Page 9 of Pucking Secret

Jensen Reece and Carson Monroe grin like two teenagers with a juicy secret.

“Guess what, Stacey?” Jensen says, flashing his usual big, easygoing smile.

I tilt my head back to look up at both these giants who tower over my mere five feet four inches. “Okay, what are you two doing here? Especially so early on a Monday?”

Carson chuckles. “We wanted to get some skating in and hit the weight room. Gotta stay in fighting shape for the season, right?”

“Sure, sure, I get that,” I nod. “Okay, what’re you so excited about?”

“Just found out from Coach that we officially have a new guy to fill in Cruz’s spot,” Carson says. “They haven’t told us who he is yet, but supposedly he’s a real menace on the ice. He’ll be here in a month when practice starts.”

Jensen nods. “The suspense is killing us.”

I laugh.

“Oh, I heard about the transfer,” I assure the boys. “I’ll be doing his PT input paperwork and initial exam later.”

“You got any details you can tell us about him?” Jensen asks, nudging me with his elbow and giving me a teasing wink.

I roll my eyes with a grin. “You know I can’t give you any information I learn from medical records. Go get to the weight room, you dummies. I’ll see you later.”

Truth be told, I don’t know anything about the new guy either. I haven’t gotten his file yet.

They head toward the locker room, and I go into the therapy offices. Janet, the head PT, is already going over a few charts. She’s tall and thin, with long black hair she usually wears in a knot on the back of her head. Janet is an excellent mentor and we get along really well. Lately, she’s been hinting at the possibility of retirement, but she’s also been nudging me with the idea of staying on permanently and taking her place when my residency is up at the end of the year. I’m not going to lie, that would be pretty much a dream come true.

“Morning,” she says, handing me a small stack of player profiles the moment I walk through the door.

“Good morning,” I reply.

“We need to start making sure all the guys have their medical records in and up-to-date,” she tells me. “Go through the files, and if any are missing, let me know and I’ll get Coach on their asses, okay?”

I give her a firm nod. It feels good to know she’s confident in me.

As I sit behind my small wooden desk, I pause. There’s a satisfaction that settles over me, knowing I’m exactly where I worked so hard to be. It wasn’t easy getting here. I’m lucky that Millie is such an amazing kid and that I had Gram around to help take care of her whenever I needed to focus. Gram always told me there was no shame in getting help (even if my mom always thought otherwise) and that someday it’d all be worth it, and that Millie would see my hard work and determination and be inspired by me. She was right. I’m here, doing what I love. For her, my daughter, every lonely, sleepless night, every tear, every struggle…it was all worth it. It’s us against the world and I wouldn’t change a thing.

I grab my first file and get to work, prepared for whatever the day has in store.

Later that afternoon, just as I’m finishing checking the last of the medical files, the PT office door flies open and Millie comes barreling inside.

“Mommy!” she exclaims, rushing up to my desk. “Mommy! Guess what?”

Smiling, I reach down and wrap my arms around her in a tight hug.

“Just a second, baby,” I tell her before I look up at Lilah, who’s following closely behind Millie. Her pink hair is styled intoa feathery mohawk and the sides of her head are shaved. Her make up is dark and heavy, especially around her eyes, and she’s got tattoos all over her arms and a nose ring. At first sight, Lilah is the last person a parent might trust with their kid, but she’s easily the best babysitter I’ve ever had…minus her occasional flightiness.

“Thanks for dropping her off,” I say.

“No problem,” Lilah replies. “Sorry again that I can’t watch her. I’ll be able to all next week, no problem.”

“Okay, that’ll be great,” I nod. Looking back down at Millie, I say, “Tell Lilah thank you for picking you up.”

“Thank you, Lilah!” Millie declares with a wide, toothy grin.

“I’ll see you later, kiddo,” Lilah grins before turning and strolling back out the door.

Once she’s gone, Millie turns back to me and asks, “Can I tell you what we did in school today now?”

“Yes, baby. Go ahead.” I sit back in my chair and make a show of giving her my full attention.

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