by Anna Albo
“Yes, I’m single, and no, you’re not prying. I broke up with my girlfriend this past spring. If you think your mom is a mess, you haven’t met Jen, my ex.”
Allie poured herself another glass of wine. “My boyfriend broke up with me six months ago, right after we graduated. His family had their idea of the perfect woman for their son and apparently that wasn’t me.”
Will leaned back in his chair. “Are you serious? He’s an idiot.”
“I agree.”
“One day he’ll be sorry.”
“Maybe, but I doubt it. Blake is a tool. I stuck it out with him way too long. Why’d you break up with your girlfriend?”
“If I tell you she is a lot like Tiffani, would that explain it all? Then her life started to fall apart and that seemed to be my fault. Her doctor was prescription-happy, so you know where that leads.”
Allie’s jaw dropped. “I cannot imagine you with a woman like that.”
“At first, she was sweet, the girl-next-door, and then after a year or so, all the crazy traits came out. First she was depressed, then pissed at me because I didn’t want her to come live with me here. We were on and off for a couple of years, but I couldn’t handle the stress anymore.”
“She sounds a bit like my mom. I think we should drink to getting out of bad relationships.”
Will grinned. “I’ll definitely drink to that.”
They finished up dinner with Allie eating almost everything on her plate. She wished she could undo the top button on her jeans and collapse for a nap. Instead, she sank back into the sofa and sighed contentedly. Will made up a doggie bag then poured the last of the wine into their glasses.
“You know I have to drive.”
“Stay a bit. The alcohol will wear off.” A hint of a devious smile crept up on his lips.
“There’s no dessert, right? I couldn’t eat another bite.”
He grinned. “There is dessert, but I won’t serve it yet.”
“How much do you think I can eat?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. And I thought dessert was a nice touch.”
“It is, thank you.”
“So,” he said, sitting next to her. He was close enough for their legs to touch. She’d almost consumed enough wine to move in closer to him . . . almost. “I invited you over to talk about the foundation and we haven’t even mentioned it.”
“Oh yeah, that,” she said and giggled. “I completely forgot about it.”
“I did come up with ideas,” he said, pulling a notepad out from the drawer of his end table and flipping it open. “It’s probably too late for this year, but what about an alumni golf tournament?”
“Love it.”
“Not all the guys from the Falcons will come out, but if it’s late enough in the summer, close to training camp, we should have a good turnout.”
“I say we do it.”
“I know we talked about incorporating an auction into the gala, but how about a separate event as well? We could have live auction items as well as silent auction prizes. I also like the idea of spending the day with a Falcon or take a Falcon to work?”
“All great ideas. You realize that it’s going to be me and you doing all this. The committee of the useless will remain useless.”
“I have no problem with that. I have a few people who will volunteer their time. Good people who are hard workers. I’m hoping that maybe you and I can organize it and create a proper committee where we can attract community leaders. Every other team has it.”
As he spoke, she watched his Adam’s apple. She found it incredibly sexy and she wanted to reach out and touch it. She pulled back her hand when it started to rise up. “We sort of have it, but it falls under the main Falcon Foundation board.”
“Any chance you can talk to your uncle into getting us on the board?”
His playful grin made her laugh. “I’ll talk to him.”
“You’re going to get sick of working with me.”
“I doubt that,” she said.
“And the money that we’re raising, because I know it’s going to be more than the embarrassment of last year, do we know where it’s going to be allocated?”
“I’m not sure. I suppose we can make recommendations. Do you have something in mind?”
“Other than the kids’ cancer program, nothing too big, but I hope that we can donate some to this inner-city group that’s teaching kids to skate and buying them hockey equipment. If the foundation backed them, it might spark others to donate too.”
“I’m sure we can make it happen.”
“I know we don’t meet again for another couple of weeks, but I’m hoping we can revisit the carnival as well. That event can make ten times what it normally does.”
“I promise I will have it on the next agenda.”
“I’ll nominate you for chair. I’m sure Kyle will second it.”
“If he knows what’s good for him,” Allie said and smiled.
“And what about a hockey clinic? Get parents of rich kids to sign up.”
“All excellent ideas. In fact, I should sign up. I’m probably the only Falcons employee who can’t skate.”
Will’s dark brown eyes opened wide. “You can’t skate?”
“I never learned. I was too busy learning to play the useless clarinet.”
“I’ll teach you.”
Allie shook her head vigorously. “No way. I’m too old for that.”
“You’re never too old to learn to skate. We can use the ice after practice. You’ll learn in no time.”
“I do not want to fall on my butt. It will hurt.”
“I won’t let you fall. Allie, it looks bad if you don’t know how to skate. I’m serious.”
Allie groaned. “When am I ever going to need to skate?”
“Who knows, but what if we have an event that involves ice? What are you going to do? Hide? Tiffani can skate, so can all the wives. They will smell the blood of someone who can’t.”
She groaned. He was using the ‘Tiffani can skate’ card and it was working. “Ugh. Really?”
“We can start after this road trip is over. You go see our equipment manager and he’ll set you up with some skates.”
