Crossing the Line (The Baltimore Banners Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

response but thought it was probably something sarcastic. She sighed then turned to follow Nathan to the center line, her heart beating too fast as her feet glided across the ice. She shrugged her shoulders, trying to readjust the bulk of the pads, and watched as Nathan lined the pucks up.
         He finished then straightened and faced her, an unreadable expression on his face. He finally grinned and shook his head.
         "I have no idea if you know what you're doing or not, but good luck. You're going to need it."
         "Gee, thanks."
         Nathan walked across the ice to the bench and leaned against the outer boards, joining a few of the other players gathered there. AJ wished they were gone, that they had something better to do than stand around and watch her make a fool of herself.
         Well, she had brought it on herself.
         She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, pushing everything from her mind except what she was about to do. When she opened her eyes again, her gaze was on the first puck. Heavy, solid...nothing more than a slab of black rubber...
         Okay, so she wasn't going to have any luck becoming one with the puck. Stupid idea. AJ had never understood that whole Zen thing anyway.
         She swallowed and began skating in small circles, testing her ankles as she turned first one way then another, testing the stick as she swept it back and forth across the ice in front of her. Not too bad. Maybe she hadn't forgotten—
         "Sometime today would be nice!"
         AJ winced at the sarcasm in Alec's voice, and wished she had some kind of comeback for him. Instead she mumbled to herself and got into position behind the first puck. She didn't even look up to see if he was ready. Didn't ask if it was okay to start, she just pushed off hard and skated, the stick out in front of her.
         This was her one shot, she couldn't blow it.

FOUR
     
         AJ surprised herself with how quickly she gathered speed. The net loomed ahead of her, getting closer as she skated. Her mind focused on the net, on the puck cradled against her stick as she moved forward...
         And on Alec standing oh-so-casually between the pipes, acting as if she was no threat at all. The jerk.
         She took a deep breath and crouched lower, then pulled back on the stick and shot forward with it in one quick move to send the puck flying...
         Too wide, it hit the outside of the net and harmlessly bounced off, sliding to the edge of the boards.
         "That was one." Alec's voice sounded bored, but AJ was gratified to see that at least he was paying a little more attention. She had pulled back and shot too soon, irritated at his stance. Maybe she didn't really have a chance, but she wasn't completely hopeless, either.
         AJ returned to center ice and puck number two, shooting a little better this time and actually hitting the post. The third time was even more gratifying because Alec had to reach out and stop the puck, neatly pulling it into his glove and cradling it against his chest. She skated around the back of the net and could have sworn she glimpsed an expression of surprise on his face as she went by him.
         AJ had to aim lower, go for the five hole like Ian had suggested. But she wasn't sure she could control her shot that well. Her last three passes had succeeded in bringing her comfort level back up, but it had literally been years since she played hockey with her brother.
         Never that great to begin with, she was pretty sure she didn't have the skill necessary now. Her legs had turned into rubber, her breath was coming in short gasps, and her body was covered in sweat. A dull throb was building at the base of her skull, and she was very much afraid that it wasn't from the helmet. Now would be the worst time for one of her migraines to strike.
         Two more shots, that was all she had. All or nothing, AJ knew it came down to this.
         Just two