Hero’s Risk by Gina Azzi EPUB & PDF – eBook Details
- Author: Gina Azzi
- Language: English
- Formats: PDF / EPUB
- Status: Available for Download
- Series: None
- Price: Free
- File Size: 1 MB
BEAU
“A real Hollywood star! In our town,” a teenage girl gushes into her cell
phone.
I fight the urge to roll my eyes as I pass through the hockey arena, The
Honeycomb, toward the parking lot. The arena is busy today, brimming with
adolescents and teenagers for a handful of clinics. Thank God this is the last
week.
“She’s from here, you know,” another voice, a middle-aged woman in
line at the cupcake stand, Primrose Sweets, says to her friend. “She graduated
from Fallsview High.”
“Class of 2013,” the friend confirms.
My stomach sours at the name of my high school. And twists harder at
the name of my ex-girlfriend.
Not just ex-girlfriend. The ex-love of my life. The one who got away…
and stayed away. Until now.
The September heat hits me full-on as I push through the arena doors. My
hockey team, the Tennessee Thunderbolts, have our season opener in two
weeks. While the team is fixated on the season, my head is all over the place.
Because last weekend, while my little sister Bea showed me the space she’s
renting to open her pottery store, she dropped a bomb in my lap.
Celine is coming home, to Knoxville, to film a movie.
Then, the bomb detonated.
Celine is arriving this week.
The news brought a fresh wave of anxiety.
Since my honorable discharge from the Marines over two years ago, I’ve
had a rough time readjusting to civilian life. Of moving forward. Sure, I
achieved my childhood dream of playing in the NHL, but hockey is the only
thing that keeps me sane.
Off the ice, I feel the full weight of my deployments and duty tours.
Anxiety wraps around my shoulders like a cloak, pulling tight when my
control slips. When my routine is thrown off. When I doubt myself.
I thought I was getting better. When Bea moved home in January and
took over Gran’s care, it offered me the opportunity to move into my own
space in Downtown Knoxville. Things, like breathing, started feeling easier. I
was making progress.
Until now.
With Celine’s impending arrival, it feels like I’m stuck in a straightjacket.
My nerves are rattled, my control nonexistent, my insecurities on high alert.
The woman who literally and figuratively brought me to my knees is back,
living in our hometown, where our paths will undoubtedly cross. Regularly.
I toss my practice bag into the back seat of my truck and slide behind the
steering wheel. I flip the ignition, blast the air conditioner, and drop my head
to the headrest. Close my eyes. Breathe.
Celine and I saw each other at my gran’s ninetieth birthday party in April.
It was during that event that I learned Bea and Celine never lost touch, the
same way Celine and I did. It was that celebration where I saw my ex-girl
interact with my brothers like it was normal. Her love and concern for them
overshadowing the awkwardness that exists between me and her.
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