Five minutes and fourteen seconds remained. Nashville pulled its goalie with ninety seconds left. Heath planted at the net front, absorbing crosschecks. I cleared the zone. Cross ate clock.
The horn sounded.
The crowd stayed on its feet.
We won.
The locker room door shut, and the room came apart.
Gloves flew. Tape snapped. Somebody body-checked Pratt into the whiteboard.
Varga was screaming about destiny.
Our media coordinator appeared. "Mathers, Donnelly, Cross—scrum in five."
I showered fast. Charcoal suit. The face in the mirror was the one that had been giving interviews since I was eighteen, except something behind the eyes had shifted. Less mask. More surface.
The media room setup was a long table, three chairs, and cameras in a semicircle. Cross on the left. Me in the middle. Heath thirty seconds late, still fighting his tie.
Questions started with the game.
"Walk us through the sequence, Kieran."
"Lane opened when their weak-side D cheated. Heath was driving the net. I found the seam."
"Heath, the redirect, a designed play?"
"I went to the net. Puck got there. I put my stick on it."
More questions. Then theTribunereporter stepped forward.
"Kieran. This partnership with Heath has become the storyline of the season. What does it mean to you?"
Recorders adjusted. Cameras tightened their frames. In my head, I cycled through the safe answers:great teammate, on-ice chemistry, trust the process.
I'd been giving those answers for eight months. They were vague statements dressed in press-conference language. I was done with the lack of precision.
Heath turned his head to watch me. Tie still crooked. Hands on the table.
I leaned toward the microphone.
"Heath's the most important person in my life." Even voice. No drama. "On and off the ice."
Silence. Breathing. Shifting. They all expected one thing and received another.
I didn't elaborate.
I looked straight ahead. I didn't look at Heath. His exhale told me everything.
The PR coordinator called time.
In the hallway, Cross peeled off toward the training room. At the corner, he looked back and nodded once.
Beside me, Heath finally spoke.
"You said that."
"I said that."
