Chapter 38
THIRTY-EIGHT
ADDIE
When the loud ringing of a phone interrupts Gavin’s pregame speech, he glares at JJ. “What are you doing?”
Sighing, JJ pulls it out of his cubby. “It’s Avery.” He holds up the device as proof. “She didn’t get to see Adeline today. She just wants to wish her luck.”
My uncle grunts, his expression hard, but rather than shut him down, he says, “Make it quick.”
JJ puts Avery on speaker immediately and says, “Hi Aves.”
Before my favorite girl can respond, the rest of the team joins in, hollering “Avery.”
My heart thumps as I beam at the group around us.
I spent years worrying that I wouldn’t actually belong in a locker room like this and that all the players I encountered would treat me like Dirk did. But every day, this group of guys proves me wrong.
“Hi,” Avery chirps. “Addie, are you there?”
Laughing, JJ pushes the phone toward me.
“Hi, Avey girl.”
“I’m wearing your number. Auntie Sara said number thirteen is lucky, right, Mimi?”
Cat replies, “Yes, because it used to be Uncle Brooks’s number.”
I’m smiling so hard my cheeks hurt. “You make me feel so special,” I tell her. “I can’t wait to see you.”
“I can’t wait to see you. Mimi says I have to sleep at her house tonight because you will be busy after the game, but I really want to come home with you guys. Can I?”
“Avery,” Cat chides.
I look at JJ, my expression pathetic, I’m sure. Because as nice as it was to have a whole night to just the two of us, I already miss her fiercely.
Lips kicking up, he gives me a single nod.
Holding back a little squeal, I say, “I’ve been given the okay by Daddy. If you can stay up and wait for us, we’ll take you home after the game.”
“Yay. You’re the very best, Addie. I love you.”
My heart swells. “I love you too. I’ll see you soon.”
“Okay. Remember: kick some hockey player butt.”
The group around me laughs, the atmosphere in the room light.
“I’ll try.”
Gavin gives us a look. “Can I continue now?”
JJ says a quick goodbye to his daughter, then stashes his phone.
“As I was saying,” Gavin continues, “tonight is a big night. With our new goalie playing, there will be more eyes on us.” He scans the guys, standing tall.
“That means tonight is the perfect opportunity for every single one of you to go out there and show the rest of the league how we play this game. Show them the type of team we are. How hard it will be for our opponents to pull off a win. Play like all eyes are on you, and not just our goalie. And that’s the last thing I want to say.
Because that’s who Addie is. She’s your goalie.
” He finally meets my eye. “She’s our goalie. ”
I nod, my chest tight with pride.
“Now go have fun. I have a feeling it’ll be one of those games we’ll all remember.”
Jarred, always one to get pumped up, slaps my back and chants “Angles, Angles.”
Grinning, JJ joins him.
Bobby stands, bouncing and waving his hands, summoning everyone to join in. Bray shakes his head, but he nods at me, a hint of a smile on his face, and joins in as well.
JJ’s full focus is on me, his face split with happiness.
I can’t help but wonder if everyone in the room is thinking what I’m thinking. He looks like a man in love.
Maybe they can’t see it. Maybe it’s because I know he is.
Cheeks burning, I throw my arms up and wave them once. “Okay, enough.”
“Ya heard our goalie. Let’s go,” Brayden yells.
By some miracle, they all obey our captain. As the guys file out, I stand and collect the rest of my gear. When I join the procession, JJ is at the back of the crowd, waiting for me.
“You ready?”
I cringe. “Not when you’re looking at me like I have something to be nervous about.”
His face lights up with amusement. “You’re going to be amazing. Don’t even try to tell me you don’t know that.”
“I know.” I do, even if the butterflies in my belly are going wild. “I’m excited. This is it.” I suck in a shaky breath. “This is the moment I’ve been working toward my entire life.”
“And here I thought last night was something special,” he murmurs, voice teasing.
God, this man gets me. He’s not insecure about my work ethic or talent. He knows what this game means to me because it’s just as important to him.
“Last night was amazing,” I say, “but that’s because we both scored, multiple times. Tonight will be better because no one is scoring on me.”
He drops his head back, laughing, and heads for the door. At the threshold, he turns back and winks. “Until tonight.”
I follow him toward the ice. But the moment I step out of the tunnel, my thoughts are drowned out by the noise.
JJ turns around, giving me an encouraging smile.
