One way to find out. Zoe disappeared into her room and came back with a pregnancy test.
“Whoa, Zoe. Why do you have a pregnancy test in your room?”
“Well, a while back, before you moved out here, I had an incredibly stupid night. Incredibly stupid. I can’t even blame it on drinking. I took about ten of these bad boys, praying they’d all come out negative and feeling a little disappointed when they did.” Zoe sniffled. “Stupid, huh?”
“No, not stupid at all.” Lacey gave her a quick smooch on the cheek and took the test from her. Closing the bathroom door, she yelled, “Fingers crossed!”
Lacey came out of the bathroom, and they both stared at the stick. It was the longest two minutes of Lacey’s life. When the plus symbol came up in the window, Zoe let out a whoop. “Holy shit! I’m gonna be an aunt!”
“Language, Zoe; don’t influence my baby already.” Realizing what she just said, Lacey stopped and stared at Zoe. “This is unreal. I can’t believe I’m going to have a baby. Oh my God, Zoe! I’m gonna be a mom!” They grabbed each other and did a happy dance. “I can’t wait to tell Jody. Should I wait until after the game?”
“You’re going to have to now. You won’t have time to see him before the game, and you certainly can’t send him a text.” Zoe wanted to see his face when she told him, anyway.
It was a hard fought game. With five minutes left to go on the clock, the game was tied at two a piece, and Brandon was going to the box for a high stick. That gave Pittsburgh a two-minute power play late in the game. Lacey thought Coach DeLeon was going to have a stroke right there on the bench.
The Scorpions killed the power play, and the clock continued to wind down. The buzzer went off, and the game went into overtime. Sudden death hockey: first to score wins.
The coach wanted to make Brandon sit on the bench for a while to teach him a lesson about taking stupid penalties in such an important game, but he knew he needed him on the ice. “Listen up, Marcoux. You go out there and give me one hundred and fifty percent, you hear me? I want you to lay it all out there. You and Keith are going to tag team it and get that puck in the net. Am I clear?”
“Yeah Coach, we got this.”
The Scorpions won the first faceoff, and Brandon took off toward the net with the puck. He passed it to Keith and took up his spot in front of the net. Keith took a slap shot that hit the post. “Fuck!” Brandon tried to get the rebound, but Pittsburgh took it away.
With eight minutes gone in the first period of overtime, Vlad was getting pummeled by shots in the net. Where the fuck is the defense? Christ! He felt good, he was in the zone, but he needed a little more teamwork out of the guys. The puck deflected off of the net and play was stopped. Coach DeLeon used his time out.
“You guys are hanging Vlad out to dry! Defense needs to get tighter and offense – you need to get going. Take that goddamn puck and get it in the goal. I want ONE goal. Don’t think about anything other than putting the puck in the net. Just get me ONE goal. Go!”
Pittsburgh won the faceoff, but Chase ‘Gunner’ Gunderson stole the puck and broke away with it. Gunner was screaming down the ice with no one but Pittsburgh’s goalie in front of him. It was one-on-one time.
Just as he drew back to release his shot, Geno put his stick under Gunner’s skate, taking him down. The refs called for a penalty shot, and the crowd went wild. If Gunner could score on that shot, the Scorpions would win their first ever Stanley Cup.
The entire arena was on their feet. Gunner skated around for a second and grabbed the puck when the ref blew the whistle. He started out slow and moved from side to side trying to get into the goalie’s head. He lifted his stick back like he was going for a slap shot through the five hole, but at the last second, he gently eased the puck onto the back side of his stick and flipped it into the net right over Price’s shoulder.
There was no sweeter sound than hearing that goal horn blow. The entire team rushed off the bench toward him, and the coaches were high fiving and hugging each other in the team box. Balloons fell from the ceiling and the crowd was screaming louder than they’d ever done before. It was a hell of a night.
When the celebrations in the arena ended, a big group of players, coaches, friends, families, wives and girlfriends went to the pub. Jody kept picking Lacey up and spinning her around. He was like a kid who just got his first bike.
“God, can you believe it, Lace? The Cup. The Stanley friggin’ Cup!” Lacey wanted to tell him her news, but didn’t know if it was the right time. She didn’t want anything to take away from his night.
Zoe ran over to her. “Lace, you have to tell him, or I might. I can’t help it, I’m just so excited!” Zoe was great at keeping her mouth shut when it involved a client, but she was having trouble now?
“I want him to enjoy tonight. I don’t want it to seem like I’m trying to trump winning The Cup, you know?”
“Are you crazy? He’s going to go insane with joy! Tell him.”
Lacey smiled big. “Okay, good idea. I might burst if I don’t tell him soon. I’m so excited!”
