Then another hand rose, and Kevin called on a guy seated near the back of the pack.
“Danny Rodriguez, Fox Sports. Skyler, that was a hell of a shot in overtime. Can you walk us through that play? What did you see developing that made you decide to take it from that angle?”
The room went still again, but this time it was a different kind of quiet.
And just like that, I became a hockey player again.
“Yeah,” I said, and I could feel my whole body relaxing as I ran a hand through my still-wet hair. “Erik made a great pass off the boards, and I sawthe goalie was cheating a little to his left. I’ve been working on that shot angle in practice, so I figured it was worth taking.”
“The assist from Lindqvist was pretty slick, too. How’s the chemistry developing between you two on that top line?”
“Erik’s got incredible vision. Sees like a hawk—no, a falcon.” I could practically hear the guys laughing from the other room at that, giving Erik shit about his falconry skills. “He sees plays developing before anyone else on the ice. Playing with him makes my job easier.”
Another hand went up in the back. “What do you think was the key to coming back from being down one in the third? The team showed a lot of resilience tonight.”
Thank God, we were talking about hockey again.
And only hockey.
As God and Lord Stanley intended.
They remember I’m a hockey player first. Thank God.
“All right, I think that’s enough for tonight,” Kevin said. “Thanks, everyone.”
I stood up, and for the first time since I’d decided to do this, I felt optimistic about what came next. They’d been fair. They’d been professional. Maybe the world was more ready for this than I’d thought.
As I walked toward the exit, Danny Rodriguez caught my attention.
“Hey, Shaw,” he said quietly. “Good for you, man. That took guts.”
“Thanks, D-Man.”
“And nice shot tonight. Hell of a way to win it.”
I smiled, feeling something settle in my chest that I hadn’t even realized had been wound tight.
“Just doing my job.”
As I walked back down the hallway toward the locker room, I pulled out my phone and found three missed calls from Jacks and one text.
Jacks: I’m so fucking proud of you.
Chapter 41
Epilogue
Jacks
Six Months Later
“Stop fidgeting with your tie,” I said for the third time, reaching up to straighten Skyler’s already-perfect bow tie. “It’s fine.”
“It doesn’t feel fine.” He was standing in front of the full-length mirror in the small room behind the chapel, running his hands through his hair for what had to be the tenth time in five minutes. “Does my hair look weird? It feels weird. Should I have gotten it cut shorter? Or longer? Maybe I should—”
“Your hair looks perfect, even better than Dean’s,” I interrupted, catching his hands and holding them still. “You look perfect.Everythingis perfect.”
“But what if—”
