Page 58 of Second Chance Faceoff

Maybe I’d slipped into an alternate reality where things weren’t so complicated.

***

The next morning, I was on the training room floor, holding a side plank while Nate timed out the last seconds of a pre-hab circuit. The place smelled like disinfectant and sweat. Nothing fancy—just a small corner of the training room with some bands, mats, and a muted flat-screen TV mounted above the doorway.

I wasn’t paying much attention to it. My eyes were on the wall clock, counting down the seconds in my head. Just get through the set, then—

Something moved across the screen. A slow scroll at the bottom.

FORMER NHL STAR NEEDS LOCAL DOG RESCUE’S APPROVAL TO STAY IN MINOR LEAGUE LINEUP

Chapter seventeen

Riley: Leaning In

“Did you see it?”

Tessa didn’t even look up. She kept stirring her coffee like it was a witch’s brew and waiting for steam to spell out a curse.

“Yeah,” I said. “I don’t even want to talk about it.”

She raised one eyebrow. “OK”

I exhaled hard through my nose. “Can’t her editor pull her back to wherever she came from? Can't she cover something important in—I don’t know—Turkey?”

Tessa leaned back in her chair. “Turkey?”

“It’s what I’m having for lunch.”

Tessa cracked a smile. I didn’t want to smile back, but I did. Just a little.

“She twisted it, Tessa. She made it sound like Colton’s out here begging me to keep his hockey career alive. Like the rescue is some kind of rehab program.”

“She does have a gift,” Tessa muttered, dragging her spoon around the inside rim of her mug.

“I mean, the guy has been working his tail off. He doesn’t deserve this.”

There was a pause. A quiet one.

“You know,” Tessa said slowly, like she was easing into a thought, “I’ve always believed in good old-fashioned karma.”

She sipped her coffee, watching me over the rim.

“Sometimes you just gotta... help it along a little.”

I stared at her. “What does that mean?”

Another sip. Innocent blink.

“Tessa?”

Before I could press her, she glanced past me, voice lowering.

“Don’t turn around. Colton’s here.”

My heart thudded once, hard.

“I’m guessing,” she added, “he saw the article.”

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