“Right.” I nodded sharply. “Training camp. It’s—I know the drill.”
“I know you do. How do you feel about being paired with Hall?”
I think my heart actually stopped for a beat or two. “I… Hall?”
Coach nodded and gestured in Hall’s direction with his clipboard. “I want to see how the two of you gel.”
It took me a couple of seconds to process that. Somehow I’d still assumed Hall would be on the second line, since that was why we’d acquired him. I guess I just hadn’t thought about it. When my mind finally caught up, all I managed to say was, “Oh.” What could I do? Tell Coach he was pairing me up with the player I’d had a wicked crush on since forever? That Leif and I had even had a wager on whether or not I’d get into Hall’s pants?
Coach offered a sympathetic grimace as he put a hand on my shoulder. “I know this is tough for you, kid. No one can fill the hole Early left on this team. No one. Ever. But I have to fill his position. Next man up. You know how it is.”
I swallowed hard against the lump in my throat. “I know. I get it.”
I did. I honestly did. Somewhere in my mind, I’d known it on the way in here. There was no offensive line without a center and two wingers.
I just hadn’t realized my line’s new center might be Peyton Hall.
CHAPTER 4
PEYTON
I was, fortunately, not the only new member of this team. After I’d warmed up my legs, I skated over to Brandon Laramie, who’d been acquired to back up the starting netminder.
As I approached, he pushed up his mask. “Hey, man.” He gave my arm a little smack with his blocker. “How’s Pittsburgh treating you?”
I tapped one of his pads with my stick. “Haven’t really had time to explore, but so far, so good. You?”
He shrugged. “Same.” He looked around the ice, brow pinching beneath the shadow of his mask. Voice low, he murmured, “Is it just me, or…?”
“The vibe in here?”
He nodded slowly.
“No, it’s not you.” I glanced around before meeting his gaze again. “Can you blame them?”
“Not at all. I don’t think I’d have even made it to the ice.”
I grunted in agreement. “Something tells me it’s goingto be a rough ride for a while. Best thing we can probably do is encourage everyone else to step up.”
“The new guys and prospects?”
I nodded. “Whoever makes the roster is going to have a hell of a lot on their shoulders this season, but I don’t know what else to do.”
He studied me for a moment, then cracked a small smile. “You sound like a captain.”
“I don’t think I’d go that far.” I swept my gaze around the ice again. “Somebody’s gotta keep everyone going while they pick up the pieces, you know?”
The smile faded and he nodded solemnly.
Shortly after that, Coach Tabakov blew the whistle, and everyone skated toward the whiteboard on the glass beside the bench. We’d all been divided into three groups—black, gray, and gold jerseys. I wore a black jersey, as did Laramie. The gold team went to the other rink for their first session, and the gray team would arrive in another hour to join one of us for some drills and a scrimmage.
As I took a knee with everyone else, I gave my group a glance. It wasn’t hard to pick out the returning Whiskey Rebels; the somber faces gave them away. The coaching staff wore similar expressions. Some of the other new guys looked at each other uncertainly, as if they had no idea what to do with this uncomfortable vibe. Did anyone really know how to interact with people who were grieving? Add that to the demands of hockey, and… yeah, this was going to be tough as hell.
At the whiteboard, Coach took a deep breath. “Gentlemen, I know this is going to be a challenging season for everyone. No one is expecting it to be easy, especially for those of us who knew Early.” He rolled his shoulders, and he seemed to struggle a little to hold on to his composure. “There’s a big piece of this team missing, and it’s missing in a way none of us are used to. It’s just… going to take time.”
My gaze landed on Caldwell. There was a little more life in his eyes now. Some more determination. Maybe he’d just needed a moment to process things in the locker room before he came out here, and now that he was on the ice, he was pulling himself together.
You’re a stronger man than I am, Caldwell.
