Face-Off at the Altar

by Toni Aleo

  Elli looked to her lawyer as he searched through the packet again. “He’s right, here it is.”

  “Oh, good,” she said with a grin, taking the sheet from Markus and handing it to her lawyer. “Sorry about this. I need to get a new staff, huh?” she teased, and Markus smiled.

  “No, it’s fine,” he said, reading over the next page, which was what the franchise offered to its players.

  6. Free therapy, up to three times a week. (Mental health is important!)

  Why did that stick out to him? Out of all the stuff they offered: discounts to everything under the sun, leasing on cars, and all the rest, why did that matter? Rolling his eyes from the frustration eating his soul, he signed the paper quickly, going to the next and then the next. When he was finished, he looked to Elli and nodded. “Are we good?”

  She looked to the lawyer who was verifying the paperwork, and when he nodded, she grinned over at him. “We are great. Thank you!”

  He couldn’t even focus on her dashing grin or anything else.

  Did he need therapy?

  Did he want it?

  No, that was crazy talk. Nothing was wrong with him.

  “Anytime,” he said, a little uneasy from the fact that he was still thinking of number six on that one document.

  He wasn’t sure what it meant. He didn’t know why that would stick out to him.

  “Yo, Reeves, let’s go!” Jayden called from the ice, and Markus could have kissed him.

  He needed the distraction.

  With a wave to Mrs. Adler, he walked out onto the ice, heading for where Jayden was waiting. Coach Baxter stood in the middle of the ice, watching as everyone gathered. Standing beside Jayden, Markus looked around at all the familiar faces he knew. Not only personally but through admiration over the years. Lucas Brooks stood beside Jayden, along with the goalie, Tate Odder. Across the way was the awesome Vaughn Johansson—who Markus would have to admit he was kind of dude-crushing on. The guy was downright sick; Markus loved watching him play. To the left were Karson King and Jordie Thomas, a defensive duo that was tough to score on and highly rated. Phillip Anderson was against the boards, along with Erik Titov and the backup goalie, Dylan Alexander. Benji Paxton, the guy who was marrying Lucy, stood tall and confident beside a guy Markus thought was Patrick Franklin, but he was unsure. Looking around the rink, at all of the iconic players he had dreamed of playing with, everything kind of hit him.

  This was real.

  This was it.

  This was his chance.

  Holy. Fuck.

  Before he could mentally freak the hell out, though, Coach Baxter cleared his throat. “All right, let’s take a moment and welcome Markus Reeves to the rink. He’ll be playing with us for a while, trying to shake things up. We all know how that goes. Let’s wish him luck.”

  Soon everyone tapped their sticks to the ice, nodding their heads toward Markus. Lifting his hand, he waved like a goof. Jayden laughed beside him, causing him to drop his hand as his face burned.

  Great first impression there, Markus…

  “Next, let’s congratulate Odder and Titov, who will both be leaving tomorrow to play in the Worlds for their home countries.” Again, the tap of the sticks while both men grinned proudly. “Good luck, but you’ll all lose. Go Canada.”

  That led to a roar of laughter, and to Markus’s surprise, both men laughed, flipping off their coach. If that had happened back on the Ninjas, Coach Saint would have chopped someone’s head off with a stick. But not here, and just that simple fact had Markus grinning like a fool.

  “Okay, back to business. We’ve shaken the lines up, we’re gonna try some new things, see if we can find a groove. So I hope everyone is ready. It won’t be an easy practice.”

  Everyone nodded in agreement.

  Even Markus was nodding—because he was ready.

  He was born ready.

  Markus wasn’t ready.

  He wasn’t ready at all.

  And he was pretty sure he was dying.

  Lying on the bench in the locker room with his head only inches from Jayden’s leg, he sucked in breath as Jayden gasped beside him. While Markus was sure he was dying a very slow and unpleasant death, his buddy looked as if he could go another round. Jayden had the damn endurance of…someone who had a lot of endurance. Markus wasn’t sure, he was just dying, and thinking wasn’t an option.

