Page 85 of Buzzer Beater

“Of course, I don’t want to. It’s something I need to do though. I want to be with Lucy. In the same state as her. If that means moving to San Jose, I’ll do it.”

Guilt poured over me, feeling like a hundred pounds of lead.

“I get that, Colin. I do. If Kendall had to go back to Baltimore, I’d want to go with her, but you’ve got to think about what’s best for you and your career, too. San Jose hasn’t won a championship in over a decade. You might get more playing time, but you’d be carrying the team.”

I hadn’t followed hockey since the breakup, but I’d heard from others that our local team wasn’t anything worth bragging about. Evidently the San Jose Sailors were in a constant state of rebuilding. At least, that’s what their fans said.

I’d never let Colin do that. It would be suicide for his career. Everything he’d worked his entire life for.

I reached into my pocket and checked for new messages. Nothing yet. That was fine. There was still time.

“Coach isn’t going to like this,” Wyatt said. “You know he’s probably going to try to talk you out of it.”

“Then I’ll go above him. Direct to management.”

“Don’t do that. Don’t disrespect Coach like that. If you can get his blessing, then move forward, but listen to him first.”

“I will.”

“We’ll get this figured out. I’ll support you with whatever happens.”

“Thanks. That means a lot.”

I heard footsteps and ducked back against the wall, but no one came my direction. I waited for another moment before turning the corner and knocked on Colin’s door. Hopefully, he hadn’t left too.

He opened the door and grinned. “Lucy, hey. You’re up early.”

“You too.”

He shrugged. “We had practice at six.”

I stepped into the room and looked around for Grant. “Are we alone?”

His smile grew. “Yeah.”

I nodded and sat on the closest bed. “We need to talk.”

The smile vanished. “I don’t like those words.”

I held out my hand and tugged him to sit next to me. “I really appreciate that you’re willing to get traded. That means the world to me.”

“You heard that?” His brows pulled together. “I didn’t want to tell you until I thought it was a real possibility.”

“That could have caused a major problem.”

“Why? I’m trying to get us closer to each other.”

I smiled. “I know, but so am I.”

“What?” The confusion on his face made me laugh.

“I emailed my boss and put in a request to be transferred to the Lehi office. It’s about twenty minutes south of Salt Lake.”

I bit my lip as I watched the transformation from confusion to understanding to shock.

“You did?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I like my team and the projects I’m working on, but I love you and the Fury more. I can’t take you away from them.” I paused, a little self-conscious. “And I want to be around them too. I really like them.”