Levi skates by. “In fact, Cam and I are supervising right now.”
"From the ice?" I laugh.
"Best view in the house."
Not subtle. Cute.
Across the arena, Tara's voice cuts clean through the noise—not loud, just precise. Two staffers pivot immediately toward the east concourse.
We slow near center ice.
"We haven’t settled on our team name. You could be our tie-breaker." Cam says, pivoting with the decisive energy of a man reclaiming the conversation before it descends further into Cedar Falls lore. He carves a turn. "Weneed to lock it."
Levi glides backward, facing us. "Cedar Falls Chaos."
Silence. Not a no.
"Or Cedar Falls Rookies," Cam offers, straight-faced.
I look at him. “Thought you’re recruiting seasoned guys?”
He reframes it without missing a beat: "Every player who comes through here is starting over. Doesn't matter if they've played ten years. They walk into this new building and new team, and they'll be rebuilding something. Getting a second shot.Rookiesisn't the wrong instinct."
The words hang in the cold air above the ice. I think about Milwaukee and San Diego and being thirty-four and starting over.Rookieslands quietly.
Rookie Coach.
“Cedar Falls Mustangs,” I say.
Cam slows. Considering.
Levi skates a slow circle, thinking.
Cam tests it. Levi repeats it.
Cam: “Mustangs can’t be tamed.”
Levi: “Or they choose not to be.”
“That’s the whole point.” I say.
It locks. No ceremony. Three men on skates agreeing on something that matters, the way things get decided when there’s no show and no agenda—just shared instinct and the scrape of blades on fresh ice.
From the boards, Tara writes something on her clipboard without looking up. I have the distinct impression that the team name was logged before we finished saying it.
We keep skating. Conversation threads through the physical work like it belongs there.
“Mayor Roy Lewis is solid,” Cam says. “He’s been in on the arena talks from the jump. Civic-minded. Actually invested—not just photo ops.”
Levi adds, “And the fire department’s dialed in too. Their new captain’s basically the unofficial community liaison for the town. Name’s Scott Maddox.”
Levi and Cam exchange a glance that carries the weight of extensive personal experience.
“What?” I ask.
Cam groans. "Devastatingly handsome bastard. Town's most eligible bachelor by a margin that should be illegal. Women drive in from three counties over just to gawk at him."
Levi: “Cam forgot to mention Tara framed the Chronicle’s ‘Most Eligible Bachelor’ feature. It’s above their coffee maker.”
