Room For You (Cranberry Inn)

by Beth Ehemann

  I flipped the jersey around to inspect the back and it hit me like a ton of bricks. At the top of the jersey in white block letters read MURPHY with the number 30 below it. Murphy? That was Brody’s last name. I turned the jersey around again, still having no clue what exactly this was. In the thick green circle on the front, it said MINNESOTA WILD. What the hell was that?

  The French doors leading to the back deck swung open and Fred came in, wiping his dirty hands on his jeans. He used his knee to gently close the door.

  “Hey, Fred! What is this?” I asked, turning the front to face him.

  “Minnesota Wild jersey.”

  I shrugged my shoulders and shook my head, bewildered.

  “Hockey. Minnesota’s professional hockey team. I hear they’re really good.”

  My mouth fell open as the knot in my stomach grew bigger. Brody was a hockey player? No way. Why would he lie to me? It’s not like he didn’t have several opportunities. We chatted for hours. I was at a total loss and a little bit sad. If this was true, the chances of anything happening between us just washed away like sticks under the old bridge.

  I put the note in my pocket, rolled up the jersey and walked into the kitchen.

  “Hockey player, huh?” My mom eyed me skeptically.

  My mind was still back in the family room processing what I just learned. It hadn’t caught up to my body enough to form a coherent sentence.

  “Guess so,” I said flatly. I looked at the girls, wondering if I’d ever be able to give them the one thing that should have been inherently natural, a father. I looked over at my mom, who hadn’t taken her eyes off me. “Hey, can you keep an eye on them for a minute? I … have something to do.”

  “Of course, honey.”

  I got to my room and flopped down on my bed, stretching to reach my laptop. Thanks to the melded combination of Google and our fish bowl world, it was possible to find out just about anything. I took a deep breath and impatiently typed out B-R-O-D-Y M-U-R-P-H-Y in the search bar.

  I stared wide-eyed at the screen while the hourglass spun round and round.

  YOUR SEARCH YIELDED 3,270,000 RESULTS.

  Three MILLION results? Holy shit! I scrolled down, quietly chanting to myself please-no-naked-pictures, please-no-naked-pictures. A headshot of Brody appeared at the top of the page that made my pulse race. His dark chocolate hair was a mess of loose curls that complimented his playful smile and shimmering green eyes. He was unwittingly seducing me and every other girl looking at his picture, probably a few guys too. Under his picture were action shots of him blocking goals, high-fiving his teammates and sparring with a guy from another team. The rest of the page was filled with personal stats, team stats and articles with headlines.

  MURPHY’S GLOVE STOPS BRUINS IN THEIR TRACKS

  BRODY “THE WALL” MURPHY’S STELLAR PERFORMANCE IN OVERTIME AIDS WILD IN VICTORY

  “The Wall?” I snickered out loud to myself. What a nickname. I continued skimming the page but came to a screeching halt when one headline jumped out at me.

  BRODY MURPHY ARRESTED IN CHICAGO

  Oh God. For the millionth time that day, my stomach dropped. I clicked on the article and started absorbing the words as fast as my brain would allow. Halfway through the article, I chuckled, shaking my head at the computer like it was an old gossipy friend.

  He got arrested for that?

  It took me ninety-seven minutes to get home from the Cranberry Inn and I spent at least ninety of those minutes thinking about Kacie. The other seven were spent pulling in and out of the rest stop so my psycho dog with a bladder the size of a thimble didn’t pee in my truck.

  I was up until three o’clock in the morning talking to Kacie, and despite my utter exhaustion, being with her all night was so worth it. Every time I thought about cutting the conversation short and heading to bed, a strand of her hair would break free from her ponytail and frame her face perfectly … or she’d flash that cute little dimple on her left cheek and suddenly, I didn’t give a shit about sleep anymore. That’s why God invented coffee anyway.

  My cell phone alarm went off three hours after we finally turned in, and I packed up quietly and left. There was no real reason for me to leave so early. I had no exciting plans, but I wanted to sneak out before I saw Ashley again, and more importantly, I didn’t want to see Kacie’s face when she realized I’d lied to her about playing hockey.

