His Game, Her Rules

by Charlene Groome

  “Surprised?”

  “Yes.”

  He laughs as he leans back on the bench. “Aren’t I the marrying type?”

  Eileen thought he was and would have considered him too if she didn’t catch him cheating on her.

  “I guess,” she says doubtfully, clasping her hands together, although she feels relieved because she has Ty. She didn’t want it to get complicated, but at the same time she feels a pang of loss. “That’s fantastic. I’m happy for you. Congratulations!” She gives him a smile. “How long have you known . . .” Eileen stalls, trying to remember her name.

  “Brandy?”

  “Six months.”

  “You knew that soon?”

  “I did.” He squeezes his lips together as though refraining from his feelings, and then he says, “When the right person comes along, you can’t let them go.”

  “Huh,” she says. She and Mario were together for a year and he never proposed.

  “How are things going for you and Ty? You don’t have to tell me, but since I’m here with you—”

  Eileen shoots him a surprised look. “How do you know?”

  “Word travels.”

  “No, really, how did you know that?”

  “It’s not a secret.” He shakes his head. “I still talk to Mark Buckley. We met in Pittsburgh. What’s the big deal?”

  “I don’t want people getting the wrong impression of me. I dated you and now Ty. I didn’t expect for it to happen. I took the job with the Warriors because of the job, not because I needed a date.”

  “People who know you know the truth. I wouldn’t worry about what other people think. How is it going?”

  She knows he’s referring to her relationship with Ty. She smiles. “It’s going well. We really have something, you know?”

  “I’m happy for you, Elle.”

  “Thanks.”

  “You forgive me?” he asks.

  “Sure—I mean, yes, I do,” she says, realizing now that Mario Visconti is the last guy she would dream of being with. As she looks into his eyes, she doesn’t feel the tug at her heart that Ty makes her feel. She looks at her watch and suddenly feels a rush to leave. With a friendly hug, she says good-bye to Mario and wishes him all the best. What surprises her most is how easily she says it and how happy she is for him. If she stayed with him, he may never have become the new person he’s striving to be and that in itself makes Eileen content and at peace with what is now their happy ending.

  Chapter 19

  “Good goal, Slick!” a voice praises as the team enters the change room after a four-two win.

  “Thanks, man.” Ty automatically tears off his jersey, feeling great after playing hockey with his new graphite stick and looking forward to using it in a real game. He didn’t get too excited playing in the pre-season; they were like practice games.

  “Did you know you were putting it top shelf?”

  “Na,” Ty says with a gentle grin. The locker room gets louder with excitement. “I was going for the five-hole, but changed my mind last second when the goalie closed in. Thought I’d surprise him.”

  The player laughs. “Nothing like faking out the goalie, eh?”

  The head coach steps into the middle of the room, one hand in the pocket of his dress pants. “We’re off to a good start, boys,” Steve says in a big voice. The players pay attention as they change out of their gear. “We have a practice at home, a day off, and then a game against the Oilers. Let’s keep this going. We came out strong,” Steve says with an air punch. “We are strong and we’ll prove we’re strong. Thanks to Eileen—she’s put us in good shape.”

  Bret snickers as he dries off his skates with a towel. “You have a good team, Coach. Don’t think Eileen’s the reason,” he says, concentrating on getting the water off the blade.

  “It’s hard to admit,” Steve says. “But the only way to win games is practice.”

  “How ’bout that, Slick?” a player shouts. “Your lady friend gets the credit!”

  Ty rips the Velcro from his shoulder pads. “She knows her stuff—what can I say?”

  “And you were against having her work for the team.”

  “Most of us were.... She proved me wrong,” Ty says with a shrug as he takes off his elbow pads.

  “I want to see the same hunger and confidence for our next game . . .” Steve says, heading for the door.

  “It’s too bad she got fired—”

  “She didn’t get fired,” Ty says, peeling off his sock tape from his pads. “Ritchie came back, right?”

  The player chuckles. “So they say.”

  Ty rolls the tape in the palm of his hands forming a ball. “He should be back. It’s expected. Otherwise, Elle—” Ty clears his throat. “Eileen should still have a job.” He throws the plastic ball in the garbage can, getting it in.

  “One would think,” the player beside Ty says as he unlaces his skates. “I haven’t seen him. But then it wouldn’t be the only lie I’ve heard.”

  Ty cocks his head, staring at the young defenseman.

  “I heard Eileen got hired because Ted wanted to please Gary and it was an easy solution. The truth is, Joe wanted the skating coach position.”

  Ty’s eyebrows come together. “What are you talking about? Wouldn’t Joe want to be head coach?”

  Thankfully the room was loud and distracting. The less he talked about Eileen, the better. He didn’t want the criticism and banter that would go along with it.

  “He used to be the skating coach for the Islanders. Didn’t you know?”

  Ty clenches his jaw. He thinks for a moment. Could Joe have had something to do with the threats?

