Page 27 of On Thin Ice

“Yeah, I’m good. Just not my night,” I mumbled.

“Agreed. Tonight wasn’t great for anyone, really. Not a total shitshow, but not the result we wanted. Shower and get your asses on the plane. We’ll do a late-morning skate tomorrow and video. Don’t want another repeat against St. Louis in two days,” Millsy said.

We had tomorrow night off, but St. Louis was coming to us for another preseason game.

“Dom, I want to see you after you shower,” Millsy said.

“Dun, dun, dun-dun,” Haldy said.

I glared at my linemate. “Fuck off, kid.”

Haldy’s eyes widened slightly. Guess I’d had more bite in my tone than I’d realized, but what the fuck, man?

“It’s all good. We’ve all had rough starts,” Micah said on the other side of me.

“You need to talk about anything?” Tally asked, leaning around Micah.

“Nah, I’m fine, just working through something. It’s all good. I’ll be focused next game. Hell, next practice,” I said, trying to sound calm as fuck when my head was spinning.

I could not let my personal life interfere with my game. This was my life. My job. I had to figure this out. Now.

“Okay. Just remember, I’m here to talk any time,” Tally said.

“Thanks, man,” I replied. Then I headed to the showers, needing to clear my brain before walking into Coach’s office.

***

Once dressed, I knocked on Coach’s door and poked my head in. It felt like going to the principal’s office, and it fucking sucked.

Millsy glanced up at me, setting aside whatever stat report he was reading. It was full of numbers. Ally would love it.

Dammit.

Not the time.

“Want to tell me what the hell is up with you?” Millsy never was one to beat around the bush. It was one of the things I liked about him. He was fair, but sugarcoating wasn’t his thing. I’d been happy to hear that he was going to be coaching the Stampede. We were teammates my first year on the Strikers and he’d been a strong veteran player I’d looked up to.

I slid into the seat in front of his desk.

“I’m working on it,” I said.

“What exactly are you working on? We need your head in the game, Dom. You’ve been off since training camp started. Notenough for me to scratch you, but you have to figure your shit out. If you need to talk to me, I’m here, but your attention has to be on the ice. That last pass was sloppy as hell, and fucking Debrier beat you to the puck. He’s one of St. Louis’s slowest guys. We can’t keep letting this slide.”

I sucked in a big sigh. “I just have some personal shit going on.”

“Can you fill me in? You’ve always been a partier. Is it something you need rehab for? Not that you’ve ever been drunk on the ice, but I know it happens.”

“What? Yeah. No. Nothing like that. Family stuff.” I fucking hated sounding flustered.

“Something you need time off for? It’s shit timing, but we can figure something out,” he offered.

“No, just a personal issue that I’m working through. Came on as a shock right before camp started. I know I need to get my head out of my ass and focus on hockey, Coach. Can you give me a bit longer to figure it out? I’ll be ready by the season opener.” I hoped I sounded as confident as I very much wasn’t.

Chapter 6

ALLY

“Is she moving?” Ethan asked.

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