Chapter Sixty

Natalie saw her former teammates as soon as she walked into the rink. They were standing against the boards in their team warm-ups laughing at a shared joke. She stopped, feeling as awkward as she did the first time she walked into the cafeteria at the training center.

She wasn’t one of them. Not anymore. Sure, she’d “always be part of the team” or whatever bullshit they said about the program. But this year, this tournament, she wasn’t one of them. She was on the outside, a fan staring through the glass around the rink.

And she fucking hated it.

Darcy walked past her and was shaking hands with both players before Natalie realized what was happening.

She hurried over. “Coxie, Lass! How’s it going? How’d you end up with this gig?” The players gave her hugs and fist bumps. “I thought for sure Roberts would be all over this.”

“We could ask you the same thing. Who the hell thought it was a good idea to put your ass on TV?” Lassiter asked. “Did they not see your ugly mug before offering the job?”

Natalie laughed and relaxed. She missed her teammates as much as she missed her team. She should have kept in better touch.

“You two ready for your game tomorrow?” Natalie asked, grasping for a topic that wouldn’t make her hate her life.

“Can’t wait to beat those fucking Canucks.” Coxie tapped her stick on the floor for emphasis.

“Hey, some of us are those fucking Canucks!” Darcy said before cracking up.

Lassiter shoved Cox and the two of them laughed so hard they made Natalie’s abs feel like they were on fire.

Natalie gestured to Darcy like she was on a game show and Darcy was what was behind door number two. “I’m sure you know the legendary Darcy LaCroix. Superstar princess of Canada.”

Darcy sighed. “Carpenter, why are you like this?” She turned and led them down the hallway. “You three ready to find out what the producers have in store for us today?”

Natalie caught the way Cox and Lassiter shared a look. “Wait, did they tell you what we’re doing?”

Both players nodded. “This is going to be epic, dude.”

Oh god, what had Raquel planned for their last segment?

When they turned the corner of the rink and got to the benches, they saw two piles of equipment waiting for them.

Goalie equipment.

“You have to be shitting me,” Natalie said under her breath.

Darcy got to the gear first and stood in front of it. “Did you know they were doing this?” she asked Natalie.

“Since when do they tell me anything you don’t already know?” She couldn’t keep the bitterness out of her voice.

“Have either of you played in goal before?” Lassiter asked.

Natalie sighed. “When I was eight. It was a disaster.”

Darcy shook her head. “I took a turn just like everyone else when I was a kid. Hated it.”

“I can show you how to put everything on,” Lassiter said.

“And I can show you how to take it off,” Cox said with a laugh. She and Lassiter bumped fists.

Darcy looked lost and Natalie took pity on her.

“Coxie has a thing for goalies. It’s super weird. She’s dated like three of them. I don’t know at what point it becomes a fetish.”

Cox shrugged, unbothered by the teasing. “It’s the intensity. It’s hot.”

Iris leaned over the glass behind the benches. “You’ll introduce your guests and then I want to get some video of the two of you putting all that gear on.”

“You realize it’s going to take us longer than the segment to put this stuff on, right?”

Iris smiled. “Oh yeah. We’ll play it at two or three times its regular speed. It’s going to be great.”

Darcy sat down next to the gear. “Do you get the sense Raquel is hazing us in our last segment?”

It’s not your last segment. Natalie shrugged, trying to hide her annoyance.

While the camera crew set up to capture them putting the gear on, Natalie and Darcy talked with the players about the upcoming game.

“LaCroix is doing commentary between periods, so she’s pumping you for tidbits she can use.” Natalie couldn’t keep an edge out of her voice but her former teammates seemed oblivious.

“In that case, you can tell the folks at home that the U.S. players are ready to kick the ever-living crap out of Canada.”

Darcy laughed. “I think I can safely assume the Canadians feel the same way. Cox, it’s your first Olympics, right? How are you feeling?”

Cox grinned. “So excited.” She glanced at Natalie and then looked away. “We all have really big shoes to fill and none of us want to let anyone down.”

Cox caught Natalie’s eye for a moment before they both looked away. Seeing this kid nervous about letting her down deflated the anger Natalie had about doing this segment with her former teammates. Yes, it still sucked to be reminded that she wasn’t on the team, and it sucked even harder to find out she wasn’t going to be picked for the hockey broadcast team. But seeing her teammates again and realizing how much they cared about winning and making her proud soothed most of the sting.