  The lie started out innocently. I just hadn’t felt like sitting at the dinner table answering all the typical questions that came along with being a professional athlete. Then when I talked to Kacie that night about her ex and what she was looking for now, I couldn’t bring myself to tell her. I didn’t want her making a snap judgment about me or my life, hoping that she’d get to know me before she blew me off … but I wanted to make sure that she found out about it from me, so I left my favorite jersey there for her.

  My cell phone went off as I pulled into the parking garage of my condo building. For a quick second, I hoped it was Kacie already, but when I looked at my phone the screen said BOSSMAN.

  “What’s up, buddy?” I tried sounding as awake as possible after three hours of sleep.

  “Whoa! You sound like shit!” Andy teased.

  “Good morning to you too. What are you doing up so early?”

  “Early? Most normal people are already at work by now, not crawling in from the night before, which is exactly what it sounds like you’re doing. I’m already on my third cup of coffee, my friend.”

  “Not exactly. I’m just getting home from up north.” I yawned.

  “I thought you were getting home yesterday.”

  “That was my hope, but the weather didn’t cooperate.” Thank God it didn’t, I thought.

  “That sucks. Well, you wanna fill me in tonight over a beer or what?”

  “Yeah, sounds good. Meet at The Bumper at six?” I asked.

  “Perfect. If you’re lucky, I’ll let you buy me dinner too.” He laughed as he hung up.

  The Bumper was our favorite place to go. It was a hole-in-the-wall bar about four blocks from my condo, with grumpy waitresses and stale peanuts, but they made great burgers, the beer was ice cold and no one bugged me there. Diesel and I slowly made our way upstairs to my condo. I tossed my keys on the kitchen counter while he headed straight for his over-sized dog bed by the fireplace. I collapsed on the couch, debating whether to get up and head to the gym for a couple hours or sleep the day away right where I landed. The more I thought about bicep curls, the more comfortable my couch got and I let sleep take over.

  A wet nose grazed my forehead, but I swatted it away. My eyelids felt like they were glued shut, refusing to budge and I was in no rush to force them open. I lay there listening to the sounds of the city rushing by my window, when my phone vibrated from the kitchen counter.

  “What do you think, Diesel? You think that’s a text from her?” Diesel yawned and walked back to his bed, unimpressed. “Yeah, you’re right, she probably hates me.” I sighed, sitting up and resting my elbows on my knees. I took my time getting off the couch. I was in no rush to read a nasty message calling me a liar or see a picture of my jersey cut up in pieces on her bedroom floor. The idea of my jersey being on her floor was definitely exciting, but more in a trail-like fashion with her panties right next to it.

  I made my way to the kitchen and grabbed my phone, both relieved and disappointed to see it was a text from Andy.

  LET’S MAKE IT 5:00, I’M STARVING. SHAW.

  I couldn’t help myself, I texted back…

  YOU JUST WANT TO SEE ME SOONER. I LOVE YOU TOO, YOU SEXY BEAST.

  I was groggy as hell and needed to wake up. “All right, D, we have just enough time for a quick jog before I gotta get in the shower.”

  Diesel raised his brows and glared at me from his dog bed, not budging.

  “Come on, lazy ass!” I shouted as I grabbed his leash from the hook by the fridge. The metallic clinging of the chain excited Diesel as he jumped off his bed and bounce
d over to me. I bent down, secured the leash to his collar and out the door we went.

  It was early June and the air was still crisp and comfortable, perfect jogging weather. I walked a few blocks from my condo to Lake Calhoun, popped my ear buds in, and Diesel and I took off. The lake was crowded today … people jogging, out on the lake in paddleboats, picnicking. I ran past two teenagers sitting on a bench swapping more spit than a couple of porn stars. I just shook my head. To my right, a couple lay on a plaid blanket reading books and chomping on grapes. She looked around quickly and held her book up in front of them, pulling him in close.

  Come on, Brody, focus.

  Up ahead I noticed an older couple holding each other cheek-to-cheek near the lake shoreline, looking out at the water. As I got closer I tried to see what they were looking at and I realized they weren’t looking at anything, the water was clear.

