Page 62 of Conrad

Simon considered him for a moment, then nodded. “Spoken like the Duck Lake Storm team captain.”

“We won state in our division.” He leaned back, noticing that they’d left the highway, were working their way through plowed country roads, the forest shaggy, the occasional road cutting through from houses buried deep in the woods, maybe seated on the shores of nearby lakes. This area of northern Minnesota was lousy with vacation getaways. “Is this an outdoor rink?”

“The Frozen Lakes Youth Cup semifinals. We win this, we advance to the finals tournament in St. Paul. It’s a recreational league, nonofficial, but it’s still a big deal.”

They drove up to a large parking lot jammed with trucks and SUVs and kids hauling gear. The wordsCrystal Lake Ice Circlewere painted on a Quonset warming house with glass doors. The shed faced a rink that glistened under the sun, bleachers stretched out on either side. Kids skated, shooting at the goals, warming up their puck handling. He spotted at least five different jersey colors.

“It’s going to be a long day,” he said as the bus stopped at the warming hut.

“C’mon,” Simon said, getting up. “This is going to be fun.”

Fun.

Hockey had ceased being fun over a decade ago, really. But he piled out of the bus, got the kids moved into their section of lockers in the warming building, and then walked out with Simon to watch the first game, a fresh cup of cocoa in his hand.

He pointed out a few weaknesses of the other teams, but frankly, the entire gameplay felt like a collision of small bodies scampering over the ice, scrabbling for a wild puck. Not a glimpse of strategy in sight. Simon kept laughing at him too, sowhatever.

But he eventually found himself cheering for the peewee goalie who kept nabbing the shots that came near him—most went wide, into the net behind the cage.

“He’s not bad,” Conrad said. “But he needs to keep his body square to the puck, not the player.”

“For the love, Conrad,” Simon said, but grinned at him. “We’re up next. Let’s go gather the team.”

Conrad listened as Simon briefed them on the upcoming game strategy, managed not to butt in when Simon told them to have fun out there. To his credit, the coach had adjusted the strategy to match Conrad’s suggestions.

Maybe they wouldn’t get annihilated.

When he took the ice with his team, slapping the puck to the wings in warmup, he realized he hadn’t thought of Penelope all morning.

Bam.

The kids huddled up on their bench, and he gave a pep talk to the first line, nothing too intense. “Remember, keep your heads up, support each other, and play smart. We’ve practiced hard to get here, and now it’s time to bring that practice onto the ice. Pass the puck, communicate, and stay alert. I want each of you to give it your all.” He looked up at Simon, took a breath. “But most important, I want you to enjoy every moment. On three.”

He held out his hand, and they added theirs to the middle, and okay, thiswasfun.

They took the ice, skating out for the face-off.

That’s when he spotted her. Lined up on the other side of the boards, dressed in a dark-blue hat, a silver-and-blue jersey, her long dark hair down, loose in the wind, clapping wildly.

Aw.She looked good. Too good.

The kind of good that could derail a guy trying to focus on the peewees.

Nope.He shut her away and turned to the game.

Face-off—the Ice Hawks scrambled after the puck, and for a second he lost her in the action.Good.Except the other team, the Maple Falls Polar Bears, scored, and when his team skated in to change lines, he spotted her on their side, seated on a bench.

He ignored her.

Simon crouched in front of the line. “Listen up! That goal—they earned it, but it’s just one goal. We’ve been down before, and we know how to bounce back. Let’s shake it off?—”

Conrad stepped in. “Focus. Nab your passes, stay sharp on defense, and communicate out there. Let’s go out there, take control, and play our game.”

Simon lifted his fist. “We’ve got this! Let’s go show them!”

They spilled out, and he barely noticed her in his peripheral vision.

They scored, and the team erupted on the bench. They switched lines and kept the puck moving?—

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