Lacey tugged on Jody’s sleeve to get his attention. He immediately put his arm around her and drew her into his side. “Hey babe, what’s up?”
“Do you think I could talk to you for a minute?” She couldn’t keep her grin off her face. Who would have thought that one person could enjoy so much happiness?
“Of course.” He pulled her back into a relatively quiet corner and handed her a vodka and cranberry that he’d gotten her from the bar. She took it, but told him she couldn’t drink that anymore.
“Why? You want something else?”
“No. It’s about a doctor.” Jody lost his smile at the word doctor.
“What’s wrong, Lace? Are you sick, sweetheart?” Please don’t let anything be wrong with my girl.
If possible, Lacey’s smile got bigger. “No, it’s about your doctor. See, he was wrong.”
“What doctor? Wrong about what? What are you talking about?”
Lacey put her hand on her stomach. “He was wrong about you not being able to have children.”
Jody let that sink in and looked down at Lacey’s hand on her stomach. “You’re … I mean … Really? Holy shit, Lace, you’re pregnant?” He wrapped her in his arms and buried his face in the crook of her neck. She felt wetness there.
“Aw, honey. Are you okay? I mean, you’re glad right?” Lacey never considered that Jody might not want to have children.
Clearing his throat, he answered her, “Glad? Are you fucking kidding me? Lace, we’re going to have a baby! I want to shout it to the world.” He turned around to do just that. “Uh, is it okay? Can I do that? Please?” How could she ever resist him with that crooked smile of his? She nodded and gave him her permission.
He didn’t try to get everyone’s attention, he simply shouted at the top of his lungs. “I’m going to be a father! We’re having a baby!” He turned back and swept Lacey up in his arms as his teammates and everyone else clapped and hollered.
It was a great night indeed.
Jody was offered a one-year extension on his contract with the Scorpions, but he turned it down. He was at the end of his career, and he was still having slight issues from his last concussion. It was nothing major, but he really didn’t want to push his luck and possibly ruin the rest of his life.
Another pressing reason he turned down the offer was that he wanted to be around to help raise his kid. He didn’t want to be traveling while Lacey raised their child on her own. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do, but he’d figure something out.
About a week before his and Lacey’s wedding, he got a phone call from the owner of the Scorpions.
“Hi Jody, this is Joe Clark. I hear that you turned down our extension offer.” Jody had met Mr. Clark once before, but had not talked to him much.
“Hi Mr. Clark. Yes, I did. While I appreciate the offer, I’m having a baby and have decided that I don’t want to travel and miss being a consistent f
ather.”
“I think that’s commendable, and I‘m happy for you both. I’m not calling to try and talk you into taking that contract. I have another offer for you. I was talking to your coach and the management team. Every one of them tells me how good you are with the new players and what a great mentor you are to them. They say you’re patient and understand that hockey is a team sport. Everyone has their value.” Jody had no idea where he was going with the conversation.
“Thank you, sir. I’m glad they think so highly of me.” He wasn’t sure what else to say.
“Well, I’m starting a youth hockey school right here in San Diego. I’ll be building a smaller arena, but for now, I’m going to use our practice facility. I need someone to run it for me. I’d like to offer you a coaching job. You’d be a head coach for these kids and a positive influence on them. A lot of them come from nothing. We’ll use some of the charity money to create funding for the kids who can’t afford it. What do you think?”
What do I think? Jody couldn’t think of anything he’d like to do more. His coach growing up in Canada did that for him. He was the father that Jody never had. It would give him a sense of purpose to be able to do that for another child. And he’d still be doing what he loved. He’d still be involved in hockey. It was a dream job!
“I think I’d like to sign on the dotted line, Mr. Clark. Count me in, and thank you. I appreciate the confidence you have in me.”
Lacey and Jody got married on the beach in front of Jody’s house. Lacey wanted a casual wedding surrounded by friends and family on the beach. And what Lacey wanted, Jody gave her.
“So, Mrs. LaGrange, is this what you had in mind?” Jody looked out at the people milling around. Some were playing volleyball, some were dancing under the tent to the beach type music that the band put out, and some were just drinking and laughing. Jody had set tables set up all around his house. Izzy was in doggie heaven with all of the attention she was getting.
“It’s perfect, Jody. I’m so glad that my parents and your sister and mother are here, too.”
Jody pulled Lacey back into him and rubbed her slight baby bump. “I think I changed my mind. I want to know the sex of the baby.”
Lacey laughed at him. She knew, but Jody said he didn’t want to know. He went back and forth almost daily. “Well, you have to make up your mind. You either do or don’t want to know. Which is it? This is your final decision.”
He sighed. “I’m weak, I want to know.”
