by Mandy Baggot
“No, let Bob take you. He wants to come anyway, don’t you, Bob?” Pam urged him.
“If that’s okay with the new manager,” Bob said, looking at Robyn and smiling.
“Sure,” Robyn accepted gratefully.
“Come on then, let’s go see what these Panthers are made of,” Bob said, standing up.
Her mobile rang again on the drive. It had been ringing all afternoon and she had switched it to silent. It still vibrated though, reminding her she had to answer some time or make a call. She didn’t want to talk, though, not even a polite “checking in” conversation. It felt wrong now that she was back here. All the justification she had accumulated over the years was fading fast since her return.
“I can’t apologize enough for the girls, Robyn,” Bob said.
“It’s okay. I have kind of invaded, and they’ve never met me before.”
“That’s no excuse for it and what they said about Jason…” Bob began.
“That all happened a very long time ago, eons ago, almost a decade…it’s forgotten,” Robyn interrupted quickly.
“But still, it wasn’t nice to bring up bad memories and…”
“So do you go and watch the Panthers every game?” Robyn asked, cutting him off.
“Sure, I’m not one of those supporters who only watch a team when they’re doing well. I’ve been to every game since 1987,” Bob reminded her.
“Are they really awful?” Robyn asked, putting some chewing gum in her mouth.
“No, not awful…well, you know…” Bob began.
“No, Bob, I don’t know, and that’s half the problem.”
“Well, they lost the main sponsor, and then money was short for wages and players, so people went elsewhere. We have a great new guy, though, Henrik. He’s Swedish, I think.”
“And how is the actual play on the ice? What sort of a job has Grant been doing?” she asked.
“The best he could with what he had to work with. Eddie’s better, because he’s more vocal and he lives and breathes the Panthers, but Grant’s done okay,” Bob told her.
“Okay isn’t good enough, though, is it?” Robyn remarked, looking out the window as the arena came into view.
Driving into the parking lot of the arena was like going back in time. She had seen her last Panthers match the night before she left. She had stuffed herself full of hotdogs and pickles, thinking she might never taste either again. They had lost, her dad had almost burst a blood vessel shouting at the players and, when they got home, her mother had finished packing.
“So, has the old place changed?” Bob asked as they got out of the car.
“It’s been painted,” Robyn remarked, looking up at the building and putting her baseball cap on her head.
“A few years ago now,” Bob said.
“The sign’s the same, but where’s the ‘Home of the Portage Panthers’ banner?” Robyn asked him.
“Ah, went missing a while ago, probably kids,” Bob admitted.
“Well, it needs to be replaced. I’ll get it replaced,” Robyn told him firmly.
“Come on, let’s go and get you reacquainted with that ice. You been on it in England?” Bob asked.
She shook her head.
It was weird being back. Just seeing the building she had spent so many of her high school days in was making her heart pump faster.
“You know people still talk about the night you knocked out that girl from the Grand Rapids team. Best punch I ever saw,” Bob told her with a laugh.
“I got sent off, they had a five minute power play, and we lost,” Robyn reminded him.
“But it was worth it and she deserved it. Took out Lindsay Jacobs and didn’t even get a warning,” Bob recalled.
“I never really liked Lindsay Jacobs. Before the Grand Rapids girl wiped her out, I was thinking about doing it myself,” Robyn admitted.
Getting his hockey things together had felt weird. He hadn’t even thought about the game since he quit the Chicago Wolves. He’d just got back on track before he found out about Bryn and Veronica, and then he’d thrown in the towel again. But it had seemed natural to say yes to Robyn. When he said he could play, she’d assumed he would help her out, and it seemed natural for her to assume. Perhaps that was what he needed right now.
He parked the car and fondly rubbed the steering wheel. The Mustang had been parked in the next bay when he’d got back from the diner at lunchtime. That had to be something like Fate.
