My Hockey Alpha



"Another day, maybe," Luke said, matching my gaze. "We'll find him. I promise."

I nodded as I put the truck into drive. "I hope so," I murmured, veering out onto the road. "And when we do... I'm gonna kill him."

After dropping Luke off, I parked my truck in the driveway, its headlights casting long shadows that danced across the front lawn.

I sat there for a moment, staring at the house that had become my sanctuary. My thoughts lingered on Nina, on the baby, on all the what-ifs that chumed in my mind like the stormy sea. Despite everything Luke had said- truths I knew in my gut were right-I couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that gripped me.

Leaving Nina alone, especially now, felt like an insurmountable task. My hand hovered over the ignition, hesitating to turn it off. If I stepped out, if I walked through that door, I'd be one step closer to leaving her for a dream job that had been, up until this evening, exactly what I'd wanted.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Driven by instinct, I pulled out my phone and dialed Tim's number. The call went through, and I heard the familiar ringtone echo in the confines of the truck.

"Enzo! How's it going?" Tim's voice crackled through the speaker.

"Hey Tim, not too bad. How are you guys?" I tried to keep my voice steady.

"Good, good. Just wrapping up practice. Hold on, let me put you on FaceTime; the team would love to see you."

Before I could object, the call switched to video mode. Suddenly, I was looking at a sea of faces-my would-be apprentices, all sweaty and out of breath, but smiling nonetheless.

"Hey, it's Enzo!" someone shouted.

"When are you coming back, man? We miss you!" another voice chimed in.

Tim laughed, holding the phone up so that everyone was in view. "As you can see, you've made quite the impression. They're practically counting the days until you're here."

A pang of regret hit me square in the chest. I had wanted this so badly. The camaraderie, the competition, the sheer joy of watching a team grow and evolve under my supervision-it was a dream I'd had for as long as I could remember.

"Did you need something, Enzo?" Tim asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I opened my mouth to say it, to tell him that my wife was pregnant, that I couldn't take the job. But the words caught in my throat.

The faces on the screen were so full of hope, of expectation. I couldn't bring myself to let them down, not when they'd given me something to look forward to as well.

"No... I was just checking in," I finally managed to say. "I wanted to let everyone know that I'm looking forward to visiting again soon."

"Good. We can't wait," Tim said, and the screen filled with a chorus of cheers and thumbs-up.

"Yeah, me neither," I echoed, my voice barely above a whisper as I ended the call.

I sighed, placing the phone on the passenger seat. My eyes drifted to the front windshield, where I saw Nina's silhouette move gracefully behind the kitchen window. I knew I'd miss her every moment I was away. I knew I'd worry, that I'd wonder if I'd made the right choice.

But as I sat there, watching her as she scurried around the kitchen, I realized that our dreams were not obstacles, but markers on the roadmap of our life together. It was going to be a tough journey, but I knew that it would be

worth it in the end.

With a sigh, I finally pulled the keys out of the ignition and stepped out of the truck, my gaze still fixed on my It was time to talk.

wife.