The Shots You Take

The novel opens in April 2024 in Avery River, a small town on the north shore of Nova Scotia. Riley Tuck, a retired NHL hockey player who now runs his family's sporting goods store, attends the funeral of his father, Harvey, a beloved community figure who died suddenly of a heart attack. Riley is barely holding himself together when Adam Sheppard, his former teammate and best friend with the Toronto Northmen, walks into the church. The two men have not spoken in twelve years. Outside afterward, Adam says he came because he loved Harvey. Riley, furious, tells him to leave.

A flashback to January 2007 reveals their tangled history. Riley and Adam were teammates with the Northmen, an NHL team based in Toronto, and became inseparable. Riley, who is gay, fell in love with Adam almost immediately. It took three years before Adam first kissed him, and a sporadic sexual relationship followed, though Adam refused to acknowledge it. When Riley finally confessed his love, Adam laughed and dismissed it, saying they were not "like that." Riley was devastated but stayed, unable to leave the man he loved.

Back in 2024, Adam calls his ex-wife, Maggie, from a run-down motel room. Adam is now divorced and has come out to Maggie as gay, a revelation that came nearly fifteen years into their marriage. He reflects on his current state: retired, in his forties, closeted to most people, with no gay friends and a deep loneliness. He has been exploring his sexuality through hookup apps but has formed no meaningful connections. Maggie urges him to stay in Avery River and try again with Riley. Adam agrees, driven by the fact that he is still in love with him.

Riley grieves at a gathering at his parents' house. His younger sister, Lindsay, worries about how he will cope. His oldest friend, Darren, who runs a maple syrup farm with his husband, Tom, offers comfort. Riley's mother, Susan, mentions that Adam is staying at the local motel. Riley insists he does not care, but that night he drives past, unable to stop thinking about Adam.

Over the following days, Adam slowly inserts himself into Riley's life. He visits the Tuck family home, helps with dishes, and brings lunch to Riley at the shop, where Riley has torn the interior apart in a grief-driven frenzy of reorganization. Riley is hostile, but his resistance softens. Late one night he drives to Adam's motel room. The encounter is volatile; Riley nearly kisses Adam and nearly punches a wall before admitting the week has been a nightmare. Adam offers to help fix the shop, and Riley grudgingly acknowledges that Harvey would have liked Adam being at the funeral. The next morning, Adam returns with coffee and begins restoring order. Susan stops by and casually mentions Adam's divorce; Riley knocks over a sunglasses display in shock.

A flashback to July 2006 depicts a pivotal summer Adam spent in Avery River. Riley drives Adam to a secluded beach where he has prepared a bonfire, beer, and a blanket. Under the stars, they kiss for the first time outside of Toronto. Afterward, they swim naked in the moonlit ocean. Adam is deeply affected but refuses to name what he feels.

Back in 2024, Adam tells Riley he is gay. Riley's initial reaction is uncontrollable laughter, not at Adam's identity but at the absurdity and cruelty of the timing. Adam explains that he told Maggie a couple of years ago and has been with other men since separating. When Adam's shoulder pain worsens from helping at the shop, Riley invites him to stay in his guest room.

Riley confides in Darren and Tom about Adam, revealing the full scope of their past. He describes how Adam broke his heart twice: first by laughing at his love confession, and then by sleeping with him the night they won the Stanley Cup before calling it a mistake. A flashback to June 2010 reveals this night. After the team's celebration, a drunk and affectionate Adam stays at Riley's apartment. They have sex, and Riley believes Adam is finally choosing him. Immediately after, Adam panics, calls it a mistake, and leaves. Riley secretly requests a trade to Dallas, where his time is marked by undiagnosed depression, heavy drinking, and thoughts of ending his life. Lindsay convinces him to come home during a tearful phone call. Back in Avery River, he finds a therapist, starts medication for clinical depression and an emotional dysregulation disorder, and slowly rebuilds his life.

Emotional tensions escalate. One night at the Dropped Anchor, the local bar, Adam pushes Riley to talk about their past. The argument intensifies back at Riley's house: Adam confesses he was in love with Riley too, calling himself a coward. Riley kisses him desperately. Adam kisses back but gently stops him, saying he wants to do things right this time. Riley collapses in anguish, interpreting the rejection through years of trauma. Adam holds him and stays until Riley falls asleep in his arms.

The next morning, the dynamic shifts. Riley shares more about his mental health and medication. They run on the beach, visit family, and tour Riley's garden. Adam visits Harvey's grave alone, leaving a moon snail shell he found on the beach and promising to fight for a future with Riley. That evening, Adam cooks dinner and buys Riley flowers. They discuss Adam's fears about coming out publicly, and Riley encourages him. At a dinner party hosted by Darren and Tom, Adam comes out to Riley's circle of queer friends and is warmly received. Tom shares his own coming-out story and tells Adam that choosing happiness does not erase the past.

That night, they dance to an Emmylou Harris record. Riley initiates a slow, careful kiss that builds into their first fully consensual, sober, unrushed sexual encounter. Adam stays in Riley's bed. Neither man panics or runs. Over the following days, they grow more comfortable. Adam hosts the local minor hockey banquet at the Avery River rink, channeling Harvey's spirit. The event is a success that deeply moves the town.

Adam's departure for Toronto is bittersweet. Riley says he needs time and cannot make big decisions while still raw with grief. Adam tells him he can wait. Riley asks Adam to "stay on me," to keep reaching out, a direct reversal of their past silence. Over the following weeks and months, they maintain their connection through texts, calls, and video chats. Adam tentatively tells his teenage children, Lucy and Cole, that he is seeing someone in Nova Scotia, and they are supportive. Riley visits Harvey's grave and finds the moon snail shell Adam left.

Adam secures a book deal for his autobiography and frames it as motivation to come out publicly. Riley announces he will come to Toronto for Adam's shoulder replacement surgery and stay for three weeks to care for him. The surgery goes well. During recovery, Adam tells Riley he wants to be together for real, as partners, for life. Adam says he loves Riley. Riley says he loves him back.

The epilogue jumps forward five years. Riley and Adam are married and living in Riley's oceanside house. Adam came out publicly, released a bestselling autobiography critical of hockey culture, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, where he described Riley as the love of his life. Riley has expanded Tuck's Sporting Goods with a bike shop. Susan is quietly dating a man named Lyle. On their first wedding anniversary, Riley surprises Adam with a bonfire on the same secluded beach where they first kissed nearly twenty-five years earlier. They swim naked in the moonlight and watch for shooting stars. Adam tells Riley that being with him feels like living inside the best summer of his life, every day. When Adam tells him to make a wish, Riley cannot think of a single thing he needs.