Blindsided: A Moo U Hockey Romance

by Victoria Denault

  “Really? How? Why didn’t he tell me?” I ask.

  “Raquel actually contributed some of her paycheck,” Jace says scratching at his pathetic excuse for beard stubble. He’s trying to go for the scruffy hipster look, but he’s only eighteen and his beard is duck fluff at best. “And Dad took a drywall job last weekend.”

  “What?” I steal a stunned glance at Jace. My dad used to want to be a builder and have his own contracting business. He even took night school courses when I was young and was in the drywallers’ union. But my grandparents needed more and more help at the farm and so he gave it up. Or so I thought.

  Jace nods. “Yeah. It was hell at the farm because we had to work twice as hard all weekend and Raquel, of course, didn’t show up to work Saturday. We had more visitors than ever but Gramps wouldn’t even let me call her and yell at her because she donated half her paycheck to the mortgage, so she earned her day off, he said.”

  “You donate every hour of your damn life. So does Dad,” I say, annoyed, as I pull into a parking spot. “Why does he always cut her and Aunt Louise so much slack?”

  “He never expected Raquel to give up her senior activities, but Grandpa flat out told me to not ask for money for silly parties just because I was graduating,” Jace says and jumps out of the truck as I turn it off. He leaves his school knapsack on the front seat.

  “If you want to go on the trips, I’ll find a way for you to go, Jace,” I say and he shrugs.

  “I kind of wanted to go on the ski trip in January, but it’s no big deal,” Jace says. In the back of my head I make a mental note to save money for his trip. “Are you excited for the game tonight? We’re all going. The whole family.”

  “I am. A little jittery but that will pass. First game of the season is always a little nerve-wracking,” I explain as I open the door to the restaurant and Jace walks in.

  We find a booth and slide in. After the waitress pours us both coffee and takes our orders, I stare at him while he stirs in an alarming amount of sugar to his coffee. “Jace. You have to graduate.”

  He sighs but doesn’t lift his eyes from his mug. “I will. Relax.”

  “Can you do it without making it as hard as possible? So Mom and Dad don’t fight more and lose years off their lives with worry?” I say and sip my own coffee.

  He finally looks up and frowns. “Yeah. Fine. I just…who even cares if I graduate? I could get a GED, you know. It’s not like I’m going to college.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I’m definitely not getting a full scholarship like you, even though my grades aren’t hideous. We don’t have the money, even for state school,” Jace reminds me what I definitely already know.

  “You will qualify for aide, and I’ll hopefully be making enough money to pay off your loans in a couple of years,” I remind him. “And even if the pro thing doesn’t pay off, I’ll have the farm back on its feet and will help you pay them off. We paid for Raquel’s ridiculously overpriced online cosmetology classes. We can pay for you.”

  “I don’t even know what I would take.” He sighs.

  “I thought you wanted to go into the veterinary program?”

  “I did, but it’s not practical,” Jace says and pauses to sip his coffee. “We don’t have animals on the farm, and that’s where I’m going to end up. Just like you.”

  “What if we didn’t need you for manual labor?” I ask. “What if we had animals that you could tend to? Or even better, enough other people to run the farm so you could start your own veterinary practice?”

  Jace blinks his eyes which are similar to mine but lighter. “Please don’t say we’re changing over from apples to cows or something? Because even just changing tree types is part of the reason we’re circling the drain financially. I doubt making even bigger changes will help.”

  “The Todds moved from cows to bees and goats with little to no hiccups,” I say calmly, but of course he looks at me like I just invoked the name of the devil.

  “The Todds are our business icons now? Shit, we really are in trouble,” Jace snarks. He reaches for the sugar dispenser and I stop him.

  “If I have to watch you add more sugar to that tiny mug of coffee I’m going to get diabetes,” I say and then move back to the subject. “The Todds are doing well with their new plan. So well, they have expansion ideas. For more things that have more return and less risk than the standard farming we’ve all been trying to do.”

  He raises an eyebrow. “And how do you know that?”

