Road Rules

ROAD RULES Rules of the Game: Evanston River Otters BRIGHAM VAUGHN Two Peninsulas Press This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. ©Brigham Vaughn Editing by Rebecca Fairfax Formatting by Brigham Vaughn Cover design by Brigham Vaughn Cover Images: © I T A L O/Shutterstock © patrimonio designs ltd/AdobeStock © alswart/AdobeStock All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Printed in the United States of America First Printing 2022 Second Printing 2023 AUTHOR’S NOTE I was very nervous when I wrote the original novella length version of Road Rules. I didn’t know hockey very well but I knew I wanted to tell Zane and Ryan’s story. It’s been over a year since I wrote and released it as a part of a giveaway on Prolific Works. In that time, I’ve become a full-fledged hockey fan and am thoroughly in love with Zane and Ryan. They had such big parts in the books that follow and I was eager to spend more time with them. I had always planned to expand the story and I am so, so pleased with the way it all came together. I adore these two oblivious idiots even more and I could probably write a million more words about them! Thank you to Helena Stone, DJ Jamison, and Allison Hickman for your excellent beta feedback. I appreciate you all so much. Thank you to Lynnette Brisia and Sandy Bennett for your hockey-specific feedback as well. I’ve learned a lot about the sport but I really, really couldn’t do this without you. Trust me. Huge thanks to Rebecca Fairfax for your fantastic edits, thank you to Melissa Womochil, Julie Fouts Hanson, Amy Gibson Leckinger, and Rebecca Fairfax, for your amazing proofreading. Thank you to Marie-Pierre D’Auteuil for your expertise on everything French-Canadian. I would be a disaster without all of your hard work! As always, huge thanks to DJ Jamison for helping me stay on track (seriously don’t know what I’d do without you). You’re the best! And most of all, a big thank you to all of you readers who make this possible. Without you, I wouldn’t be living my dream of being a full-time author. Happy Reading! Contents BOOK BLURB TEAM INFO & GLOSSARY ROAD RULES PROLOGUE CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE CHAPTER THIRTEEN CHAPTER FOURTEEN CHAPTER FIFTEEN CHAPTER SIXTEEN CHAPTER SEVENTEEN CHAPTER EIGHTEEN CHAPTER NINETEEN CHAPTER TWENTY CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE CHAPTER THIRTY BRIGHAM’S BOOKS ABOUT THE AUTHOR BOOK BLURB Rule #1: Hockey Comes First As NHL team captain, Zane Murphy’s goal for the upcoming season is simple: take the Evanston River Otters all the way to the Stanley Cup. Rule #2: Only On the Road But an unexpectedly hot night with his best friend and teammate Ryan Hartinger throws Zane’s carefully laid plans and his sexuality into disarray. Rule #3: Don’t Fall in Love with Your Best Friend When feelings begin to creep in, Zane will have to decide if he’s willing to throw out the rules and risk his career and his friendship for a chance at winning it all. * * * TRIGGER WARNING: Road Rules includes homophobic and gendered slurs. Mentions of cheating (not between MCs). TEAM INFO & GLOSSARY The Rules of the Game Series is set in a fictional universe. All of the players and teams shown on page are fictional. While I have done my very best to stay true to the rules and schedules of professional hockey, some minor creative license was taken writing these stories. While not an exhaustive list of hockey terms and slang by any means, here are some used in the series that you might not be familiar with. Bag Skate - a method of punishing a team or getting the attention of the players when the coach suspects his team is not making a good effort in games or practices. A special exercise in which players skate until exhaustion and/or the coach believes they have made their point. Biscuit - A slang term for the puck. Black Ace - Extra players added to a roster for a team's playoff run after their own season is over in the minor-leagues or elsewhere. The Black Aces practice with the team and are expected to be ready to step into the lineup if any of the regular players in the lineup are unable to play. Boarding - the action where a player pushes, trips or body checks an opponent causing them to go dangerously into the boards. Breezers - Hockey pants. Knee-to-waist protective gear that carry a variety of padding depending on whether they are worn by goaltenders or skaters. The pants are traditionally a one-piece garment with a lace-up fly augmented by a strap belt. This slang term is most commonly used in the Midwest. Celly - Slang for “celebration”. The expression of joy after a player scores a goal. Often unique to each player/team. Corsi - An advanced statistic used to provide an indication of the time a team spends in the offensive zone, versus time spent in their defensive zone. This includes shots on goal, missed shots on goal, and blocked shot attempts towards the opposition's net minus the same shot attempts directed at your own team's net. Crease - The shaded area directly in front of a hockey goal is called the crease. This is where a hockey goalie stops goals, and where opposing players are prohibited from interfering with the goalie. Deke -