Page 124 of Edging Coach
“Hey, can I borrow you for a second?”
She looked up at me with bleary eyes. She was probably dying to get to her room and pass out.
“Just for a minute,” I said.
She turned to her wife. “I’ll meet you upstairs, okay?”
Tori nodded, made sure Amy knew which room they were in, and took both of their suitcases.
As soon as we were alone in the lobby, Amy turned to me, concern creeping in around the sleepy edges. “Is everything okay?”
No. No, the man I can’t stop loving is twisting in the wind in Texas and I need to get to him.
I didn’t say that, though. Instead, I went with, “Are you comfortable coaching the team?”
She blinked. “Uh, yeah? Why wouldn’t—wait, you mean asheadcoach?”
I nodded.
“Uh…” Her eyes lost focus for a moment. “I mean, I’m getting more comfortable with it.” With Emil’s blessing, I’d had her assuming the role of head coach for more and more practices, and even had her take over from time to time on the bench during games. We hadn’t told her yet that she was being seriously considered for the role after my departure because we wanted her to try it without the added pressure. So far, she’d slid into my skates without issue. The team respected her, and she knew her shit. I was completely fine with leaving her at the helm, but only if she was ready to take those reins.
After a moment, she swallowed. Then she nodded slowly as she met my gaze. “Yeah. Yeah, I can handle it.” Someapprehension tightened her features. “Do you think the guys will accept that? Me stepping up as head coach?”
I almost laughed, but I didn’t because I understood why she was concerned. Peoplelovedto think out loud about whether or not male hockey players could ever respect a female coach, and hearing that drumbeat so constantly was bound to chip away at her confidence.
“Honestly?” I said. “They probably respect you more than they do me. I’ve seen how dialed in they are when you’re in charge. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely. Trust me—if I thought for a moment they didn’t respect any member of the coaching staff, I’d have read them all the riot act by now.” I shook my head. “That hasn’t been an issue. I mean, they push Crumbs around a bit, but they all fall into line for you.”
She actually blushed at that. “Oh. They, um… Theyarepretty easy to work with.”
“They are.”
Furrowing her brow, she tilted her head. “Why am I stepping in, though?”
“I have something personal I need to deal with.”
Alarm sent her eyebrows upward. “Is everything okay?”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. But I need to miss a game. Maybe two. I just wanted to be sure you were good with it before I?—”
“If you have to go, we’ll manage,” she said. “Family comes first. Always.”
That nearly choked me up. Devon wasn’t family. Not… not really. But in a way…
Fuck. Now was not the time to start picking apart definitions and figuring out what Devon was or wasn’t to me. Not if I was going to keep my head together and be there for him.
What I needed to focus on was that my hockey team was in good hands.
And now I needed to get to Devon.
Emil wasn’t thrilled that I was taking off during a road trip, or during the season at all, but like Amy, he didn’t press when I said it was something personal. Especially when I reassured him that Amy was up to the challenge. He let it go, and by the time the sun came up, I was on my way to the Kamloops airport. A few hours later, I was flying to Vancouver for a layover, and not long after that, I was en route to Denver.
Settled into my seat on the second flight, I texted Devon.
My flight lands at 3:45.
