Page 163 of Unraveling Rain
When the puck drops, adrenaline surges through me.
I know Rain is in the box with our families, but I don’t look up. I need to stay focused.
Our turn. Nico, Viktor, and I leap over the boards and onto the ice.
We press forward, trying to regain control.
Viktor strips the puck from one of their forwards and fires it deep into Boston’s zone—none of their players are there.
I speed off, chasing it down. Drawing their defense. I tap left—right where I know Nico will be.
He shoots. It hits the crossbar.
I chase the rebound, one of the Boston guys hot on my tail.
I battle the puck away from their goalie and fire it low, hard, praying he won’t be able to catch it.
The siren blares.
I lift my stick just as Viktor and Nico skate over to celebrate.
“Fuck, yes,” Nico says, grinning.
We got this. I can feel it.
I glance up—and there she is. Rain.
Front and center in the box, beaming.
Every single one of the MacAllisters is wearing a Carolina jersey.
I raise my stick in their direction, and they all fist-pump the air.
Rain blows me a kiss. I wink back, not sure if she can even see it from up there.
Feeling more powerful than I ever have before, I glide toward the bench, ready for my next shift.
The moment the horn sounds, signaling the end of the third period, I throw my hands in the air. We won—5-1—and I couldn’t be prouder of how we played tonight.
You could see the hunger in every one of us. We fought for every puck, blocked Boston from crossing into our zone, and slammed them against the glass when they got aggressive.
Tonight we showed Boston—and the rest of the league—that Carolina is here to play. And win it all.
As I head toward the locker room, I spot a commotion in the mix zone.
The second I see Dennis, my blood starts to boil.
I’m about to move in his direction when Matt steps beside me.
“Don’t do it. Let the police handle him.”
I blow the air from my lungs through clenched teeth.
We stand there watching as the scene unfolds.
To my surprise, Dennis isn’t alone. A woman—maybe his age, petite, blonde, big blue eyes—stands beside him, yelling at the officers.
I take a few steps closer, straining to hear.
