Chapter 39
Thirty-Nine
Late February, the Renegades righted their course.
Connor Martin was playing his best hockey of the year.
The defense tightened. Luke was steady, using his long reach to break up rushes and his calm to steady the breakout.
Cassie’s stories grew more optimistic. She wrote about the chemistry between the lines, about the coach’s adjustments, about Connor’s unexpected emergence.
She also revisited the earlier slump with the benefit of hindsight.
Personally, she and Luke clung to stolen hours.
After a Saturday matinee win over Boston, they met for a walk at a park along the Monongahela.
The river was partially frozen, the sun low.
Luke wore a beanie pulled down over his ears.
Cassie tucked her hands into her coat pockets, resisting the urge to link her arm through his.
They walked in silence, the cold biting their cheeks, until Luke stopped and turned to her.
“This is hard, Cassie,” he said quietly, slipping her hand into one of his. His breath curled in white clouds. “Sneaking around, hiding every time we want to grab a coffee. It’s not fair to you.”
Cassie looked at him. He looked weary but determined.
“I know,” she said. “I don’t want this forever either.
” She took a deep breath. “I’ve been thinking more about this offer from the network.
Maybe it’s time that I switch to broadcasting.
The hours would be better, and I’d get to be a part of something big here with the women’s team. ”
She stopped walking, and Luke wrapped his arms around her in a hug. His eyes widened. “You’d give up the beat?”
She nodded slowly. “I’ve been on it eight years. I’ve loved it. But I also want a life. And maybe it’s time to help build something new…with the new team, but also with you, too.”
He bent his head down, kissing her on the top of her head. “Then let’s go win you a storybook ending.”
March meant ramping up intensity. Every point mattered.
Cassie found herself writing phrases like “critical juncture” and “playoff positioning” with increasing frequency.
She also wrote about mental fatigue. She interviewed sports psychologist Dr. Jen Pierce, who worked with the team to teach breathing exercises and visualization.
“You can condition a brain the way you condition a body,” Pierce said.
Cassie tried the techniques herself: breathing in for four counts, holding for four, exhaling for eight while sitting in the press box before overtime. It steadied her.
Luke’s play during this stretch was quietly dominant.
Cassie wrote about it, breaking down a sequence where he retrieved a puck under pressure, faked out a forechecker and hit Damien Morris in stride at the far blue line.
She included a quote from Scott Parker about how sessions with video coach Lexi Hartley had emphasized deception at the blue line.
Luke texted her after the article: “You notice everything.” She responded with the eyes emoji.
The Renegades clinched a playoff berth in early April with a shootout win over Montreal. Fans erupted as the final horn sounded. Cassie’s gamer quoted Scott Parker calling it a “first step.” The first-round matchup was set: the archrival Philadelphia Liberty. The series promised blood and bruises.