Chapter 232 Chapter 231
Chapter 232 Chapter 231
Logan POV
I barely slept.
Not because the hotel bed was uncomfortable.
Not because I was nervous.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw that folder sitting on the desk.
Recommended for Development Camp Invitation.
I must have read those words a hundred times before finally forcing myself to put the papers away.
This morning, they still felt unreal.
The showcase officially ended after breakfast. Players hugged, shook hands, promised to keep in touch, and slowly disappeared toward airports across the country.
Coach Reynolds found me loading my hockey bag onto the shuttle.
“Proud of you.”
I smiled.
“Thanks, Coach.”
“I mean it.”
“I know.”
He hesitated for a moment before pulling me into a hug.
Coach wasn’t much of a hugger.
Which was exactly why it caught me off guard.
“You earned every bit of this.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
“Couldn’t have done it without you.”
He stepped back and shook his head.
“No.”
“You could have.”
“I just helped you remember who you already were.”
For a second, neither of us spoke.
Then he grinned.
“Now go home.”
“Your mother has probably cleaned the entire house twice waiting for you.”
I laughed.
“That sounds about right.”
“And Harper?”
A smile spread across my face before I could stop it.
“What about her?”
Coach chuckled.
“Don’t keep that girl waiting too long.”
I shook my head.
“I won’t.”
As I climbed onto the shuttle, Coach called after me one last time.
“Oh, and Shaw?”
“Yeah?”
“Keep wearing the bracelet.”
I looked down at the black leather band wrapped around my wrist.
“I wasn’t planning on taking it off.”
⸻
The flight home was quiet.
Most of the players slept.
I tried.
Instead, I found myself staring out the window as the clouds drifted beneath the plane.
Somewhere down there…
Life was moving on.
Harper was probably finishing another shift at the student center.
Cole was probably at the rink.
Marco was probably flirting with a flight attendant if he happened to be flying today.
The thought made me laugh.
My phone buzzed the second we landed.
Mom ❤️
Text me when you’re off the plane.
Another message followed.
Drive safely.
Then another.
I made lasagna.
I smiled.
Home.
⸻
The baggage carousel seemed to take forever.
By the time I grabbed my hockey bag and walked through the sliding doors into the terminal, I immediately spotted my mom.
She wasn’t hard to find.
She stood on her tiptoes scanning every face coming through the crowd.
The moment she saw me, her entire face lit up.
“There he is!”
Before I could even set my bag down, she wrapped both arms around me.
“Oh, thank goodness.”
I laughed into her shoulder.
“Mom…”
“I know.”
She pulled back, wiping at the corners of her eyes.
“I told myself I wasn’t going to cry.”
“You also cried when I left.”
“That’s different.”
“How?”
“You were leaving.”
“And now?”
“Now you’re home.”
I smiled.
“Fair enough.”
She squeezed my arm as we walked toward the parking garage.
“I’ve been dying to ask…”
“So ask.”
She looked over at me.
“Were you happy?”
The question surprised me.
Not…
Did you play well?
Not…
Did the scouts like you?
Not…
Did you score?
Just…
Were you happy?
I didn’t even have to think about it.
“Yeah.”
“I really was.”
Her eyes softened.
“I can tell.”
“How?”
She smiled.
“You’re walking differently.”
I laughed.
“What does that even mean?”
“It means…”
She reached over and straightened the collar of my hoodie the way mothers somehow always did.
“…you aren’t carrying the weight of the whole world on your shoulders anymore.”
I hadn’t realized it until she said it.
But she was right.
⸻
By the time we pulled into the driveway, two familiar trucks were already parked outside.
Coach Reynolds’ pickup.
And…
My father’s SUV.
I froze before I even opened the car door.
Mom noticed immediately.
“I didn’t know he was coming.”
“You didn’t?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
I took a slow breath.
For just a second, I felt that old pressure creep back in.
The voice in my head whispered…
Don’t disappoint him.
Then my fingers brushed the bracelet.
Play Free.
