"Hecklers, losses, and playoff beards."
Ryan downed the soda she'd ordered at the bar. They were in Hartford, Connecticut. She felt the stage fright creeping up but ignored it. Once they'd gotten through the first couple of shows, her anxiety had eased a lot, even...
"On tour and in the playoffs."
Brody hung by the blue line, waiting for his defensemen to get to the puck out of the corner. Time slowed as players jabbed at the puck, trying to free it from under skates and sticks. After what seemed like...
"Ryan and Brody have a little time together."
Brody opened the door and laughed when Ryan threw her arms around him. "I missed you, too." He hugged her with one arm while closing the door with the other. Ryan looked up at him. "I can't believe we live...
"Ryan's a little apprehensive."
Ryan ignored her cell phone and focused her attention on sorting through clothes to pack for the tour and clothes to store. "Hey, you going to answer that?" Lara stood in the doorway. "Nope. It's my mom. I know why...
"More family, more problems."
"Remember this place?" Rick clapped Brody on the shoulder as they entered the bar. "I don't know—wait." Brody looked around. "Is this the place you took me when I turned twenty-one?" Rick grinned. "The very same. Although I remember it...
"Sometimes support doesn't come from family."
Ryan had just saved her work log when her phone rang. She answered, hoping it wasn't a last-minute request for anything. She was anxious to finish up and get out; Brody was going to pick her up and they were...
"Getting serious."
March brought a lot of wind and rain, and Ryan felt like she'd walked through it all on her way home from work. She went into her apartment, hoping the quiet would alleviate her headache. It had been a hell...
"Apologies and ice cream."
Brody leaned forward on the bench and glanced up at the clock. Less than three minutes left, and they had a one-goal lead over visiting Toronto. The refs blew the play dead and everyone sat back and took a breath...
"After-dinner-math."
The night after meeting Ryan's parents, Brody was playing pool with Drew, Bax, and Tolya at an Arlington sports bar. He took his shot, missed, and stepped back for Drew, and told them about the dinner. "Her dad asks me...
"Dinner with the parents."
It was almost two weeks later before Ryan could find a night clear of hockey and basketball games, not to mention a time where she had no rehearsal scheduled. As they rode out to Chantilly in his car, and the...