Page 1 of Top Shelf

PROLOGUE

The Serpents’training facility is my favorite place in the world. The second I step through the doors, everything feels alive. Skates scrape against ice in the arena beyond the hallway. Coaches shout instructions. Trainers wheel carts full of equipment from room to room. Phones ring. People rush past carrying clipboards, coffee, and stacks of paperwork.

I love all of it.

The chaos. The noise. The energy.

The feeling that something important is always happening.

“Morning, kiddo.”

I grin as one of the equipment managers passes by. “Morning, Frank.”

Everybody knows me here. At least, it feels that way.

My sneakers squeak against the polished floor as I hurry after my father. He’s already halfway down the corridor, talking to someone in a suit while checking something on his phone.

I have to jog to keep up.

“Dad.”

No response.

“Dad!”

Still nothing.

“Dad!”

Finally, he glances down. “What is it, sweetheart?”

I hold up the folder clutched against my chest. “I finished it.”

His attention shifts back to his phone.

“Finished what?”

“My plan.”

That gets his attention. Slightly. Enough that he at least looks away from the phone screen.

His eyebrow lifts. “What plan?”

“My plan for the team.”

He exhales a quiet laugh. The man beside him chuckles too.

I don’t understand why. It’s a good plan. I spent three whole days working on it.

Dad finally stops walking. “Let’s see.”

Excitement explodes through me. I immediately open the folder. Pages spill out. Drawings. Charts. Lists. They might not make a lot of sense initially, but I worked really hard on them.

“This is the new locker room.” I point enthusiastically. “And this is where the players can eat after practice.”

Dad studies the drawing. “Uh-huh.”

“And this one is for community events.” I flip the page. “And this is a youth hockey program.” Another page. “And this is a summer camp.” Another. “And this is?—”