The voice disappeared just as quickly as it had come.
“I’m okay.”
Mom searched my face.
“You sure?”
I nodded.
“For the first time…”
“I really am.”
⸻
Inside, the house smelled like garlic, fresh bread, and melted cheese.
Coach Reynolds stood talking with Mom’s boyfriend near the kitchen while my father waited in the living room.
Richard stood the second I walked in.
“There he is.”
His smile looked genuine.
“Proud of you, son.”
I nodded politely.
“Thanks.”
He stepped closer.
“I heard about the development camp.”
News traveled fast.
“Coach called me.”
I glanced toward Coach Reynolds.
He gave me an apologetic look.
“I figured your father should hear it from someone who was there.”
I nodded.
“I understand.”
Richard clapped me on the shoulder.
“I always knew you had it in you.”
There it was.
The familiar feeling.
Like every accomplishment somehow circled back to him.
“I’ve been telling people for years you had NHL potential.”
I stayed quiet.
“You remember all those mornings?”
He laughed.
“The extra drills.”
“The conditioning.”
“The pressure.”
“I know you hated me for it sometimes.”
He smiled proudly.
“But it made you tougher.”
Everyone in the room had gone silent.
“I guess…”
He continued.
“…I should finally get to say…”
“I told you so.”
The old Logan would’ve smiled.
Nodded.
Maybe even thanked him.
Anything to avoid conflict.
Instead…
I looked at him calmly.
“Dad.”
He smiled.
“Yeah?”
“You didn’t get me here.”
His smile faltered.
“What?”
“You asked me to be perfect.”
I spoke quietly.
“So I tried.”
“For years.”
“I was terrified of making mistakes.”
No one interrupted.
“You know what happened?”
I met his eyes.
“I stopped loving hockey.”
The room felt impossibly still.
“I played because I was afraid.”
“I practiced because I was afraid.”
“I won because I was afraid.”
I looked down at the bracelet around my wrist before looking back up.
“But fear didn’t make me better.”
“It made me smaller.”
Richard’s expression slowly changed.
The confidence disappeared.
“I didn’t play my best hockey this weekend because I was scared.”
I shook my head.
“I played my best hockey because I wasn’t.”
His shoulders sank.
Coach Reynolds remained silent.
Mom reached for a tissue.
“I got here because Mom never stopped believing in me.”
I looked toward Coach.
“Coach taught me that making mistakes is part of becoming great.”
Then I smiled softly.
“And Harper…”
I couldn’t help smiling wider.
“She reminded me why I fell in love with hockey in the first place.”
I turned back to my father.
“You gave me discipline.”
“And I’ll always be grateful for that.”
“But…”
I took a steady breath.
“I don’t want fear to be part of my career anymore.”
For several long seconds, Richard simply stared at me.
When he finally spoke, his voice was quieter than I’d ever heard it.
“I thought…”
He swallowed hard.
“I thought pushing you was how I showed you I loved you.”
“I know.”
“I never wanted you to think you weren’t enough.”
The words caught him by surprise as much as anyone else.
“I just…”
He looked down at the floor.
“My father was harder on me than I ever was on you.”
“I promised myself I’d do better.”
He let out a humorless laugh.
“I guess I didn’t.”
No one said a word.
Finally, Richard looked back at me.
“I’m sorry, Logan.”
Not the kind of apology that magically erased years of hurt.
Not one wrapped in excuses.
Just…
“I’m sorry.”
I felt something inside me loosen.
Not because everything was fixed.
Because I realized I didn’t need it to be.
“I appreciate you saying that.”
Richard nodded once.
“I don’t expect you to forgive me overnight.”
“I know.”
“But I’d like the chance…”
“…to learn how to be your dad again.”
I looked at him for a long moment.
Then I stepped forward.
Not for the hug he clearly hoped for.
Not yet.
Instead, I held out my hand.
He looked at it for a second before shaking it.
It wasn’t the ending of our story.
It was the beginning of a different one.
And for now…
That was enough.