“I hate this idea.”
“It’ll be fun.”
“For you.”
One of the huge front doors swung open and a man stumbled in. Allie nearly jumped out of her seat as the man came towards them, a huge, silly grin on his face. Was he going to rob them?
“My brother,” Will said, his voice having suddenly lost its life.
He teetered towards them, his brown eyes bloodshot and his face scruffy with a few days old beard. “Hey, I’m Jason,” he said, extending his hand. He was far too happy to be sober and Allie could smell the faint scent of beer.
“Allie,” she said, shaking it.
He flopped onto the leather chair across from them, the same expression on his face. Allie thought he might be high too.
“Are you Will’s latest lady friend?”
“No, we work together,” Will said, shooting his brother a death glare. “We are on a committee together.”
“Do you always invite committee friends over and have wine with them?” he asked, eyeing the empty bottle.
“Don’t you have something better to do?” Will asked.
“Yeah, I’m hungry. Anything to eat?”
Allie sensed something and knew it was her cue to leave. “It’s late and I should be going,” she said, rising.
“I’m sorry to see you go. But I promised you leftovers,” Will said.
“What leftovers? I’ll have some.”
Will ignored Jason and went to the kitchen. He returned with a plastic container he’d prepared.
“I’ll get this back to you,” she said.
“Don’t worry. I have a million of them.”
They stared at each other, unsure what to do next. With Jason only meters away, Allie felt awkward. “Thanks again.” She opted to hug him. It was the o
nly thing she could think to do. He hugged her back, the soft scent of his cologne greeting her. She shuddered for a moment and cursed Jason.
“And we’ll talk soon.”
She waved goodbye to Jason and left. The entire walk to her car she felt the disappointment of all that hadn’t happened but then realized it was for the best.
CHAPTER 10
Will didn’t stick around to chat with his brother. He also didn’t care about the stack of dishes in the kitchen. He’d tackle them in the morning. He went straight to bed, reading a book until he fell asleep. He set his alarm early, having to be at the arena for nine o’clock. He entered the kitchen to find it just as he’d left it with the exception of Jason’s dirty plate and a glass that once held beer. The smell permeated the room. How many had he tied on after he’d gotten back from the bar?
Will intentionally made as much noise as possible as he loaded the dishwasher and cleaned all the dirty pots and pans. It had the desired effect and a few minutes later Jason staggered into the kitchen yawning.
“You trying to wake the dead?”
“I’m cleaning up. Thanks for leaving me a bigger mess.”
“Somebody’s in a shitty mood. Did I ruin your booty call last night?”
Will swung around to face his brother, saucepot still in hand, water dripping onto the tile floor. “I told you yesterday that she works with me on the foundation. I would appreciate it if you had a little respect for her.”
Jason laughed. “Respect? Come on. I’ve seen you bring girls back here at all hours of the night, so of course I assumed.”
“I stopped doing shit like that years ago.”
Jason rolled his eyes and grabbed the orange juice from the fridge. He poured himself a tall glass and drank it in a few gulps. “Okay, whatever. Sorry I ruined your exciting evening about nothing.”
Will clenched his jaw. He’d reached his boiling point with Jason. “I think it’s time you go back to Minnesota. This isn’t working out.” Yes, it was time to break up with his brother.
“You don’t want to spend time with me?” Jason asked sarcastically.
“I promised Dad that when you came out here, you’d smarten up. You promised him the same thing. So, since that’s not happening, I think it’s best we make arrangements for you to go home.”
Jason nodded. “You want to bang the chick who was here last night. Look, I can make myself scarce. Give me a few bucks and I’ll stay at a hotel.”
“No, I don’t want to bang the chick, I want you to clean yourself up. It was fucking embarrassing last night, you coming in all stoned and drunk. What is wrong with you? If you get arrested, I’ll have to deal with the fallout.”
“Whatever,” Jason said, leaving the kitchen and slumping onto the sofa. He grabbed the remote and turned on the TV.
“No, not whatever. I’m calling Dad tonight. Maybe he’ll let you live with him and Mom.”
That got Jason’s attention. He sat up straight. “No way!”
“You can’t stay here anymore. You came here on the condition that you’d clean yourself up, but you have no intentions of doing that. I’m not giving you another dime, so if you don’t want to get a job, then it’s best you go home. At least Dad can keep an eye on you.”
“You’re throwing me out?”
“Pretty much. When I get home this afternoon, I’m making the arrangements.”
“Fuck you, Will.”
“No, fuck you! What happened to you? What fucked you up? I’d really love to know, but you don’t want to say. So, if you want, I can set you up in rehab, but you’re not going to continue to live here, sponging off me. Pick your poison. Home or rehab? You better have a decision for me when I get back.”
Jason leapt up and stormed out. Will finished cleaning then headed off to practice. As usual, it was an uneventful affair. They had a two-game homestand before going on the road for six games. He needed to have Jason gone before the road trip. Calling his dad would be hard—so would having to admit that he couldn’t fix Jason.
