Page 2 of Breaking the Ice
“The Hart brothers were practically born on the ice!” He’s not kidding, either. Our mom went into labor with me and Mac while ice skating—something she most certainly shouldn’t have been doing four weeks prior to her due date.
Even without our auspicious start in this world, skating really is in our blood. It’s also the only reason we all went to college—go, scholarships! Instead of agreeing with my brother, I grunt, “I don’t want another year of physical therapy. Not to mention, my surgeon guaranteed I’d need a knee replacement if I took another hit like that.”
“Dude, who are you?”
Rolling my eyes, I tell him, “I’m a grown adult who knows when not to take a stupid risk. Now, why did you call?”
He releases a snort of disdain. “Troy and I have a plan to get you out of trouble with the press.”
I don’t usually pander to the media, but between being called a skinflint, followed by Yolanda’s revenge quest to bring me to my knees, I’m seriously starting to worry about my reputation. “I’m listening.”
“Troy and Kelly just bought a skating rink in Maple Falls.” My oldest brother and his wife live in a small town in Washington state. Buying a rink seems like a reasonable thing to do as all their kids are skaters.
“So?”
“Troy is hoping to get the contract for the Olympic team to train there.”
“I guess that makes sense, being that he was on said team back in the day. But why would the Olympics go to a one-horse town like Maple Falls?”
“Why wouldn’t they? It’s a great little town. There aren’t a ton of distractions so everyone can focus on training.”
“They only have a few restaurants, two gas stations, a handful of streetlights, and no Costco. They might die of boredom.”
“They also have a diner, a hardware store, a bookstore, and a bakery.” He hurries to add, “I think there might even be a movie theater.”
“A veritable metropolis then,” I drawl. “Where would the team stay if they went there? Is Troy going to build a compound?”
“They’ll stay at the lodge.” Ah, yes, the forty-room hotel my brother bought as an investment. While not the kind of establishment that comes to mind when I think of luxury vacationing—as in, there’s no spa and only one restaurant—I suppose I could see a bunch of athletes living there. They wouldn’t have to cook or clean, and they could spend their free time zip-lining through the woods on the property.
Endeavoring to bring Mac back to the point of this conversation, I ask, “So, Troy needs cash to update the arena? I’m happy to give it to him, but I can’t see that fixing my bad press.”
“Nah. The rink is in great shape.”
Confused, I walk over to the large picture window in my living room and watch a group of tourists make their way toward Rodeo Drive. My brother continues, “Troy has formed a charity league full of current and retired NHL players, along with some memorable college players. His friend, Angela Davis, started a charity called Happy Horizons Ranch that serves underprivileged kids.”
He’s got my attention now. “Who are the players and who are they going to compete against?”
“He got Dan Roberts from his Blizzard days, and Dawson Hayes, who used to play with Dan in college. Then there’s Copper Montgomery, Noah Beaumont, and Ted ‘The Bear’ Powell. There are others, but these guys are the real heart of the team.”
“That’s an impressive group, but I thought Ted was recovering from a nasty knee injury.”
My brother explains, “His coach wants him to rest, but he’s ready to get back to it. Troy thinks he has what it takes to give it his all for the charity.”
“What are the stakes?” I want to know. “When does Troy want to start?”
“I knew you’d be in!” my brother shouts excitedly. “You can take the man off the ice, but you can’t take the ice out of the man.”
While I’m clearly impressed with the idea, I need to make something clear. “I’m not going back into the trenches, even to help poor kids.” My knee aches at the very thought.
“He doesn’t want you as a player, he wants you as a backer.”
“That I can do.”
“Troy talked to Hank up in Ontario. Hank is putting together a Canadian team, and the two teams will play each other. Best out of five wins it for their charity.” After being on the gold medal Olympic team, my oldest brother played for the NHL, which is where he met Hank York.
“You know I’m up for anything to help kids.”
“Troy wants to make sure families have enough food and clothes. He’s even going to teach hockey for kids at his new place.”