Hating the Rookie: Laketown Hockey Series

by A. J. Wynter

  “I thought you were a vegetarian now,” I laughed.

  “Not when I’m hungover and someone is cooking bacon.”

  “Put your bathing suit on,” I ordered and slipped into my bedroom. “I’ve got the best hangover cure you’ll ever have.”

  When I exited my room, Nora was suited up with a towel over her shoulder. “Let me guess? A swim?”

  “You got it.” My voice croaked. “I guess we really got into it last night.” I grabbed two empty bottles and tossed them into the recycling bin on our way down to the lake.

  “Scrabble is so much better after a bottle of wine,” Nora laughed. “God, we’re nerds.”

  “Hungover nerds,” I added. “I should play drunk Scrabble more often, I hit that triple word score with zoologist.” I don’t know how late we stayed up, but I do know that I won the game.

  Our flip flops slapped on the wet dock boards. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” Nora set down her towel and tried to dip her toe into the lake. While she was off-balance, I lightly shoved her shoulder.

  “Bree,” she squealed as she toppled into the water. Before she could emerge and scream at me, I dove in. The coldness swept over my body and I could feel the fuzziness of the night before fading away. I took a few long strokes and by the time I emerged Nora had already hopped out of the lake and was wrapped in her towel on the dock.

  “It worked.” She narrowed her lips at me. “And it’s damn cold.”

  “I told you,” I grinned and climbed the rickety wooden ladder. “Now, let’s get some bacon.” We threw on our beach cover-ups and headed to the main cabin.

  I had already checked for any signs of Brodie’s Jeep when we went to the lake. It had been two days since he and his friends showed up in that wakeboard board, and I hadn’t seen him since.

  As we walked to the cabin, Nora whispered. “Are you going to talk to her about it?”

  “Yes. When the time is right.” I knew that she was referring to the bombshell that Brodie had dropped on me on Candlestick Island. The fact that my mom had had cancer and kept it from me.

  “Are you also going to talk to them about firing him?”

  “Firing him?” I stopped in front of the main cabin and turned to face my friend.

  “Don’t you remember? We talked about this last night. It’s not fair for you to have to see that guy every day this summer. Even if he’s helping your parents. They can hire some other guy to come and do random stuff around here.”

  “I forgot about that.” Already I was having second thoughts. Brodie and I had been getting along just fine until I rehashed the past with Nora. In fact, there were moments when I was with Brodie, where it felt like we had gone back in time. Back to when things were simpler. Back to when we were in love. “They might not be able to replace him.”

  “Bree.” Nora grabbed onto my arm. “They don’t know what kind of a guy he is.”

  “Was...” I whispered.

  Nora bit her lip. I knew that she wanted to say more but was holding it in. She nodded, “Let’s get some breakfast.”

  “GOOD MORNING, LADIES.” Instead of Mom, Dad was in the kitchen this morning, his gray ponytail shaking as he scrambled eggs in front of the stove.

  “Morning, Mr. Corbett,” Nora said.

  “Oh, please. Mr. Corbett was my dad,” my dad said without turning from the stove.

  “Where’s Mom?” I asked.

  “I decided to let your mother sleep in this morning.”

  My heart sank. My mom was a get-up-and-go kind of lady. I couldn’t remember her ever sleeping in past seven in the morning.

  “You two were up late.” The kettle whistled and he poured the boiling water into the waiting teapot.

  “It was a wild night of Scrabble,” Nora smiled.

  “I heard,” Dad laughed. “Sound travels over water.”

  I shot a glance at Nora and she looked at me, her eyes wide. I knew that we were both thinking the same thing. What the hell had we talked about – and just how loud were we?

  “Sorry about that. I hope that we didn’t keep you up.” I poured Nora and myself some tea. “Can we help with anything, Dad?”

  My dad tossed the tea towel over his shoulder and turned; a plate full of pancakes in front of him. “Nope. It’s all done.” He joined us at the table, and I thought that Nora was going to cry laughing when, instead of doling out the pancakes like a normal human being, my dad proceeded to toss them across the table with the spatula. He even gave mine a flip in the air before it landed perfectly on the center of my plate with a thud.

