Chapter 2

Matt

H ockey practice this morning isn't bad as we skate around the ice in preparation for the upcoming game. Lou and I face off against Nate, trying to give him a challenge for the puck drop. Nate is the best on the team, and we all know it. I don't mind being a right wing with him as center. Lou and I had his back, just like the goons had ours.

I practice my slap shots, they aren't as accurate as other types, but they are my favorite. The power behind the shot doesn't compare to the others and when the puck flies past Dan in the goal, I don't bother to hide my grin.

Lou skates over and punches me in the shoulder to celebrate. Even with all the pads on, his hit is strong, not that I'd tell him that.

"You call that a hit?" I ask Lou. "You hit like my Granny."

He rolls his eyes. "I've met your Granny. That's a compliment."

Nate skates over to us and gives me a fist bump with his gloved fist. Dan stands at the goal, and pulls his mask up to take a drink.

"Make shots like that and we've got this game in the bag." Nate tells me.

His praise makes me grin. Nate used to be pro, and traded down to prioritize his family. I've never told him, but his opinion matters a lot to me.

"Thanks, man."

We skate to the boards and retrieve our own drinks. The team was able to partner with a local sports drink company, and they've provided enough of their blue ice sports drink to last the season. Lou double checks the cap on his, as he normally does. Early in the season, someone pranked him with a bottle that had been glued shut, and so far no one has owned up to it.

"When are you going to let that go?" I ask him.

He eyes me wearily. "Ready to confess?"

"You know I don't pull that stuff." I pause for just a moment trying to keep my face serious as I say. "Without taking credit for it."

"I have my suspicions," Lou says. "I think it was one of the camera guys."

Nate lifts a brow, "What do they have against you?"

"The camera loves me." Lou laughs at his terrible joke before finishing the rest of his drink.

Nate and I share a look and then, in sync, we lift our open bottles and dump our blue drinks all over Lou. He splutters, and I'm laughing as I skate away with Nate toward the locker room.

By the time Lou is out of the showers and by his locker I've had the chance to make a stop at the break room upstairs to check for treats. Hannah brings in the best goodies from a local bakery, and I always try to get one before they're gone. Normally I liked to be there right as Hannah brought them in, but Coach had called us in early to discuss strategy and Hannah hadn't been in yet. The break room interactions were the highlight of my day. Lucky for me there was one left in a clear plastic clamshell container.

Inside the container is an innocent-looking lemon bar with a sprinkle of powdered sugar on top. I'm just waiting for Lou to notice what's in my hands as I sit on the bench next to my locker. The treat is just out of reach if Lou were to notice now.

Lou's got his head in his locker looking for something when I crack the container open. It makes that familiar plastic crinkle, and Lou snaps his gaze to me so fast I'm surprised he hasn't broken his neck.

"That's mine." He states as if it were fact.

"Is it now?" I tease, and look over the clear plastic. "Don't see your name on it. And Hannah didn't mention it was yours."

"My sister is off limits. Now hand it over." Lou steps over the bench that's between us. "It's a Left Wing Lemon Bar. Doesn't need my name."

He snatches the lemon bar, container and all, out of my hands. Holding it as if it's as precious as a pot of gold.

"Aren't you sick of those yet?" I ask.

For weeks, Hannah has brought one of those in every day, and every day Lou eats it one nibble at a time. Savoring each nibble like a man on death row.

"Never." Lou sits on the bench, and carefully lifts the lemon bar out. He takes the smallest nibble possible and groans.

Nate looks at Lou and shakes his head. "One of these days she's going to put Ex-Lax in one of those."

Lou takes another nibble before saying. "Totally worth it if she does."

I shake my head and tell them both I'll see them tomorrow.

"Going to the hospital again?" Lou asks me.

"Yeah."

The drive from the arena to the hospital takes thirty minutes. The ride in the elevator to the fourth floor only lasts a couple of minutes before it spits me out to the pediatric floor that smells of strong antiseptic. Ivy, the head nurse, smiles as soon as she sees me and I pull her into a quick hug. She's four foot five, and barely reaches my chest as I wrap my arms around her.

"How's the head nurse today?" I ask my cousin, dropping my arms.

She smiles, but I can see the tiredness on her face. "I was so glad when I got your text. We have some kids that could use a distraction."

"Happy to provide it." I tell her, "Who am I visiting first?"

"We'll go to Noah's room."

"He's back again?" I ask.

She nods and purses her lips for a moment before saying, "I'm sure he'll tell you about it."

These visits are hard on my soul, but if Ivy can handle it so can I. As kids we were very competitive. As we grew older, I channeled that into sports, and Ivy beat me with her brain and grades. She saves lives, I just play on the ice.

Noah's hospital room has the standard medical stuff, but the walls are painted a bright blue that's more fitting in a Dr. Seuss story than the sterile white I'd expected the first time I visited.