  “Because unlike the rest of you, I’ve actually held a conversation with one of them,” I say and silently add and, you know, seen one of them naked.

  “Which one?” Jace wants to know, his left eyebrow still arched. “Daisy Cute-But-Psycho Todd or Maggie Hot-But-Evil Todd? Or Clyde Drunk-And-Nuts Todd. Or—”

  “Maggie,” I interrupt because he will literally list every person on their family tree with some sort of ridiculous nickname if I don’t. “And she’s not actually evil. She’s smart and kind and…”

  Jace’s eyes grow two sizes and I know he knows what’s coming. “You didn’t.”

  “I did. I am. And it’s good, Jace. Really good.”

  He makes a face. “Oh God I don’t want to know about your sexual exploits.”

  “No I’m not talking about the sex part,” I argue and smile. “That’s actually better than good. Way better. But I’m talking about the relationship part. I like her. A lot. In fact, I kind of think I could love her.”

  “How?” Jace asks in a disbelieving hiss. “I just…after everything with that family? How on bloody earth do you even go there?”

  “Trust me, I didn’t plan it, but it happened.” I shrug. “And I don’t want it to unhappen, which is why I’m telling you. And eventually everyone else. But I need your support first.”

  Jace is blinking—repeatedly. He picks up his mug, puts it down without taking a sip and then picks it up again. Then puts it down. “Tate… I don’t know if I can.”

  “Why not?” I challenge. “Think about it. Really. There’ve been a ton of scuffles with the Todds over the years, but do we even know why at this point? Can’t we just make a concerted effort to let the stupid feud go? Working with them at the market hasn’t been horrible.”

  “It hasn’t been great,” Jace counters.

  “Because we’ve been actively trying to push each other’s buttons,” I say and pause as the waitress walks over and drops our orders in front of us.

  I got avocado toast with a side of smoked chicken apple sausage. Jace got a bacon double cheddar omelet with a side of smothered hash browns and pancakes. It all looks delicious but after thanking the waitress, we both ignore our plates.

  “Tate, even if I accept you dating a Todd, Dad won’t. Grandpa definitely won’t,” Jace says.

  “They will lose me if they don’t,” I reply and to be honest, I didn’t know I would say that until I did. But it feels good. “Not just because it’s Maggie either. I mean, who knows. Right now she feels like end game, but life is full of curveballs. This isn’t about her, specifically. If they don’t accept that I’m with her, and actively try and mess things up, then they care more about the stupid feud than they do about my feelings, and I’ll walk away. From them and the farm and everything.”

  Jace looks at me in stunned silence. I let him. He needs time to absorb this, and I’ve said all I have to say. I sip my coffee and reach for my fork. Finally Jace speaks. “Maybe that’s what needs to happen. Not you disowning the family, but letting the farm go. What are we even fighting for here? Gramps is tired and wants to retire. Dad misses drywalling. God if he’d just stuck with that and stayed out of the family farm, maybe Mom wouldn’t have left him. She hated how Gramps and Gran never treated Dad well, like they treated Louise, and it was the real hole in their marriage. So maybe we need to just sell it.”

  “Or, you know, merge it,” I say and he freezes, with a forkful of food in midair. “Maggie has an idea, and I like it. We’d be
happier and more profitable and so would the Todds.”

  “Unless we all kill each other,” Jace says and shakes his head, finally diving into his meal.

  Halfway through our breakfasts I say. “Can you keep this to yourself? I want to be the one to tell everyone else. Eventually.”

  “I’m more than happy to not be the bearer of bad news,” Jace replies quickly.

  “But you’ll have my back when I do tell them. And all hell breaks loose?” I ask and try not to sound as nervous as I am. I honestly don’t know if he will support me.

  “I don’t agree with this, but I’ll have your back,” Jace confirms and gives me a small smile. “You can’t very well pay for my college if I disown you.”

  I laugh. “Thanks for the support.”

  His smile fades and his light green eyes grow serious. “You really like her?”

  I nod.

  “And more importantly, you really trust her?”

  “One hundred percent.”

