Chapter 23
Hazy
Hazy vibrated with excitement in his trainer’s office at the practice rink. He should have been able to check in with Robbie when they got home from Christmas, but due to a flu going around the locker room, Robbie needed to travel with the team for their one-game road trip to Salt Lake City.
Which meant Hazy had to deal with his brace and movement restrictions for two days longer than anticipated. Robbie agreed to come into the practice rink on his day off as a special favor to Hazy. AKA Hazy whined so much he’d bullied his care team into abandoning their game day routines.
He didn’t feel bad. After eleven long weeks, he would be free of his brace. Robbie held a steadying hand out as he took his first few full-weight steps in months. A smile spread across his face as he stretched his muscles.
His leg ached, but in a good way.
“How long until I can skate?” he asked.
“A couple of months still. But the good news is you can start with weight training and conditioning. You’ll be in physical therapy for at least six more weeks. There’s plenty for you to work on between now and then.”
They worked through half an hour of stretching and balance exercises, and then Robbie dismissed him with strict instructions to take it easy. Hazy resisted the urge to do ten miles on his stationary bike.
As he exited Robbie’s office, Livy greeted him with a bright smile. She gave him a round of applause and punched the air. “He can walk!”
Hazy laughed and playfully shoved her arm. “Shut up, it’s not a big deal.”
“Oh whatever. For days all I’d heard is,”—she put on a bad impression of his voice—“‘only four days, then I can be done with this stupid shit,’ ‘in three days I’ll be running laps around you,’ and ‘two more days until I’m fully mobile.’ You’re allowed to be excited.”
“Good, because I’m fucking pumped. I can’t wait for the game tonight.”
The Freeze would be celebrating the new year by hosting the annual winter outdoor game. They’d be taking on the Denver Peaks in a makeshift outdoor rink hosted in the baseball stadium.
Hazy took his time getting ready. With his newfound mobility, he’d be posing for pictures with the rest of his team.
When he’d walked out of his room in a suit, Livy’s eyes widened.
“Damn, I forgot you clean up this nice.”
His heart flipped at the compliment. “You’re one to talk,” he said. “Look at you!”
She did a spin and struck a pose, showing off the special winter edition jersey she wore. Seeing Valentine across her back caused a twinge in his chest. He rubbed it away.
“It’d be cooler if it had my name on it.”
Livy stuck her tongue out at him. “You have to play in the game to get your name on the jersey.”
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s go.”
They arrived at the stadium and met up with the Connors.
Photographers snapped pictures of every combination of players.
Daisy and Livy posed for as many pictures as the players did until Daisy ferreted Livy away somewhere.
The positive media attention had him on top of the world until he had to leave his teammates.
He’d gotten permission for Livy to accompany him in the team’s suite. She sat next to him, her feet propped on the empty seat in front of her, sleeves of her jersey tugged over her hands as she covered her mouth for every gasp or curse.
Watching his team play without him brought about a special kind of pain.
They were blowing Denver out of the water, and while he wanted them to succeed, it sucked that they’d adapted so quickly to him being out.
Lover and Beanie had a different winger on their line, and their chemistry looked solid.
The new line connected on passes and seamlessly moved together on the ice.
Irrational as it may be, it felt like a slap in the face.
The Connors worked hard to build their chemistry and create their systems. Beanie and Lover’s new linemate, Lukas Lehtonen, had recently moved to the NHL from a European league.
Watching them work together, Hazy would have guessed they’d been playing together for years.
“Damn,” he said during intermission. “I might not have a spot on the team to return to.”
Livy smacked his bicep. “Oh, stop. The Connors are the face of the franchise.”
“Eh, two outa three ain’t bad.” He’d meant for the comment to be a self-deprecating joke. Something to make her laugh.
She didn’t, turning serious in an instant. Placing her feet on the ground, she twisted in her seat to face him. She cupped his cheeks and said, “No negative self-talk. The team loves you. They need you. You’re going to win them a fucking Cup.”
Hazy pulled one of her hands away from his face and kissed the palm of it.
He loved her confidence in him. Without her constant support he probably would have given up hockey before ever getting drafted.
“I’ve been thinking about what I would do if I didn’t have hockey. Or like. After hockey plans.”
“Oh, yeah?” she asked, relaxing into her seat again. “What have you decided?”
