by Amber Lynn
The team was down four to one, and Doug took every goal personally. Usually that made him a good goalie, but it was annoying when he centered his frustrations on Nelson. Nelson wasn’t the only person on the ice, so there was plenty of blame to spread around. If anything, Doug should’ve been blaming the goal scorers for not keeping them in the game.
Nelson had never been considered a goal scorer, only having seven goals the previous season. Of course the guys who usually put the puck in the net weren’t the ones Doug was mad at, but Nelson would offer them up if the goaltender kept whining.
Nelson battled against one of the other team’s forwards and shot the puck up the ice, careful to make sure it lazily bounced, so it wouldn’t cause an icing. As soon as one of the rookies took control, Nelson headed for the bench. There was still half a period left of what had been a long game. The first full game was always a hard one, but being behind didn’t help.
“It works better if you block the other goaltender from seeing the shots, Palmer. Or maybe you think you’re invisible.”
Nelson ignored the new assistant coach. The guy had been riding him all week, and Nelson was tired of hearing his voice. Saying that the head coach told him not to go deep into the offensive zone wouldn’t help his cause, so he keep quiet.
Rather than get in an argument, he watched the defensive pair on the ice. They were both at least five years younger than him, and it showed. Nelson didn’t think that was a positive thing based on the lack of puck control.
For most of the rookies, it was a big step from the minors or college to make it in the bigs. Most of the time they needed to gain weight and muscle mass, and the two he was watching were no different. Helms was taller than Nelson, but he looked like a pencil out on the ice. O’Brien was bigger, but his skating skills were lacking.
Their stamina was their biggest problem. Nelson usually played about half the game, and the newbies were breathing heavy after their thirty-seconds-long shifts. There was a lot of conditioning work ahead for them.
Nelson hopped back out and collided with someone as they tried to play the puck at his feet. He wasn’t set, but he served as a wall for the other guy, who fell like a feather. Nelson grabbed the puck and started skating towards the Hawks’ net.
He’d been hearing for days that he needed to plant himself on the blue line and leave the scoring in close to the forwards. He had a nice slap shot, but after the smart aleck remark from Coach Hines, Nelson decided to drive the net.
With the guy he’d run into behind the play, it was an odd-man rush, which made it a little less egregious that a forward had to slide back and take his position.
Nelson was aware of where his teammates were, and even heard Turner tapping his stick on the ice for a pass. He had no plans of letting someone else take the puck. He pushed it through the legs of a defender and then zagged to the right to get around him and regain control.
The puck was still three feet from the goal, but Nelson was running out of room to make a play. The goaltender was tracking his moves, and it looked like he was ready for whatever Nelson was about to throw at him. To get him moving to the right, Nelson lifted his leg and rotated his shoulder like he was going to shoot. As soon as the goaltender took the bait, Nelson went to the left and shot the puck with his backhand.
The goalie realized his mistake too late, and the puck squirted through the crease and into the net. Nelson skated into the boards behind the net as the goal light lit. His teammates on the ice followed after him and celebrated cutting their deficit in half.
Nelson separated from them and made his way over to the bench, so he could skate along it and fist bump the rest of the team. He didn’t miss the glare from Hines. It was like there wasn’t a single thing he could do on the ice to make that man happy, and Nelson had no idea what he’d done to make the public enemy list.
The rest of the game went by without anyone threatening his future kids and the goal seemed to shut the coach up. They didn’t end up winning, but it wasn’t like they were the team they were going to be during the regular season. At least one of the guys in the locker room didn’t exactly see it that way, though.
“What’s your problem tonight, Nels?” Doug was on him as soon as he made it to his designated stall.
“What are you talking about? Are you getting jealous again about not being able to score goals?”
Nelson sat down after throwing his helmet on a shelf. Next to come off was his skates. He wanted to get stripped down and showered so he could get to Annie’s. As far as he knew, they were still on for listening to the baby’s heartbeat.
He’d noticed that she made it to the game, and sat in the seat he’d reserved for her. Knowing she was there with precious cargo had diverted a little of his attention. Road games during the season were going to be hell. There had never been a time Nelson regretted following his dream of playing hockey, but he suddenly wished it didn’t involve travel.
“No, I’m just fine standing back and trying to bail you guys out, but that crap you were pulling about got your balls realigned. You must really not want to have any kids, because I was seconds away from paying whatever fines they would’ve leveled me with for racking my own teammate.”
Nelson rolled his eyes as he took off his jersey and worked on his pads. He wasn’t sure why Doug was blowing a gasket. Sure, he’d been caught in front of Doug a few times, but he was battling to clear the crease.
“You need to quit threatening my unborn children. I’ve got one on the way, and I’m telling you right now that if anything happens to it, I’m going to blame you for it.”
Nelson’s words didn’t exactly make sense, but hearing someone say they were going to keep him from having a kid seemed like a direct threat against his baby. He didn’t wait for a response as he grabbed his toiletries and headed to the showers.
