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I’m going to catch hell for this.

I know I am.

But I don’t give a fuck.

This is too goddamn important to me, and if Coach or West or Kellan doesn’t understand, so be it. If I get reamed out or fined for missing practice, so be it.

I need to see her, and I know where she will be at nine o’clock in the morning tomorrow, thanks to Dex.

So that’s why I do a quick search, book a flight, pack a bag, and head to the airport to catch the red-eye to Chicago when I should be slipping under my covers and calling it a night so I can get to an early morning skate tomorrow.

I’m not traveling with the team, so I’m doing a little traveling of my own. It’s not team-approved, and I’m going to miss practice because of it, but this is my one window, and I can’t miss it.

I’m playing on Thursday, so I have forty-eight hours to get back to town, get some sleep, and be ready for morning skate on Thursday. It would be even better if I could get back into town by tomorrow night, but it is what it is.

I don’t ask for permission because I know what the answer will be.

Instead, I text Coach as I wait in the first-class lounge to board my flight.

Me: Sorry for the late notice, but I have some personal matters to attend to. I will miss practice tomorrow, possibly Wednesday.

I text West next.

Me: I won’t be at practice tomorrow.

And then I hold my breath.

I find a hotel in Chicago not too far from where Everleigh lives, and I book a suite.

West’s response comes in while I’m booking the hotel. I don’t look at it yet.

And then my phone starts to ring. It’s Coach, and I have no choice but to answer. You don’t ignore your coach.

“Hey, Coach.”

“What the fuck is this nonsense, Maddox?” he yells.

“You told me to pull it together. It’s what I’m trying to do.”

“Where are you?” he demands.

“I’m on my way to Chicago.”

“Chicago?” he practically screams at me. I pull the phone slightly away from my ear.

“Yes, sir.”

“What the ever-loving fuck are you doing in Chicago?”

“Trying to fix what I broke.”

“Tell me what the fuck is going on,” he says.

“West and I made a bet in the offseason, and it was who could get this woman to marry him first. I did it, and then I fell in love with her. She found out about the bet, and she left me. I am on my way to go get her back.”

He sighs heavily, with a whole bunch of frustration thrown in. “You two fucking idiots,” he mutters.

“I know. It was stupid, and—”