“Yeah?”
He nods. “Tennessee saw my highlight reel from last week’s games. Called Coach and he told me about it tonight. I set up a call with the guy for tomorrow. Heard about your call too.”
“Fuck.” I rub my hand over my face.
“I’d love to play for the Raptors and stay close to Jenny, but I’m grateful to get any interest at all.”
“Bro, I told you any team would be lucky to have you. You’re a solid player and that wins more games than flashy players.”
“Which is exactly why we are looking at you as well, Mr. Burns.”
We both startle at the unfamiliar voice and I turn to see a man in his late forties standing behind us. He has on jeans and a polo shirt with the Raptor’s insignia. His dark hair is going gray at the temples, but his brown eyes are as sharp as that of a teen’s. This has to be Julian McClare. I’ve never seen him, but I know the name. And his voice is just as scratchy as it was on the phone.
“Mr. McClare?”
He nods and holds out his hand to shake. “Please, call me Jay and you’re Hutch. We’ve had our eye on you for a few years now, but we knew you wanted to finish school. Our owner puts a lot of stock in education, but we’ve run into an issue. Did you see Wednesday’s game?”
“No, sir. We’ve been busy practicing, but I know two of your players were injured.”
“Career ending injuries for one and the other one will be out for the season at the very least. It’s still unsure if he’ll be able to play, but at least with his injury, there’s a chance.”
“Birdie?”
McClare shakes his head. “Spinal injury. There’s hope he’ll walk again, but it won’t be for a good long while and he’ll never play again.”
“And that’s why you’re looking to replace two players after the season started,” Dylan surmises.
McClare nods. “Yes, and the two positions available are the ones Hutch and Mendoza plays. And I said, I have my eyes on you and Wilson as well. I didn’t even know you were interested in the NHL until your coach let us know last week. Hutch is right. You’re a solid player. I just need to go back through some of your games and watch you play before we make any decisions.”
“I promised my mother I’d graduate, Collin too.”
“We’re aware. We’ve had several talks with your coach and if you two decide to join the team, we’ll do our best to work with the university to let you do remote work and you can schedule to do testing on the days you’re in town. We’ll do everything we can to help you fulfill that promise to her.”
“So, you do want us to join the team?” I whisper, but then clear my throat, and ask it again, only louder.
“Wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.” He looks over at the grill. “This the free food I heard about?”
I shake myself loose of my stupor and nod. “Yeah. Daisy put everything together and Dylan’s handling the grill. He got here before we did since I had to do an ice bath.”
McClaire winces. “I saw that game on TV. They had it out for you in particular.”
“Yeah, but we still got the win. It was hard, but we did it.”
“I notice you do that a lot too.”
“What?”
“Place credit where credit is due. A lot of the higher scoring players tend to take all the credit.”
“I can’t score without help from my team. It’s that simple. They make it possible.”
McClare grins.
“Uh, guys, can you help me bring the burgers inside?” Daisy’s dainty voice interrupts us.
“Mr. McClare, this is Daisy. She’s responsible for the food tonight.”
He smiles. “We’ve already met. She pointed me out here. And thank you for feeding me. This one speaks highly of your cooking.”
