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As you know, the Hockey Holiday Anthology was released and eighteen (yes, 18!) amazing and talented authors wrote novella about some hot hockey males! Grab it now, because it will go out of print on 11/30!
As a thank you, I thought I would give you a bit of my book. It's called The Devoted Father and the Introvert. This is a New Hampshire Bears Novella, but will lead into a full novel. It should be out Spring 2019.
Thank you …
Elexis wiped down the counter for the twentieth time. The customers at The Latte Bean still trickled in but closing time was growing closer, and she couldn’t wait. Not like she had any plans because she never did. However, she wanted to get back to her apartment, do some homework, and rest before she started job number two at the library in the morning. The Latte Bean covered her rent and bills and such, but her work at the library filled her heart. Reading to the children, helping to stock the shelves of new stories, and interacting with other book lovers brought a smile to her face every day. Although she didn’t need to, she worked both jobs because she loved to work.
“Elexis.”
She stopped her task and turned to her boss, Janie. “Yes?”
“Why don’t you head out? I can close up.”
Her mouth slacked slightly. “Really?”
Janie grinned. “Yep. Go on, kid, and finish your school work.”
Elexis hugged her boss, thanked her ten times, and raced to the time clock. She knew Janie wouldn’t change her mind but didn’t want to take the chance. She grabbed her purse, tossing it over her shoulder, and headed out the door toward the bus stop. It wouldn’t be coming for another ten minutes, so she paced in a small circle and checked her phone and Twitter.
Due to Elexis’ long work hours, she spent the majority of her time at home—alone. Honestly, she enjoyed being alone. Well, not really, which was why she loved Twitter. If she had to say she had a true love, it would be Twitter. She felt connected to people, without actually being around them.
While growing up in a small town in upstate New Hampshire, Elexis hardly had any friends. Sure, there were a few but none of them stayed around long enough because of her mother’s extremely busy schedule and her own shyness. Besides, Elexis’ mother kept a tight hold on her and wouldn’t let her do much.
When she heard the bus, Elexis looked up from her phone. She felt a small grin on her face as she eyed the advertisement on the side of the bus. New Hampshire Bears. The professional hockey team ruled the city. Really, the entire state. They even held a special place in Elexis’ heart. In middle school, her class took a field trip to Manchester. She knew nothing about hockey, had no clue what the game even entailed or saw a single second of it. The moment the players hit the ice, Elexis’ eyes remained locked on everything in front of her. From that moment, until this very day, she loved her Bears, as she called them.
She slipped in her earbuds as she found an empty seat. The sound waves filled her ears from the latest podcast of the Bears. A lot has happened in the offseason and since the new season would begin tomorrow, it brought a buzz into the air. Last season’s nightmare left the Bears one point away from the playoffs. Some blamed Bas Zorn for the loss since he had been out on medical leave for almost the entire season until Oliver Matthews held a press conference and told the truth regarding Bas’ medical leave. It brought the community together and showed how amazing the hockey world truly was to the world. Fans may hate each other during game time, but when tragedy struck, the fans became a family no matter what colors they wore.
“Who’s going to be traded?” Jerry Cannon, the leading Bear expert, began. “The Bears haven’t traded a single player in over three seasons. What the hell were they thinking?”
They’re thinking they have a great team and don’t want to mess it up. Elexis thought as she rolled her eyes.
“This team is becoming a nightmare. It needs fresh blood and the time to do it is now.”
Elexis continued to listen to the ramblings of Jerry Cannon’s words, which caused her to grow angry. She loved her Bears just the way they were and sure as hell didn’t want to see a single one of them leave. On the other hand, she knew he was partially correct. The Bears’ chemistry had changed in the past couple of seasons, and a new outlook would be needed soon. But who would they trade? Jerry Cannon went through his list, and then he said the one name she didn’t want to hear.
“What about Dag Limon? What has he done lately? We all know about his personal problems and clearly they’re affecting his time on the ice.”
She turned off the podcast and tapped the Spotify app.
Dag Limon, a defenseman, stole her heart at sixteen. Her heart hurt thinking about her favorite player being traded.
Sounds crazy, right?
However, it was true.
Thinking back to the moment he stole her heart, she had saved all her money from babysitting during the summer to ensure she would be at the home opener in the fall. She begged her mother to let her take the car, drive all the way to Manchester, watch the game, and then wait for the players’ outside of the entrance to—hopefully—receive an autograph. More than once Elexis’ mother told her no because she was only sixteen, but she kept on until she broke her mother.
