Page 62 of The Save

Chase adjusted. Blakely pulled Bear off the third line and shifted him to fill Rory’s minutes. Chase double-shifted Rob on power plays and ran tight defensive pairings.

I silently cheered him on. The smile was back on Mom's face when the Outlaws entered the third with a 3-2 lead. The third period was the longest twenty minutes of my life. Kamloops pressed. The Outlaws held. Rob blocked a shot with his leg. Tim laid out to stop a cross-crease pass. Blakely looked like he was aging in real time.

And then—finally, with twelve seconds left—Bear cleared the puck out of their zone. The buzzer sounded. The crowd exploded, and the Outlaws poured over the bench, gloves and sticks flying as they wrapped their arms around each other in pure exultation.

Mom stood and cheered, and I almost thought she'd forgotten about Chase in all the excitement until she turned to me and said, "Do we wait in the lobby to see Chase or do we need to go down there?" She pointed at the tunnel.

I stifled a groan. I wasn't getting out of this. "C'mon."

I opted to take her to the lower hallway, not fully to the locker room because I didn't want witnesses for this, but at least we'd have a bit more privacy. Now I just had to hope Chase exited where we could see him. After a few players trickled out, headingfor the stairs, the door further up the hall opened and Chase stepped out.

"Chase!" Mom called. He paused midstep and turned. At first he looked confused, but then his eyes met mine and his expression shifted. His shoulders dropped a touch, and he started toward us.

He gave me a questioning look as he got closer. I tried to communicate telepathically that I'd prefer if he took on his office persona and pretended he didn't remember my last name, but instead he threw out his arms and pulled my mother into a big hug.

She grunted as he squeezed the air out of her. "What are you doing here?"

Mom looked like she'd just stepped off a merry-go-round when Chase stepped back. Her cheeks were flushed as she quickly smoothed her hair. "Well, I wanted to see a game, but Maddie didn't tell me you were coaching. I would've come sooner had I known."

Chase stepped back and smiled. “How have you been?”

"I could ask the same of you. I heard you'd gotten a job but didn't know it was here at Douglas."

Chase stiffened, and I knew exactly what he was thinking. How did she know he got a job? I didn’t want to tell him the answer.

“Well, glad you could make it to the game. Did Maddie tell you we've been working on a?—"

"I didn't," I cut in. "No, I didn't tell her about how you and Coach Blakely have been working on a new player support program. But I think it's great."

Chase raised an eyebrow. "You'll have to fill her in."

"I will." I coughed. "I think she'd find it interesting." The last thing I wanted to tell my mom was that I'd been working with Chase for weeks or that I had anything to do with runninghockey stats. While she knew next to nothing about my major or the classes I was taking, she was always quick to remind me to focus. I highly doubted she'd find shot percentages or shift probabilities a good use of my time.

Blakely exited the locker room, looked both ways down the hall, then started our way when he spotted us. "Chase, are you—" He slowed when he saw me standing next to my mom. I sent up a silent prayer that he'd snag Chase and this whole interaction would be over.

"Maddie, good to see you. Is this . . . ?" He paused, probably recognizing that he didn't want to guess wrong on this relationship.

"My mother," I finished for him, and he exhaled, holding out a hand.

"So nice to meet you. We've loved getting to know Maddie better this semester."

My mom's brow pinched, and I cleared my throat. “I'm sure you have plenty of work to do before you get home tonight." I grabbed my mom's arm, turning her toward the stairs.

"Thanks for coming, and Maddie, thanks for returning Coach Wilson's sweatshirt the other night."

I froze. Coach Blakely stood with his hands on his hips, smiling like he was proud that he'd remembered that. My eyes flicked to Chase's.

His lips twitched. "Yes, thanks for that. It's one of my favourites."

My heart could've synced with a hummingbird's wings. "Mm. No problem."Damn it.Chase knew I hadn't returned it, which meant he was probably envisioning me wrapping myself in it before bed each night. Which wasn't as far from the truth as I'd like. I wasn't wearing it, but I also wasn't not sniffing it every time I walked into my room.

Chase dragged his eyes from mine back to my mom. "It was great seeing you again."

“You, too. Congrats on the win tonight." She smiled, and I hurried her down the hall before anything else could come out of Coach Blakely's mouth.

Chapter

Twenty-One

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