  They were slow dancing … with no music.

  I came to a stop and shook my head in frustration. I felt … off, disconnected. I needed to get my shit together and get this run in, I blasted Korn on my iPod and started again, trying to shut the rest of the world out and focus on my pace. A girl ran toward me, giving me a mega-watt smile as she passed. She was a cute brunette with green eyes, but they were nothing compared to Kacie’s. They didn’t have the same sparkle, the same life in them; they did nothing for me.

  “Screw this, Diesel. I’m not feeling it today.”

  A scalding hot shower made me feel remotely better after that disappointing run. Despite Andy working right near my condo, I didn’t get to see him often and was looking forward to shooting the shit with him over a beer, or five.

  When I got to the bar, he was already sitting at our normal table in the corner. As I got to the table, he flashed me a big smile and stood to shake my hand.

  “What’s up, brother?” I pulled him in for a bear hug.

  “Wow, you showered for me? Trying to get lucky?” He laughed, pushing one of the beers he’d already ordered toward me.

  I lifted the beer to my lips and took several big gulps. “Something like that,” I answered, looking around for Jan, our usual waitress. “I’m starving, let’s order.”

  “Yeah, I can’t stay out late tonight, I have to eat and run. Blaire is making dinner.” He grimaced.

  Blaire was superficial, materialistic, a mega-bitch, and unfortunately … my best friend’s wife. She and Andy met in college and married shortly after I signed my first big contract with the Wild. A little too convenient, if you asked me.

  They lived about thirty minutes outside of the city in the biggest house in their town. She drove the most expensive luxury car they could find and had a whole slew of people employed at their house. One time at a charity dinner, someone asked her what she did for a living and she said she didn’t work outside of the home, but she was a “house manager.” I choked on my drink and she shot eye daggers at me. She hasn’t liked me since, not that she was a big fan of mine before that.

  “Making dinner? I thought you wanted a burger,” I said, finishing off my first beer.

  “Uh, yes. She’s trying to be more domestic, so she’s cooking duck tonight. Needless to say I don’t want to go to bed starving, so I’m going to eat a big dinner now and then make her dinner magically disappear. At least pretending I like her cooking will get me laid tonight.”

  I tried to shake the thought out of my head of anyone being forced to suffer through fucking that woman. I didn’t know how he’d survived this long without that Black Widow killing him already.

  “So this weekend, what happened?” Andy asked, after we ordered burgers, onion rings and another round of beer.

  “The weather happened. It was one crappy misfortune after another. Next thing I knew, my truck was axle deep in mud in the driveway of this inn up north. Thankfully, they were inviting and let me stay for a couple days.”

  “An inn? Sounds like a total snoozefest. Was it all old retired people, or what?”

  “No, actually. There were quite a few people there.” I grinned.

  Andy leaned forward and stared right into my eyes, raising a curious eyebrow. “Uh-oh, what’s her name?”

  “What are you talking about?” I shot back at him, looking around the bar to avoid eye contact.

  He shook his head, his face beaming with pride like he’d just figured out some big secret. “No way, Brody. I know you better than anyone on this planet, don’t bullshit me. I’ve seen that look before. What’s. Her. Name.”

  I looked around to make sure no one was within earshot. I had no chance of getting this girl to talk to me again if her name was in some tabloid tomorrow morning. “Kacie. Kacie Jensen. Now can we drop it, please?”

  Andy sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. “Please tell me you were careful. Am I going to have a paternity suit to deal with right after Christmas? It would really ruin my winter.”

  “No, asshole. I didn’t sleep with her, I didn’t even kiss her. That’s not what it was about. It was-” I stopped talking when Jan walked up with our food. After she set all the plates down and groped my arm, I dug right into eating, avoiding Andy’s curious eye.

  “So, are we done talking about this?” Andy proceeded carefully.

  “There’s nothing to talk about, Andy. I met this girl and she’s the most intriguing woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. I only spent two days with her, but it wasn’t nearly enough time.” I ran my hands through my hair in frustration. “And so far, she hasn’t called me. I don’t know if she ever will. I may never see her again, but I want to.” I pushed my plate away and looked up at Andy who furrowed his brow, deep in thought.