  “Maybe Joe wants the credit for our wins. He’s getting overshadowed by Steve.” The player chuckles to himself and takes off his chin guard, leaving it on the ground. “This team is full of surprises, isn’t it? Next we’ll be assigned a gym instructor.”

  “As long as I can improve my game,” Ty says, grabbing for a towel and wrapping it around his waist as he heads for the shower.

  Eileen drives home from meeting Mario when her cell phone rings.

  “Hi, Eileen. It’s Bill Braxton. I wanted to give you a call to let you know what information I’ve found out. You’re right. Ritchie is not back to work yet—”

  “I knew it!” she screeches, stopping at a red light. “What did they say? What were their reasons?” She leans forward to break away from the seat; she is hot from being outside and sitting by the water. “Did they admit it?”

  Bill takes a breath before answering. “I was told that there were a couple of players who complained.”

  “Complained? Really? About what?”

  “Apparently they didn’t like the idea of a woman teaching them, but that’s no surprise to you, is it?”

  “Well, besides the whole ‘female working in a men’s profession’ thing, I did a great job.”

  “I’m sure you did.”

  “I was only incorporating their talent into practice. I was encouraging them and helping them. Sure, I was tough on them, but that’s the job. I needed to prove myself—you know, being a woman.”

  “I know, I know. It can be hurtful,” Bill sympathizes. “It’s a tough business and if they change their mind on who they want running the show, then they do it, no questions asked.”

  “You would think in this day and age that it wouldn’t be a big deal.” She steps on the gas and drives through the intersection.

  “You have to remember that if there are players making a stink about who’s coaching them, higher management will talk about it, especially if they’re respected players. They’ll do something about it.”

  Like making threats.

  “They don’t want it to affect their game, especially going into a new season. They want the team to be as seamless as possible.”

  “Whose decision was it to fire me?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Ted wanted to get rid of me, I’m sure.”

  “I do
n’t think so. He only spoke highly of you.”

  “Steve was on my side,” Eileen says, her heart pounding. “I don’t know about Joe. Did you speak to him?”

  “I did.”

  “And?”

  “He didn’t say much. Clammed up when I asked him questions about you.”

  “What did you ask him?” Eileen needs to know. Did Joe have something to do with the notes, the threatening phone calls and vandalism to her car?

  “If your coaching style influenced the team.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He said no.”

  “Go on,” Eileen says, sensing this could be the reason why she was let go.

  “He didn’t like you coaching. In fact, he said he didn’t want you on the team.”

  She gasps. “I knew it!” Did Joe leave the notes? Think again about your career. You’ll regret it later. By not quitting the Warriors, she got fired instead.

  “Was there anyone else?”

  “Uh . . . hmm . . .”

  “Please tell me. I need to know!” Eileen says. It’s not going to make a difference, but it would settle her mind to know that it really wasn’t about her ability to do the job.

  “Okay, I will tell you, but you didn’t hear it from me, got it?”

  Eileen grips the steering wheel so tightly her palms are sweating as she turns onto a street.

  “First of all,” Bill says. “I did hear from players that they didn’t like the idea of you and Ty together. They said it was unprofessional.”

  She thinks of Ty and misses him while he’s away playing a pre-season game in Anaheim. “We weren’t together when I was employed!”

  “You know the truth,” Bill says. “I spoke to Joe and he backed the players up. He believes if you’re coaching, what’s next? Are women going to play in the NHL? Quote, unquote.”

  “That’s crazy talk.”

  “I know, but that’s what he said.”

  “Who were the players that complained?” Eileen asks. Whoever the players were, she would somehow confront them without getting Bill in trouble. She had to. What man would be so insecure about having a woman teach him that he would complain to have her terminated? They all know it was for a short time.

  “It was Bret Thompson—”

  “Okay, no surprise there, he tried crippling me on the ice. That guy has a lot of anger. Who else?”

  Eileen’s throat is dry.

  “Fitz and Price.”

  “Okay.” Eileen accepts she can’t be liked by all.

  “And I was told Ty had something to do with it, too.”

  Did she hear him right? “Can you say that again?”

  “Ty Caldwell.”

  She smacks her lips together and rubs her eyebrow trying to absorb the hard news.

  Why would he do this to me?

  A stream of coolness comes over her and she is lost for words. Of all the guys, why Ty? Why? Why did he not want her there? She didn’t understand. He knows how much the coaching job means to her. Why did he want to hurt her this way?

  I thought he said he was in love with me?

  Why would he do this? She has a lot to talk to him about when he gets home. She’s just unsure how to tell the guy she loves she doesn’t want to see him again.

  Chapter 20

  She’s preparing for her usual Saturday routine of teaching at her local ice arena for her mid-morning classes with six- and seven-year-olds. It was a good way to clear her mind from her personal life and concentrate on the children who were there to practice their skating.

