Page 147 of Suck My Puck

He exhales and rests his elbows on the edge of his desk. “You want to take time off to help a kid with cancer.”

I nod. “Yeah. It’s the right thing to do, Coach.”

He blinks at me, the look in his eyes softening. “You’re right. It is.”

He blinks again, his gaze turning glassy. “As a dad, I can’t imagine what it would be like to see my kid at that age fight cancer.”

He glances at a framed photo of Sophie on his desk. He lets out a shaky breath. She looks like she was in high school when that photo was taken.

He blinks quickly, like he’s trying to stop tears from falling. My chest aches watching him get emotional over his daughter.

“If my daughter was sick and someone could help her, I’d want them to. Even if it’s a huge ask—even if it meant that they put their health and well-being on the line, I’d want them to do it to save my baby.”

His voice trembles. He quickly clears his throat.

I instantly think of my dad. I hate that he’s in my thoughts right now, but I can’t help it. I can’t help but wonder what he would say if he could hear me right now, willing to put my career on hold to help some kid I don’t even know.

Irritation spikes inside of me. I don’t care what he’dthink or say. He’s not someone whose opinion matters to me anymore.

“Sorry,” Coach Porter says, dabbing at his eyes with a tissue. “I got a little emotional.”

“Don’t apologize. This is a really emotional situation,” I say. “I don’t have kids, so I don’t know what it’s like to go through something like this. All I know is that I want to help.”

Coach Porter nods. “Of course.” He pats his hand on his desk. “You’re a stand-up guy, Blomdahl. If you were my son, I’d be damn proud of you for doing this.”

Emotion surges through me, heartened at what Coach Porter says.

“That means a lot, Coach. Thank you.”

He nods. “I support you one hundred percent. Whatever you need to do to help this kid, do it. Your spot on the team will be safe. And we’ll all be here to help you through it.”

Relief flows through me. “Thank you.”

“You should tell the team what your plans are.”

I thank him again and head to the locker room where the guys are cleaning up and getting dressed.

I go to the center of the locker room. “Hey, guys. I need to tell you something.”

The chatter instantly dies. Everyone looks at me.

“You remember that kid Lucas who needs a bone marrow transplant?”

Their expressions are serious as they nod.

“I’m a match. If all the testing goes well, I’ll be able to donate bone marrow to him.”

The mood instantly shifts. Half of them are on their feet and walk up to me. Everyone is smiling.

“That’s fucking awesome, dude,” Xander says.

Theo slaps my back. “Hell yeah.”

Del cracks a smile. “This is great news.”

“I’ll have to take some time off for the tests and the surgery and the recovery. I might be gone for awhile,” I say, bracing myself for their disappointment. “I know we’re on a hot streak and that might screw things up.”

Half the room shakes their heads.

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