“That’s one of six reasons I don’t sleep at night.”
“The other five?”
“Each daughter, the ending of Lost from a decade ago, my goddamn back, and my endless to-do list.”
“Oh yeah, those are solid reasons.”
Coach smiled for a second before lowering his voice. “I’ve dealt with guys who think they’re hot shit. I know the drill. Cal is no different than Frankie G who played one year then went to the Coyotes. I’ve been doing this a long time, yet Cal... he plays at another level. He could be one of the greats.”
“Yeah, true, he’s good.” The same, nauseous feeling returned at disagreeing with him. “But I’d take six average players who played as a unit over Cal any day.”
“Okay, go on.” He leaned against the window and crossed his arms, studying me with narrowed eyes. “Tell me why.”
“Because...hockey isn’t an individual sport. It’s not like baseball or football where you have your pitcher or quarterback who can make or break a game. Like, they win as a team and lose as a team, but everyone knows if a pitcher has an off day, that contributes to a loss. With hockey, it’s not one person. Every part of the game relies on another teammate. If the goalie misses a block, where were the defenders? They’re a unit. A brotherhood. And one person thinking they’re too good for the team? That’s a cancer.”
“I think you found your coaching philosophy,” he said, smiling wide and putting a hand on my shoulder.
“Never thought about it like that,” I said, feeling my face burn hot at the way he looked at me. Like he was proud of me. Like what I said was right.Does Naomi ever feel this way with him?
“It’s a good outlook to have. Finding your philosophy is hard, and it can take you a while to figure out, but yours is solid. That takes character, Reiner. Your parents would be proud.”
Sucker punch to the gut. A ton of different emotions hit from both sides. “I hope so,” my voice cracked, and I cleared my throat. “If you want me to apologize to the captains, I will.”
His brows disappeared into his hairline. “Not Cal?”
“No. I would’ve said the same thing to anyone I saw behaving that way. Like a piece of shit. So, no, I’m not apologizing to him.”
“I had a feeling about you.” He laughed to himself, and I wanted in on the joke. “It’s your call if you want to, but I don’t care either way.”
“Why not?”
“Because my philosophy is about cultivating leaders. Being good men on and off the ice. You need to do what feels right to you, but tell me you didn’t notice how Erikson and Helsing played differently tonight. They’re rattled. They know there’s an issue on the team, but they don’t know how to fix it yet.”
“So, you let them figure it out. What about play-offs? The record?”
“We’re winning, Reiner. It’s messy, and yeah, I’m anxious as fuck, but watching those guys learn how to lead a team is how I manage any sleep at all.”
I nodded, letting his words settle over me. I pushed myself up from the seat. “Thank you, Coach.”
“Tomorrow, nine am. Meet me and Hank at the diner to talk post-game.”
“And the stats from Naomi?”
He blinked, his gaze moving to the back of the seat, and for a moment, he looked sad. “Get the report and give me your thoughts.”
“You sure you don’t want her to join? She might have some good insight.”
“Sure, yeah.” He pressed his lips together tight and nodded. “Yeah, have her come along too.”
“I think that’s a great idea, Coach.” I grinned, waiting for him to nod before going back to my seat. Naomi had headphones in and her eyes closed, looking peaceful and cute all at once.
She bobbed her head back and forth, and her lips moved, like she was singing the lyrics to whatever song she had playing. Around her, my soul relaxed. I wasn’t worried aboutlifeand what was next. I could just be.
“Hey,” I said, pulling out an earphone and putting it in my ear. The string was short, so I moved my head closer to her, so close her breath hit my face. “Ah, punk music. My favorite high school genre.”
“Shut up,” she said, yanking the earbud back. “How’d it go?”
“You didn’t listen?”
