Page 71 of Scoring Chance

“Where is your assistant?”

His eyes darkened. “He’s been interviewing with a team in Los Angeles. He got stuck out there an extra day, so he’s missing tonight’s game and practice tomorrow.”

A bubble of hope formed in my stomach. “Did he get the job?”

Tyler huffed. “I haven’t heard for sure, yet. He seemed pretty confident about it though.”

I should’ve felt bad for him. Losing an employee was hard, but maybe this could be my opening. “Well, I hope it works out for the best.”

I couldn’t say I wanted to be considered. Not yet. First, I’d prove myself by making sure tonight went flawlessly. Tyler needed to see my ability for himself before asking for anything.

“Let’s head out. I usually stay in the tunnel during the games. You can join me if you’d like.” There was something in his tone that made me think he knew how much I’d like to join him. Maybe his assistant wasn’t much of a fan, but he knew how important it was for me to be close to the action.

“Of course. Thanks.”

He shot me a smile before leading the way out to the ice. The national anthem just finished so I stood back and took in the arena from the player’s perspective. This was the first time I was at the bench during a game. Even though the Pride had amazing seats, it was different from this angle. The crowd seemed louder, the lights were brighter, the ice was slicker, but the biggest difference was the energy. It practically vibrated through me. I could feel the team’s adrenaline and the excitement from them and the audience.

I was beaming when Derrek went to the goal. This was the first time I’d get to see him play in person. Pride swelled in my chest as he took his position and the referee dropped the puck. I couldn’t decide what to watch, the movement on the ice or my goalie. My eyes bounced back and forth not wanting to miss a second of either.

My hands were fisted in front of me, and my shoulders were locked with anticipation. This was the most stressed I’d been under since I graduated college.

By the end of the first period, the Fury scored twice and their opponents, the Blazers, hadn’t made it past Derrek.

I headed back to the training room ahead of the guys and grabbed a massage gun so I could get started on Noah as soon as he came in. Only a few of the players came through, needing ice or to be retaped. Noah cringed as he stepped in, rubbing the spot on his lower back.

I stepped around him and pulled up his jersey, moving to the spot I knew was hurting him. “Are you doing okay?”

He nodded. “I’ll just need to take an ice bath after.”

One thing about working with athletes was knowing when they were lying and when they knew their limits. Noah was young, but smart about playing. Tyler let me know who to watch out for, and he wasn’t one of them. It was good practice to know when to admit you were injured and when to play through the pain. His career would last a lot longer if he continued to listen to his body.

“I’ll make sure it’s ready for you.”

“Derrek’s looking good.” I could hear the smile in his voice.

“Yeah, he’s focused tonight.”

“I wonder if it has to do with a certain someone in the audience.”

I pulled the gun away and dropped his jersey. “You better point her out to me,” I said in mock outrage.

He turned, laughing before patting me on the shoulder. “Thanks for your help.”

I nodded and checked on the other guys in the room. Once everyone was out, we went back to the ice for the second period. As the guys extended the gap to three points, I should have been able to relax, but thinking about how important this was to Derrek had my stomach in knots. He had a fire in his eyes, and I overheard a few guys on the bench mention a shutout. That would be impressive if they could pull it off. Derrek would be on cloud nine with his first in his NHL career, and I’d be here to see it.

I cheered as the guys shot on the goal, but restrained myself again when I noticed Tyler’s lip twitch. I knew I should remain professional but it was a little hard when the guys were playing better than I’d ever seen.

At the end of the second period we went back to the training room, but Tyler took care of the three players that came in. Noah didn’t come back so either he was feeling better or he got pulled aside for an interview.

Only twenty minutes stood between the Fury and a shutout. I could see the Blazers fatigue and knew the guys had gotten in their heads. As long as no one got cocky, they could keep the score and have a shutout on the books.

With three minutes remaining, the Blazer’s coach pulled their goalie, as if having an extra player on the ice would help with the five point deficit.

I shook my head and smiled. They just had to keep the puck out of the goal for—I checked the time—two minutes and seventeen seconds. I held my hands in front of my face, blocking my smile as I watched the guys cut back and forth.

One minute left, Erik broke away and scored on the empty net.

The clock ran down but the Blazers put in zero effort. The game was over and they accepted it. Finally, the buzzer sounded and the guys flooded the ice. Tyler and I high fived, and he was finally smiling like a fan.