Page 16 of Home of the Brave

The groan I fought back slipped out just enough that Hartman caught it.

“What?” He glanced around but couldn’t possibly know why I was suddenly put off.

Schultz was already in front of her. I couldn’t slip away now without gaining everyone’s attention.

Her bright smile reached her eyes when he said something charming or funny. I couldn't hear. My ears were ringing.

“Her?” Hartman followed my line of sight before turning slightly to block her from me. “Do you know her?”

I nodded, feeling a muscle above my lip twitch.

“And there’s a problem?” he guessed.

“What about you, Wyatt?” Her voice was closer. She’d stepped toward us. Her eyes were on him. Had she not seen me? Was I invisible to her or was her focus that locked in on whoever was directly in front of her?

“Oh, he knows better than to challenge me,” Schultz laughed.

Hartman scoffed, though I was certain he had no idea what they were talking about. “The only thing I wouldn’t win against you is an eating contest.”

Schultz patted his flat stomach. “I can put it down.”

Finally, she glanced toward me, and her smile grew. “Perfect, you even have a goalie.”

She stepped back and revealed a mini half-rink carpet with a net and four mini sticks.

“It’s going down!” Schultz picked up the sticks and handed one to me and Hartman.

I moved into place, glancing at her as I passed. Did she not remember me?

“Now, the rules,” she started, but Hartman held up a hand.

“We know the rules,” he challenged Schultz with a raised brow. “Don’t we?”

I shook my head and placed my stick in front of the tiny goal.

“If there’s anything you need to know about the Utah guys, it’s that we take mini sticks very seriously,” Hartman added before dropping the puck between them.

She laughed, watching them body-check each other and scrambled out of the way as they grew more intense, fighting to take control and shoot.

I locked in, refusing to let either of them score on me.

“Well done. You prove why you’ve got an A on your jersey for the tournament." She ignored Schultz’s eye roll. “What are you most looking forward to about the coming weeks?”

“Another opportunity to show the nation what we’re about,” Hartman said vaguely.

“Yeah, I don’t see the NFL or NBA doing anything for the anniversary,” Schultz added.

“It’s not just Canada’s sport,” Hartman agreed. “Winning gold at the Olympics was a great way to get their attention and hopefully this continues to get people excited about the sport.”

She turned to me. “And do you have anything to add?”

“No.” I had plenty to say on the subject, but I wasn’t giving her a quote.

“I mean, I think we covered it,” Hartman said with a chuckle, while eyeing me.

“Right,” she agreed with a tight smile. “How does it feel playing against some of your Olympic teammates?"

She looked at me first this time.