“It’s a girl. And I’ve picked out a name for her if you like it.” Lacey’s grandmother was a very special person in Lacey’s life until the day she died. Lacey had always loved her name. It was an old-fashioned name that a lot of people didn’t even know. She also wanted to honor Jody’s family and thought Maddie’s middle name, Lea, would go nicely.
“I’m sure I’ll like anything you do, Angel. Let’s hear it.”
“Well, I’ve always loved my grandmother’s name, and I thought we could give her your mother’s middle name, also. So, what do you think of Adeline Lea LaGrange? I’d like to call her Addie.”
“Adeline. I don’t think I ever knew your grandmother’s name. I think it’s beautiful, Lace.” He got down on his knees and kissed her belly. “What do you think, Addie?” When he got no response, he said to Lacey, “Kids just don’t listen these days.”
Lacey pulled him up and kissed him, wrapping her arms around him. “Thank you for marrying me, Mr. LaGrange. And for giving me a baby to love. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I’ll be forever grateful. Who would have thought that I would fall for the enforcer?”
That was it! The last straw. Vlad had to stop doing things like that!
Zoe was beside herself. That was the third guy Vlad had sent running. Zoe couldn’t even date anymore without Vlad showing up somewhere and ruining it for her. At the wedding, he told her, in front of her date no less, that he thought she might want to get checked out because an ex of his had just told him that she had had unprotected sex right before she was with him. It wasn’t true, but Vlad would do anything to keep Zoe single until she finally came to her senses.
Her date couldn’t leave fast enough. “Enough, Vlad! You can’t keep doing this. This is my life, and you need to stay out of it. Stop ruining every damn date I have. STOP INTERFERING!”
Turn the page for a peek at Zoe and Vlad’s story.
Vlad Bejsiuk (Bay-schick) was a goalie for the NHL’s San Diego Scorpions. It was mandatory for the players to go to periodic therapy sessions with a sports psychologist, which was the only reason he was standing outside Dr. Zoe Millis’ door.
He had put off going as long as he could. Christ, he hated therapy. He had just gotten used to Dr. Phillips when she quit to become a stay-at-home mom. He was happy for her but he didn’t like change.
Dr. Millis’ office was in her house, instead of at the rink where Dr. Phillips had seen patients. Taking a calming breath, he raised his hand to push the doorbell. Before he actually hit it, he got a look at the good doc through the glass.
Whoa …
She was hot. Her blonde hair was cut into a pixie style and had a faint pink streak in the front. She was on the short side, which made her even hotter in Vlad’s book. Her arms were toned, and her legs looked fucking incredible in jeans that hugged her like a second skin. And that ass. Holy hell, what he wouldn’t give to get his hands on that ass so he could pull her up against him. And he got all of that from just a quick peek at her as she walked into the room and bent down to grab something she dropped.
When she stood back up, he got a view of her head on. She jumped back when she saw him standing at her door. Even so, he couldn’t seem to make himself push the damn doorbell.
As she walked toward him, he checked out her breasts. They were small, but Vlad was more of an ass guy anyway. And hell, it must be really cold in her house because her nipples were standing at attention. He forced himself to stop ogling her and pasted on what he hoped was a friendly smile.
My first acknowledgement has to be to Emmy Montes. I have fooled around with the idea of writing a book forever, but probably never would have done it if she hadn’t done it first.
I work with Emmy and I cannot thank her enough for the tons of questions she answered for me about self-publishing (even when I asked the same question multiple times!). Not only is she a fountain of knowledge, but she pushed me to finish when I didn’t think I wanted to. She has assures me repeatedly that more than two people will buy my book.
I also want to say that my beta readers are priceless. Even though some of the comments stung, they needed to be said. I have to say, 99% of the time, they were right! Honest beta readers are without equal, so I thank you all.
My cover designer, David Goldhahn, is probably the most patient person I know. I can’t tell you how many times I asked him to ‘make the eyes bluer’ or ‘change the background again’. Nothing was ever a problem. He was always ready with a ‘sure thing, no problem’. Of course he does beautiful work too!
My editor Madison Seidler. What can I say? I was either a comma whore or I used them too sparingly. And there is only one space after the end of a sentence now. Who knew? Well, she did of course!
Lastly, I’m going to throw my hubby in here. He didn’t complain about me working on my book all the time (well, not too much), and he never said a word about all the money I’ve spent running promotions, buying a laptop or mailing out swag to contest winners, and believe me, it adds up! So thanks to you Craig, I love you.
You can connect with me via the web here:
Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17406217-the-enforcer
or Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nikki-Worrell-Author/193214147490837?ref=hl
FB2 document info
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Document creation date: 7.6.2013
Created using: calibre
0.9.32, FictionBook Editor Release 2.6.6 software
Document authors :
Nikki Worrell
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The Enforcer (NHL Scorpions) Page 26