Page 34 of Power Play with My Brother's Irish Friends

18

DUNCAN

For Miranda. Two words played over and over in my mind. Every time my skates glided over the ice and an opponent came my way, I concentrated on what Miranda would tell me to do. Her voice rode around in my head like an angel of mercy. We’d started off rough, but Austin’s pep talk worked heaps better than I’d expected. Patrick nailed shot after shot, proving he’d not lost his game over the years. I checked another opponent, bumping him into the wall and holding him there so Charlie had room to skate past.

Hands flailed and his leg came around to lock with mine. The move spun us around so my back slammed into the partition keeping us from tumbling into the spectators’ laps. I bared my teeth and shoved him off. “Not today, asshole.”

He matched my snarl and shoved me again. “Yeah? What are you going to do about it? Who’s going to care if I stomp your face into the ice, huh? No one cares about a two-bit player from Ireland.”

Austin, Charlie, and Patrick clumped up together, forming a V that tore across the ice. Austin smacked the puck. The opposing goalie dove, missed, and the scoreboard blinked our new number. I smirked at the guy trying to rattle me. “Looks like we’re going to win.”

He jerked a look over his shoulder. I used his momentum and pushed. Arms windmilled and the fucker crashed onto the ice flat of his back.

The ref’s whistle blew. “Unnecessary force.” He waved one hand overhead and pointed at me. “Last warning.”

“Last?” I sneered at him. “When was the first?”

“You want another one?” He motioned at the stands. “I can get you off the ice faster than you can blink. Now skate it off.”

Great. So I had a ref out to get me. Excellent news. I tightened my grip on my hockey stick and spun away.

Coach held up two fingers in my direction, offering his own warning to cool it.

“One more period to go. For Miranda.” The constant mantra worked better than anything else I’d tried.

The same prick who egged me on came after me again. Austin blocked him, but he kept coming.

Fuck this shit. I took the hit on the shoulder, ducked, and picked the motherfucker up across my back and flipped him onto the ice. Patrick might’ve perfected the slapshot, but I had my own arsenal of perfection. The impact pushed the breath from his lungs with an oof. He grabbed his chest and rolled side to side.

Smirking, I skated away as the whistle blew and the ref tagged me into the penalty box.

“It was worth it.” I shouted to the crowd, and they roared back. Maybe they hadn’t heard what the guy said, but they’d seen my violence often enough to expect more than this, especially by the last quarter.

Austin skated past, disappointment etching deep lines in his face beneath the helmet. He tapped the glass in passing to let me know he understood.

I’d grown accustomed to spending time in the penalty box. It gave me a chance to watch my team and learn more about them, but I’d been trying to do better and not unleash the anger. With nothing better to do, I shouted taunts at my opponent every time he skated past. It rattled him enough that he missed a catch that Austin stole and passed to Charlie. They worked in seamless beauty, passing the puck around to Patrick and protecting him as he took aim. I’d been impressed from the first day I skated with them, but watching them in full action, with our entire season on the line, reminded me why I’d agreed to join the team. Their skill helped hide the flaws that came with my age. My career on the ice wouldn’t last much longer, but I was determined to go down fighting.

The scoreboard counted down the time. I checked the timer on the penalty box. I’d have seconds on the ice once released from the box. Seconds to help my team make one more shot. If they could keep the other team from scoring, we might make it. Years of blood, sweat, and tears had gone into this game I loved.

The crowd chanted the countdown for me. “Five. Four. Three. Two. One.”

A buzz and I flew onto the ice like the devil himself rode my back. Austin saw me coming. Both damned teams saw me coming. The guy I’d been after came at me. Patrick took him down.

Another opponent went after Austin. With Patrick occupied, he twitched his chin toward the goal and whacked the puck in my direction. I caught it on the edge of my stick and skated for all I was worth. My breaths came short and quick, the adrenaline kicking into overdrive. Voices roared all around me, shouts to make the point, shouts warning me I had someone on my heels. I barrelled ahead, trusting my team to watch my back. Charlie appeared in my peripheral vision, a roll of his head telling me it was all on me. Tied game. Final shot. I checked the scoreboard. Five seconds left. It was enough. It had to be. Go. Go. Faster. My skates flew, my body taking over and pushing out any doubt or fear that I might miss. Three seconds. Two. I launched the puck. It smacked the back of the net as the buzzer pealed out.

Teammates surrounded me, their shouts louder than the crowd stamping and roaring their approval. Relief rushed through me with dizzying speed. I’d done it. The scoreboard clicked our final points into view, making the win official.

Movement across the ice caught my attention when Charlie and Patrick squeezed in front of Austin and grabbed me by the shoulders. The guy I’d fought with tapped a finger to his helmet in a salute. Any other time, I’d have taken offense, or found offense in the gesture. Not anymore. I grinned and ripped off my helmet, throwing it toward the bench and clapping my teammates on the back.

“Nice shot.” Patrick gripped the back of my neck and shook me. “Knew you had it in you.”

“Fucking aces, man.” Murphy held up a gloved fist for a bump that I matched.

My grin stretched so wide I wondered if it would split my face in two. “Nothing to it.”

“Just needed a little motivation.” Scott joined in with a laugh and a slap on the back.

The entire team surrounded me with praise and friendly jostling. I’d become used to being the outsider, the one people avoided until they needed me to get someone off the ice. This brotherly praise and camaraderie loosened the knots in my stomach until I felt loose and carefree with my smile.

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