  “I won’t throw the bacon.” He passed the plate to Nora.

  “Is this maple syrup?” Nora asked, eyeing a bottle of rum on the table.

  “It sure is, we make our own and sometimes we run out of bottles.”

  “You guys are pretty self-sufficient here,” Nora said.

  We both took bites of our pancakes at the same time and I almost melted. “Dad, these are delicious.”

  He leaned in conspiratorially, “Don’t tell your mother. I made them with the gluten flour.”

  I winked at my dad. “Your secret is safe with me.” But then I remembered the secret they were keeping from me. I had to confront them about it before it ate me up inside. Obviously, I wasn’t going to do it in front of my friend, but Nora was leaving after breakfast. I was going to have to get the nerve up to do it sooner or later.

  Dad cut his pancakes up into little squares, smeared jam on them, and put a drop of maple syrup on each one. “We try to do as much as we can on the property here.”

  “That reminds me, Dad. The water heater isn’t working in Cabin One.” I stabbed the pancake with my fork, swirled it around in the syrup on my plate, and shoved it into my mouth.

  “Dammit,” Dad muttered. “I thought that Brodie was going to work on those solar batteries.”

  Nora raised her eyebrows at me.

  I swallowed my mouthful of pancake. “Speaking of Brodie. Where has he been these last couple of days?”

  “He’s been busy.” My mom swept into the room; a silk robe tied tightly around her waist. She poured herself a cup of black coffee and joined us at the table. “That hockey camp is keeping him busy.”

  I stared at my mom. Her cheeks looked pink, and even though her hair was short, it looked full and shiny. I hoped that Brodie had been telling me the truth. That she had cancer – past tense.

  I helped my dad clear the plates from the table and Nora started running the water into the sink for the dishes. “You sit down and relax.” I took the sticky plate from her hands.

  “Bree said that the hot water isn’t working in Cabin One.” Dad filled my mom in on what she had missed.

  The screen door slammed, and we all turned to see Brodie walk in.

  “Where there’s bacon, Brodie won’t be far behind.” My mom laughed. She picked up the plate and offered it to Brodie. He held up his hands in front of him. “I can’t. I just had the Lumberjack Special at the Brewpub.” My mom nudged the plate. “Alright,” he smiled at her and plucked one piece of crispy bacon off the plate. “Just one.”

  “What’s one?” My mom said. She handed him a second piece and returned to her cup of coffee on the table.

  “What’s one?” he smiled and held up the bacon as though he were greeting us with it.

  For someone I was supposed to hate, he was awfully friendly with my family and I caught myself smiling. It quickly disappeared when Nora shot me a disapproving look.

  “Cabin One doesn’t have hot water,” my dad said. I was washing the dishes and he was standing beside me drying them. “I thought you were going to check out the batteries for the solar panel.”

  “I did,” Brodie frowned. “But those old car batteries are getting near the end of their life. It really would help to get some proper solar batteries.”

  “Well, car batteries aren’t going to help Brianna have a shower.” Nora folded her arms across her chest.

  “Nora,” Brodie smiled. �
�Nice to see you again.” His voice was cheery, but I knew Brodie Bishop sarcasm when I saw it.

  “Same.” Nora shot back with an equally big smile.

  “It’s okay. We jumped in the lake.” I knew that Nora was trying to stand up for me, but I didn’t want a full-on confrontation between my best friend and my... I didn’t even know what to call him.

  “That works in the heatwave,” Dad said. Then he winked at me. “And for Brianna, but we’re hoping to get some of the cabins rented out for the Regatta next weekend.”

  “I’ll check the terminals.” Brodie crunched into the pieces of bacon. He raised the bacon like a gentleman would raise a hat as he left the kitchen.

  I STOOD ON THE PATH and watched as Nora’s taillights disappeared into the woods. Having a friend at Casper Cove had provided me with a temporary distraction from my thoughts. Namely, the fact that I didn’t have any actual friends in Laketown.

  “She’s a nice girl,” my dad said. “She was really interested in your mom’s gardens.”