As it was, he was happy that the coaches seemed to disappear from the locker room without their usual words of wisdom. Nelson had played for the head coach for a couple seasons, and they didn’t usually butt heads, but there was a rumor it was his last year before retiring. That seemed to mean he was letting the new guy they brought in handle things a little more hands-on than past assistants.
“What do you mean you’ve got one on the way? Since when did you find someone drunk enough to let you get them pregnant?”
Nelson had thought the conversation was over. Doug followed him into the shower, but he was still wearing his boxers, and didn’t make a move to find a showerhead for himself. Since his hygiene habits weren’t Nelson’s concerns, he went ahead and hung up his towel and found a spray of water to wash the sweat off him.
“My kid, and the woman carrying it, aren’t your concern, Doug. I just wanted you to realize you were taking your life into your own hands if you aren’t smart about the words coming out of your mouth.”
The hot water instantly provided some relief to a kink in Nelson’s left shoulder. There were always aches and pains when he came off the ice, but he’d been tense during the game and it felt like a nerve was being pinched.
“Is that why you stopped coming to Blue Diamond at the end of the season? You knocked someone up and now she’s got you acting at least mildly respectable. You even cut your hair, which I thought was something that wouldn’t happen until the rats living in there gnawed it off.”
A few of the other guys started streaming in while Nelson lathered his shortened hair. He’d decided to go with a basic crew cut that wouldn’t take a lot of hassle. The woman cutting his hair had asked him about ten times whether he was sure before she’d finally started cutting. He didn’t think it’d take that long to shear it, but he’d been stuck in the seat for forty minutes.
“Like I said, she isn’t your concern. I stopped coming to Blue Diamond when I realized it was time to finally grow up.”
“What about Annie? Does she approve of this life change?”
Nelson had turned so his back was to Doug, but as soon as he said Annie’s name, Nelson was on
the move across the room. When he got to Doug, he pushed him up against the closest wall and held him there with his hand on his chest.
“I don’t want to hear you say her name ever again. Do you understand?”
Nelson had warned Doug about staying away from Annie within a week of her arrival. As far as he knew, Doug had listened, but that didn’t mean Nelson wanted to hear him talking about her.
There was something that quickly flashed in Doug’s eyes, almost like he’d figured out a secret. Nelson doubted he made the right conclusion as far as what was going on in his life. Doug had been his teammate for three years, but the guy had a head full of rocks for a brain.
That was a little harsh, but they butted heads so much that Doug definitely didn’t make Nels’ list of favorite people. Doug had always teased that he liked Nels’ sister, and that may have been where things started. Nelson thought Doug was just teasing, not seriously interested, which apparently bugged him more than if he would’ve taken Steph out on a few dates.
“Don’t worry. That is the last time you’ll ever hear me mention her name. Now, if you’d be kind enough to take your naked body back over to the shower, so you can rinse out that shampoo, I just realized I need to be somewhere else.”
“That’s probably the smartest decision you’ve ever made. It’s a long season, Doug, and this is going to be a tough season for me, so I’d start treading a little lighter than you usually do.”
There was always banter and antics in the locker room. The guys spent so much time together that most of them ended up like brothers. Dylan and Nelson had been that way when Dylan had played, but Nelson hadn’t found the same connection with any of the other players.
“Message received. By the way, congratulations on the baby. Heaven help us all if it’s a girl.”
Nelson had to smile at the remark. He didn’t have a preference between a boy or a girl, but as protective as he could be of Annie, he knew a little girl would hate him by the time she was a teenager. That being said, if she looked anything like her mother, he was going to be spending a lot of time sitting around waiting for her to come home from dates. Just because Annie didn’t seem to spend time playing the dating game, didn’t mean she wasn’t wanted by about every man who met her.
He removed his hand and let Doug take a deep breath. A part of him still wanted to punch Doug for the fun of it, but he decided it was best not to show up at Annie’s with ice on his hand.
“I hope the day never comes when I have to tell you to stay away from my daughter.” The thought made Nelson wince as he made his way back to the shower. He needed to get the shampoo out of his hair and be on his way.
Annie hadn’t said anything about waiting around, so he assumed she had already taken off towards her apartment. He hadn’t had a chance to look into getting her parking in the underground lot that he parked in, which made it a little easier to get in and out without fighting crowds and traffic. If he didn’t have to be at the game two hours before the gates opened, he would’ve offered to drive, so she didn’t even have to worry about the driving part.
She would have loved the fact that he was thinking those thoughts. He remembered how annoyed she’d been when he tried to help her in her car the day he’d found out about her being pregnant. She absolutely hated when he babied her, and that was all he could think about doing.
That, and for some reason trying to see if she’d be willing to try a real kiss they could both remember. As he’d had time to think about things, the only regret he had about what had happened between them was the fact that he didn’t remember it.
In all the years they’d known each other, he’d never thought of her as more than a friend. He blamed that on the fact that he’d known her for way too long. Even having just a little taste of her lips as an appetizer, he was rethinking everything he’d always thought to be true.
