Page 60 of The Puck Stops Here

She nodded. ‘And did he?’

‘He got into college, didn’t he?’

That didn’t answer her question…

‘I thought deals were often spun for the sake of the sport rather than academia.’

His eyes narrowed. ‘I don’t appreciate the insinuation, Astrid. He got in because he deserved to get in period. He studied hard and he trained harder.’

‘Because of you.’

‘Because he wanted it as much as me.’

She wet her lips. Either he was being modest about it, or there was more to the deal than he was willing to share. She made a note to do more digging and moved on.

‘What about role models? Was there someone who stood out for you back then?’

He nodded. ‘Grady Marshall. He’s a legend. A veteran of the game. When we first joined the Redstone Devils, he took Blake and me under his wing, helped us settle into the game, taught us not to be such cocky little shits.’

She pursed her lips. ‘And that worked you think?’

‘For me, I’d say so. Blake… well, you’ve met him, what do you think?’

Even his name kickstarted a simmering heat down low and she cleared her throat, checking her notes…

‘Aside from your home life, what other challenges did you face early on?’

‘It’s a competitive sport and we were from a tiny town with no real resources. It was an hour’s drive to get us to the rink, and our mom worked long hours; she had to bust a gut to get us to all our training sessions.’

‘Would you say you owe part of your success to her?’

‘One hundred per cent. Most kids probably want to get away from their folks. Not us. We loved taking her with us. And we were so freaking useless, we needed her. She made sure we ate, slept and studied, when all we wanted to do was train twenty-four-seven. Now she lives in Brooklyn, and we see her as much as we can. Try to return the favour so to speak.’

‘Brooklyn. Nice.’

‘It is nice. It’s a traditional brownstone on a tree-lined street right next to the park. It’s everything she always wanted for us growing up; now we get to give it to her.’

‘You pay her rent?’

He shrugged. ‘Sure we do. She helps out in a local school and at the homeless shelter too. She has freedom and the financial stability to do the things she always wanted to do.’

‘Thanks to you both.’

It caught in her chest, the acknowledgement of all he and his brother had done for their mother, and what the woman in turn was doing for others. It was good, it was kind, it was giving back. Didn’t make him good, kind and giving to Sissi though. But the more she listened, the more she was struggling to reconcile her karma mission with the man before her.

‘And what’s it like playing with your brother? Have you ever been tempted to split up, play for different teams?’

‘Playing with my brother means the world to me. We’re a pair. We always have been. On the ice, off the ice. I’m a stronger and better player because of him.’

‘I imagine he feels the same.’

‘He does, whether he’ll admit it though…’

‘I’ll make sure I ask.’ She adjusted her glasses and scanned her notes for her next question. ‘What do you think of the NHL’s shift away from permitting violence in the game?’

‘It’s a good thing. Too many guys are getting into bad scrapes, too many are ending up with injuries that see them in an early grave. It doesn’t make it any less tough, any less aggressive, any less thrilling. Just safer.’

‘Have you had any major injuries?’

---