The Rest of the Story
Nothing stands in the way of love.
1. THE REST OF THE STORY by Tal Bauer
SYNOPSIS
Let me earn it.
I keep things simple. Iβm a classic one-night wonder. Relationships? Are you out of your mind? No. No way. Not interested. My heart is vulcanized rubber, puck hard, and thatβs the way I like it.
Then Iβm traded to the absolute worst team in the NHL, the Rocky Mountain Outlaws, and Iβm hit with a one-two punch.
First: Iβm asked to step up and lead the team, which is every kind of bad idea you can imagine. Iβm a head-down, mind-my-business kind of guy. Mr. Uninvolved, Mr. No, Not Me, Mr. Find Someone Else. But these players have been through a mess of hell, and someone thinks I can help pull them together.
The Outlaws are made up of jaded veterans and wide-eyed rookies, and we have no business whatsoever succeeding. We are scrappy and plucky and built out of spit and duct-tapeβ¦ and whatever weβre doing, itβs working.
Second: The first day Iβm in Boulder, I go over the boards and come face-to-face with a pair of blue eyes and lose my heart. Boy, howdy: meet my new co-captain, Shea Darling. Heβs way, way off-limits. Itβs a stratospherically terrible idea to want or crave him. This crush, this infatuation, is going nowhere fast.
Yeah, right. Iβm gone for Shea. Iβm head over heels, and Iβm all tangled up in something I canβt understand or control. This isnβt me. I donβt fall in love. And thereβs nothing simple about Shea, or about the Outlaws. This team is finally putting up the wins, and we are making something of ourselves. Falling for my co-captain while weβre on a Cinderella run could jeopardize everything weβre striving for.
But then thereβs this one night. And this one kiss. And everything changes.
Eighty-two games in a season. Twenty men hungry for redemption. One co-captain who could be my forever.
This is the rest of the story.