  He nods but he doesn’t smile. “I don’t. Sorry. This feels…like you’re gonna get burned.”

  “Give it time,” I reply. “She’s not going anywhere, so all I ask is that you have an open mind. Please.”

  “I can do that, I guess,” Jace says and shrugs. He’s still skeptical and I can’t blame him. Maggie and I have a long, rocky road to pave but at least Jace is willing to let us try.

  “Love you bro,” I say as I get up to pay.

  “Gross.” Jace smiles and makes a face. “She’s already making you soft.”

  I laugh. “Soft is something Maggie doesn’t make me.”

  “GROSS!”

  18

  Maggie

  Everything has already gone awry. I wanted to talk to Daisy on the way to the game, but she didn’t come home. She stayed at school after her last class and I had to walk over with Caroline and Jasmyn, who both noticed my mood was off. Caroline said I was a big ball of anxiety, and she wasn’t wrong.

  Now it’s moments before puck drop, we’re surfing down the row into our seats, and Daisy is still nowhere to be found. Jasmyn and Caroline sit but I stand and glare at the entrance. Where is she, damnit?

  “She’ll be here, relax.” Caroline reaches up and tugs on my arm to try and get me to sit down.

  “She didn’t tell either of you why she wasn’t coming home before the game?” I ask. “Where she went?”

  They both shake their heads. “She said it was important and all would be revealed later.”

  I stare at Jasmyn after she announces that and she just shrugs. “What the hell does that even mean?”

  Neither answer because neither knows. I sit because I don’t know what else to do. I told Tate I would tell her before the game, so that after the game at the Biscuit we could actually hang out together without causing a scene. He texted me earlier and said he had told Jace, who promised to keep it quiet and that he was okay with it. “Okay” was the best we knew we could expect, so I was relieved. I was hoping the same from Daisy, if I could just damn well tell her.

  Finally, as the players skate around the ice in warm-up, my attention is drawn to something other than my missing sister. Tate. Just watching him glide over the ice with his teammates makes my heart flutter. He looks so hot in his uniform. I know that sounds ridiculous because you can barely see him with the helmet and face cage and everything but man, my ovaries don’t seem to care.

  And then he looks up and scans the crowd and he finds me—stares right at me—and I swear we’re eye-fucking in front of everyone.

  “You know, Maggie, if I didn’t know any better I would swear that smile on your face is for your mortal enemy,” Caroline says with a side-eye glance.

  I reach up and touch my lips and yup, I’m smiling. I hadn’t even realized. I glance over at Caroline and both she and Jasmyn are staring at me with curious looks. “Yeah well, you’re wrong,” I say calmly. “He’s not my mortal enemy anymore. He’s…”

  “Oh my God!” Daisy’s voice cuts through the din of chatter around us. “I so didn’t mean to be that late. And yes, Mags, I got your nine hundred text messages. I know I was supposed to meet you at the house and you want to talk. Sorry, sorry, sorry! But I’m here now so, yak away.” She drops down dramatically beside me.

  “Where the hell were you?”

  She’s staring at the ice. “I had to do a thing. You’ll see. Eventually. It’s a surprise. A glorious surprise.”

  “I don’t like surprises,” I reply, feeling a dark sense of dread start to swirl in my belly, sucking up my Tate butterflies like they’re the cow in Twister. “Spill it now.”

  “Nope,” Daisy replies firmly and shakes her head. I have to lean back to avoid being clipped by the end of her high ponytail which starts swaying back and forth. “Now why don’t you tell me what you wanted to say to me before the game gets started and this place gets even noisier?”

  I open my mouth and the announcer blares over the sound system welcoming everyone and blabbering on about the upcoming season, the team, and a whole bunch of other stuff that I’m sure everyone wants to hear but me. Argh.

  Then it’s National Anthem time. Then Daisy announces she’s thirsty and has to pee and will be right back. Then the game starts. Caroline switches seats with Jasmyn so she’s right beside me and when I ask her why she grins and says, “I have a feeling you’re the real show tonight and I want a front row seat.”

