On the Surface (In the Zone) Read Online Free PDF Page A

Thanks.”
    Walking on air, Erin headed toward Luke Jansen’s room and, miracle of miracles, Dr. Oliphant followed, popping the rest of his second brownie in his mouth. As another sign that he was a truly good guy, he often just visited with the kids to shoot the breeze. Luke wasn’t even his patient.
    “Hey, Luke!” Dr. Oliphant said.
    “Hi, Dr. O.”
    Ten-year-old Luke had been born with a bum heart. He had beautiful hazel eyes, wiry, light brown hair, and two front teeth that were too big for his mouth. Erin hoped a transplant would allow him to grow into them because he had an amazing smile and the kind of cheerful outlook that was contagious. Anyone who went into Luke’s room feeling crabby or blue left with a smile on their face.
    “How are you feeling?” Dr. O asked.
    “A little tired.”
    “Eat your breakfast. That’ll give you some energy,” Erin said.
    “I will,” he said, having eaten about half.
    “So,” Dr. Oliphant said, leaning against the bedrail, “you excited about meeting Hollander on Saturday?”
    Luke beamed his high-wattage smile, his lack of energy forgotten.
    They’d gotten word a couple of weeks ago that one of the players from the Barracuda hockey team was coming to visit the children’s ward. Erin had never heard of him, so Tammy had filled her in while they were getting coffee. “He played for the Blackhawks before he got traded back in July, two months ago, I guess.”
    “And the Blackhawks are from...Montana?” Erin had asked, adding sugar to her cup.
    Tammy had scoffed. “Montana doesn’t have a hockey team. The Blackhawks are from Chicago.”
    “Oh, wait a second. I was thinking of the Blackfeet. Wrong tribe.” Erin took a sip of her coffee and sighed happily. “So this guy who’s coming, is he any good?”
    “He’s a great scorer. Well, he used to be anyway. Even though his team won the Cup, he didn’t have that great of a season last year and he’s kind of old. But I think he still has some life left in him. We’ll see.”
    Erin didn’t care either way. She was not a sports fan. She preferred watching just about anything over sports. But Luke, Tammy and Dr. O were a different story. If you gave them the choice between a visit to a chocolate buffet and a visit with a hockey player, they’d choose the hockey player.
    Go figure.
    “Is Hollander your favorite player?” she asked Luke.
    He shook his head slowly. “Not really. But he’s a ‘Cuda now, so it’s different.”
    “Do you like hockey, Nurse Erin?” Dr. Oliphant asked.
    The lie rested on the tip of her tongue, ready for launch. Dr. O loved hockey. Surely he wanted his girlfriend to like it too.
    But, she reminded herself again, a relationship had to be built on honesty.
    “I don’t really know,” she answered truthfully. “Isn’t it über violent?”
    “There are fights, yes,” Dr. O said. “And hits.”
    “That’s my favorite part,” Luke said. “When they hit each other. My mom likes that too.”
    That surprised Erin. Luke’s mom seemed like such a serene woman.
    “There’s nothing like a nice, clean hit,” Dr. O said.
    “Clean, as in no blood?” she asked, straightening the covers.
    The two males laughed. “No,” Luke said, “clean like fair.”
    “Not underhanded,” Dr. O added.
    “You said fights and hits. Is there a difference?”
    Luke sat up in bed. “Oh, yeah. A fight is, well, a fight. Guys punching each other like crazy. A hit is when you use your body against the other guy to knock him off the puck.”
    “Ah. So no blood.”
    “Oh, no, there’s blood,” Luke said. He turned to Dr. O, his eyes wide. “Did you ever see that video of Malarchuk getting his throat slashed?”
    “During a game?” Dr. O asked.
    Luke was tapping the screen of his tablet computer like mad. “Yeah. Another player’s skate came up and got him in the neck.”
    Erin walked around so she could see the video clip Luke had pulled up. She watched two men skating toward a goalie. There