Page 112 of Player Misconduct
Kendall laughs, pulling back slightly. "Of course she is."
"Use the black card for whatever you want," I say. "Furniture, groceries, curtains, whatever. Make this place yours."
She hesitates. "Aleksi, I can't just—"
"Yes, you can," I say firmly. "You and the baby deserve it."
She swallows, nodding slowly. "Okay."
I kiss her forehead, then drop to my knees and press a soft kiss to her belly. "Be good for your mom, little guy. I'll be back later."
When I stand, her eyes are bright, and I have to force myself to step back before I stay here all day.
Every bruise, every heart surgery, every rejection, every lonely hotel room finally led here. And I wouldn't change a single thing.
I'm whistling when I pull into the practice facility parking lot. The morning's still keeping me light on my feet. The pancakes, Kendall's laugh, my sister finally texting back that I had beginner's luck on the pancakes, the way Kendall looked in my shirt when I left… the taste of her kiss still on my lips. Life feels impossibly good.
Then I see Penelope as I walk through the doors of the stadium.
"Heard about the house," she says, smiling. "Congratulations. Kendall deserves to be taken care of."
I grin, slinging my bag over my shoulder. "Yeah. It feels good to have a place for her. For the baby."
Her smile flickers. "Just… be careful, Aleksi."
My grin fades. "You think the NHL would really sanction the team?"
She hesitates, and lets out a sigh. "Kendall and I have been discussing it some, and I’ve talked to some other GM’s. It's possible. I don't know if it would come down to that. We've never been in this position before. I asked my father, who was a GM longer than me, what he thinks."
My chest tightens. "What did he say?"
"He's looking into it," she says carefully. "I haven't talked to Everett Kauffman about anything. I'm hoping there's never anything to tell."
Everett Kauffman, the new billionaire owner of the team.
I swallow hard. "We thought we weren't going to make it out of that motel room. We hadn't exactly considered what the next day would bring, seeing as how we weren’t sure we’d make it out alive."
Her expression softens. "I know. And I'll do everything I can to help. I'm just not sure what I'll be able to do if this goes sideways and the medical board finds out."
She pats my arm, gentle but serious. "You're a good man. Kendall deserves this. Just do whatever you can to make sure I don't have to defend you and this team to the league."
As she walks away, the high from this morning dims. The league wouldn't tear apart a family… would they?
I lace up in the locker room, the familiar ritual grounding me. Skates tight. Jersey on. Helmet under my arm.
When I step onto the ice, everything else falls away.
We have our first home game of the pre-season tomorrow night and the only thing I can control right now is how I play.
The cold bites at my lungs in the best way. My blades sing across the surface, smooth and sure, and for the next hour, I let muscle memory drown out the worry.
I nail slapshot after slapshot, the puck cracking off the crossbar. Coach Haynes nods approvingly when I skate past, and I feel it—this is my year.
The guys are sharp today, everyone is pushing hard as pre-season draws closer. The energy is electric, the kind that makes you believe anything's possible.
By the time Coach's whistle blows, I'm sweating, grinning, heart hammering with optimism.
This is where I belong. On this ice. With this team. Building this life.
