Page 2 of Saving Forever with the Hockey Captain

“I’ve got him, Sam. Let’s get the gurney. He’s not walking out of here.”

She never takes her eyes off me.

The other medic moves immediately. No argument. No wasted words.

The woman beside me checks my pulse with two fingers against my neck. Her touch is steady. Professional. Certain.

“Where does it hurt?”

I almost laugh. “Everywhere.”

“Start with the worst.”

“My shoulder.”

“Left?”

I try to nod. That turns out to be a mistake. My vision flickers white around the edges. “Yes.”

“Leave your arm where it is.”

I try to lift it anyway.

Nothing happens. Well nothing, other than the pain that rips through me hard enough to steal the rest of my breath.

Her gloved hand settles gently against my forearm.

Not forcing me still.

Not holding me down but reminding me that fighting my own body isn’t going to help.

“Leave it there,” she repeats.

Somehow, I obey before I realize I’ve decided to.

Funny. I don’t usually take orders very well.

She studies my face for another second. “Any trouble breathing?”

A little would be a lie. “Some.”

Her expression doesn’t change. “Okay.”

Not you’re okay. Just okay.

Like she’s collecting pieces of a puzzle she already knows how to solve.

***

Behind her, the arena drifts in and out.

The crowd. The officials. The bench. My teammates.

Everything blurs together until one thought cuts clean through the fog.

Ethan.

Our rookie defenseman stands only a few feet away, frozen near the spot where the collision happened.