Scoring Position (Hockey Ever After #2)

by Ashlyn Kane

“Do you know Nico Kirschbaum?” And just like that, Ryan’s newfound optimism evaporated. Nico Kirschbaum was a guy with hockey in his blood—his father had been the best German player in the league, once upon a time—a guy who should have been tearing the league to pieces. “Not really. I mean, we haven’t met or anything, but I obviously know who he is.” Rees opened his top desk drawer, pulled out a tablet, thumbed it, and slid it across the desk to Ryan. “His highlight reel.” Okay, so they weren’t here to talk about Ryan. Still, curious in spite of himself, Ryan hit Play. On the screen, the player in the orange 17 jersey toe-dragged the puck off an opponent’s stick—a move Ryan would have said was next to impossible. Then he weaved through four white jerseys before taking a shot. The goalie blocked. Number 17 picked up his rebound and passed across the net to a teammate who’d finally caught up with him, and that player tipped it into the wide-open net. No wonder they wanted a therapy dog for this kid. Jesus. Ryan had goose bumps. The rest of the six-minute clip featured more of the same—absurd takeaways, goals from ridiculous angles, plays Ryan never would have believed in a million years. And this kid hadn’t even come close to winning Rookie of the Year—hadn’t even been part of the conversation. Because he could do this… but most of the time, he didn’t. Ryan stopped the video and pushed the tablet back. “Impressive.” “Oh, I agree.” Rees nodded. “And frustrating. You can see w...