Chapter 35

KNOX

“I haveto go meet the guys and then we arrive together,” I say to Willow. “You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m not alone, Knox,” Willow says. “As soon as you leave, I leave. I’m meeting up with Mila. Then we’re meeting Ruby and Violet there.”

“This means a lot to me. Just… so you know…”

“I know it does. I like hockey. I really do. I like being at the games.”

“It’s different now, baby. You kind of get special treatment.”

“Like I’ve never been to the locker room before? Like I’ve never had you staring at me in the locker room before?”

I catch myself grinning.

I’m glad I’m not the only one who enjoyed the side-eye flirty glances that we shared from time to time.

Crazy to think we went from that to we’re having a baby! in the blink of an eye.

We definitely missed a few steps in between there.

“Hey,” Willow says. “You should totally not allow a single goal. For the baby.”

She touches her stomach and my stomach plummets.

I don’t need that kind of stress on my back…

“Knox, I’m kidding,” she says. “Holy hell, you look like you’re going to pass out again.”

“I want you to stop talking about that,” I growl.

Willow gets closer to me and jumps to her toes.

I don’t think twice as I grab her sides and lift her up so she’s eye level with me.

“Want to know how many times I went pee today?” Willow asks. “Or how much my boobs hurt right now? I think I’m allowed to make fun of you a little.”

“Your boobs hurt?” I ask. I lick my lips. “You know…”

“Of course. Here we go. Yes, Knox, my boobs hurt and nothing would feel better than to have you kissing them.”

“I’ll fake an injury right now, Willow…”

“Don’t give up a goal and we’ll see.”

We share a brief kiss.

Look, I still have no idea what we are together. Who we are together.

We’re just… together.

No labels or all that.

But I know this - I’m committed to Willow. I’m not out looking for other girls to mess around with. I would assume she feels the same about me.

I shift my brain from the future of fatherhood to hockey.

When I move into goalie mode, nothing can get to me. Nothing can bother me.

Yeah, I have a lingering voice in the back of my head telling me I need to offer up a shutout. That’s a tough task. It requires me to really carry the team on my back.

Once we’re in the locker room and all geared up, Coach Damon enters the room.

We form a circle around him.

He has his hands on his hips.

“We’ve got a choice right now, guys. We can go out there and treat this like a practice. Like another game. Whatever happens… happens… fuck it. Is that who we are?”

There’s a collective, growling NO.

“Or we go out there and we put on a show,” Coach Damon says. “We show them, our fans, and each and every one of us who we are. I’m not in the mood to give speeches on moral victories. I want blood on the fucking ice! I want pucks in their net! Are you with me on this?”

Cheers erupt.

I nod.

I look down at the floor and I nod.

Mac gives a quick speech as the leader of the team.

Then he leads the way from the locker room, down the hallway, and to the ice.

I don’t intend to do it but the first thing I do is look for Willow.

I know right where Violet, Ruby, and Mila sit.

And I know Willow will be with them.

The crowd is rowdy for this game.

Playing Anaheim is always fun.

We’re both big teams, physical, and we both have a lot of players who have their eyes set on the draft. Each and every game is like a showcase for that purpose.

Once all the announcements are made and all the normal routines and rituals are done, it’s time to play.

I’m in net, focused.

I’ve shoved all the voices so far back into my head, they’re just whispers.

The only thought that keeps hitting me…

Thinking about Willow’s breasts.

I can’t stop thinking about them hurting. Being sore. Achy. Tender.

I growl behind my mask.

Mac loses the opening face-off.

Anaheim is on an instant tear.

Moving down the ice as though nobody from our team has shown up.

Villi goes for a hit and misses big time.

Four seconds into the game it’s a two-on-one.

“Fuck,” I whisper as I prepare myself.

Anaheim loves quick passes and quick shots.

I have to guess who’s going to do what…

Villi moves up and redeems himself a little, forcing Anaheim to dump the puck.

That’s when I take my chances with a risky move and skate behind the net to get the puck.

As I send it up the boards, someone hits me.

Hard.

I spin around and hit the boards.

The crowd goes nuts, wanting a penalty and wanting someone to kill the guy who hit me.

That’s where Villi comes in.

He drives the guy into the boards, with force.

Gloves are dropped and we’ve got ourselves a fight not even ten seconds into the game.

That just sets the tone for the entire time.

It’s brutal.

It’s vicious.

At the end of the first period, it’s a tie game.

Zero…

In the back of my mind I think about the shutout.

About what Willow said.

What she wants from me. For her. For the baby.

The second period starts with another fuck up from Mac on the face-off.

It’s a breakaway.

All eyes are on me.

Anaheim’s top scorer is making a move right at me.

His footwork is stellar.

He moves the puck with ease.

I have no idea what shot he’s going to take.

So I give him one.

I leave a space over my right shoulder, hoping he takes the chance…

And he does.

I jump up and flash my glove and make a save worthy of national sports highlight.

The cheers are loud.

The Anaheim player breaks his stick on the ice.

Mac wins the next face-off and he moves up the ice.

“Push,” I say.

Mac passes to Gabriel.

Gabriel takes the shot.

The goalie makes a save but leaves a rebound juicier than an orange run over by a dump truck.

It might be the easiest goal of Mac’s career.

The alarm sounds and the crowd goes nuts.

We have a lead.

But I still feel the pressure…

I look around for Willow and see her with Mila, Ruby, and Violet.

Second period ends with a one to nothing lead.

The third period is intense.

It’s all Anaheim.

They play aggressive. Fast. Hard. They use the boards to their advantage.

They dump the puck behind me every chance they get.

My skates go post to post to the point where my legs are hurting like fucking hell.

With two minutes left in the game, they pull their goalie.

Now they have six guys on the ice to our five.

A one man advantage and a ton of traffic in front of the net.

It’s hard to manage that many players at once and still find the puck.

They aren’t afraid to shoot either.

After a few blocked shots, one gets through on a deflection.

I dive to my right and fall face first to the ice and freeze.

I shut my eyes and feel the spray of ice shavings hit me.

The whistle is blown.

Then it’s blown over and over as another fight breaks out.

I don’t dare move though.

I can feel the puck right under me and I have to be careful lifting up… don’t want this fucking thing to be behind the line and the refs call it a goal…

The puck misses the line by a few inches.

We’re down to one minute left.

Gabriel wins the face-off and sends it up the boards.

Anaheim snags it and keeps it onside.

Another shot comes my way.

Instead of stopping the puck, I feed it out to Gabriel.

He slides it up the boards, out of the zone.

Jax takes off like he has a rocket on his back.

“Yes!” I scream.

Jax plows past a defender and gets his stick on the puck just enough to take a shot on the empty net.

I hear the puck ding against the crossbar.

It doesn’t go in!

“Fuck,” I say.

That gives Anaheim one last chance to make a move.

Villi cuts up the ice and takes on the left winger.

He has no business making such a move…

Villi pokes the puck away from the left winger.

The crowd erupts again.

The Anaheim left winger turns and hooks Villi.

Villi takes a shot on the empty net as the ref raises his hand for the penalty.

Just like that, we score an empty net goal.

Two to nothing.

Five seconds left.

The puck is dropped.

There’s a fight for the puck.

Three seconds…

Mac wins the puck and just skates in circles…

Game over.

Puckford Pirates win.

More importantly…

A shutout for Willow.

A shutout for our unborn baby.