Page 40 of Playing to Win

“She is.”

“She got peppered there. I’m not sure I’d have stopped a lot of the shots she did. That center on the Montreal first line—she’s fast.”

I was faster. Or I had been.

“I wish… I really wish I’d known more before I ran my mouth that night.”

If he had, we wouldn’t be in this fix. But I was going to take his “punishment” and make something of it. “I’ve given you some slack, because you weren’t upset that she was a female player, but because you share DNA. Especially since I know now you had to fight harder than most of your teammates to get to where you are.”

“But I have opportunities you and Faith don’t.”

“You recognize it. That’s a start. And now you have a platform to help us, and I’m going to use that.”

“By having me play with your team?”

A happy jolt vibrated in my chest.My team.I couldn’t lose them. “That’s part of it. You’re going to attend any possible game, and we’ll announce when you’re going to be here. We’re going to use you to bring more spectators to our games.”

His eyes widened. “You think anyone will come just because I do?”

“I’ll make sure of it.”

He chewed on his lip. “Would it help if I invited some of the guys? I mean, the Inferno guys. You probably already asked the Blaze guys to come.”

I hadn’t, and that was something to rectify. “That’s a good idea—I should try to get the Blaze out. But we don’t have a lot of time left this season. The playoffs start next week, and the finals are wrapped up before the end of this month.”

He blinked at me. “That quick?”

I shrugged. “Women’s hockey is a different animal.”

* * *

Braydon

Coach wasn’thappy about me missing a morning skate, but Jayna hadn’t been kidding about making things happen. I was practicing with the Bonfire instead of the Blaze for a day. As a result, way too early on a Monday morning I drove to the Bonfire arena with my gear.

Jayna lived close to the arena and caught a lift with Megan, so I arrived on my own. I parked my truck in the arena lot and met her at the back door. She was dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved Bonfire T-shirt, and her smile when she saw me warmed something in my chest.

“You made good time.”

I’d been determined not to be late. To prove to her that I wasn’t that guy on the video. “Need any help with your gear?”

“I’m good. On the Inferno we always have to carry our stuff.” My equipment bag had wheels, so it wasn’t too bad to drag around. Unless there was slush everywhere, but that was supposed to build character, right? I followed her inside, and we took a different turn to get to the visitors’ dressing room.

“It’s down that way to get to the ice. You’ll hear practice.”

She left me in the empty room. Prepping all alone was strange. Before games I zoned the noise out, going through my ritual to get everything just so and have my head in the right space. I wouldn’t have to today. There was no one to joke around with, no one bragging about what they had done the night before, whether a girl, a game, or how much they’d eaten. For the first time, I wondered where my half-sister had gotten ready the night we played together. A bathroom? A closet? Was she also someone who had to focus before a game, or had she missed having her teammates around?

I dressed in my gear as per my routine, tapped the mat, and headed out. When I got to the ice, wearing the Blaze practice jersey Jayna had requested, most of the team was already warming up. Faith was on her own at the far end, stretching. I wasn’t Faith’s favorite person, but goalies practiced together, so after a couple of quick laps to warm up I stopped at her end of the rink. “Mind if I join you?”

“Knock yourself out.” She was down in the frog stretch.

I dropped to the ice, stretching out my hamstrings and quads.

She turned her head, watching me. “So, you’re doing this.”

“Yep.”

“Jayna’s got a camera crew coming.”

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