Changes on Ice

Rusty Dolan tries to think of himself as lucky. When his folks declared him dead to them for being gay, he'd already turned eighteen, his hockey gear was in his truck, and NHL star player Scott Edison lived a dozen miles down the road. Which meant instead of crashing his life, Rusty had a place to stay and a goal to chase. At the end of summer, his old pickup wheezed over the mountains without dying, and Scott's coaching helped Rusty earn a spot on the Eugene Gryphons team.

Now, halfway into the season, he's playing his best developmental-league hockey and checking out the Oregon gay scene, which has a lot more options than small-town Kansas. Sadly, it has more douchebags too, and when one of them latches onto Rusty, he panics. NHLer Roger LaCroix is also a friend, of sorts. Rusty calls Cross for help, and the veteran defenseman shows up big time. Which does not help Rusty's long-time crush on him.

Cross knows his worth to the Rafters as a Norris-trophy-winning player, but that's about the only thing he's certain of. Hockey is his whole life. He got dumped by his longtime girlfriend a few years back, and wasn't as sad about it as he expected. He's decided he's probably demisexual, and he and Willow just never reached his comfort zone.

But now there's Rusty. After the mess of the past summer, Cross wants to help a deserving young player get his shot. As a man who hates creeps, he has no hesitation posing as Rusty's boyfriend to fend off a predatory ex. Problem is, Cross kind of likes being around Rusty, giving coaching tips and taking care of him. Except who is Cross, at thirty, to have some kind of identity crisis at the expense of a hot, young, up-and-coming player? He and Rusty really should stick to being friends. It's the only safe answer.

Changes on Ice is an M/M, age-gap, slow burn, asexual-self-discovery sports romance, related to the first books in the series but with two new main characters.
Content warning for grief, stalking.