If only I could freeze this moment. It’s another special moment in my life, and of course JJ is here for it. The cheers are deafening. While the majority of the noise is probably coming from my family and friends, that isn’t the most meaningful part.
It’s the sight of Avery, Dec, Beck, Gracie, Mari, and Emmy Lou all pressed up against the glass, held up by various family members, waving aggressively to get my attention.
I skate in their direction, and the noise grows even louder.
As I approach, the adults turn the kids around. Every one of them is wearing a number 13 with my name emblazoned on it, and all the girls are rocking rhinestones too.
Laughing, feeling like I’m floating off the ground, I rush toward them. Avery is practically bursting at the seams, smacking the glass and calling out to me.
I lift my helmet so she can see me better. “Hi.”
“We’re matching!”
Giggling, I nod. “Yeah, but yours is sparkly.”
“Aunt Sara should make yours sparkly too. That’s her job, right? She owns the team.”
“Aunt Sara does oversee the team,” I explain. My father would definitely argue that she doesn’t, in fact, own it. Then again, he probably would also disagree that she runs the team. If he has one flaw, it’s taking credit when he hasn’t earned it.
When I spot him a few feet back, I suddenly feel like Avery. Like I want to bang on the glass and get his attention. I want him to pay attention to me. To be proud of me.
As if he can feel me watching him, he shifts and his eyes are on me.
Instantly, my worry seems ridiculous. Because his entire face lights up.
And it’s not because I’m in hockey gear or playing in the NHL.
It’s because he loves me. And he’s proud of me.
Always. I suck in a rough breath and mouth “Hi.”
He nods. “Hi, Little One.”
I laugh as tears fill my eyes. “I’m taller than you,” I mouth, motioning to my skates which give me that extra height.
He responds the way he always does. “You’ll always be my Little One.”
I nod and collect myself, reining in my emotions. Helmet pulled down, I give one final wave. Then I head toward my net. It’s time to kick some hockey player butt.
“It’s not every day that a goalie ends their first game in the NHL with a shutout,” one of the male reporters says.
I glance at Gavin and my aunt Sara, who are standing in the corner of the room watching the postgame interview. Then I look at JJ, who’s got a hat pulled down low, hiding in the back.
There’s not a thing anyone could say in this moment that would truly ruin my night, because yeah, I blocked every damn puck that came at me during my first game in the NHL.
More importantly, we won 3-0. The Bolts’ offense was on fire, working together so seamlessly it felt like the season hadn’t just started.
And the defense rarely allowed New York to get anywhere near the net.
But the few times someone slipped through, I blocked the shot with no problem. I was in the zone; loose and prepared.
And we dominated.
“You don’t have anything to say to that?” The reporter scans the room, laughing like he’s proud of himself.
I tilt my head, expression flat. “I didn’t hear a question.”
“Well,” he stutters, his expression going sour, “what are the chances you can do that again?”
There’s no point tempering my smirk. “Considering I pulled it off through an entire Olympic series, I’d say chances aren’t horrible.”
Sara beams. Gavin closes his eyes, his shoulders shaking as he chuckles, and a few of the female members of the press laugh.
“Obviously, being a woman makes this job a bit harder,” the man follows up, clearly digging in.
“Well, there are thirty-two teams in the NHL and two to three goaltenders per team, and like you’ve pointed out, I’m the only female, so I guess you’d have to ask the other eighty or ninety goaltenders in the league if they think that because I’m a woman, my job was harder than theirs tonight.”
He frowns. “That’s not—” He shakes his head, his face turning red.
With a hand out, motioning to his chair, I say, “You can sit now.” When he drops into his seat, I smile at him. “Good boy. Who’s next?”
JJ chuckles loud enough to be heard from the back of the room, threatening to crack my composure. It takes effort, and I have to hold my lips together to keep from giggling, but I manage.
“Congratulations,” a female reporter says, taking the proffered mic. “I’m Lizzie Stevens, Channel Ten, and I think I speak for every woman to ever play hockey when I say it’s about damn time.”
Warmth blooms in my chest. “Thank you, Lizzie.”
“It’s a big night. Are you going anywhere special to celebrate?”
My eyes find JJ’s in the back of the room again and I grin. “Yeah. You could say I have a little tradition to uphold tonight.”
“And what is that tradition?”
I stand a little taller and focus on her again. “Greasy pizza with my best friend.”