Exclusive Interview
Emily Rath Breaks Down the Ending of ‘Pucking Strong’: Inside Henrik & Teddy’s Love Story
[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for Pucking Strong by Emily Rath.]
For anyone who’s accidentally fallen in love with their fake husband, this one’s for you.
Transporting Rath’s signature steamy hockey romance to an international stage, Pucking Strong follows Teddy O’Connor, a physical therapist for the Jacksonville Rays, and Henrik Karlsson, the team’s star forward. Through both Teddy and Henrik’s perspectives, Pucking Strong gives readers a tantalizingly slow burn, marriage-of-convenience love story.
Following the release of Pucking Strong, the fourth installment of her Jacksonville Rays series, Emily Rath sat down with Swooon to break down Teddy and Henrik’s love story, the ending, and more!
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From the onset of the novel, readers know that Teddy is head over heels for Henrik, even though he is convinced that Henrik may not be gay. That’s why it comes as no surprise that Teddy is the first to jump to Henrik’s side when he needs support after the death of his sister. From there, Teddy and Henrik travel to Henrik’s hometown in Sweden to bring his late sister’s daughter back to the States.
“There’s a moment where they’re in the little boathouse [that] is an emotional one because it’s the first time we start to see the cracks in Henrik,” Rath shared, looking back at the “first tough moment” of Teddy and Henrik’s relationship. She added, “His sister is dead, his niece is injured, but she’s safe. Now he’s in this home, where he also has issues with his parents. You know, his mother is dealing with dementia, and so it’s just like, it’s all much too much.” But now, “He’s lying in this tiny bed in this [boathouse] with Teddy, and he’s able to crack [because] he can smell his sister’s perfume on the sheets.”
Originally, Teddy goes to Sweden to support Henrik and offer physical therapy to Henrik’s niece, Karolina. However, his intentions change when he learns that Henrik cannot take custody of Karro as a single parent. Instead, Teddy must step in to marry Henrik to better his chances of bringing Karro home.
When it comes to crafting the character of Karro, Rath revealed to Swooon that she drew inspiration from multiple children in her life. “There are layers of Karro that are inspired by something like my niece. Or [she’s] inspired by friends’ children, you know? Her obsession with coloring is my niece. And the loudness to her is my friend’s daughter.” At the same time, Rath looked back at her own life, recalling “playing Barbies in the basement growing up” with her cousins.
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As Teddy begins getting closer to Karro, Henrik starts to realize that his feelings for his fake husband are more than platonic. When it comes to that realization, Rath revealed, “I think it’s that slow creeping feeling, right? It’s almost kind of a slow-moving sort of, it’s-always-been-you feeling.” Henrik begins to realize, “Teddy’s been patient, and Teddy has really taken things at my speed, and I’ve gotten to know him and love him and value him, right?” Adding, “It’s his loyalty, his kindness, how he cares for Karro, how good he is with friends and family, how smart he is, how driven, and how motivated.” Ultimately, Henrik looks at Teddy and realizes, “Why wouldn’t I want you in my life? Why wouldn’t I want you to stay?”
Once Henrik and Teddy commit to a romantic relationship, the couple decides that it’s time to have a real wedding, this time involving their friends, family, and Karro. “The whole of their book takes place over a period of four months,” Rath told Swooon. “It’s kind of like a joke in the Rays universe. They move fast. When they decide what they want, they’re moving lightning fast.” She added, “The four people in Pucking Around, that’s like a four-month event where they go from being four separate people to endgame forever.”
After Teddy becomes an officially married Jacksonville Rays WAG (Wives and Guys, as Rath puts it), Rath moves into the story’s epilogue, which takes place five years later. Following Karro’s dance recital, she surprises Teddy by asking him to adopt her, while Henrik will remain her uncle (or morbror in Swedish).
“It just felt right for them,” Rath confessed. While Karro will always see Henrik as her morbror, “Teddy enters in this different kind of way, and she has a different kind of relationship with Teddy.” Henrik will always see Karro as his niece to not “betray the memory” of his sister. However, Karro sees Teddy and thinks, “I had a mom, and I have this great uncle. I’ve never had a dad, so rather than keep calling [Teddy] uncle, wouldn’t that be nice to have a dad?” Cue the tissues!
Pucking Strong by Emily Rath is out now.