  Nora and I were both Biochem students, but I was more into renewable energy. “Nora is studying food security,” I explained.

  Dad didn’t seem to hear what I had said. “And she really dislikes Brodie.”

  I couldn’t believe that my dad had picked up on that. I thought that the two of them had put on quite the convincing act at the breakfast table. “Bree, are you sure you’re okay having him here this summer?”

  I hadn’t planned on having the discussion right then and there on the pathway, but the subject seemed to have come up naturally. “Brodie and I had a little falling out in high school.” I kicked at the dirt with the toe of my flip flop. “But it was, you know, kid’s stuff.” I wasn’t going to tell my dad what he’d done. I could hear Nora’s voice in my head though. Maybe it wasn’t good having Brodie around. “Dad, I know that things are tight right now. I can cut back on my studying and help you out around here. I’m capable of figuring out what’s wrong with the solar panels. That way, you know, you can save on Brodie’s wage.”

  “Right.” My dad nodded. “I’ll have to run that by your mother.”

  I felt a huge weight lift off my chest. I could avoid going into town and running into the mean girls or worry about being back in love with Brodie Bishop. All I had to do was get rid of him and then my heart wouldn’t be in my throat every time I walked by his cabin.

  “Dad,” I whispered.

  “Yes, Bree.”

  “Is Mom okay?”

  He turned his head slowly and looked at me. “Yes, sweetheart. Of course, your mom is okay.”

  “Brodie told me,” I said it matter of factly.

  Dad nodded but didn’t say anything.

  “We were foraging for blueberries. He thought that I should know.”

  “She beat it, Bree. We didn’t want you to worry.”

  I knew why they did it, but it still didn’t stop my stomach from clenching. I didn’t look at him when I spoke, and I tried to keep my voice even. “But you told the summer maintenance guy.”

  “You mean Brodie?”

  “Yes, Dad.” The anger was spilling out my mouth now. “Brodie. Why the hell did I have to get that news from him?” Fiery tears streamed down my cheeks, appearing without warning.

  “Bree.” Dad slipped his arm over my shoulder. I brushed it off and ran as fast as I could to Cabin One.

  Leaning over the kitchen sink, I splashed cold water on my hot face. I was breathing heavily, the combination of emotions and hangover sapping my body of all its energy. My back bowed as I gripped the edges of the butcher block countertop. I shouldn’t be mad at them – but I was.

  A light rapping on the screen door interrupted my thoughts. “What?” I growled before I turned, ready to sling fire at my dad, or better yet, Brodie.

  “Hi, Bree.”

  I instantly felt like shit. It was my mom.

  “Hi, Mom. Come in.” I pushed the door open and my mom stepped inside the cabin.

  “Do you want some tea or blueberries or something?” I tried to nonchalantly wipe at the dampness on my face, knowing that the attempt was fruitless, my face was redder than one of her hothouse tomatoes in August.

  “No, Bree.” My mom sat on one of the wicker chairs in the sitting room and pointed to the other. “Have a seat.”

  The chair creaked as I eased myself down onto the floral cushion.

  “Bree, I was sick, but I’m better now.”

  “What kind was it?” I croaked. “The canc...” I couldn’t bring myself to say the word.

  “Breast.” She smiled. We caught it early. Actually, it was your dad who felt the lump.

  If it were any other circumstance I would’ve groaned at my mom and pretended to throw up. “So, you’re okay. For sure?”

  “Yes, and I’m sorry we didn’t tell you. You’ve got a lot on your mind with school.”

  “School?” It seemed like such a trivial thing compared to what she had been through. “Mom, I could’ve come home to help. I could’ve done something. Maybe I could’ve gone to the hospital with you instead of Dad, and things would’ve gotten done around here.” I hated saying it, but we all knew that Casper Cabins had seen better days. “You could’ve saved the money you had to pay for labor.” I didn’t use the ‘labor’s’ name.

  My mom was uncharacteristically fidgety, playing with her fingertips in her lap. “There’s something else you should know.” She smoothed out her linen dress on her thighs.

  Oh god. I thought to myself. The bombs that had been dropped on me in the past week had only gotten bigger. “What, Mom? What is it?”