Now it was time to meet another team. Even though he knew they’d look him up and down, meeting new people was a good thing, he could start over. He grabbed his kit bag from the passenger seat and noticed Robyn up ahead. She was wearing a baseball cap, a Red Wings t-shirt, and jeans. He smiled and locked the car.
“Hey!” he called out.
Robyn turned around and was met with the sight of Cole running across the parking lot toward them.
Why did he always look so hot? He was wearing jeans, Converse tennis shoes, and a gray Chicago Wolves t-shirt. Robyn felt something inside her lurch. It was obviously the huge breakfast she’d eaten repeating on her. It couldn’t be anything else. She didn’t know anything else. Apart from the crush thing. It was just that Freddie Prinze Jr. in I Know What You Did Last Summer thing.
“Hey! Bob, this is Cole. Cole, this is my Uncle Bob. Cole’s going to join the team. He played center for the Chicago Wolves,” Robyn informed her uncle, quick to recover her senses.
“Pleased to meet you, sir,” Cole greeted, holding his hand out to him.
“Hey there.”
“You got skates?” Robyn asked him.
“Yep and a full set of armor and pads,” Cole answered, lifting up the duffle bag he was carrying.
“Good. Well, locker rooms are to the right, go and get changed,” Robyn urged.
“Yes, ma’am,” Cole replied with a smile.
When Robyn and Bob got ice side, Grant was already putting the team through their paces in a warm up.
“Wes! Put more effort into the skating and stop talking,” Grant called to him, turning when he noticed Robyn and Bob approach.
“Yeah, yeah…why don’t you get out here?” Wes yelled back.
“Hey, Bob, hey, Robyn, good to see you,” Grant greeted, holding out his hand.
Robyn swallowed as she met his gaze. She was shocked by how much he and Jason looked alike. She hadn’t realized the similarities before, but they were there by the bucket load. It was the smile and the pale, blue eyes, the freckled features, and even the stature.
Bob quickly took hold of Grant’s hand and shook it, smiling at him, while Robyn took a moment to compose herself. Grant wasn’t responsible for what his son had done all those years ago. He was a good man, her dad’s friend, she needed to remember that.
“Is this really it?” Robyn asked, looking out at the ten men.
They were all kitted up in full gear, passing pucks to each other on the ice.
“Ten isn’t good, I know, but…”
“Eleven. I’ve got someone getting changed. We need to get some more team members, hold try outs,” Robyn told him.
“We did try that at the start of the season but…” Grant began.
“Well? What happened? I mean, even the worst of the bunch would be better than no one at all,” Robyn said.
“No one turned up,” Grant responded despondently.
“Oh my God! What has happened to this place? The hockey team should be the life blood of the community! Jeez! Right, okay, I want a match now, no holding back. Do we really only have one goaltender?” Robyn asked, fueled by the humiliation.
“Yeah, well, Adam left us last year for…” Grant started.
“I’m not interested in who isn’t here. I’m interested in who is here. You! What’s your name?” Robyn asked, pointing at a tall player with brown hair.
“Wade,” he drawled.
“Well, Wade, go and get a full face mask on and some keeper’s pads…” Robyn glanced to the side when she saw movem
ent. “Oh good, you’re ready. Everyone, Brad, Mickey, Wade, Wes, the others I don’t know…this is Cole Ryan. He’s going to be your new center,” Robyn informed them.
“Robyn, maybe we ought to discuss this before we make any decisions,” Grant suggested quickly.
The team looked less than excited by the new arrival and started to mutter amongst themselves.
“We aren’t making any decisions, I am. Get into two teams.”
“Come on, Grant, man, you can’t let…” one of the players began.
“I’m sorry? I thought I just asked you to get into teams. Why are you looking at him? I’m the manager now. Is anyone unclear about that?” Robyn questioned, narrowing her eyes at them all.
No one answered.
“Good. Grant, can you get some skates on and referee,” Robyn said as more of an order than a request.
The team stood like statues on the ice, all looking to Grant and wondering what was going on.
