Against the Odds

by Kaje Harper

COMING SOON

gorgeous redheaded young man in a plaid shirt

Part of the The Games We Play - Season 2 series:

Against the Odds
Conditioning Loan
Punchline

Callum

I've wanted to play pro hockey since I was nine years old. That's when my grandfather looked at an angry, hurting, orphaned kid and said, "A sport might be a good way for you to work some of that out." Sadly, in the Under-11s division, punching people wasn't part of the game, which is how I ended up a goalie, to keep me out of temptation's way. Well, plus I'm good at it.

Now I'm in the PHL, and have the second-best record (and yes, the most penalties) of any goalie in the league. I'm aiming for the NAPH and when I make it, I'm going to pay off my grandfather's mortgage and get the family store back out of debt. I'm not going to let anything derail me, not my high-school crush moving in next door, nor my least-favorite uncle showing up. But sometimes determination isn't enough to keep life going my way.

Zeke

I joined the Vancouver police department to honor my military dad after he passed and do good in the world. But a long stint undercover left its marks, and now suddenly I'm the guardian for my twelve-year-old half-brother. I'm rethinking everything about my life, and scrambling to fit a bereaved pre-teen into my shift work. Only help from my elderly neighbor, Mr. Fitzpatrick, and his hockey player grandson, Callum, lets me keep my head above water.

My attraction to Callum is a whole other problem. I'm trying hard not to let my appreciation for red hair and strong muscles and blunt honesty get out of control. Because Callum's gay but he's definitely not out and not looking for a relationship. We're just convenient. I'm not going to be the one to mess up his single-minded drive toward the top professional league. Until the day he comes to me, asking for help, and everything changes.

The Games We Play - Season 2 - is the second season of this multi-author minor league hockey romance series! All titles run concurrently through the same hockey season and the books can be read in any order, so jump in anywhere!

This book is on:

1 To Be Read list

Available on: October 22, 2025
Publisher: Independently Published
Editors:

Debbie McGowan

Cover Artists:

L.C. Chase

Genres:

Contemporary, Sports

Tags:

format - novel <100K, format - self published, format - shared universe, potential trigger - grief; past loss, what - topic - pro sports, what - topic - pro-hockey, who - occupation - hockey player, who - occupation - police

Pairings: M-M
Heat Level: 4
Romantic Content: 4
Ending: Click here to reveal
Character Identities: Gay
Protagonist 1 Age: 26-35
Protagonist 2 Age: 18-25
Tropes: Coming Out / Closeted, Families/Raising Kids
Word Count: 90000
Languages Available: English
Series Type: Same Universe / Various Characters

About the Author

I get asked about my name a lot. It's not something exotic, though. “Kaje” is pronounced just like “cage” – it’s an old nickname.

I live in Minnesota, where the two seasons are Snow-removal and Road-repair, where the mosquito is the state bird, and where winter can be breathtakingly beautiful. Minnesota’s a kindly, quiet (if sometimes chilly) place and it’s home now.

I’ve been writing for far longer than I care to admit (*whispers – forty years*), mostly for my own entertainment. I mainly publish M/M romance (with added mystery, fantasy, historical, SciFi…) I also have a few Young Adult stories released under the pen name Kira Harp.

My husband finally convinced me that after all that time writing for fun, I really should submit something, somewhere. My first professionally published book, Life Lessons, came out from MLR Press in May 2011. I have a weakness for closeted cops with honest hearts, and teachers who speak their minds, and I had fun writing the four novels and three freebie short stories in the series. I’ve been delighted by the reception Mac and Tony have received.

I now have a good-sized backlist in ebooks and print, both free and professionally published. A complete list with links can be found on my Books page.
I also have an author page on Goodreads where I do a lot of book reviews. You can find me to chat there– I hang out on Goodreads a lot because I moderate the Goodreads YA LGBT Books group there. I also post free short YA stories on that group, more than 50 of them so far. Or find me on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/KajeHarper

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