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Wow. He’d been a coach less than two weeks, and his profile was already filled with reels of him and the team. Every video was like another crack in my already fractured heart.
Him smiling and laughing with Aiden and Coach Tucker. High-fiving Connor and Austin. Clapping the rookies on the back as they glided past him.
But it was the video with him and Mason that sucked all the air from my lungs. Somebody was filming them on the ice together, working through some drills. Mason hung on every word he said, and my father lapped it up. I hadn’t seen him look so happy since—
Come to think of it. I couldn’t recall a time I’d ever seen him look so happy.
It was like a punch to the gut watching the two of them. I couldn’t compete with that—I was foolish to ever think I could.
As I closed the app and clutched my cell to my chest, all I could think was maybe Mason had done me a favor.
Iwashis coach’s daughter. And although my dad couldn’t care less about me, he would care about one of his players choosing me over hockey.
And I wouldn’t survive being cast aside for him—or his beloved game.
CHAPTER17
MASON
“Looking good, son,”Coach Dixon called across the ice as I hit a slap shot.
“You’ll be gunning for my record soon,” Noah smirked, and I shook my head.
I had no plans to try and outshoot our power forwards, but maybe Coach D was onto something. Going for the shot came easy—easier than I thought it would—and I couldn’t deny that perhaps the only thing holding me back all this time was… me.
“Okay, bring it in.” Coach Tucker waved his clipboard in the air, and we all piled over to the benches. “You’re looking good out there. Strong. Mason, nice slap shot. Maybe Coach Dixon is onto something. Maybe we should be using you more in the attacking zone.”
The two of them shared a knowing look. A look that had a strange sensation curling in my stomach.
I’d never been in the spotlight before. It was a strange feeling, one I wasn’t wholly used to. During high school, I was good, but I wasn’t the star. And I certainly didn’t have the support of my old man. He couldn’t care less about me and my dreams of going pro. A dream that quickly became nothing more than a fantasy when he up and left us.
But here was Coach Dixon putting all his faith in me because he saw my potential. And now Coach Tucker was suggesting the team use me more. It should have been a fucking dream come true. My shining moment.
It would have been if it wasn’t for a twelve-year-old kid back home who I constantly worried about, who deserved stability, support, and a strong sense of family.
Fuck.
Everyone watched me, waiting for me to reply, but all I managed to stammer out was, “Thanks, Coach,” hoping it would suffice.
Thankfully Coach Walsh wanted to move on to talk about his progress with our defense because being in the spotlight was not somewhere I felt comfortable.
My mind drifted as he laid out the defensive plan for the upcoming games. Assistant Coach Carson Walsh could have turned pro, but he’d turned to coaching instead. We all knew the story. He’d gotten injured in his senior year and decided to quit. But I had to wonder, after losing his best friend and teammate, Deacon Benson, if he lost a part of himself. He seemed happy enough now, though, trying to keep the team on the straight and narrow, pushing us to be the best players we could be.
Playing hockey and being involved with the sport didn’t have to end just because you didn’t go pro. He was proof of that. It wasn’t something I’d ever considered, but it was food for thought.
The thought settled deep inside of me as I tried to focus on the rest of the pep talk.
By the time Coach Walsh dismissed us, I was more than ready to hit the showers and grab some food from the cafeteria.
“I wonder how Harper is,” Noah said in passing. But I didn’t miss the sly look he gave me.
I’d had to tell him about yesterday. I couldn’t keep it a secret. But I’d given him the PG-13 version—the version that didn’t include the kiss and the shit show that followed. If Harper told Rory, that was on her. But I had zero plans of airing our business to anyone.
I’d gone too far. With all of it. Taking her back to my house. Acting like I cared. But things had reached new heights in the parking lot. Harper had that look, the one that screamed commitment.
And I couldn’t do it.
I couldn’t give in to the connection simmering between us. Because if I did, we’d be skating on thin ice. Waiting for the cracks to splinter wide open and one of us to go under.
