Page 42 of Stick By Me
“I think if you could harness that spark and keep it, we should be able work something out and bring you into tryouts with the Coyotes development camp after you graduate this summer.” He stepped closer to me. “What do you think?”
“If, if I can get myself together the rest of the year, you’re offering me a spot in development camp this summer?” I stared at him. Okay, maybe I was wrong. It was something.
“I am.” He wrinkled his brows. “I want to give you something to work for, something to focus on. I know your mom would have wanted that from me at this point in your career.”He patted my shoulder. “I know how your dad feels. She told me about him, too.”
My stare widened. How much did this coach know about me and my fucked up family dynamic?
“It can’t be easy.” He slipped a card out of an inside pocket of his suit jacket. “Here, call me if you want to talk. About this, or…anything.”
I took the card, glanced at it, then stuffed it into the pocket of my sweats. Would I ever have the balls to call him? Probably not. “Yeah, sure.”
“Okay, I’ll leave you to it, then.” Flashing a smile and waving, at Coach, then me, he walked out the door.
I stood there, blinking. What just happened?
“Well, Carlson, I’d say you are one lucky son of a bitch.” He walked around his desk and to me. “I’ve never seen that happen before.”
“I…I had no idea my mom knew him.” Or did I? There was a man friend she’d yap at on the phone back in Minnesota, but I never asked any questions. I figured it was a cousin or something and none of my business. My gaze snapped to Coach. “I uh, better get home.” I had studying to do, so I could spend the day with Leo tomorrow.
“Sure, and we’ll work on some new things with you this week in practice.” He gave me a rare grin. “I want to see you succeed in hockey, Carlson. I think you can do it.”
My heart soared. That was a million-dollar statement coming from him. “Yeah? Thanks.” I nodded once, then strode out the door. Holy shit, I had a chance. I might not be a star player with a multi-million dollar contract, but I could play in the NHL. As I strolled down the hallway and into the empty locker room, I tipped my gaze up, held my palms together over my chest and whispered, “Thank you, Mom.” My eyes stung and my vision blurred.
After getting backto the house, I strutted through the door from the garage into the kitchen. I knew the guys were going to question the shit out of me.
Mason looked up from his laptop, bouncing a mechanical pencil on the side of his head and sitting at the dinette. “So, are you still on the team?”
“Yes, I’m still on the team. Fuck, you’ll never guess what happened.” I opened the refrigerator and pulled out a water.
“What?” Jonah and Ace said in unison, playing a video game from our couch.
Tyler and Myles strode out of the hallway and halted at the kitchen table, Myles asking. “So?”
I sipped my water. “Turns out, my mom was friends with the new defensive coach the Coyotes hired this season. He came to see me.” That was the basics of it.
Cocking his head and planting his hands on his hips, Tyler said, “That’s all? He came to see you?”
“And tell me that if I play well the rest of the season, he’s inviting me to development camp this summer.” I arched a brow, watching their mouths drop open, one by one. Some of these guys were shoe-ins for the NHL, like Mason, who’d already been drafted by the Coyotes before he even started college.
“Guess we’ll be playing together at camp this summer, eh, Carlson?” Mason stood up, jogged to me, then wrapped me up in a bear hug, lifting me from the floor and spinning me around. “Fuck, that’s great.” He dropped me down.
“Yeah, well, I’ve got to keep my game up first.” With a giggle, I shifted my stance. This was too good to be true. I had hope now, real solid hope that I could make it in hockey.
“Group hug.” Ace said, standing from the couch. One by one, the guys stepped to me and hugged me, each one wrapping their arms around me and the others.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
LEO
After making breakfast for the house, I sat down at the dinette and called the rescue while Remy and Axel worked on the dishes. The phone rang a few times, then clicked.
“Hello, Arizona Humane Society,” a woman’s voice said.
“Hi, is this Delores?” I drummed my fingers on the table. I’d wanted to see Goliath again, but I also wanted more than anything for him to have found a home.
“It is. Who am I speaking with?” she asked.
“Oh, this is Leo Sandstrom. I was there about a month ago volunteering.” I crept my gaze out the patio doors, watching the morning sun filter through the branches of the mesquite tree in the back yard. “Uh, I’m calling about Goliath. Is he still there?”