"Matt!" Noah's eyes go big with excitement.

He tries to sit up, but he's so tired. For a ten-year-old, he's been in and out of the hospital more times than I can count. His hair is long gone thanks to all the chemo, and he's pale thanks to all the time spent in bed.

His mom pushes the button to make the bed shift up more.

"Hey little man," I say. "How's my biggest fan?"

"Just got done with chemo." His mom tells me. "You came just in time."

"That's big stuff," I tell Noah, and pull out a puck from my pocket and hold it up. "Pretty sure that means you earned a lucky puck. I got this one from practice today. Hit it with a slap shot so fast, the goalie didn't even see it. Think you can take care of my lucky puck?"

The corners by Noah's eyes crinkle just enough to tell me he's smiling behind the mask he's wearing.

"I can!" He tells me.

I look at Noah's mom really quick to see that she's got a smile on her face too. I tuck the puck in Noah's hand and we talk for a few more minutes, but I can tell he's pretty tired.

Ivy finishes chatting with Noah's mom in the hallway and gives me a nod that we can go. I tell Noah goodbye before heading for the door. His mom stops me just outside the door.

"Thank you so much for coming by." she says. "Today was a hard one for him. He needs more happiness in his life."

She takes a really big deep breath, and I can tell she's holding back tears. These visits are for more than just the kids. The families need something positive to look forward to. My brain starts turning and an idea comes to me.

"Are you and the rest of the family hockey fans?" I ask her.

She pauses. "We've been big fans since your first visit."

"If I can get you tickets, do you think you could make it to a game this weekend?"

"Oh!" Her eyes are so big, I see where Noah gets it from.

"If Noah's feeling up to it, and you and the doctor are okay with it."

"That would mean so much to all of us." She says.

She hugs me so tight, I feel the squeeze in my ribs.

"Let me see what I can do before I leave today."

She lets go and I see her wipe away a stray tear. "Thank you, Matt. So much."

"Don't thank me just yet. I have to make a call first."

Noah's mom goes back in the room, leaving Ivy and me in the hallway. Ivy gives me a knowing grin, while the staff members at the nearby desk look at me like I'm some kind of hero. Feeling uncomfortable by their attention I excuse myself to the lobby by the elevators and pull out my phone.

My heartbeat picks up, and I tell myself it's because I'm nervous for Noah and his family when I press the call button next to Hannah's name. When she answers, her voice is like a balm to my soul.

"Matt? Are you there?" she asks, and I can tell she's said my name at least once.

"Hey, I'm wondering if you've given away your tickets for the Sweethearts game yet."

I hear her typing on her keyboard. "You're in luck, I have tickets left."

"Great. I have a family that could really use them."

I hear the curiosity in her voice as she asks, "How did you meet this family?"

On more than one occasion I've reached out to try and brighten a family's day. Hannah is the one I always reach out to as she is so good at putting something really special together. The last family I reached out to her for ended up coming to one of our practices and walking away with a gift basket with all sorts of goodies and swag.

"Friend of a family member."

"Uh...huh..." She says. "Well pass along my email to whoever needs it and I'll get the details squared away."

Aside from Lou and Nate on the team, I haven't let anyone else at the arena in on my secret. The last thing I want is for the kids to think I'm visiting as a publicity stunt.

"I owe you, Hannah."

"I'll add it to your tab," she jokes, her voice light and teasing.

"Maybe I could buy you a drink?" I say and immediately want to bite my tongue. But in for a penny... "Or buy you dinner?"

She laughs softly, "And what would my brother Lou say to that?"

He'd hate it, and probably make my next practice a nightmare. "I'm not asking Lou."

"But you're willing to withstand his wrath?" she asks, her tone is losing its playfulness. Replaced by a more guarded sound as she says, "Didn't you help him scare off the last guy that tried to date me."

"That guy wasn't right for you." I defend myself.

Truthfully, I didn't know much about him. Lou just told me some guy was bugging Hannah and he needed help getting the guy to back off. So I'd thrown my stuff into the back of Lou's jeep and we'd gone for a drive to drop by the guy's work. I'd stood in the lobby flirting with the receptionist while Lou went back into the guy's office and had some words.

"Right." The playfulness is completely gone from her voice, She sighs, and it's a heavy sound. "I'll get the family their tickets Matt, but I don't appreciate being the center of whatever joke you want to play on Lou. Leave me out of it."

"That's not what I'm doing." I protest, feeling her words like a hit to the gut.

"I'll see you around Matt."

She hangs up, and I can't blame her. That didn't go the way I meant for it to, but it's probably for the best anyway. I have no right to a woman like Hannah. But still, I can't shake the feeling that I've let an opportunity slip right through my fingers.