“What’s wrong?”
“I'm fine. Just trying to work.”
He studied her. “You looked upset.”
“I said I'm fine. Believe it or not, I do have actual work to do,” she said, sharper than she meant to. The hurt flickered across his face before he masked it, and her stomach twisted. This—this was why she’d ended things. To avoid hurting him.
“We should both get back to work,” she added quickly, turning away. But she could still feel his eyes on her.
A few minutes later, Sasha found her. “You okay?”
“What is with everyone asking if I’m okay? I’m fine. This is the busiest time of the season for us. I have work to do.”
Sasha gave her a questioning look but didn’t push, heading back to the volunteers. Hillary immediately regretted snapping.
The instant regret of being shitty to probably the two people besides her sister she was closest to threatened to pull her down, but she was no stranger to plastering on a fake smile to talk to a donor. She was head of PR for a reason. It was time to stuff it all down and do what needed to be done.
Once the food drive was over and everything was being packed up, Hillary made her way to her car. She was ready to get home and crash. She would need to be back at the center early to make sure the game that night went smoothly. Her shower and bed had her name all over them.
As she made her way to her car, she noticed something on her windshield. As she got closer, she saw it was a bag of Sour Patch Kids with a note.
She picked it up and unfolded the note.
Hey Boss,
I know it's a busy time, just make sure you take time for a little sweet treat break. I saw these in a jar in your office—a little sour and sweet, just like you. I hope these make you smile.
Rookie
And damn it . . . it did make her smile.
13
MURPHY
The sharp scrape of skates on ice echoed in Murphy’s ears as he drove through another sprint during practice. His lungs burned, his legs ached, but it felt good. This was the work—pushing until he had nothing left to prove he belonged here. Youngest on the team or not, he was determined to make every shift count.
"Hey, Rookie. Heads up," Niko said in his thick Russian accent as he sent a puck his way, expecting to catch him off guard.
Murphy had played on a line with him last year and was happy he’d been pulled up to the first line. He easily dodged the puck, but knocked it out of the air with his stick before hitting it into the net. "I'm not a fucking rookie anymore."
He headed into the locker room to change.
"Hey, don't let Niko get to you. He's just jealous you’re playing better than him. He'll pull his head out of his ass eventually," Conner said as he sat down next to him, taking off his skates.
"Thanks, man," Murphy said as he made his way to the shower.
Conner didn't pull any punches and held everyone to a high standard, but when it came down to it, he championed everyone on this team. That was the kind of player Murphy wanted to be.
By the time he was done in the shower and back in the locker room, the mood was upbeat, guys laughing and trading stories as they packed for their first long road trip of the season. Murphy’s stomach hummed with anticipation. Two games in Canada. Then a game in Seattle and L.A. before they were back in Glendale. He was already running through plays in his mind as they headed to the bus.
He’d just stepped onto the first step when he spotted Hillary coming up behind Sasha, her bag slung over her shoulder. She didn’t go on every road trip, which made seeing her here even better. A flicker of curiosity ran through him about why she was here this time, but it was quickly overtaken by the grin stretching across his face.
“What’s with the dopey smile?” Sven muttered as he passed.
“Nothing,” Murphy said quickly, slipping in his earbuds to avoid further interrogation. He settled into a seat, keeping half an eye on Hillary as the bus pulled away, the quiet rumble of conversation and soft thump of music around him making her presence stand out even more.
The first gameof the trip was done. Murphy loved road trips. While there was nothing like playing for the home crowd, there was something about being the outsider that spurred him on. He tended to feed off the pressure. He played his best on the road, but that didn’t seem to help them much tonight.
