Chapter 35
THIRTY-FIVE
ISLA
FOUR MONTHS LATER
“This is it, ladies. You’re the first women’s NEU hockey team to make it to a Frozen Four,” Coach says with her iPad held tightly against her chest. “We’ve had women playing positions they don’t usually play.
We had women here on track scholarships, one who ended up being one of our top-scoring players.
We’ve had injuries, and, yeah, no part of this season has been easy.
And yet”—she stops, looking around the locker room at all of us—“here we are. At a goddamn Frozen Four. And I’m proud of each and every one of you, but now, it’s time to go out there and do your jobs.
Let’s bring this home to NEU. What do you say? ”
The room erupts into pure madness, and the energy is absolutely insane, but Coach is right. This season hasn’t been easy, yet here we are.
“Scott,” Coach calls to Summer, “lead us out.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Summer pulls on her helmet, her practically white-blonde ponytail flowing down her back, and one by one, we head out to play the biggest game of our lives.
Every one of us that passes Coach gets some different words of encouragement, and when it’s time for me to pass by, she stops me with an arm out.
“Relax and have fun out there, Hardy. You play best when you’re calm.”
“Yes, Coach.” I bob my head up and down once. “I will.”
“You got this. You’re one of the best female goalies I’ve seen, and that’s saying something.” With a slap on my back, she sends me out of the tunnel and onto the ice.
Immediately, the nerves in my stomach kick into high gear, telling me that this is a huge deal and that a lot is riding on my shoulders. My heart begins to beat faster and faster, and I think I might literally throw up.
And that’s when my eyes find my very own cheering section.
Filled with everyone important in my life, ranging from my boyfriend, my parents and brother, to both sets of grandparents, aunts and uncles, and some who aren’t actually my aunts and uncles but might as well be, along with all of their kids.
I’m not sure if my dad, Brody, or Cade wave the biggest; it’s probably a tie.
Link gives me an awkward, cheesy thumbs-up, and I fight back a laugh.
My mom blows me a kiss, but even from here, I can see the nerves written on her face.
And then I find Hendrix, and he doesn’t need to do anything because I know everything he’d tell me right now.
He’d tell me how proud he is and how well I’m going to do and that, no matter what, I’m great.
Hendrix Hunt has a way of wanting to take care of everyone around him and also make them feel their best.
Some players wouldn’t so much as look at their parents or loved ones just before a game, but for me …
they ground me. I look at my dad, and I remember why I’m out here in the first place.
Because when I was a kid and he taught me how to skate, I fell in love.
And what I loved most about it was being on the ice with him.
There was no pressure. It was just the two of us, laughing and learning together.
I was learning how to skate, and he was learning how to parent.
But the thing is … he didn’t need to learn. That man was a natural.
If the men’s hockey team makes it to the Frozen Four, which I know that they will, I’m going to make sure that I cheer so loud for Hendrix. And I’m going to fill a section with everyone who’s come to love him because that’s what he deserves.
I give them all one last smile before I turn away. It’s game time, and I need to focus. We’re going in for the kill today, and I have to be perfect.
HENDRIX
“Holy shit,” Saint whispers beside me, damn near losing his mind. “They are about to be Women’s Frozen Four champions.”
“Language,” Addison grumbles from in front of us, but there’s no anger in her tone. She knows what a big deal this is for Isla, and I’m sure she understands her son’s enthusiasm.
“He’s right though,” Brody chimes in. Of course Isla gets an entire section of cheerleaders—that’s what my girl deserves.
“Who would have thought that the sweet little toddler who was taking ballet lessons would grow up to be the star of the women’s hockey team?
” Brody says, gripping Cam’s and Addison’s shoulders. “You guys did good.”
“She’s incredible,” Brody’s wife, Bria, whispers. “I’m so proud of her.”
The moment is quickly interrupted when Brody and Bria’s daughter, Iris, quickly stands.
“Someone, please switch seats with me!” she practically wails. “I cannot—and I mean, I can-not—sit next to Eli anymore.”
“Eli, what are you doing now?” Coach Huff grumbles to his son.
“And whatever it is, stop,” his wife, Haley, adds.
The chaos continues on between Brody O’Brien’s daughter and Cade Huff’s son, but my mind tunes it out as I watch the game come to an end, and my girl can finally relax because she’s done her job.
Even from all the way in the stands, I can feel the excitement in her body as she throws her arms into the air and her teammates all swarm her.
It’s a feeling I hope I get to replicate next month when it comes time for the men’s Frozen Four, if I’m lucky enough.
But deep down, I know that watching her—the person I love more than anything or anyone else in the world—earn something that she’s worked her ass off for …
well, I think it probably means more to me than it would if it were me.
I’m so happy for her.
The girl started the season thinking she was going to be a center, only to be put in the situation of playing goalie instead. And she’s killed it.
And while the entire NE University’s women’s team is impressive, my eyes are stuck on the goalie.
I let her and her teammates celebrate, watching in awe and completely entranced. But it doesn’t take long before her gaze is on me and she’s skating toward the plexiglass.
I can tell right away that it’s taking everything inside of her dad not to rush toward the glass and congratulate her, but instead, he cheers along with the rest of her fan section before nodding toward me.
“Go on, Hunt,” he murmurs. “It’s you that she’s looking for.”
I’m out of my seat and against the glass within seconds. Her hair is wild, and the curls have turned more into frizz from the sweat around her forehead from all the work she just put in. I love her this way. It’s real. And it’s Isla.
“You were pretty unbelievable, baby,” I say, putting my hand to the glass. “How did that feel?”
Her eyes dance with excitement, and she gives me a sweet smile.
“It felt pretty good,” she says, tears in her eyes. “But not nearly as good as it did to look over and see you cheering me on.”
“Always, Nineteen. Always.”
I tip my chin toward where her teammates are all in a huddle on the ice. “Go on. I’ll be here waiting when you’re done celebrating.” I wink. “Soak it in. You earned it.”
She keeps her hand against the plexiglass for a moment before she drops it down and skates a few steps back. She blows me a kiss before waving like crazy to the rest of her friends and family.
When she skates off, I feel warmth spread across my chest, and Cam stands beside me, patting my shoulder.
“That’s our girl, Hunt. Pretty fucking great, isn’t she?”
“She sure is,” I agree in awe because, to be honest, I don’t know how the hell I ever got a woman like her or a family like this one to give me a shot.
The Hardys have become my own family, and for a guy who never really knew the true meaning of that word … I’ll forever be grateful for them helping me learn what it feels like.
Isla didn’t have to give me a second chance, but she did.
Without her, I don’t think I would have ever had a reason to be better.
I would have continued to let the past consume me because that’s what I thought I deserved in life.
But because of her, I didn’t want to accept that as my fate.
Because of her … I don’t have to go through life feeling like I don’t belong.
Right here, supporting her? This is where I belong.