It made the already confusing situation even more chaotic. And the worst part was he wasn’t sure how to bring up the things he was thinking to Annie. No matter what Casey said about needing to get down on one knee and proclaiming love, Nelson wasn’t sure that was what Annie really wanted. If it was, she did a good job of hiding it.
“Do you really have a baby on the way?” Helms asked from a few spots over.
The kid was even skinner without his pads on. His black hair was cut similar to Doug’s, which seemed to be a trend among players. It looked weird when it was gelled into a peak and it looked weird wet, so Nelson didn’t understand the appeal.
“That’s the rumor, and the sooner I can get out of here, the sooner I’ll be able to confirm it with my own ears.” Nelson spoke as the shampoo on his head finally rinsed down his body.
“How do you plan to do that? You got a doctor’s appointment this late at night?”
“You have a lot of experience with babies, Helms? You’re young enough that you should know they have at-home monitors, so you don’t have to leave your house to check in on the baby.”
With the soap out of his hair, Nelson was as clean as he cared to be, which meant he just had to throw some clothes on and be on his way. He turned off the water and walked over to where his white towel waited. He hurried to get the access water off, starting from his hair. It was amazing how much time was saved when he didn’t have to wash and dry the curls. Even with the Doug confrontation taking up precious seconds, Nelson was going to be out of the locker room in record time.
“I can’t say that I’ve done research on all the at-home gadgets they have, but I’ll take your word that it exists. I was hoping to ask you if we could work out tomorrow. My trainer thinks it would be beneficial to hang out with someone who knows what they’re doing.”
Nelson heard a few whispers of brown noser and kiss ass from the other guys within hearing distance. His back was to the showers, so he smiled at the bit of animosity. The poor kids were all trying to make the team, and any leg up they could get was worth it.
Nelson’s training schedule didn’t always match up with others, which was probably why Helms didn’t just try to be in the gym at the same time as him. Nelson usually liked to work out by himself, but he could make a brief exception for someone who had the guts to ask.
“I can’t promise you long term, but I’ll text you when I’m planning on heading to the gym.” Nelson didn’t add there was a chance it would be around one in the morning.
He didn’t have the number for everyone on the team, but Helms was ballsy enough to make sure he had his. In a way, the rookie reminded him of Dylan. They both seemed to decide they wanted something and made sure they got it.
“I’ll be ready. And congrats about the baby. I can tell you’re excited about it.” Helms’ words were followed by a round of congratulations from everyone within hearing distance.
Nelson hadn’t planned on letting the news out until he’d worked things out with Annie, but he assumed it was okay the team knew. He hadn’t mentioned her name, so it wasn’t like anyone knew the whole truth.
When he made it back to his stall to get dressed, he noticed Doug really had disappeared. It wasn’t like the goaltender to take off without taking a shower, but that wasn’t Nelson’s concern. He worried about his own issues and hurried to get back in his suit.
Chapter Ten
By the sound of the knocking on her door, Nelson was excited about seeing if they could figure out how to work the heartrate monitor. Casey had been kind enough to include the instructions, but they seemed a little more complicated than just hitting a button.
Annie had only been home for a few minutes, which meant Nels skipped a shower on his way over. She briefly wondered if he’d be offended if she requested he didn’t sit on the couch. A little bit of sweat was okay, but with the amount of time he’d been out on the ice, he had to stink.
In the fifteen or so minutes she’d been home, she’d started working on some snacks for Nelson. She knew he was going to be hungry, so a frozen pizza and a half a dozen egg rolls were in the oven heating up. They’d take ab
out thirty minutes total, which was how long she thought she had until he’d show up. If he was as hungry as he usually was after a game, she was going to have to shove chips and crackers his way to keep his stomach from growling at her.
Knowing he was on his way, she didn’t bother looking to verify it was him. Her lack of judgement put her face-to-face with a flustered Doug. It looked like he’d made it into his dark gray dress pants and shirt, but the shirt wasn’t buttoned all the way up and he’d forgotten his jacket.
Annie was momentarily shocked to find him standing there. At first she wondered if there was something wrong with Nels, but when she took a second to think about it, she knew Doug wouldn’t be the one delivering the news.
“When were you going to tell me?”
“You can’t be here right now.” Annie spoke at the same time Doug asked his question. She pushed him away from the door a little so she could look down the hall.
Other than the tan carpet and weird fake plants that lined the hall, there wasn’t anything else out there. Things were going to get ugly if Nelson showed up, so Annie needed to get Doug out of there as soon as possible.
“I’m well aware my life is in danger. Are you going to let me in so I can say what I need to and get out of here? He was in a hurry, but not as big of one as I was.”
Annie didn’t ask who the he was. She’d seen the two of them getting into it on the ice, but she didn’t know what was being said. From Doug’s panicked appearance, something had been said, and it clearly concerned Annie.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea. He’s planning on coming over after the game.”
Along with Nelson’s impending arrival, no one other than Nelson had been in her apartment. That fact made it interesting that Doug even knew where she lived. She didn’t remember sharing that information, but they’d had a few spots in conversations when she zoned out and could’ve told him anything. It made her wish she’d been a little less preoccupied about Nelson and the baby.
