Page 138 of My Brother's Enemy
Sunny scored.
Boston scored.
I scored.
Ray scored.
Dane scored.
We won, five to two and we beat St. Louis for points. We were the first in the wild card spot. And the guys no longer questioned how we were here. Looking around the locker room, they expected to win. There was no doubt or wide-eyes or wonderment. Just readiness and eagerness to whoever we were going to be playing against for the first rounds.
I was damn proud to be a Gray Wolf.
We were going to the playoffs.
79
RAIN
Icame back from the rink after the players and found a cupcake wrapped in a cute package on the chair that I had sequestered as my own before the game. This one was chocolate with purple frosting on top. Two Oreo cookies stuck in the icing.
Glancing up, I caught a glimpse into the locker room. Tyler took the area by the goalies. They sat in the same spot no matter what locker room we were in. He requested to sit next to them. At first it caused an uproar. Any changes did that to a hockey locker room. Superstitions and all, but Bruge was the first to figure it out. From that position, Tyler usually had direct line of sight for wherever I ended up sitting. If we were able to use guest offices or not, he knew he could see me more in the hallway from his new spot.
I looked up now and saw him watching me. Everyone else was starting to change out. Not Tyler. He'd been waiting for me.
Giving him a shy smile, he blasted me back with a beaming one. My cheeks warmed and I fought from ducking my head because I still struggled with his direct attention. My brain liked to tell me it was a lie. That he didn’t actually love me. He barelyeven liked me, but then he'd do something like this and my stomach was somersaulting.
Cupcakes.
I grinned before tucking it away in my bag. He'd been sneaking me these little treats since December at every away game. I didn’t know if others were aware. I had to imagine they didn’t because hockey players weren't known for being quiet. Someone would've said something.
Coach Hines stopped by my chair just as my hand came out of my bag. “St. Louis got three points tonight.”
My mouth dried up. We got way more than three points tonight. “So, it’s cemented.”
He gave me a brief nod. “We would’ve been going anyway. I doubt that the Mustangs would’ve gotten enough points to usurp our standing, or St. Louis, but we’re going to the playoffs.”
“We’re going to the playoffs.” That’d been the goal since I came. My personal goal was to get them to the second round as well. “Do you know who we’ll go up against?”
“Not sure. Probably Vegas.”
“Vegas.” Vegas was good. They were also liked by the NHL in general. “Refs could be biased.”
“Yeah. We’ll prepare the guys.” My phone began buzzing and he glanced to the screen, seeing it was Dane calling. A frown pulled on his face. “You have that happening tonight.”
“I do.”
He glanced in the direction of where Tyler normally would be sitting. He had press surrounding him at the moment, and his head was down, listening to someone asking a question.
Coach Hines said, “Griff’s going with you?”
“He is.”
“Good.” He dipped his head down in a firm nod. “You two should take off as soon as you’re ready. I’ll catch you up on the plane tomorrow with our debrief and you can run your notes byme as well.” He began heading for the room he was using for a brief room, then paused. “We’re doing a family dinner Saturday night to celebrate. You’re invited.”
Surprise hit me and I only had enough time to regurgitate, “I’m invited?”
“You and Griffin. Missy made sure to mention if you wanted to bring your man. It’s not the first time I had a player become an unofficial part of the family. Won’t be the last, but it’s up to you. Missy would hang the moon if you came.”