The excitement bubbled over on that day. Her body jerked and twitched, waiting in line to be let into the arena. The tears burned the back of her eyes as she sat down, right in front of the glass. Nothing more than plexiglass separating her from the players. As she watched the warm-ups, she stood on her feet, praying to catch a puck. Sure, they mainly gave them to kids, but she hoped one would drop to her. Dag Limon had been just the one to give her one. He kicked it over the glass with the tip of his stick, and it landed perfectly in her hands. Almost as if he sent it to her. Just for her.
By the end of the game, her cheeks hurt from smiling, her voice hoarse from yelling and growling the Bears cry, but she still went to the entrance and waited for the players with several other fans.
Clutching the puck tightly, she watched players come in and out. A few came over to the crowd, but none saw her. She didn’t want to force her way to the front because it wouldn’t be polite but waiting her turn hadn’t been working for her.
As the fans began to leave, thinking no other players were going to come out, she remained, desperate to have just one player speak to her. About to give up, the doors opened and who walked out but—Dag Limon.
“Out here all alone, eh?” He strolled over to her.
“Um…” She barely remembered how to speak when she saw his chocolate brown eyes.
“Would you like me to sign it? Or are you waiting for someone more popular?” He joked, nodding to her puck.
“You gave it to me.” She blurted out in nervousness, shoving it at him. “Over the glass, I mean.” Taking a deep breath, she prayed for her nerves to calm down.
He chuckled at her, pulling a Sharpie from his pocket. “I remember. Glad you caught it. What’s your name?”
“Elexis.” Thankfully, she remembered her name.
He scribbled on the puck and handed it back to her. “Have a great night, Lex.” He flashed her a bright smile, turned and walked away.
To this day, she considered it her most treasured item.
Stepping into her apartment, she felt a sense of relief. She adored her place. She could afford it and loved the location. Albeit small didn’t even cover the square footage of it, it was all hers. You could see the entire apartment because it was an open layout. Her tiny kitchen had a two-burner stove. The fridge couldn’t hold more than a half gallon of milk, and her sink looked as if it belonged in a dollhouse. Her mother gave her a couch as a moving in present and until recently she didn’t own a TV. She found her bedroom set on sale and thanks to her income tax return, she didn’t have to put it on layaway. Even though she had been thrifty with her purchases, she admired every piece because she worked hard for it.
She walked into the bathroom, stripped out of her clothes, then turned on the water for her shower and waited for it to heat up. The bathroom was smaller than she would have liked. Elexis missed having a bathtub and counter space to lay out her beauty supplies. After finishing her shower, she wrapped herself in her large fluffy bathrobe and fired up her laptop that was sitting on the coffee table, which was surrounded by her textbooks.
Moving to Manchester shortly after her high school graduation, she knew a traditional college setting wouldn’t be for her. She didn’t like large crowds and couldn’t focus with others around her. She liked the one-on-one setting, which is why she chose to take online classes. And the plus side of it all was she could still work both jobs without them interfering with classroom time.
As the laptop screen began to glow, Twitter popped up. Elexis smiled seeing the numerous notifications and began to scroll through the countless tweets. She replied to a few before sending one herself.
Finished with a hot shower. #feelingfreshandclean Time to get some homework done. #workitout #getitgirl
Continuing to scroll through the tweets, she noticed the trending topics. One stood out to her—#dateme
Unsure of what it meant, she clicked the hashtag and the tweets loaded. Apparently, people are tweeting reasons why celebrities should date them. Some were funny. A few were sad. Several of them were disgusting and caused her to understand why people thought millennials were immature and irresponsible.
Elexis sat there for a few more minutes, still enjoying the entertainment of the tweets when she thought about which celebrity she would like to date. None really came to mind. She couldn’t even think of a reason why anyone would date her. Probably why no one had. There were a couple of boys throughout high school who asked her out, but she declined all of them. Books and school came first in her life. Of course, hockey was right up there too.
Glancing over at her puck, setting proudly on her nightstand next to her bed, she thought of Dag Limon. Would he date her?
“No,” she said aloud with a chuckle, but it would be funny to tweet about it.
I bet I would make @DagLimon02 a fantastic girlfriend because I love my Bears. I’m excellent at ordering takeout and I can read faster than he can skate. Oh, and we can go to Arby’s on our first date! #dateme
She laughed at herself and at what she tweeted, then wondered how many RTs she’d receive because she sounded so desperate. She laughed at herself again and then closed the tab to start on her homework.
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