Page 64 of Blindsided By the Enforcer

Cade looks my way. “I need to be somewhere with my girlfriend,” he tells the guy.

“Oh, sorry,” the kid apologizes to me. I check my phone for the time.

“We have about fifteen minutes to kill if you want to help out,” I say to Cade.

He bites on his lower lip. “I should get going,” Cade says.

“Yeah, okay. I hope to see you around some time.” He fist bumps Cade and then he walks over to his buddies with stars in his eyes. We hear him talking about how amazing Cade is.

“Why didn’t you want to help them out?” I ask.

“Because the older guys are different than peewee hockey. At the peewee level there’s no contact. At the high school level, you need to be more strict. Those kids could get recruited. I remember how my own dad drove me to succeed,” he says with a far-off look.

Something tells me his memories aren’t good ones.

The coach arrives and he walks straight over to us.

“Cade Price, I’m Wallace Pierce. I coach these guys. I’ve been following your NCAA career for some time. The rumor mill says you have some offers from top-tier teams,” he says waiting expectantly.

“I’m not at liberty to answer. But I appreciate your interest in my career,” Cade answers politely.

“I get it, no worries,” Wallace replies. He kind of looks like he’s blushing. “Hey, I know I’m pushing it here. I was just about to divide the guys into two teams. Would you mind joining one of the teams and showing them how the big boys play?”

Cade looks uneasy as he watches me. It feels like he’s looking for guidance.

“I don’t mind, Cade. I can go back up and watch from the bleachers,” I offer.

“Thanks,” Wallace says.

“Okay, just a quick game,” Cade concedes because Wallace looks so hopeful.

Wallace fist bumps the air. “Yes. The guys are going to be so happy.” He walks away and we watch as Wallace tells the guys Cade agreed to play with them. They all cheer and get ready.

“What did I get myself into?” Cade asks me, blowing out a breath.

“Why are you so nervous about this?” I ask him.

He just shrugs. “I’ve been on autopilot for so long, doing what my dad expects of me. I don’t think I have anything to teach or show those guys.” His words cause an ache in my chest because Cade seems so lost.

“They look up to you. Just be yourself,” I tell him.

“What if I don’t know who that is anymore?” he asks. Before I can answer, he turns away and heads onto the ice. All the guys begin to clap hard at his presence. Cade quiets them down. The coach passes Cade a helmet and a stick and he puts it on, since he wasn’t wearing one with the peewee team.

The coach puts two guys in the middle of the ice. They are facing each other and it looks like he is about to drop the puck. I really need to learn the rules of hockey before I go to one of Cade’s games.

The guy on Cade’s team shoots the puck across the ice and all the guys begin to skate. But it’s Cade who dominates the ice. He has guys tailing him but he’s faster than everyone. He gets hold of the puck just as two skaters close in on him. One of the players fights him for the puck, but he just passes it off to a player across the ice and then he’s skating behind the net, where he secures the puck again, and scores a goal. The guys are all in awe.

“I was hoping you’d show us some of your fighting moves,” Wallace says to him.

“These are high schoolers. They aren’t allowed contact,” Cade answers and he takes off the helmet.

“They’re seniors. Some of them have been recruited to the best colleges. If they are going to get a permanent spot on a team, they need to make it past freshman year,” Wallace states.

By the look on Cade’s face, I can tell he isn’t impressed. I told him I would go sit on the bleachers, but I decided to stay close by and watch from the plexiglass.

“It’s been fun, guys, but me and the girlfriend have a plan to meet up with some friends,” he says. He shakes Coach Wallace’s hand and passes him the helmet and stick. Some of the guys come up to him to fist bump him.

Cade smiles to the guys and they thank him too. Then he glides right off the ice. “I’ll change out of these fast.”

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