Will had showered and changed when he met up with the building manager. Louis liked to watch the Falcons practice and Will was one of the few guys who talked to him. Will found him inspecting the ice near the blue line. Louis may have been all of five foot nothing, but he ran the building like a giant and no imperfection got past him.
“Hey, Louis, I have a favor to ask. After the odd practice here and there, I want to teach one of the new Falcons employees to skate. You think we could have the ice for an hour or so?”
Louis crossed his arms over his protruding belly. “I don’t see why not. You’ve got to let me know, though. Sometimes we have to turn it over for concerts and the like.”
“I’ll give you lots of notice,” he said.
Louis smiled. “Who’s the lady?”
“I already told you. A new Falcons employee,” he said as casually as possible. “And why would you assume it’s a lady?”
Louis narrowed his grey eyes. Pushing sixty and easily a foot shorter than Will’s six-foot-two frame, Will was feeling a little intimidated. “I can’t imagine you teaching a man to skate.”
Louis had him there.
“Is she cute?” Louis asked. “I can dim the lights and make it all romantic.”
Will shook his head. “You’re killing me, Louis. We just need the rink for an hour. And keep it between us. The last thing I need is gossiping. Look at all the conclusions you jumped to.”
“No problem. Make sure to invite me to the wedding.”
“Right,” Will said, walking away and waving. He drove back to his loft and didn’t expect to see Jason, so when he found the place quiet, he wasn’t surprised. He went to his bedroom to change and he knew something looked strange, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. His stuff was moved, he knew that. And that’s when he saw it, or rather, didn’t see it. His Rolex was gone. So were his gold cufflinks and the cash he’d kept on his dresser. It wasn’t a lot, maybe three hundred bucks.
His blood boiled. He wanted to slam his first through a wall, more pissed at himself than anything else. He called Jason’s cell and it went to voicemail.
“You asshole! Where is my stuff? If you don’t bring it back here in the next hour, I’m calling the cops.”
He hung up knowing he wouldn’t do it. Jason knew it too. His next call was to a locksmith, then to the building manager. He needed to have his access code to the building changed. Again. His final call was to his father, the hardest one of all.
Sal Cavallo answered on the third ring.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Will, what a surprise,” he said, a hint of an Italian accent he’d never quite lost. Fifty years in America, and he couldn’t shake it—or didn’t want to. “How are things going?”
“I’ll cut to the chase. Jason’s gone and he stole some of my stuff.”
Sal fell silent. He was so quiet that Will wondered if he’d hung up.
“Dad?”
“I’m here. What happened?”
“I had it out with him this morning. He’s been drinking and doing drugs ever since he got here. I told him he had to make a choice: rehab or go back home. He took the third option and stole my Rolex, cufflinks and some cash. After I get off the phone with you, I’m going to the police and report them stolen.”
“You can’t do that. It will get Jason in trouble.”
“I don’t care anymore. He needs to learn a lesson. Dad, we can’t keep feeding his habit. He has to stop.”
“He doesn’t need any more trouble.”
“Dad, you can’t keep protecting him.”
“I’ll pay for your stuff.”
“It’s not about my stuff. If you keep enabling him, how does he get better? Maybe jail is the place he needs to be.”
“No, no! Please don’t report your things stolen. We’ll get them back. I’ll call him now.”
“You’re wasting your time. He won’t answer.”
“Just don’t do it. Okay?”
&nbs
p; Will sighed. “Fine, but this is the last time. I swear.”
“I’ll find him. And we’ll get everything back.”
Will knew he’d never see his stuff again.
CHAPTER 11
Will showed up early to the Falcon Foundation committee meeting, which surprised Allie. She knew he’d asked her when she’d be there, but she didn’t think for a second that he’d actually show up early or even on time. He found her in the boardroom distributing copies of the agenda and other reports to each seat at the table.
“Hello there,” she said. “I’d say congratulations on that last win in Tampa Bay, but the five losses before it likely cancelled that out.”
“Don’t remind me,” he said, claiming the seat next to her stack of notes.
“You’re never on time. What’s so special about today?”
“Thought we’d chat. Did you get those skates?”
She pursed her lips. “I was hoping you’d forget.”
“Nope.”
“Yes, I got them.”
He grinned. “Great. We can start Thursday. Louis has the rink set aside for us. We only have forty-five minutes from two-thirty to three-fifteen.”
Allie crinkled her nose. “I can’t just leave work.”
“You aren’t leaving work. You’re going down to the rink. Pencil it in as a meeting or something. It is work related.”
“You’re tenacious. Fine, I’ll be there.”
“And wear something comfortable.”
“Do I need butt padding?”
“I promised I wouldn’t let you fall.”
Tiffani breezed in with two other wives. They barely muttered a hello to Allie and were only slightly more cordial to Will. They took their seats and spoke in hushed tones to one another like they were back in high school telling secrets. Will and Allie exchanged looks and changed the subject to the weather. There was no need for Tiffani and her crew to know about the skating lessons.
The last of the wives arrived and Allie spoke first. “I’ve prepared an agenda today and if it’s all right with everyone, I’d like to chair the meeting.”
Allie scanned the room and saw no objections.