The Captain's Heart

What if Cinderella used a wheelchair? Ryan Harrison was seventeen when his name went first in the 2005 NHL Draft. By September he was eighteen, standing on a Halifax dock with his grandmother's Saint Christopher medal in his pocket, saying goodbye to his family. Pittsburgh was supposed to be about hockey. Kelia Langly had a plan.

Senior year at Oakland Catholic. Dual enrollment at CCAC. Carlow in the fall. A part-time analyst seat with the Penguins she had earned twice over because that was what a girl in a power chair had to do. Eighteen years had taught her the difference between kindness and pity, and she could tell them apart before a stranger finished a sentence.

A prayer journal on her nightstand held everything she had asked God for and not yet said out loud. The boy from Halifax who went first was not on either list. He looked at her like she was neither. That scared her more than pity ever had. What follows is a season. An Oakland coffee shop the afternoon they meet.

A Squirrel Hill dinner table where her father takes his time getting to the point. A Pittsburgh Symphony pops concert, and Ryan takes her hand in public. A Halifax dock the Friday morning of Thanksgiving weekend, where he kisses her. A Mt. Washington overlook in February snow, a promise ring he has been carrying for weeks.

Two young people wanting each other in a way that scares them both. A Catholic boy and a Protestant girl choosing what they love more. The Captain's Heart is a New Adult contemporary sports romance set during the 2005-2006 NHL season in Pittsburgh. A debut #OwnVoices novel from a former Miss Wheelchair Pennsylvania. Book One of the Hearts & Ice series.

Heat Level - Warm. Sensual but non-explicit. Ryan and Kelia choose to wait, and that choice is honored as the meaningful, loving decision it is. Content Notes - Depiction of an emotionally abusive ex-boyfriend (portrayed critically, not romanticized). References to children with serious illness. Mild language. Catholic and Prot