“Come on! Move! Jeez! If it takes you this long to get going, no wonder you’re not doing well in the league,” Robyn exclaimed.
“Come on guys, let’s go,” Brad told his team before slipping in his mouth guard.
“Why was that so difficult?” Robyn asked Bob as they went to sit down.
“Grant’s approach is different, that’s all. They weren’t ready for a full-on replica of Eddie,” Bob said with a grin.
“God, don’t say that! Next you’ll be telling me I’m growing a beard,” Robyn said, touching her chin.
“No, just starting to inherit the bad ass attitude.”
“You can’t say that, you’re my uncle!”
“And you’ve never had anything but the truth from me,” Bob replied.
“Come on, guys! You starting this game or do you need an air horn?” Robyn screamed at the players on the ice.
Play began, and Robyn watched intently as the two sides battled against each other. It didn’t take long for her to work out the best players and the members of the team that were the weak links.
“What’s happened to Mickey? He’s all over the place,” Robyn commented as she watched Sarah’s boyfriend get bundled off the puck by Wes.
“He got injured in the last match, took a nasty fall,” Bob replied.
“Henrik’s good.”
“He scored three last game.”
“And Cole is…” Robyn started.
“The best player I’ve seen for a long time,” Bob finished for her.
She was finding it hard to concentrate on Cole’s speed and athleticism. She was distracted by the way he wiped at his lip with the sleeve of his shirt when play halted. It was cute the way he did that.
“Yeah, he’s real good. He’s a cut above the rest of them out there,” Robyn said, watching Cole hone in on the goal and shoot the puck past the goaltender.
“What you gonna do?” Bob wanted to know.
“When’s the next game?” Robyn asked.
“Saturday, at home—against Reading,” Bob informed her.
“Shit, aren’t they…”
“Top of the league, yepper,” Bob answered with a nod.
With practice over, all that was left for Robyn to do was talk to her team.
“Listen, you all did well tonight, but we can do better. We need to find that camaraderie, you know, the team spirit. We may not be the best team in the league, but we’re going to be the best unit. We’re going to get to know each other inside and out. And we’re going to practice more than you’ve ever practiced before,” Robyn informed them.
There were audible grumbles.
“So, this is your new morale officer, Bob. He’s going to be in charge of the tab when we go to Taboo on Friday night,” Robyn announced.
This news was met with collective excitement, surprise, and happy faces.
“What is Taboo?” Henrik asked.
“Girls, Henrik, girls and poles,” Mickey informed him.
“We’re all going to bond over beer and burgers and…” Robyn began.
“Boobies!” Henrik announced with a high-pitched laugh.
“We?” Brad asked.
“Yes, Brad, we.”
“You’re coming to a strip club?” he clarified.
“I’m the manager, of course I’m coming. Now go and get changed and get out of here,” Robyn ordered.
Most of the team skated off the ice and headed toward the locker rooms, glad the vigorous session was over.
“They worked hard tonight,” Grant said to Robyn.
“I know, I told them.”
“I’m just saying, don’t be too hard on them.”
“Are you trying to tell me how to manage the team, Grant?” Robyn asked. She set her expression to suggest it would be unwise to challenge her.
“I’m sure he wasn’t trying to do that,” Brad spoke quickly.
“No, of course not, I just…” Grant began.
“Grant, why don’t we go get a drink, huh? Robyn, I’ll meet you at the car,” Bob said, putting his arm around the man and leading him off.
“You were a bit harsh with him. He hasn’t had much luck himself these last few years,” Brad said to Robyn, hopping off the ice and joining her.
“I’m not sure I want to know.”
“After Jason went away, Francine died. Then a couple of years later, he lost his job at the factory, had to start over again, retrain. All he’s got is the hockey team. Don’t take it from him.”
“Some people say you make your own luck,” Robyn answered stiffly.
“He’s a good guy,” Brad reminded her.
“People used to say that about Jason,” Robyn replied.
