Page 141 of Suck My Puck

Xander grins wide.

“Ouch. I guess we’re chopped liver, huh?” Theo jokes. We all laugh.

“Connor, honey. It’s rude to say things like that,” Heidi says in a soft voice.

“It’s okay,” I say. I pat Xander on the shoulder. “He’s the star of the team, we all know it.”

Everyone chuckles. Xander grabs a children’s sized jersey and asks if Connor if he’d like us to sign it. He nods excitedly. We chat with him and his mom for the next few minutes, take some photos, and head out to visit more kids.

We walk into a room with a kid who looks like he’s about fourteen. I notice his bald head and how skinny he is. He probably has cancer.

Sadness hits me like a freight train, but I push it aside and walk over to his bed with the rest of my teammates, smiling. I don’t want to upset this kid. We’re here to be ahappy distraction in the middle of whatever medical issue they’re going through.

He offers a tired smile to the guys. But when he sees me, his face lights up.

“Braden Blomdahl. You’re my favorite goalie in the league.”

The guys move out of the way so I can walk up to him. I shake his hand, heartened by his reaction.

“Thanks. It’s really nice to meet you. What’s your name?”

“Lucas.”

He tries to sit up in his bed, but he winces like he’s in pain. His dad, who’s sitting in the chair next to his hospital bed, reaches over and touches his arm. “Careful, buddy.”

I notice the pained, watchful look in his dad’s eyes as he watches his son.

A lump lodges in my throat. I don’t have kids, but I can’t imagine what it must be like for this guy to see his son in so much pain, fighting something like cancer. It must be horrible.

For a split second, I think of my own dad. What would he do if I were too sick to play hockey?

I immediately shove away the thought. That’s such a selfish thing to think about when I should be focusing on this kid.

I clear my throat and try to keep smiling as I move closer to the side of Lucas’s bed. “It’s okay, I can come closer. Hey, I’ve got a jersey. Want me to sign it for you?”

Lucas offers a tired smile and nods. I sign it and hand it to him.

“Thanks a lot. This is really cool.”

“It’s no problem. I’m pretty pumped to be your favorite.Most people say Andreev or Sokolov is their favorite goalie in the league.”

Lucas shakes his head. “You’re way better than both of them.”

I chuckle. “Lucas, you’re my new best friend.”

The guys and Lucas’s dad laugh softly.

Lucas’s smile falters. “I was a goalie before I got sick with leukemia.” Sadness flashes in his bright green eyes.

Pain throttles my insides. The urge to cry hits me straight in the chest, but I fight it off. Not because I’m ashamed to cry. I’m not. But I don’t want to cry in front of this kid. I bet he’s seen a lot of people cry around him. His friends, his family.

I don’t want to make him sad. I want to make him smile.

I clear my throat. “I bet you kicked ass when you played.” The second I realize I cursed, my eyes go wide.

“Shoot, uh, sorry about my language,” I say quickly to his dad. He chuckles. Lucas starts to smile.

“It’s okay. He’s heard worse.” He looks at his son. “Lucas is really good on the ice.”

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