldn’t tell anyone this, but I had missed my friend and his wife. Mikal and Anya tried to be there for me after the injury, but I cut myself off from everyone. Especially everyone and anything that reminded me of the life I no longer had.
“Yes, yes, Anya,” Mikal said, groaning. I could almost picture him scrubbing his hand over his face as he did so. “Anya and I took in a teen boy several years ago. He had no one.”
“Tell me about him.”
“No. I do not want him receiving special treatment.”
“If I take the job, your name…”
“Yes, yes, this I know, but… I’m asking you to not go looking.”
“Looking? Does he not have your name?”
“No, but that’s neither here nor there. Sasha, these boys all need someone to guide them. Not just our boy. Yes, I come to you because he’s upset…”
As he should be, I thought. A new coach coming in right just as the official start of the season is upon them puts everything in limbo.
“But that is not all. I want to help him, of course I do, what father wouldn’t…”
“Oh, I know a few,” I muttered.
“Yes, as do Anya and I, but that’s not the only reason I called. Now, after all these years, I have a way to help you as well. You could be there for all of them andfinallycome out of the woodwork.”
“Why me? You’re a coach,” I said, pointing out the obvious. “Plus, you won the cup.”
“You were an integral part of that season, Storm.”
“I’m not rehashing old arguments, my friend. Say I agree, the university may not. Hell, you’ve not even mentioned what school.”
“Sasha, there’s only one school that matters this much to Mikal, which you should well know,”Anya yelled in the background.
Manchester University, or The U, or MU, which was pronounced ‘moo’, and was ridiculous in my opinion, was my Alma Mater as well. And Anya was right. The U was the only school that mattered.
“If they call…”
“They have. Multiple times, but you’ve not answered. According to the school’s Athletic Department, they’ve been sent to voicemail. And the response from your agent was ‘Storm isn’t interested in coaching,’ so they called me.”
“If they offered you the job?”
“No. They didn’t offer me the job. They called asking me to talk some sense into you.”
I groaned. So, it was mine if I wanted it because if a team as good as The U was still looking for a coach at the end of September… well, that meant there were issues.
I loved my time at Manchester. The community was small, but big enough not to be boring. From the moment I stepped foot on campus and in the town, I felt at home. It’s why I picked this plot of land and cabin. It was close to one of the only places I felt at home.
“They just completed a seventy-million-dollar remodel of the hockey facilities. It’s brand new, never been used. And there’s housing included.”
“Where do the boys stay in this expensive mecca of hockey greatness?”
“That’s part of the new facilities. The team has quarters attached to the arena. It’s a separate building, but there’s an underground passageway.”
“You’ve seen it?”
“Just the plans. They asked for suggestions from some of the alumni.”