  “Your father didn’t want you to know. But I think it’s something you need to hear.”

  “Mom... spit it out.”

  She sighed. “I don’t know how you’re going to take this, seeing as you two seem to have a tumultuous history.”

  It was something about Brodie. I held my breath. My mom seemed to be struggling with whatever she was trying to say. I reached out and grasped one of her fidgeting hands.

  “Brodie isn’t getting paid.”

  I let go of her hand and scratched my head. “What do you mean he’s not getting paid?” It seemed like a big build-up to discuss Brodie’s pay schedule.

  “He’s refusing to take money. He’s been volunteering here since the spring. Volunteering isn’t even the right word. He’s just showed up every day and when we told him to go home, he just stayed and kept fixing stuff.” She smiled. “I guess we just finally gave in, so firing him doesn’t help the budget. But, if you really want him out of here, just tell me and he’s gone.

  It felt like all the air was sucked out of the room and I gripped the arms of the wicker chair so hard I’m surprised it didn’t crack. Nora was wrong. I was wrong. Brodie wasn’t a bad person at all.

  Chapter 16 – Brodie

  I AIMED AT THE FACE of the real estate agent in the ad on the boards at the blue line and leaned into a hard slapshot. The puck ricocheted off the boards leaving a satisfying black mark on the guy’s front tooth.

  “Nice shot,” Leo shouted as he skated past me. He leaned back on his skates and circled back. “We’re starting some drills.” He pointed to where the assistant coach was setting up the pylons at the end of the ice surface.

  “Where’s Coach?” I asked.

  Leo skated by and gave an exaggerated shrug, lifting his stick in the air, his hair flowing out the bottom of his helmet. Leo had the best hockey flow on the team, and he knew it. I followed Leo and took my place beside the other rookies.

  While the assistant coach explained the drill, the door to the boards clanked as Coach stepped on the ice. A player wearing a red sweater followed behind him. Even from the other end of the rink, I knew exactly who it was.

  Troy. Fucking. Sneer.

  I gritted my teeth and took a deep breath, letting the steam puff out through my nose while I watched the newest member of the Otters take a warmup lap.

  “Sorry I’m late, boys,” Coach sai
d. He looked and sounded tired. Dark circles ringed his eyes and his usual hockey stride, upright and powerful seemed to be lacking any kind of enthusiasm. “Pacey, did you explain the drill?” he asked.

  “I was just in the middle of it,” the assistant coach said.

  “Keep going then.” Coach smiled but seemed at ease to have been relieved of his duty.

  I could see Sneer out of the corner of my eye, and I wondered if he knew that I was one of the rookies. My practice sweater didn’t have my name on the back, only my number. The assistant coach had us stickhandling the puck around the pylons, then passing it to the next guy with soft hands. There were three lines set up and Sneer was in the middle. I should’ve been focusing on what was going on in front of me, but instead, I kept that red sweater in my peripheral vision at all times.

  After three missed passes, I shook my head and tried to get it back into the game. Troy had already taken something from me, I wasn’t going to let him get into my head about hockey too.

  But damn. The light flashed off his blades as he navigated around the pylons almost as fast as Fitzy. I shuffled my skates back and forth while I listened to his line screaming and cheering as he gave Tanner a surprise backhand pass right on the tape of his stick. I tried not to glance over, but I couldn’t stop myself, and when I saw Fitzy tap Sneer on the helmet with his glove, my world turned red.

  Justin passed the puck to me and the ice crunched as I pushed off with my skate as hard as I possibly could, leaving thick grooves behind me. My stickhandling was sloppy, but I still had the puck on my blade when I got back to the start. I met Mike’s eyes and gave him a subtle nod, but just as I went to pass the puck, I heard Sneer’s voice above all the others on his line. The combination of his arrogance and nasally voice echoed in the cavernous arena, distracting me. The puck sailed past Mike’s stick.

  “What the fuck B.B.?” He raised his hands at me.

  Everyone on the ice turned to look at me, but I couldn’t hear anything except that nasal fucking voice. I veered from our line and cross-checked the red shirt across the shoulders as hard as I could.