By some miracle, they all obey our captain. As the guys file out, I stand and collect the rest of my gear. When I join the procession, JJ is at the back of the crowd, waiting for me.
“You ready?”
I cringe. “Not when you’re looking at me like I have something to be nervous about.”
His face lights up with amusement. “You’re going to be amazing. Don’t even try to tell me you don’t know that.”
“I know.” I do, even if the butterflies in my belly are going wild. “I’m excited. This is it.” I suck in a shaky breath. “This is the moment I’ve been working toward my entire life.”
“And here I thought last night was something special,” he murmurs, voice teasing.
God, this man gets me. He’s not insecure about my work ethic or talent. He knows what this game means to me because it’s just as important to him.
“Last night was amazing,” I say, “but that’s because we both scored, multiple times. Tonight will be better because no one is scoring on me.”
He drops his head back, laughing, and heads for the door. At the threshold, he turns back and winks. “Until tonight.”
I follow him toward the ice. But the moment I step out of the tunnel, my thoughts are drowned out by the noise.
JJ turns around, giving me an encouraging smile.
If only I could freeze this moment. It’s another special moment in my life, and of course JJ is here for it. The cheers are deafening. Whilethe majority of the noise is probably coming from my family and friends, that isn’t the most meaningful part.
It’s the sight of Avery, Dec, Beck, Gracie, Mari, and Emmy Lou all pressed up against the glass, held up by various family members, waving aggressively to get my attention.
I skate in their direction, and the noise grows even louder.
As I approach, the adults turn the kids around. Every one of them is wearing a number 13 withmynameemblazoned on it, and all the girls are rocking rhinestones too.
Laughing, feeling like I’m floating off the ground, I rush toward them. Avery is practically bursting at the seams, smacking the glass and calling out to me.
I lift my helmet so she can see me better. “Hi.”
“We’re matching!”
Giggling, I nod. “Yeah, but yours is sparkly.”
“Aunt Sara should make yours sparkly too. That’s her job, right? She owns the team.”
“Aunt Sara does oversee the team,” I explain. My father would definitely argue that she doesn’t, in fact, own it. Then again, he probably would also disagree that she runs the team. If he has one flaw, it’s taking credit when he hasn’t earned it.
When I spot him a few feet back, I suddenly feel like Avery. Like I want to bang on the glass and get his attention. I want him to pay attention to me. To be proud of me.
As if he can feel me watching him, he shifts and his eyes are on me. Instantly, my worry seems ridiculous. Because his entire face lights up. And it’s not because I’m in hockey gear or playing in the NHL. It’s because he loves me. And he’s proud of me. Always. I suck in a rough breath and mouth “Hi.”
He nods. “Hi, Little One.”
I laugh as tears fill my eyes. “I’m taller than you,” I mouth, motioning to my skates which give me that extra height.
He responds the way he always does. “You’ll always be my Little One.”
I nod and collect myself, reining in my emotions. Helmet pulleddown, I give one final wave. Then I head toward my net. It’s time to kick some hockey player butt.
“It’s not every day that a goalie ends their first game in the NHL with a shutout,” one of the male reporters says.
I glance at Gavin and my aunt Sara, who are standing in the corner of the room watching the postgame interview. Then I look at JJ, who’s got a hat pulled down low, hiding in the back.
There’s not a thing anyone could say in this moment that would truly ruin my night, because yeah, I blocked every damn puck that came at me during my first game in the NHL.
