“Halifax is a fuckin’ ride, Jules. Who the hell knew,” he said, his words slightly slurred.
He was drunk, which Jules already assumed given he was stumbling home at four in the morning. She closed her eyes, rubbing her temples and wishing she was either back in the fitness centre making awkward small talk with Frankie, whose sweet smile and freckled skin flashed through her head, or already fast asleep in her bed. Both options were preferred over going through this with her brother.
“Don’t you have your first team meeting tomorrow with the new coaching staff?” Jules asked as the elevator slowed, reaching her brother’s floor. The doors slid open and he gave her a quick but tight side hug, his usual greeting and goodbye.
Despite the fact that they were twins, Cam had at least four inches on Jules and his long arms engulfed her five foot six frame. He smelled of whisky and sushi – a very strange combination – but she hugged him back anyway.
“Yeah, that’s why me and some of the guys went out to celebrate. First guys to play for an NHL team in a brand new city is worth a bit of a party, don’t you think?”
Sure, but since Cam was drafted he’d played for three different franchises and they’d both been through all of this already. New city, new teammates, and Jules was always left to simmer alone in her own half of their life as her brother continued to cement his place in the world of hockey.
But that was their promise to each other: stick together, just like they always had.
“Mason said our team has a female coach, can you believe it?” Cam said as he leaned against the elevator doors to keep them open. “I’ve never had a female coach. I hope she’s hot.”
“Oh my god, Cameron,” Jules whined, pushing him into the hallway.
“What? All I look at every day are sweaty men and that’s not my typeoryours. Sue me for wanting a better view.”
“Have some respect, she’s literally going to be your boss and you better not let any of your teammates get out of line when it comes to her. You of all people should think more highly of a woman in hockey. I’m sure the media already tore her to shreds, don’t let the guys do the same.”
He gave her a salute and grinned. “You got it, boss. I’ll keep ‘em all in order, I won’t let you down.”
She rolled her eyes but returned his smile just as the elevator doors closed. Hockey had come a long way and now there was a professional women’s league with teams across North America, but women in the men’s game, working in it, coaching in it, still struggled heavily to find even footing.
She'd spent enough time around male hockey players throughout her life to know it wasn’t going to be easy for her brother’s coach, whoever she was. This woman would need to have some seriously thick skin to put herself right in the belly of the beast day in and day out.
Jules knew what it was like to a degree, having spent her entire life in and around the sport of hockey from her own time playing, following her brother from team to team and rink to rink and then as a personal sports physiotherapist.She never had to stand in the locker room between periods when the team was down 5-1 or behind the bench during a game with the cameras aimed at her at all times and she had nothing but admiration for the woman willing to do that for a brand new team.
Cam – 4:13AM
Jules…I saw a pic.
She's definitely hot and I mean that respectfully.
Jules – 4:13AM
Shower. Drink water. Go to bed.
NOW.
Chapter 3
Starting a new job always felt a little like starting school but Frankie hadn’t had anyone to take a photo of her or send her off with ‘have a good day’ wishes since she was 17.
No, her family hadn’t been her family since she told them she was a lesbian. In her speck on the map prairie town, a world away from everything, a place where the only real community that existed was at the ice rink and in a pew on Sunday mornings, she wasn’t exactly supported.
She flipped down the visor mirror in her car and studied her reflection. Exhaustion and uncertainty stared back at her but she took a deep breath and pasted on a smile.
Frankie was nervous, there was no denying it. This was the biggest and most daunting career move she had ever made and in forty-five minutes she’d be standing at the front of the team viewing room and introducing herself to a group of seasoned professional male athletes who had likely never been told what to do professionally by a woman before.
What could go wrong, right?
Her time spent as the assistant coach of a western hockey league team was invaluable, teaching her priceless skills like how to manage the male ego and wrangle a group of teenage boys with a lot of attitude and emotions they didn’t know how to manage. Grown men couldn’t be much different than that and her proven coaching is why the GM of the new NHL franchise came knocking on her door in the first place.
Two league championships in a row where she spearheaded the power play and helped the team reach an outrageously impressive goal scoring record meant no one could argue that her being a woman had a negative impact on the team (though people always gave it their best shot anyway). The kids she’d coached had been consistent winners and she was one of the big reasons why.
Between the proven league success and her years of working as a skating coach with hockey players across all levels of play, she was experienced, skilled, and a perfect fit for the job. A fresh face for a fresh team and a management group that wanted to make waves.