Hazy saw the opening. He could tell her about his jumbled-up feelings.
He almost did, but the words got stuck in his throat.
By the time his vocal cords unfroze he decided against mentioning it at all.
Running it by someone else first seemed like a good plan, but he hadn’t gotten the chance yet.
“Just that I need to find some hobbies.”
“That sounds like a great place to start. Do you have something in mind?”
“No. I’ve been trying to think of some since we did vision boards. Travel is one, but I can’t do that all the time.”
“Maybe not, but it still counts.” The third period started. Livy diverted her attention back to the ice.
“Will you help me find some others?”
“Heck yeah. That’ll be so fun!”
As she said it, Lover snapped a pass to Lukas, who maneuvered into a breakaway and stuffed the puck into the back of the net, making the score 6-2 in favor of the Freeze.
Livy leaped from her seat and screamed along with the goal song. Hazy crossed his arms over his chest and shifted in his seat to find a more comfortable position. When he remembered that a camera could be pointed in his direction at any moment, he celebrated.
The crowd quieted as soon as the teams met at center ice for a face-off.
Denver won it and gained the offensive zone.
They cycled the puck, passing it from person to person faster than the Freeze could keep track of.
The Peaks were determined to get a goal.
One of their players got tripped up, and a referee’s arm flew up.
Their goalie rushed to the bench, and an extra attacker came onto the ice.
The Freeze’s goalie, Tyler Schmidt, got peppered with shots at a relentless pace.
Livy and Hazy were both gasping one second, then sighing in relief. Gasp. Sigh. Gasp. Sigh. Schmitty knocked the puck out of the air and created a scramble in front of the net. Bodies piled up on top of him before the whistle finally sounded.
When everyone got to their feet, Tyler stayed down.
“Oh, fuck,” Livy said.
“He needs a minute. He’ll be fine,” Hazy said, trying to convince himself as much as Livy.
On the ice, Beanie signaled a trainer from the bench. Robbie hustled out to the goalie, who was far too still. He should be shaking it off.
A millennium passed before the trainers had him on his feet and skating off the ice.
“Well, fuck,” Hazy admitted when the backup tendie took the ice for the final few minutes of play. “He might not be fine.”
The next morning Livy made pancakes and topped them with strawberries and whipped cream.
She piled a stack for Hazy and placed it in front of his seat at the kitchen island.
Since being allowed to bend his knee he’d taken to sitting there while she cooked.
He liked keeping her company while she worked.
Hazy accepted the indulgent breakfast. “What did I do to deserve such a treat?” he asked. He popped a strawberry into his mouth.
Livy built her own plate and rounded the counter to sit next to him. “Nothing. This is my attempt at hyping myself up.”
“Ooh, what are we hyping for? I can be a cheerleader for both of us!”
She cut a chunk of pancake and topped it with a berry before stuffing the gigantic bite into her mouth. When she finished chewing, she said, “Job hunting.”
Hazy grimaced. Not wanting to piss her off with any negativity, he stuck with a safe question. “What type of job are you looking for?” he asked.
She gave him a side-eye, but said, “I don’t know yet. I think I need to update my resume first and see what I qualify for.”
Hazy propped an elbow on the counter and rested his chin in his palm. “Would you want to go back and finish nursing school?”
Since she’d brought going back to work up the first time, Hazy had been meaning to ask her about school. He knew she had finished some sort of degree, but she hadn’t been open about that part of her life. It all happened during their awkward years.
He’d also searched job listings, trying to figure out how he could insert himself into her life when she returned to work. Growing up, she always said she wanted to be a nurse, so that’s what he researched.
“Oh,” Livy said. “Um, I don’t think so. Nursing really isn’t for me.”
“You didn’t like the classes or something?”
“Or something.” She took a sip of water and fanned her face, which was growing redder by the second. “I’m not cut out to be a nurse.”
He frowned. Livy had incredible bedside manner. She’d been taking care of him for months. With her empathy and compassion, he didn’t think anyone could be more suited to healthcare.
During his browsing he learned that nurses didn’t make nearly enough money.
It seemed unfair that after a few seasons playing hockey, he would be set for life, but there were thousands of people out there saving lives, and they would have to work forty years for a tiny fraction of the returns. “Is it because of the pay?” he asked.