Page 15 of Ethan

“Nah,” Hank said. Charlie wouldn’t have asked him, anyway. He wasn’t even a lock for the main roster, and Charlie was the phenom of the franchise. Besides, everyone knew that the only guy who Charlie gravitated towards was Max.

“He seems pretty different from Barney. Not so intense,” Brock observed, tilting his head as he looked in Ethan’s direction, too.

“Imagine if there were two of them,” Hank half joked, even though when he’d come to New York this year, he’d kind of expected that therewouldbe two of them.

“Heard that Avery is more like Charlie,” Brock said. “And the couple of times I met him, yeah, that tracks.”

Hank only knew Avery Barnes by reputation, but that was definitely another reason why he’d expected Ethan to be different than he seemed to be.

“He’s just young,” Hank said, even though it was stupid to be defending Ethan. Especially because Brock wasn’t even saying anything negative about him.

“But gonna be good,” Brock said. “I had to cover him in that last drill, and he gave me as many fits as Charlie does.”

“Better two-way guy, I think,” Hank said. Which, as a defenseman, Hank could respect that.

“That’s what the scouts all said. Best of both worlds, of both of his brothers.”

“That would suck, don’t you think,” Hank said, before he could snatch the words back. “Constantly being compared to your brothers? Your sister? Everyone expecting that you’re going to be great because of your last name?”

Brock glanced over at him. “You got a soft spot for the baby Barnes, Tuck?”

“No,” Hank argued. “Just . . . it’d be good, right? Everyone thinking you’re amazing before you even show up, but then also, everyone thinks you’re amazing before you even show up.”

Brock tilted his head thoughtfully. “I like being good ’cause I’ve worked for it. You, too. You’re earning a spot on the roster the hard way.”

Didn’t Hank know that a little too well? Playing in the AHL wasn’t the worst, but he wanted to stop feeling like he couldn’t quite take a breath and relax. He wanted that permanent Bandits roster spot so bad he could taste it. Not because of the prestige of it, or the money, but because he knew he could do it. Only wanted to fulfill not just his own expectations, but his potential. The potential he knew lay dormant inside him that he recognized, that everyone else saw, too.

“We’ll see,” Hank said noncommittally. He knew nothing was promised. It was entirely likely he’d start the season back in Syracuse, but maybe if he worked his ass off during camp and preseason, he’d be the first name on the list if there were any call-ups.

Brock patted him on the back. “Yeah, you’re gonna get there, bud.” He gestured over to where Charlie and Max had their heads together, Ethan and Danny apparently excluded from the final team determinations. “What do you wanna bet they’re gonna be on the same team?”

“Charlie and Ethan?” Hank gave a sharp bark of laughter. “You said it. Maybe half the team’s on baby duty, but nobody’s on more baby duty than Charlie.”

“Nah, that’s a given. I mean Max and Barney.”

“Oh.” Yeah, he wasn’t the only one who’d noticed that if Charlie was around, Max wasn’t that far behind, and vice versa. “You think Max would stack his own team that way? Doesn’t seem like a very Max-like thing to do.”

Brock hummed under his breath. “True. And the only thing Max gives a shit about more than Barney is being the best freaking captain in the whole NHL. He’d never want to give anyone the idea he’s stacking the deck—or the teams.”

“Exactly.”

A group of some of their Nordic players—Emil, Lars, and Willy—walked in, followed closely by Dom and Sasha.

“I think that’s about everyone,” Max announced, glancing over the assembled group.

“Nope,” Charlie chimed in, “Pavel texted me and I’m pretty sure he told me he was coming.”

Brock snorted. “You’re pretty sure?”

Charlie shrugged. Pavel Sokolov was the Bandits’ backup goalie, only over from Russia for a few years, and his English was . . . not great, still.

“He’s coming.” Dom, their other goalie, spoke up. “I talked to him as we were leaving.”

“Okay,” Max said. He picked up a paper. “We’re gonna have two teams—the blue team and the orange team.”

“A little fanatical, don’t you think?” Danny said, and Charlie elbowed him in the side.

“Ithink it’s nice,” Charlie piped up.