I pull her tighter, my hand settling at her waist as her fingers curl into my shirt.
“I’ve got you, baby. I promise I’ll give you everything you need.”
Epilogue
Cooper
We manage to pull out a win in our next game.
Not much is said after, at least not in the way I expected. There’s no big speech or dramatic locker room moment when someone rallies the team. If anything, we’re quieter than usual.
Everyone knows what’s going on. Word travels fast around here, and it didn’t take long before people started putting the pieces together.
Coach Glasgow runs the pregame meeting instead. He doesn’t address the elephant in the room. Just goes through the usual things about staying focused and executing on our fundamentals. A couple of the guys crack jokes during warm-ups, like they’re trying to pull us back into our normal routine.
But you can still feel the shift underneath it.
Which is why the win matters.
It’s not flashy or anything we’ll remember years from now, but it’s one of those games that reminds you this team knows how to show up when it counts.
For me, more than anything, it just felt good to be back out there again.
By the time we’re back on the ice for practice a few days later, things feel steadier. Not exactly normal, but close enough.
I’m heading into the locker room, ready to peel my gear off, when someone clears their throat behind me.
“Rowden.”
I glance up to find Coach Glasgow standing near the doorway. His hands are shoved in the pockets of his jacket like he was waiting for me.
“Got a second?”
I nod. “Give me a few to peel this gear off, and I’ll be right there.”
He’s leaning against the wall when I step into the hall ten minutes later. He studies me for a second.
“How’s the shoulder feeling?”
“As good as new.”
“Good timing,” he says. “Playoffs are around the corner.”
“I’ll be ready,” I tell him.
He watches me for another second before exhaling slowly.
“You know,” he says, almost casually. “I thought the whole situation with that girl might throw you off your game more.”
I don’t say anything, and he keeps going.
“Story getting out the way it did. Media tends to run wild with things like that, and I know it tends to get into a player’s head.”
Something in my chest seizes. The way he says it doesn’t sound like speculation, it’s like he already knows what happened.
He shrugs slightly. “Blew up a little bigger than I expected, if I’m being honest.”
My jaw tightens. Why is he saying it like he expected a different outcome?
