Page 136 of The Last Guy On Earth
Five hours later, I’m watching for the damn thing to show up on the baggage carousel in the Denver airport when someone lets out a whoop.
I turn around and spot Clay jogging toward me. I only get a moment to brace myself when he leaps into my arms. “You made it!”
“Right on time,” I say, my smile slightly crooked. “You didn’t have to pick me up.” It’s a forty-minute drive.
He hip checks me. “I wanted to, Jetty. It’s still the preseason, and my schedule isn’t off the rails yet.” He steps back and scans me from head to toe with bright eyes. “You’re looking tan.”
“That’s from standing around at Little League.” One of Toby’s friends is baseball crazy, so Toby reluctantly joined his team.
“Well, it isn’t from our beach trip.” Clay snickers.
“Clearly.” We’d rented an Airbnb in Traverse City, where it proceeded to rain all four days. We’d spent all our time in bed.
“I have dinner already prepped,” Clay says just as my bag appears on the carousel.
“Hold that thought.” I lunge for the thing and drag it off the belt. “Actually, whatever your dinner plan is, I’m in. I don’t even need to hear it.”
Clay chuckles. “All right. Come on.”
He leads me to the parking structure and heaves my bag into the back of his SUV. “Christ.”
“I know. Toby made me buy school supplies.”
He bleeps the locks, and we get into the car. I wait for him to start the engine, but he doesn’t. He turns to me and pulls me into a kiss.
Aw, yeah. I kiss him back. “See? This is what I came for. Not your cooking.”
“Mm-hmm,” he says, kissing me again. “Even if it’s sous vide steaks in garlic butter with French beans and scalloped potatoes?”
My stomach rumbles as he releases me. “Okay, the cooking is a close second.”
He laughs as he starts the car. “Glad to hear I’m still first,” he says. “Did I mention the chocolate mousse?”
I groan as he reverses out of the parking spot. “Drive fast.”
SIXTY-ONE
SportsNight Weekend Profile
“Denver’s Power Play Couple”
By Ivy Dean
Clay Powers made more headlines in hockey last season than most coaches ever dream of. Midseason, one of his star players, Hudson Newgate, became the first pro hockey player to come out as bisexual, and then went on to marry his partner. Newgate, the Cougars organization, and Coach Powers were lauded for their inclusiveness.
Not six months later, Coach Powers became the second youngest head coach in the history of the sport to win a championship and then Coach of the Year.
Powers also oversaw the season-changing addition of veteran goalie Jethro Hale to the Cougar squad last year. “It’s a great honor to play for my old friend andformer teammate Clay Powers,” Hale said on the night of their triumph.
Every sports news outlet was in Denver that night to cover the Cougars winning the Cup. But few people know what happened after the champagne stopped flowing.
“Coach closed the doors to the dressing room and said a few words to the team,” said David Stoneman, Alternate Captain and jersey number 66. “He thanked us. Told us how proud he was. Then the captain spoke, and when he was done, he asked if anyone else wanted to say something.”
Stoneman laughs at the memory. “So Hale raises his hand and he tells us he’s retiring. He didn’t even tear up or anything. It was totally unemotional—the way you’d rattle off your coffee order. And then he said, ‘Besides, your coach said he can’t date me until I leave the team.’”
When asked what happened next, Stoneman shrugs. “For a second, nobody knew whether to believe him. But Coach turned red, and I realized it was true. Those two always had sort of a weird energy between them. And now I guess we all know why. I’m happy for ’em.”
That was six months ago. The romantic partnership between Powers and Hale flew under the radar as the new hockey season got underway. The Cougars got off to a fine start in the preseason with Andrey Volkov back in the net after a successful back surgery this summer. Upstart Zack Walcott is his occasional relief.
Jethro Hale is employed as a part-time scout for the Cougars and is still a familiar face at the Boulder practice facility and the Denver arena. The press only picked up on the deeper relationship between Powersand Hale this month, when the two started house hunting in the tonier sections of Boulder.
They ultimately chose a grand four-bedroom with a fantastic kitchen and mountain views.
“We’re gonna have some sick parties on that patio,” Stoneman said about the purchase. “The team is pumped up.”
Let’s hope they’re also pumped up to win another title this year. Central Colorado will be watching.
The End