  Looking around the room, he noticed that, thankfully, everyone looked about the same. Two seconds away from death. Anderson was sitting with his arms on his legs, a towel on his head as he sucked in deep breaths. Odder was stark naked, his long legs almost reaching the middle of the room as he lay on the floor and looked up at the ceiling.

  At least everyone else was mirroring how Markus felt.

  Well, except Jayden; he was basically Batman or some shit.

  “Who do we blame for this?” Paxton asked, looking around the room. “Who fucked up to bring on this death practice? I haven’t worked that hard since my first day in the NHL.”

  As soon as the words left his mouth, everyone’s gaze swiveled to Markus.

  “Fuck,” he muttered as everyone glared.

  “You owe us dinner,” Odder demanded.

  “And beer, lots of beer,” Anderson added, and Markus grinned.

  “If I stay, I got you guys. But right now, funds are tight.”

  “That’s why you get a shiny team credit card, buddy, and we’re gonna break that sucker in,” King said, trying to catch his breath.

  “Whoa, what? Team card?” he asked because he could really use that.

  “Yeah, it’s in your welcome pack,” King said, and Markus looked away. He didn’t get one of those. Just like that, he was knocked down from the high he was riding from his first NHL practice. Yup, they didn’t think he’d be here long. Hopefully, he’d proved them wrong today. He rocked that practice. Killed it. Yeah, he may have swallowed back a lot of vomit, but damn it, he rocked. Surely, he’d make it. He had to make it.

  6. Free therapy, three times a week. (Mental health is important!)

  What the fuck?

  On an exhale, King said, “I’m too old for this shit.”

  Thomas chortled beside him, nodding his head. “I was thinking the same thing.”

  “Aw, are y’all gonna retire like Adler did?” Brooks called to them, and they glared.

  “We aren’t retiring until you do, Grandpa.”

  Markus laughed along with the other guys as he leaned into the locker, loving the coolness of the slick wood. But when the door opened, he paused as Coach Baxter walked in. Markus’s stomach dropped because he knew what was about to happen. The chew-out.

  “Great practice, boys. All of you worked damn hard, and I couldn’t ask for a better group. Again, good luck, Odder and Titov. Go Canada!”

  Markus scoffed as Odder and Titov waved Coach off, laughing. But he stopped laughing when Coach met his gaze. “Great practice, Reeves. Way to come out guns blazing. I may have doubted you a little too early. I’ll see you in the morning?”

  Markus sat up straighter. “Yes, sir.”

  “Good, everyone else only needs to come for morning skate. Sinclair, you’ll stay after, eh?”

  “Yes, sir,” Jayden agreed, wiping his face down, and Markus was confused. Why would Jayden be staying? He knew why he was staying. They wanted to work with him—that wasn’t a problem, he wanted the extra work and training—but there was no reason for Jayden to stay. His sister was getting married, he had a new baby, he had things to do.

  “Okay, good. All right, hit the showers, boys. Good job today, I really like this pairing,” he said, and both men nodded their heads because it was a good combo. Jayden and Markus knew how to play together, knew what the other was doing before he did it. It worked, and Markus was glad someone saw that.

  Before leaving, though, Coach paused, holding his hands up. “Cover up. Boss lady is coming in here in a few.”

  Everyone nodded as they started to get up, ready to hit the sh
owers. Jayden stood, but Markus stopped him. “Bro, why are you staying?”

  “To work with you.”

  “Oh,” he said, deflated. Maybe he didn’t do as well as he thought he had if they needed Jayden to stay too. Coach did say he kicked ass, but why did they need Jayden, then?

  “Yeah, Coach asked after practice if I can stay tomorrow to work with ya on some plays. They loved your play today. So did I. Great job.”

  “Oh, awesome.”

  Jayden smiled. “Yeah, I’m proud, bro, really proud. They just want to smooth some things out so we can start next Wednesday.”

  “Start?” he said, almost choking on the word.

  Jayden scoffed. “Yeah, me and you, bro. Let’s do this. You ready?”

  Holding his fist up, Jayden waited, but all Markus could do was nod. Was this all real? When his fist connected with Jayden’s, his buddy smiled. “Hurry up, we’re meeting Lucy out at the cabins and having lunch with Mom and River. Angie is excited to see you.”

