| �There�s my Riles!� Brielle squealed as she was walking into the lounge where Mike Wilson�s wife, Laura, sat with their six month-old daughter, Riley. Eric had left her at the locker room door where they ran into Mike, who had said Laura was looking for her in the lounge. The baby was crawling around on a blanket that Laura had placed on the couch. �Hey baby doll,� she said, getting on her knees to get on eye-level with Riley. �How�s everything?� she asked Laura. �Everything�s great,� Laura replied, watching Riley play with Brielle�s fingers. �How�s everything with you, Miss Head Coach?� Brielle grinned. �Absolutely amazing.� She turned back to Riley. �I think I�m gonna need an Assistant, I�ve never been Head Coach before. Right now, I believe there�s a pile of paperwork sitting in my In Box that�s about as tall as Toby.� Laura laughed. �You poor thing. You�ll get used to it, you�re gonna be a great coach.� Laura paused while Riley began cooing and gurgling at Brielle, which was as close to speaking as the baby could get. �She likes you,� Laura pointed out. �I like her,� Brielle said, watching as Riley gripped her forefinger. �I can�t get over how tiny her fingers are,� she said, staring at her hand. �They�re like, fifty times smaller than mine.� �I can�t either,� Laura laughed. �I�m still amazed that she�s mine and Mike�s. That we created her, and that she�s here. It blows me away every single time I see that she has his smile or my nose.� Brielle smiled. �And the more you say things like that, the more I want one of my own.� Laura smiled. �So does Eric know this?� she asked. Brielle paused. �No� I mean, I don�t really want one right now, but I know I will eventually.� �Yeah, but the question is,� Laura asked pointedly, �do you want one with Eric?� Brielle hesitated. �I�m not sure. I mean, yeah, we�ve known each other since we were ten, and I know I love him, but�� Brielle trailed off and looked down at Riley. �I thought that my old boyfriend Chris was the one that I wanted to get married to and have kids with.� �So you�re not sure that Eric is The One?� �Just between us, I think he is The One,� Brielle said slowly and quietly. She picked up Riley when the baby held her arms out to her. �But I don�t wanna scare him with all this. We�ve only been officially together for all of two days. Having kids is a scary subject for a guy, I know that much, and normal couples don�t discuss children before they�ve been on their first official date.� �But normal couples haven�t known each other for fourteen years prior to their official first date.� Laura gave Brielle a smile. �You�re twenty-five years old; when I was twenty-five, I was married. Three years later, Riley came along.� She paused while Brielle bit her lip. �I�m not trying to push you into anything, believe me� But you do want to be with Eric for the rest of your life, right?� Brielle nodded. �Then be with him. Don�t let anything get in your way.� She paused while Brielle looked down at Riley. �I know what happened with you and Chris.� Brielle looked up and was about to ask how, but Laura continued before she could get the word out. �Wives and girlfriends network. Works just as well as the Assistant Coaches network, if not better.� Brielle nodded, knowing exactly how fast news travels in the minors. �Don�t let anything like you being his coach get in your way.� Brielle looked down at Riley. �I don�t have any intentions of it. And I�m sure he doesn�t either.� ~*~*~ �How�s your shoulder?� Brielle asked MacDonald. As one of the four rotating Alternate Captains, he usually helped out with the practices, but Eric was taking his place for that game. He had been leaning on the boards by the Penguins� bench, favoring his left shoulder whenever he took any shots. He had been having some problems with it lately, and it had apparently been bothering him more than usual. Jason was the type of person who played through any pain that he might have, and grit his teeth and bear it, but if the pain took him away from his normal routine at practice, it must�ve been particularly bad. He glanced at Brielle before answering. �A little sore. It�ll be fine for the game,� he said, fixing his gaze on the team, as they were running through their plays. Brielle studied his reaction. In the past month that she had been coaching for the Penguins, she had gotten to know her players reactions and when they were lying through the pain or when they were telling the truth. Jason was lying through his teeth; she had seen him wincing after his slap shots, and they weren�t going anywhere near the goal. �You sure you�re gonna be fine for the game?� she asked, raising an eyebrow, not really believing him. Jason blinked a few times and hesitated slightly before he answered, which was his telltale sign that he was lying. �I�ll be fine.� Brielle took a breath and let it out, placing her hand softly on his shoulder, squeezing the tiniest bit just so he could feel it through his pads. He winced when he felt it, which was what Brielle had expected. �You wanna look me in the eye and tell me that you�ll be fine?� Jason gritted his teeth and turned around to face Brielle. �Let me play. I�ve played through pain before, and I�m sure you have too. We lost last night and I have a score to settle with these guys, and I can�t do it from the dressing room. We�re gonna win tonight, and I want to be a part of it.� He paused and quickly glanced around the ice. �Don�t make me beg, come on Ellie,� he said quietly. Brielle sighed and bit her lip, thinking about what Jason had said. �Play.� She paused while Jason smiled. �Just don�t overexert yourself. If for one second that shoulder hurts more than it does right now, you had better tell me, otherwise I�m benching you for the next three games. And don�t think for one moment that I won�t.� �I won�t,� Jason said excitedly, grinning. �I�d kiss you but I think Eric would shove his stick right up my ass when I wasn�t looking,� he said with a smile as he caught Eric skating to the bench out of the corner of his eye. �Damn right I would,� Eric said, grabbing a water bottle from the bench. He was in the middle of a gulp from it when Jason skated away. �How you doing?� he asked Brielle, who was looking over the Flames as they practiced on the opposite end of the ice. Brielle shrugged. �I don�t like Mac�s shoulder,� she said, turning her gaze to MacDonald. �He�s in pain.� �Then don�t let him play,� he said with a shrug. She shook her head. �He�ll be fine for a few shifts. He said he had a score to settle with them, so I�m letting him settle it. But he�s not gonna be out there for more than a couple shifts in a period.� She paused while Eric nodded. �And he�s getting an X-ray after the game, or in between periods, if Pat thinks he should,� she said, referring to Patrick, the team�s Athletic Trainer. �He�ll be fine, I�m sure,� Eric said, skating back to the ice to take a few slap shots on the goal before practice ran up. |
 |
|
|
|