Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 99723 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 499(@200wpm)___ 399(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99723 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 499(@200wpm)___ 399(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
“Bad influence?” I say, skating backward as I shoot Briar a cocky grin. I point at myself. “Who, me?”
Her smile breaks free, lighting up her face. Shaking her head good-naturedly, she sits down, but calls out, “Ten more minutes.”
I meet Harley’s eyes and in sync, we answer, “Yes, ma’am.”
I give Harley his instructions and he takes his place. From off-side, I hit pucks his way, calling right or left as I send them. His job is to react quickly, shooting to the corresponding corner. The goal is to get ten in a row in the correct corner. It’s harder than it sounds.
The first attempt, Harley makes it to three before missing. The second, seven. The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth, he still doesn’t make ten.
“Eight, right.” Thwak.
“Nine, right.” Thwak.
“Ten, left.” I hold my breath, wanting this for him probably as badly as he wants it for himself. Thwak.
“I did it!” he shouts. Behind his helmet, I can see his face light up with surprise, and as he flies to me with his hand up for a high five, his pride grows.
“Way to go, man! That was some awesome work.”
He whirls to find Briar, making sure that she saw. Of course she did, her eyes have been locked on Harley the entire practice. Not once has she started scrolling on her phone or looked bored. She’s watched, rapt with what’s been happening, so she saw exactly how much work that took and is standing up, clapping proudly.
“Great job!” She starts waving her hands in the air like a pom-pom-less cheerleader, “Woo-hoo!”
The reality hits Harley and he starts jumping around. “I did it! I really did it!”
I’m grinning, watching his celebration with some pride of my own, when he wobbles on a landing. “Ow!” he shouts, instantly lifting that foot up from the ice.
“Honey? Are you okay?” Briar hollers. She’s got that oh no, not my baby horrified look that I’ve seen on my mom’s face when I’ve gotten hurt over the years.
“I got him,” I tell her, skating to Harley at full speed. “What happened?”
He looks up at me with tears starting to pool in his eyes. “I landed funny. My ankle kinda twisted. It hurts . . . a lot.”
I nod. “Did you feel a pop or anything?”
He shakes his head and I breathe again. “Good. Let’s get you off the ice.” I grab under his armpits, tell him to hold that foot up, and steer him toward the exit gate. I could pick him up easily, but there’s an honor to leaving the ice yourself, even if it’s with help, and I want to give Harley that dignity and respect. But once we’re clear, I scoop him up and carry him to the closest bench before squatting down. “We need to take off your skate. Laces won’t hurt, pulling it off might hurt a little.” I’m as matter-of-fact and honest about it as I can be, not wanting him to be surprised by the pain.
He nods bravely and I get to it. I’m as careful as possible, fully unlacing the skate, but he still whimpers a little as I remove it. Briar comforts him, shushing him softly as she looks at me with fix it eyes. Under his sock, his ankle looks . . . fine? It’s not swollen or purple thankfully, but as I press gently, he winces.
“I think we should get it checked out, just to be safe,” I tell them both. Like she was already thinking the same thing, Briar is nodding before I get the words out and starts grabbing their stuff. I make quick work of taking Harley’s other skate off and changing into tennis shoes myself.
“Can you carry him to the car?”
“Yep.” Harley is light in my arms, but my gut is churning. The kid got hurt on my watch. It might not have been an injury at my hand, or even because of a drill I had him doing, but I still feel responsible. Which is why I head to my truck. “There’s room for him to stretch his leg out on the back seat,” I explain to Briar, who looks ready to argue with me. Thankfully, that makes sense to her and she nods in acceptance.
I set him down and move out of the way so she can fuss over him for a second. Once she’s sure Harley is situated safely, she comes to stand in the open passenger door and meets my eyes. I’m expecting blame, accusation, and a fair amount of anger. What I get is, “Thank you.”
The adrenaline has worn off for Harley and it’s late for his little boy body, so after a delicate exam by the doctor and an X-ray we don’t have the results for yet, he’s crashed out on the hospital gurney. He looks tiny amid the white blankets and pillows Briar piled around him to keep him comfortable. She’s sitting in a chair, her eyes locked on her son.