  Jayden then nodded his head before grabbing a towel to head to the showers. Markus could only watch. He was dumbfounded. Completely and utterly speechless. He knew they had things to do after practice, wedding things, but he was still completely taken aback by what just happened. He was going to start. He thought he would come up, be third or fourth line, but no, that wasn’t the case. He was going to start.

  Holy mother of God.

  When the door opened, stopping Jayden, Markus moved his head out to see who it was.

  It was Mrs. Adler.

  “Jayden! How’s Dawson?”

  Markus couldn’t see Jayden’s face, but by the way Elli grinned, he was sure Jayden was beaming. “He’s great. Getting bigger by the second.”

  “I need to see him. Stat.”

  “I will call Baylor and tell her to head to your house.”

  “Good boy,” she said, tapping his arm before moving past him, a grin still on her dark purple lips. Everyone smiled, waving and asking how she was, how the kids were, which she answered with the country flourish only Elli Adler had.

  “Is Shea getting fatter?” Anderson teased, and Elli scoffed.

  “Now, we both know that isn’t true.”

  “I don’t know. I think he’s getting lazy.”

  “I’m telling him you said that,” she warned, and Anderson stopped laughing.

  “Please don’t. Please,” he begged, and this time, it was Elli who was laughing as she made a quick detour to where Markus was sitting.

  “Okay, so I suck.”

  With his eyes wide, he stood. Just to play off his nerves, he said, “You suck? Never.”

  Elli waved him off, and that’s when he noticed a large envelope in her hands. “You’re too sweet,” she gushed, grinning up at him. “I heard you kicked some major ass today.”

  Markus beamed. “I think I did.”

  “Awesome. I’m superexcited, I feel good. I feel enthusiastic, like something is about to go down, and I can’t wait. But anyway…” she said, shaking the envelope in her hands toward his face. “This is yours. I forgot to give it to you earlier. It’s your welcome packet. It has the hotel voucher in it in case you want to use it, and then your team card that you signed for and own. Some other things, too. Everything is explained to you in the welcome letter.”

  “Oh, thank you, but I’m staying with Jayden,” he said, reaching for it, and Elli smiled.

  “Well, hopefully, we can sign ya on for good, and we can get you some good housing,” she said with a little wiggle. “At least, I’m hoping to God so!”

  “Me too,” Markus said, holding his packet in his hand.

  While he hated doubting his new boss, he couldn’t help but wonder if they wanted to wait until after this practice to see his performance. Could this have been his only practice…? Wait, no, he couldn’t do that. He was in. He was doing great, and he’d continue to do so. He’d impress, he had to, he couldn’t fail. He had already failed at so much.

  6. Free therapy, three times a week. (Mental health is important!)

  What the ever-loving fuck! Why was he thinking that?

  Shaking his head free of the thought, he laid his packet down and then sat down beside it, his heart in his throat. His thoughts scared him. He didn’t need this right now. He was on the fast track to his dreams, though he couldn’t help but think about number six.

  About maybe getting some help.

  For what, though? He didn’t need help.

  Or did he?

  “I really appreciate this.”

  Jace flashed Mekena a grin as Ashlyn climbed up his shoulder, wrapping her small arms around his neck, gnawing on his chin as he worked the key into the door of her cabin. “Of course, I’m glad you’re staying on the property with us. Makes Avery happy.”

  Struggling to hold Mr. Right, she nodded. “Yeah, me too.”

  She almost cried out in relief when the door finally opened. She knew it was rude to push by a man holding a baby, but her cat weighed a ton. Placing him on the couch, she regretted not leaving him with her mom, but she just knew he would die from the diet her mother would put him on. No, she and Mr. Right would work it out. They would figure out a way to lose the weight, together, as a family.

  And hopefully, neither one killed the other.

  Shaking out her arms, she looked up to Jace, who was laughing. “Heavy?”

  “No, not at all.”

