Page 114 of Playing the Pucking Game
Linc: Me too. She’s a fantastic addition to the team.
Pride for what Parker has managed to achieve fills me. When she first announced her ambition to be a trainer in the NHL, Clark, Rett, and I all looked at each other in concern. Not because we didn’t think she had it in her. We all knew, without a doubt, she did. But back then, there really were no women in the NHL. I’m so fucking relieved to say that in the past few years, things have started to change for the better.
We now have a handful of female staff in all departments, and it’s steadily growing.
I know, like Parker said, that not everyone supports the change. But they’re wrong.
Women bring so much to our sport, and long may it continue. I want Parker and all the others to inspire the next generation, girls like Sutton and her team. Girls with a dream of playing a sport they love and making a difference in the world.
Superman: How’s she really doing? She was putting on a brave face when we spoke to her the other day, but we’re worried.
“Christ,” I mutter, dragging my hand down my face.
Linc: She’s okay. Parker is strong. She won’t let this bring her down.
Superman: She refused to let us help her get a new place. She said she’s staying with a colleague, but is she really okay with that?
“Fucking hell.”
Parker and I haven’t had the conversation about where she told her parents she was living, and I really fucking hate lying to Clark, even if it is by omission.
Linc: She’s really okay. She’s welcome to stay as long as she needs. Once the season’s over, she’ll have more time to secure a place and get moved.
My stomach knots at the thought.
She’s only been here a few days, but I already can’t imagine her not being here.
I love this apartment; it’s my safe haven from the crazy world on the outside. But with her here, it’s turned into a real home. There’s now life inside this place, and I love it.
30
PARKER
“No,” I groan. “Go away.”
But no matter how much I complain, my cell keeps ringing.
Rolling onto my side, I blindly reach toward my nightstand and grab it.
I hold it in front of my face and crack one eye to see who it is.
I groan again when I find my big brother’s smug face filling the screen. And it only gets worse when I notice the time.
“This had better be an emergency,” I mutter sleepily the second I accept the call and press my cell to my ear.
“Ah, good morning to you too. I do love hearing my little sister’s happy voice first thing.”
“Morning? It’s practically still nighttime.”
He tsks on the other end. “The Vipers are letting you off early if they don’t already have you at the arena trying to fix up their wannabes.”
“Hey now, one of those wannabes is your best f-friend,” I stutter as a memory of the night before slams into me.
Fuck. I almost let Linc kiss me.
“Is everything okay?” he asks, sounding more concerned than I’d like him to.
The world thinks they know my big brother. They all think he’s this powerful ice hockey player with serious anger issues. But that is far from the truth. Underneath all the bravado is nothing but a teddy bear. He loves with all his heart and cares so much more than he allows people to see. I see, though. Even if he was a jerk when we were growing up, I never doubted his love for me. We might argue and bicker, but we’re a team, and we always have been. We spent years training together, trying to make the other a better player, and when I decided to go down the trainer route, he did everything he could to help me.