“Let’s not talk about him,”
“Has he ever been back here…you know…since I left?” Robyn asked, swallowing the knot of emotion that had risen up.
“No,” Brad answered. His words couldn’t have been more definite.
Happy with the response, Robyn let out a breath of relief she hadn’t realized she was holding in.
“You okay?” Brad appeared concerned.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Listen, thank you for arranging the new locks and the alarm for the roadhouse, I’ll pay you back.”
“It was no big deal. Was it all okay?” Brad asked.
“Yes, as long as I remember the code number. If I don’t, it’s going to set off some alarm at the Portage Marshals’ office,” Robyn replied with a grin.
“So, where did you find Cole?” Brad wanted to know.
“He kind of found me, halfway to terminal three in O’ Hare. Isn’t he great? He’s so quick over the ice, and some of those goals he netted were unbelievable,” Robyn said with a touch of pride.
“Yeah, he’s good,” Brad admitted reluctantly.
“We’re so lucky to have a player of his caliber, I mean…” Robyn began.
“So, are you seeing him?” Brad asked briskly.
“Seeing him?” Robyn asked.
“Yeah, you know…dating him or whatever.”
“No! I mean, I’ve only known him a couple of days. Why is everyone around here so concerned about my status?”
“I just wanted to know, that’s all.”
“You know I can’t date anyone from the team. It would be highly unethical—I’m the manager now.”
“Yeah, but we dated before.”
“I wasn’t the manager of the ice hockey team then, and anyway, we were just kids,” Robyn said.
“We weren’t kids.”
“Well okay, young adults, teens, whatever the watchword is these days. It was just high school stuff,” Robyn said, bending her feet outward and balancing on the edge of her sneakers.
“I wanted to ask you the other night, but you were tired, it was late, and you’d just got back and everything…I was just thinking maybe we could…” Brad began tentatively.
“God, is that the time? I’d better catch up with Bob,” Robyn said, looking at her watch and backing away from him.
“I thought maybe we could have some d
inner together some time,” Brad suggested.
“No. I mean, no thanks. I’m not really into dinner these days. I’ll see you,” Robyn called.
She turned her back on him and rushed down the tunnel like she was trying to outrun a grizzly bear.
Chapter Ten
“Can we go? Like now,” Robyn said, tugging at Bob’s arm.
He and Grant were having a beer in the corridor, courtesy of one of the refreshment stands they’d taken the liberty of opening.
“Why the hurry? Grant and I were just reminiscing about the old days when we all used to play. Your dad was the best goaltender in the state,” Bob reminded her.
“Yeah, I know. Heard all the stories at least a zillion times—can we go?” Robyn begged.
“Listen, Robyn, I hope you didn’t think I was out of line earlier…” Grant started.
“No, of course not, and I really need you to carry on being my assistant. There are going to be training sessions I can’t make if the roadhouse does as well as I’m hoping. Bob, I need to go,” Robyn repeated.
“You need to find that Portage pace of life. Quit rushing around like you do in England,” Bob insisted, taking a slow sip of his beer.
“No rush, I just want to get back and tell Auntie Pam all about it,” Robyn said, looking down the corridor, concerned Brad was going to try and catch her up.
“Like she’s ever had an interest in hockey,” Bob replied.
“She has, she offered to make shirts once.”
“Yeah, with rosettes on them,” Bob reminded her.
“Gimme the car keys, then. I’ll drive home and Grant can give you a lift,” Robyn said, anxious to get going.
“What’s got into you?” Bob wanted to know.
“Nothing. Oh, here comes Cole. Cole, can you give me a lift home? Uncle Bob seems to want to stay here drinking all night, reminiscing about the good old days,” Robyn said as Cole came along the corridor.
“No one said anything about staying here all night,” Bob retorted.
“Yeah, but I know how you talk. A good story takes like half a day to tell. Can you give me a ride?” Robyn asked Cole bluntly.