  He gave her a knowing look that she promptly ignored while looking around the roomy cabin. The cabin was very rustic which matched the scenery outside. It was on the grounds, back in the back woods that surrounded the big mansion where Lucy and Benji would be marrying. It was a good hour from downtown, but Mekena thought the drive in was perfect, and the cabin didn’t disappoint. It was huge, two bedrooms, a full kitchen and a dining area, along with a sitting room. She knew it was a leftover because some aunt of Lucy’s and her family couldn’t come, and Mekena was thankful. There was no way she could stay at her mother’s house with her there.

  Turning to the cat carrier, she opened it, allowing Mr. Right to exit, but he didn’t move. “Come on, sugar butt, let’s go. You can come out.”

  He didn’t even open his eyes.

  Rolling her eyes at the laughter coming from behind her, she turned to see her best friend’s husband grinning. “He must be worn out.”

  “Yeah, that’s it,” he teased, handing her a key. “Okay, so you’re good? I gotta go meet Avery and my mom for dinner, and then we’re all meeting at the bar. I was told to make sure you go.”

  She tucked the key into her pocket and nodded. “Yeah, Avery already told me. Have fun. I’m gonna get settled, and then I’ll meet y’all over there,” she said, but then she paused. By the door was a backpack and a pair of tennis shoes. Pointing to them, she glanced back to Jace. “Whose is that? Is someone staying here?”

  He shook his head, looking down at the stuff. “No, this is the key Benji gave me for the extra cabin. I don’t know whose that is.”

  She eyed it. “Should you take it?”

  He gave her a confused look. “Why would I take it?”

  “What if it’s some killer’s, and when he comes back, he thinks I’m stealing his stuff and kills me?”

  “Then you’ll be dead. So don’t answer the door,” he said dryly as he pulled Ashlyn off his neck and tucked her up under his arm like a football. “Call me if he shows up.”

  “Jerk,” she muttered.

  “Bitch,” he said with a wink, and she grinned. It was their little thing from all the hours they spent with Avery watching Supernatural. It was silly, but it brought her a little closer to Jace, which was nice since Avery believed he hung the stars, moon, and hell, the whole solar system. “Okay, see you in a bit.”

  “Bye,” she said, walking toward the door to shut it and lock it. “Bye, baby Ashlyn.”

  Ashlyn giggled as her little legs kicked before Mekena shut the door and leaned into it, glancing back down at the pile of stuff. It made her uneasy, al
most like she knew whom it belonged to, but she was pretty sure that was a completely irrational thought. Shaking her head free of the thought, she looked over to the couch where Mr. Right’s hind legs were hanging out of the carrier.

  “Don’t you want to come out, smooches?” she asked, coming to the carrier and trying to reach for him, but he batted her away, blocking the exit with his ass. “Asshole,” she muttered before standing and picking up the carrier. He groaned very loudly as she carried him to the back bedroom that had an awesome garden tub. Putting the carrier at the end of the bed, she then went for her suitcase, doing the same before she unpacked very carefully. Call her OCD, but she had a system. She always unpacked when she went somewhere. She couldn’t stand living out of a suitcase; she just couldn’t sleep. This way, she was guaranteed a good night’s sleep.

  When her phone sounded, she paused, looking around the room for it. Then she remembered it was in her purse. Reaching for it, she found a text from Aunt Libby.

  Libby: I might just kill Skylar for you.

  Mekena scoffed.

  Mekena: Don’t do that. Mom would be upset.

  Libby: I don’t care. She’s over here bad-mouthing you like it’s your fault she slept with your boyfriend.

  Libby: Jesus, she’s turning me into a middle school girl.

  Mekena: She brings out the bad in everyone.

  Libby: She does. Did you get settled? How’s the cow enjoying his new digs?

  Looking down at the carrier, all she saw was Mr. Right’s long tail, whipping around. Not in the least bit of a hurry to do anything but sit there.

  Mekena: I am, and Mr. Right is doing just fine. Running around, playing with the curtains. Being a cat.

  Libby: You’re a damn liar. He probably can’t even get out of the carrier ’cause you won’t accept that he’s fat and get a dog carrier instead of a cat one.

  Mekena: You don’t know our life.

  Throwing the phone down, even though it sounded once more, she groaned.

  “Everyone is so mean to my love bug,” she said, getting down to his level and looking into the carrier. “I feel that if you get out, you’ll be happier.”