  “Shut up,” I say and turn my attention back to the ice. Tate is in a corner of the rink fighting for the puck with one of the Boston University players—and he wins. The crowd roars and so do I. Caroline laughs. “You may want to tone it down a bit when Daisy gets back or you won’t have to tell her you’re shagging him, she’ll figure it out on her own.”

  My head snaps toward her so quickly I almost give myself whiplash. She’s just smiling serenely, like some wise old prophet who knew all along. “I’m not just shagging him, I’m dating him. And I’m falling in love with him. Fast. Faster than his slapshot.”

  Her response is to squeal and clap her hands and then wrap me in a bear hug. I laugh. “I have a feeling Daisy’s reaction won’t be this enjoyable.”

  “Not at first, but you know her, she’ll come around,” Caroline replies and tucks her blonde hair back behind her ear. “She’ll see you’re happy and he’s a good guy and she’ll chill out. But, the rest of your family…that’s a harder sell.”

  “I know,” I reply and sigh. “But let’s just start with Daisy.”

  Five minutes and one goal—thankfully by us—later and Daisy is back with four hot dogs and a giant drink. She hands out the hot dogs, getting all the toppings of preference right for each of us. I look at Caroline, my eyes screaming “well I can’t tell her now, we’re eating!” So the entire first period goes by without me saying anything about the fact that I’m dating Tate.

  During intermission, Daisy is gone again. She comes back smiling—and it’s not just any smile. It’s her I’m-up-to-something smile. She first debuted it when she was five and she gave Tess, our old lab, a manicure using our mom’s reddest shade of nail polish. The manicure was administered in our parents’ bedroom, and most of that nail polish ended up on their white throw rug.

  “What have you done?” I ask mimicking my mother from back in the day.

  Daisy’s smile deepens. “You’ll see soon enough.”

  “Daisy, you’re making me nervous and nauseous,” I say, the hot dog I ate sitting like a brick in my belly.

  Daisy ignores that and cheers with the rest of the arena when we score. I see Tate skating toward his bench, arms in the air. “Did Tate score that?”

  The announcer answers me over the speaker. “First goal of the season for defensemen Tate Adler.”

  I start to clap—loudly. Daisy’s eyes grow wide and Caroline laughs. I ignore them both and keep clapping, adding a wolf whistle for good measure. Now Daisy’s mouth is hanging open. “What on God’s green earth are you doing?”

  “Cheering for our
hockey team,” I reply coolly.

  “You’re a little aggressive about it considering it’s the devil’s spawn that scored,” Daisy says bitingly and I take a deep breath, hold it and turn to face her.

  “Maybe it’s time we stop the hate,” I say firmly.

  “Nope. He’s earned it,” Daisy replies just as firmly.

  “He really hasn’t earned my hate,” I say. “In fact, he’s earned my respect and my…like. He’s earned my like.”

  “He’s earned your like?” Daisy repeats and shakes her head, her nose scrunching up in revelation. “What does that even mean? You like him?”

  “I do. A lot.”

  “So he’s your friend? Are you insane? You think he’s your friend?” Her voice is climbing in octaves with every sentence and it’s freaking me out.

  “I think he’s my boyfriend,” I clarify.

  “You think what?” Daisy gasps. She puts a hand to my forehead. “Are you sick? Did you hit your head? Are you out of your freaking mind?”

  “Actually, I know he’s my boyfriend,” I reply. “I mean at first, it was just sex. Angry sex. Hate sex, even…although I don’t know if we ever really hated each other. But if we did, we don’t now. We really like each other and we want to be together.”

  “Be together? Like, as in, a relationship?” Daisy is in shock, which I expected. But there’s something more…there’s panic. I don’t understand why, but she is panicking. “But what about the gift basket opportunity he stole from us?”

  “Jace did that, not Tate,” I say. “Jace never told him about it.”

  “What? No. No, Jace said that—”

  “Jace lied,” I say. “Apparently he hates us as much as, well, every other one of the Adlers. But Tate gave him hell for that gift basket thing and talked to him and Jace is okay with us giving this a shot.”