Page 26 of The Owner
I smile at her, but she’s so wrong on that one. No one has a chance against the great Tucker McKinstry.
The Vipers get their revenge a few minutes later when their forward scores between Nolan’s legs. Riley leaps up and cheers along with the Vipers fans in the crowd.
I’m disappointed about the goal against us, but I can’t help but smile when I see how excited my woman is. How can I be upset when Riley is smiling so beautifully like that?
The rest of the period is a nail-biter, and so is the beginning of the third. I can barely breathe when Sebastian Kemp steals the puck and launches into a breakaway.
The Vipers goalie hunkers down, getting ready for the shot. But it never comes. Sebastian goes right, but then passes the puck back and to the left where Harris Sutton is coming up fast.
Harris yanks his stick back and unleashes a thunderous slapshot that rockets into the upper corner of the net.
“Yes!” I shout, leaping to my feet as the siren blares.
The boys swarm on Harris as the crowd chants “Flamethrower! Flamethrower! Flamethrower!” in unison. It’s so loud the arena shakes.
Before heading back to the bench, Harris skates over to where his wife Fiona and his five-year-old son Lucas are jumping up and down in the front row.
Harris takes off his gloves, makes a heart with his fingers, and puts it to the glass. His wife and adorable son do the same.
I see that and long for a child of my own. I’ve never wanted kids before, but after meeting Riley, everything has changed. I’d like to make a family with her. I think that would make me very happy.
“That’s sweet,” Riley says, smiling as she watches the touching scene on the ice.
Harris blows his woman a kiss and then skates to the bench as the crowd roars the veteran’s nickname over and over. It will probably be his last year playing, so I’m happy he got one last moment in the spotlight before he has to hang up his gloves for good. It’s a fitting end for one of hockey’s greats.
It feels like two lifetimes go by in that final tied period. All the boys, on both teams, push like never before, leaving everything on the ice, but the teams are so evenly matched that there are no more goals.
Even through two sudden-death overtimes, no one scores.
“What’s going to happen now?” Zara asks when the clock runs down in the second overtime.
“Shootouts,” Riley says with a hard swallow. “We’re going to shootouts.”
I take her hand and gaze into her eyes. “Whatever happens, I love you.”
She smiles and puts her head on my shoulder.
But I still hope we win…
CHAPTER TEN
Brantley
The shootouts begin and it’s intense.
Nolan is skating side to side, carving up the ice in front of his net as the Vipers players get ready to start.
It will be a five-round shootout. The best score after five shots wins it all.
Their power forward starts first. He takes a deep breath as the referee skates over, ready to blow his whistle.
Nolan looks locked in as he stares the player down.
Now, more than ever, I’m happy I paid the money to get a first-class goalie like Nolan Barlowe in. This is his opportunity to earn every cent of his giant paycheck.
The forward takes off and dekes to the right before shooting to the left. Nolan is not fooled and he catches the puck in his glove.
“Yes!” I shout as the arena bursts into cheers.