  “Oh, and … she has two kids. Be right back, gotta piss.”

  Andy groaned and dropped his head in his hands as I pushed away from the table. That poor man, I didn’t pay him nearly enough.

  It had been three days since Brody left and given the information I had learned about him, I was trying to ignore the embers burning in my belly and get my life back to normal. Mom had been grilling me non-stop about the situation and I needed a break from the house, so I was taking the girls and spending the day with them at the zoo.

  In the car, we told knock-knock jokes and belted out Taylor Swift songs at the top of our lungs. Once we got there, we grabbed a map and started checking off as many animals as we could before taking a break on a bench with some Dippin’ Dots.

  “Are you guys having fun?” I asked.

  They both nodded excitedly with ice cream dripping down their chins.

  HA! Who says I can’t be spontaneous and fun.

  I felt vindicated, like I was winning an imaginary contest against my subconscious.

  “What should we do next?”

  “Dolphin show!” Lucy shouted out.

  “Yeah, then the train ride!” Piper blurted right after her.

  I looked at the time on my phone. “Well, if we’re gonna do all that, we better get moving.” We tossed our ice cream cups in the garbage and headed for the dolphin show.

  By the time Chloe the dolphin jumped through the fourth ring, my cell phone had gone off twice. I had two texts, one from my mom and one from Alexa.

  MOM: THERE ARE FLOWERS AT THE HOUSE FOR YOU…

  ALEXA: RUNNING BEHIND ON ORDERS, BUT WE NEED TO CHAT. WANNA HANG WITH ME AT THE SHOP TONIGHT?

  The black and white words of Alexa’s text blurred together as my mind ran circles around the text from my mom. Who would have sent me flowers? The one person that came to mind was as disappointing as it was exciting. I didn’t want to think about it, so I closed my phone and put it away, deciding to concentrate the rest of the afternoon on nothing but the sweet smiles on my girls’ faces. We filled the afternoon with balloon animals, train rides and so much cotton candy I thought we were gonna burst.

  A couple hours later, we piled our exhausted bodies into my jeep and made our way home.

  “Mom, did you see that huge pile of zebra poop on the ground?” Piper held her arms about two feet apart, a
s Lucy giggled next to her.

  The girls continued their poop discussion and argued over which animal would make the best mommy until they exhausted themselves and fell asleep in the backseat. When we got home, Mom came out and helped me carry them in. With Piper in my arms, I tiptoed through the kitchen, thankful my mom was walking in front of me and couldn’t see my face when I passed the huge bouquet of beautiful pink and purple gladiolus on the island. I cringed when I saw that the card had the logo from The Twisted Petal on it. Alexa only had one employee, a teenage kid that made deliveries for her, so there was no question in my mind that she took this order and would be grilling me like a hamburger later.

  I tucked the girls cozy in their beds and walked to my room to get ready to head to Alexa’s shop. As much as I wanted to sprint into the kitchen and read the card, I wanted to get out of my mom’s crosshairs more. She followed me to my room, her eyes focused on me, reading every awkward movement I was making around my bedroom.

  “So, what’s the deal with the flowers?” She finally broke the silence.

  I turned to face her, expecting her to be judgmental.

  “I have no idea, Mom. I haven’t even looked at the envelope yet. I don’t really want to.”

  Her eyes softened as she walked over and sat on my bed, patting the open space next to her. I went over and sat down.

  “You like him, Kacie.” I searched her eyes as she continued, curious where this conversation was headed. “I can tell. Why the hesitation?” She reached up and played with a strand of hair trailing down my back.

  I immediately relaxed and rested my head on her shoulder. A mother’s touch is so powerful; it makes you feel like the bad is actually tolerable.

  “Mom, he’s a hockey player, a professional hockey player. That type of lifestyle doesn’t fit into ours.”

  “That’s pretty presumptuous of you. You’ve spent two days with him. What can you possibly know about his lifestyle?”