I ran a hand through my hair. “My agent called, when we were in Dallas. The team isn’t playing well, so they might trade someone.”
Her eyes widened. She was smart and saw where this was going.
“They’re going to trade you?”
“He heard some rumors. Wanted to give me a heads-up.”
“You don’t want to go.”
No. And I wanted her to want me to stay, but I wasn’t brave enough to ask that. “I want to stay in Toronto. But I might have suggested something stupid at practice and?—”
She pressed her hand on my mouth, and I stilled, heart pounding.
“Don’t call yourself stupid. What did you say?”
She dropped her hand, and I wanted to say stupid again to get her hand on me. Instead, I swallowed. “I suggested we play Mitch against Minnesota tomorrow night.”
She cocked her head. “Trying to break the jinx?”
“Maybe? It just seems like we’re scared, and there are bigger problems.” Like being traded away from the woman you loved and were finally getting a replay with.
“Are they going to do that?”
“Coop went to talk to Coach, but I don’t know.”
“If the team wins, maybe they’ll play better and you won’t be traded?” Did she sound hopeful or was I hearing things because I wanted it so much?
“I hope so. We’ve got a good group. We came so close…” Damn, that still hurt.
Katie bit her lip. “It’s going to be hard to concentrate in class tomorrow night when this game is so important.”
I wanted to ask if this changed anything. If she would consider giving me another chance. But if she said no, it would hurt as badly as being traded, so I chickened out.
The locker room was tense.
Normally at morning skate we knew who was starting in goal by the way the coaches had them practice. This time, it was definitely weird. Fewer drills with someone in net, and both Mitch and Petey were sent off at the same time.
I stopped by Cooper. “So, what’s up?”
He watched where the two had just left the ice. “Coach said he’d think about it.” He jerked his head at the exit. “It took a lot of convincing for him to even consider it, but obviously he is. He didn’t tell me what he was going to do.”
“If he starts Mitch and we’re a disaster, he’s gonna be pissed.”
“If he starts Mitch and we’re a disaster, his head is on the block.”
“Shit. Didn’t think about that.” I’d thought my neck was the only one at risk.
Cooper tapped my shin pad with his stick. “If he doesn’t start Mitch and we’re a disaster, his head is still on the block.”
Not just his. If Allen was right, and he usually was, the team was going to have to trade someone. Maybe several people. But I would be one of the ones to go.
Coach blew his whistle. “We’re done. Get some rest.”
That was not going to be easy to do.
Putting on my gear before warm-ups, I kept an eye on Mitch and Petey. Their stalls were at the end of the room, together, a little wider since their gear was bigger too. Mitch was doing his usual routine—everything had to be done just so since he was superstitious as fuck. Petey? Petey did his meditation and got dressed, same as always. Cyborg. Had Coach told them who was starting? It was impossible to tell.
We skated out for warm-ups and that was when we knew. Coach was rolling the dice on my idea. I didn’t get nervous before games—a little excited, sure, but this was what I liked about being a skater instead of a goalie. I was on a line with two other guys, and we had four lines of forwards. Everything wasn’t on me. If I had a bad day, someone else could pick up the slack. It kept my nerves in check.
