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“This is pretty amazing,” Aaron said.

“Right? You’re here on the aisle. There are servers who can bring food to your seat, or you can go in the lounge and hang out, have food, whatever you want. It’s all on the house—just show them your credentials.”

“Okay.”

“So, I need to go manage some pregame press for Caleb. I’ll check on you periodically, and I’ll come pick you up after the game and take you where you’ll meet up with him and actually get on with your night.”

“Okay.”

Great. He was suddenly stuck with a single word in his vocabulary. How could Caleb think he belonged in this place? Everyone was going to know he’d accidentally slipped behind the velvet rope.

“And you’ve got my cell number. Call or text if you need anything. And, most important, have fun.” Grant squeezed his shoulder and then was off like a shot.

Aaron fidgeted before the players came out for warmups. He read his phone. He looked around. He tried to feel like it was okay to be where he was. When Caleb came out onto the ice with the team, though, Aaron focused everything on number twenty-eight.

“Excuse me, sir.” A deep, booming voice came from his right, and Aaron looked up. A hulking man in a black blazer with a name tag that identified him as security looked at him as if he was ready to pick him up and move him. “Are you in the correct section?”

This was the moment he’d get ejected from The Garden before he could watch Caleb play even a minute of the game.

“Yes. Yes, I am.” He stood and held out his credentials from his body so they could be inspected.

The guard examined the cards and scanned one of them. “My apologies, Mr. Price. Enjoy the game.” Without another word, the guard retreated back to the lounge.

Even though he was jittery, before he sat down, he turned his back to the ice, pulled out his phone, and snapped a selfie.

Once comfortably ensconced in his seat, he typed to Pam. Can you believe how close I am to the ice? OMG!

He attached the picture and sent it. It only took less than a minute for the reply.

I hate you right now. Have fun!

Aaron forgot any issues he had about his seat once the game started. He only had eyes for Caleb, who more than once shot him a smile as he came to the bench—not always, but more than enough to warm Aaron’s heart.

The game play was thrilling, and he freely leaped up to cheer Rangers goals and strong plays. He was also quick to boo anything good Boston did. The excitement took over.

Grant joined him for the third period since the three seats next to Aaron were empty, as were several others in the section. Apparently the people who could afford tickets in this section liked to watch from the lounge area, where it was warmer.

As the clock wound down to only five minutes left, New York was up by a goal and pushing hard to secure the win. It had been a tight, back-and-forth game against Boston.

Aaron, Grant, and the rest of the crowd suddenly stood as Dimitri took off with the puck, followed closely by Caleb, who skated hard to catch up. Aaron couldn’t believe how fast Caleb actually was. It seemed he’d never fully turned his speed on for the kids at practice, and it was impressive to Aaron every time he did it.

As they drove down the ice, the Boston defense worked to cut them off. Dimitri and Caleb had their give-and-go down, though, and the puck passed easily between them. Caleb drove deep, leaving Dimitri, the other wing, and the two D to set up. Caleb hard stopped and spun, looking for a pass. Before he got it off his stick, he was checked into the boards and ended up grappling for the puck with a Boston defenseman.

Caleb won the scuffle and sent the puck sailing around the boards. He’d barely gotten the black disc away before the D cross-checked him, causing Caleb to drop to the ice. The crowd erupted in boos and catcalls as the ref at the goal line whistled play to stop. Aaron had seen Caleb take hits before, but this one seemed particularly vengeful. He was thrilled that Caleb bounced right up as soon as he had space to do so. The last thing he needed was to get hurt again.

Boston called a time-out as their player got a two-minute penalty. Aaron watched as Caleb and the rest of his line came back to the bench. He didn’t look into the stands, focusing on the coach instead. When the ref blew the whistle to line up for the face-off, Caleb, Dimitri, and their line mates took a seat as another line went out for the power play.

“Why they’d do that? Why not let them play?” Aaron looked to Grant, who he hoped knew more about the strategies of the game than he did.

“Most likely they want to keep the first line for the final minute in case Boston pulls the goalie. The next two minutes will be okay, but it’ll get dicey once the power play is over because Boston isn’t going to let this go easily.”

The penalty passed with no goals, but a lot of shots on net from the Rangers. As the penalty ended, there was just over a minute left. Caleb and Dimitri headed back out, and the home crowd went wild. Aaron was on his feet, as was most of The Garden. If New York held the score they’d win. If Boston scored, it’d mean the risk of overtime, where anything could happen. The play was intense and, sure enough, as soon as the puck got into the Rangers’ zone, the Boston goalie darted to the bench so a sixth attacker could to take the ice.

The way the players moved reminded Aaron of bees buzzing around—Boston looking for a score and New York looking to prevent it. With twenty-three seconds to go, Caleb, who was positioned in the slot, intercepted the puck, shrugged off the Boston defenseman who was near, and took off down the ice. The defensemen who’d been on Dimitri gave chase. Once Caleb was over the red line at center ice, he shot, and the puck sailed unobstructed into Boston’s net.

The New York fans erupted into cheers as the Rangers players spilled off the bench and everyone rushed Caleb. He hadn’t won the game—technically that goal happened earlier in the period—but he had all but sealed the win. It was possible in twenty seconds to get two goals and force overtime, but it was highly unlikely Boston would get even one.

When the final horn sounded the score was four to two. Aaron and Grant shared a high five while Caleb sent a warm smile to Aaron before he left the bench and headed for the locker room.