Page 75 of Fear of Falling

“Josie?” Trevor frowned at me in confusion.

“Yeah. On Saturday, she mentioned to Coach that if we switched Crosby to right instead of left, our line would be stronger.”

“Really?” Bryton’s eyebrows rose.

“I guess he’d thought about it after all.”

“Wonder if it will work,” Bryton mused as we followed behind Trevor, Crosby and Perkins to the other side of the rink.

“We’re about to find out,” I said.

“Let's see what you can do, Crosby” Trevor patted Crosby on his shoulder. Crosby looked unconvinced as he moved to the right of Trevor.

As I got into position between Trevor and Bryton, I silently prayed Josie was right about this.

“Good practice.Hit the showers and PT if you need it. Practice again tomorrow then away game Wednesday night.”

As soon as Coach walked off the ice the guys turned to Crosby.

“Dude, you killed it as RD.”

“You should have switched years ago.”

Crosby’s grin grew wider as each of us complimented him. His sweaty hair was stuck to his forehead, face red from running drill after drill.

Admittedly, the first drill didn’t go so well with him as right defenseman. Crosby kept moving to the left, cross checking Perkins. We’d had to reset and go again which just further aggravated Crosby. It didn’t help that Coach stood nearby, intently scrutinizing every drill.

It wasn’t until our eighth drill that something in Crosby clicked. Almost two hours later, and the five of us moved around the ice like a team. Just like Josie said, Crosby moved better from the right than left. It would take a few more practices, but he had it.

As Crosby bathed in the attention, I gave him a quick pat on the shoulder before skating to the tunnel. I had a physical therapy appointment, and then I wanted to surprise Josie with the news.

“Is Josie secretly a hockey pro?” Bryton skated up behind me.

“I think she was in her past life,” I joked.

“She clearly knows something we don’t. Where did she learn so much about hockey?” he asked as we stepped into the locker room.

“She used to watch it a lot with her dad. Apparently, he was a huge fan,” I answered.

“Did her father…” Bryton trailed off, having caught me speaking in past tense.

I nodded. “About a year ago.” I fell silent for a moment.

I couldn’t begin to imagine what it was like losing a parent the way Josie has. My father may have run out on us when I was little, but that was his choice. Josie’s dad didn’t choose to leave her.

“Are you going to have her meet the family?” Bryton changed the subject as he worked on taking his pads off.

“Oh, meeting the family already, are we?” Trevor asked as he came up behind us and inserted himself into the conversation.

“Mateo’s game’s this weekend, and I’m thinking about inviting her. I don’t want to scare her off, though.”

We only met two weeks ago. Is it too soon for her to meet them?

“Does Lan and Mat know about her yet?” Trevor asked.

“Yeah. Mateo noticed I was on my phone when I was over there for dinner and made a comment. Got Landon and my mom asking questions.” I hadn’t planned on telling my family about Josie so soon, but I should have known there’s no way to hide things in my family.

“Going to his game would be a good icebreaker. Not as awkward,” Bryton pointed out.

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