Page 4 of Power Plays & Proposals

Chapter 2

The scrape of skates on ice would always be my second favorite sound. The first being the sound of Penelope's laugh as she told me about how excited she was to show her friends her Christmas presents. I'd gotten her a charm bracelet kit and an artist gift box, complete with a professional sketchbook. She'd already texted me a picture of the drawing she'd started of me playing on the ice. She'd picked the photo of me falling on my face after spraining my ankle. My ankle was doing better now, and with some extra tape I should be able to play in the game tonight.

"Dad, I gotta go. Mom wants to take me somewhere."

"I'll see you next weekend Sweet Pea."

I hated that I didn't have more time with her, but the judge didn't want to give me more custody when I was gone so much during hockey season. Hard to keep on top of Penelope's school work when I had games October through April, and half of those took me out of state for days at a time. Not to mention that Erin made it so difficult to co-parent that every nanny I'd hired ended up quitting in less than a month. The last one didn't even last a week before Erin reduced her to tears.

"Nate!" I looked up to find Lou skating across the rink towards me. "One of those for me?"

He pointed at the white pastry box in my hands. I’d pulled the sticker with the bakery logo off the lid before anyone saw me with it. Selfishly, I didn’t want any of my teammates discovering the gorgeous redhead that worked there. My exchanges with her made me feel normal, and for the first time since my divorce, I was tempted to try dating again. She made me hopeful that one day when Penelope was all grown up I could date again. But that didn’t mean I wanted to see any of the knuckleheads on my team flirting with her.

More of the team skated over and swarmed like teenage boys when they realized I had food. There were some things that would always be the same. In a matter of seconds I was left holding an empty box. Good thing I’d eaten mine before I entered the building.

"You cleared to skate today?" Lou asked after he’d taken the last bite of the egg and bacon croissant.

"Going to see the doc now."

He nodded. "I'll save a puck for you."

The room for the team trainers wasn't as fancy as the NHL-level rooms, but it had the necessities. The rolling ultrasound and stimulator racks, whirlpool tanks, treatment tables, ice makers, and other rehabilitation equipment. There were drawers and cabinets of medical stuff to treat injuries that didn't require a trip to the hospital.

"Mr. Mitchell." Doc greeted me. "Shall we see if you're good to play tonight?"

"I know I'm ready to play."

"Hop up on the table and we'll see."

The sprain had felt bad at first, but luckily it wasn’t as bad as first diagnosed. Resting and following the RICE protocol had done wonders for it. I hadn't needed crutches for a couple of days now, and while it was tender, I didn’t limp now. I sat on the table Doc pointed at and pulled off my shoe.

He sat on one of those rolling stools in front of me as he picked up my foot. "Tell me if it hurts."

I felt the smallest twinge in a couple of spots as he had me move my foot around. But it was nothing I hadn't played on before. No pain no gain as my dad liked to tell me growing up.

Doc picked up his clipboard and checked a box before signing his name below. "Suit up for morning skate. But I want you in extra tape."

The grin spread on my face. "You got it."

I put my shoe back on and headed to the locker room to get my gear on. My blue jersey was hung up in front of my pads, I moved it to the side and reached for my shoulder pads. Only to find they were all taped together. I shook my head as I turned to find Daniel laughing from where he sat on a bench across the locker room.

"Married life too boring for you?" I asked him.

I’d been there and done that, Erin had made sure to destroy any and all desire I had to date or get married again.

He shook his head, a beaming grin on his face as he thought of his new wife. "Nah man, but I owed you one after the gum in my glove."

I hid my grin and started ripping away the tape. "That was payback for the lid on the water bottle."

"That wasn't me," Daniel said.

"Sure it wasn't." I pulled my stuff apart and started putting it on.

"See you on the ice." We bumped fists as he walked by me towards the rink.

My first step on the ice after being out felt as good as coming home after a long time away. Here on the ice nothing else mattered, there was a reason the NHL had drafted me young, they knew I gave each game my all. If things hadn't fallen apart with Erin, I'd still be playing there. Instead, everything had fallen apart, and I'd been traded to the minor league before finding my way to the city of Glacier Bay. Dan and the other guys on the team had helped me get back on my feet, and I wasn't looking forward to leaving them at the end of the season.

Stupid custody arrangement. I thought to myself. The puck slid across the ice towards me and I took off with it, aiming my stick towards Dan in the goal.

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