  Eileen grabs her phone when it rings in hope that it’s Ty. She hasn’t spoken to him since his road trip. She looks at the call display and decides to not answer it even though she’s missed him terribly the past two days. She needs to focus on work and get back into a regular schedule. She drives to the rink, listening to her voice message.

  “Hi, Elle. It’s Ty. . . . Can you call me? I’m at home for a bit. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll try calling later.”

  Didn’t he get what he wanted from her?

  She has been thinking about how to confront Ty and ask him if it was true, that he helped get her fired.

  People don’t hurt the ones they love.

  Eileen skates around the rink with the puck a couple of times and then proceeds to skate all five face-off circles, forward skating and then backward skating, a drill she was taught to practice when she played in her younger years and she continues to practice. She does this continuously until her students start to make it onto the ice. Once her class is all accounted for, she instructs the students to skate laps to warm up. Eileen stands at center ice watching each student make the effort to keep up with the group.

  “Can I have everyone along the goal line, please?” she yells and watches everyone skate in and stand on the red line facing her.

  “Hi, class,” she says, trying to sound cheery. As she looks at the smiling faces staring back at her, she finds joy in their inquisitiveness.

  “Hi, Miss Eileen,” the children say in unison.

  She smiles at their effort, reminding herself that the kids are all there to learn and want to hear what she’s saying. She can see their alert faces, taking in everything she is telling them.

  “Today we are going to work on skating,” she says, making her voice loud and clear. “First things first, you’re going to skate with long strides to the other end and back.” She emphasizes the word long. “Think about extending your legs with every stride.” She demonstrates a lunge position. “This is not a race, so don’t worry if other players pass you. Concentrate on what you are doing. Does everyone understand? Ready?” she asks, hearing the bench door open up behind her and then slam shut. “Go!” she shouts and blows her whistle as she looks at her surprise visitor skating toward her.

  At first, she doesn’t say anything; she just stares at him, thinking about what he did to her and how much it hurts, yet she can’t seem to get past his blue eyes and dimple. Ty skates closer to her slowly, as though anticipating the moment. He is wearing black pants similar to hers, his hat is on backwards, and his blond curls are sprouting from the sides.

  “What are you doing here?” she asks, keeping one eye on her class, trying to keep mellow.

  “Hello to you, too. I thought I could teach the kids a few things,” he answers. “Now that we’re a couple, it doesn’t matter if I show up to one of your classes.”

  Eileen keeps her eyes on the kids.

  “Hope you don’t mind,” he says. “I tried calling you, but you didn’t answer your phone.”

  She glances at him.

  “What’s wrong?” he asks. “You look upset.”

  “I am,” Eileen says and then turns her attention to her class, who are all skating back to the starting line.

  “Very good,” she tells her students, who are all eyes on Ty. “Now this time, I want you to skate, making a sharp C-cut with your skate, like this,” she says, demonstrating by digging her skate into the ice, making the sharp curve with clean indents. Her students are staring at Ty. “Okay! Stand on the line and let’s see you try it with your right leg. C-cut,” she says, getting their attention as she digs her skate into the ice again so they get the right idea. “Very good, now try it with your left leg. You’re going to find that one leg might be stronger than the other. . . . Very good,” she says again, watching the smiles on the kids’ faces as they try to find their balance. “All right, that looks good. I want you to skate to the other end and back concentrating on the C-cut using only your right leg.

  “You’ll feel awkward at first until you get the technique in place. This isn’t a competition to see who can skate the fastest; it’s all about making a sharp C, okay? So, think about it when you’re skating.... Go!” She blows the whistle.

  “I like when you talk all superior. It’s kind of a turn-on,” Ty teases.

  “Shhh.” Eileen shakes her head. “Please, not here.”

  Ty laughs at her seriousness.

&n
bsp; Eileen watches her class, ignoring Ty. She skates a couple of feet, paying attention to the kids trying their hardest to make it to the other end. “Good job, Tommy! That’s it! You’re doing great. Good job, Michael! You got it! Keep going.”

  “You’re not yourself. What’s wrong?”

  How can Ty think she is not bothered that he got her fired from a job she only dreamed of? “I found out something and I just hope it’s not true.”

  “What is it?”

  Her class skates toward her, and she ignores Ty and turns her attention to her class. “How did that feel?” she asks the group of kids with a forced smile. “I noticed some of you were not extending your leg far enough. When you are skating, you want a long stride; this will give you momentum to skate using your legs as your powerhouse. Okay, now I want you to try it again, only you will be using your left leg. Okay? Let’s go!” She blows the whistle.

  “You didn’t answer me,” he pushes. “I know something is bothering you and I wish you would tell me.” They both look at each other at the same time. He is leaning on his hockey stick, the blade between his skates. He hesitates before asking, “Are you pregnant?” His eyes grow wide, anticipating the answer.

  “No!” Her lips curve into a smile.

  “You’re not? Whew! That’s a relief, not that I wouldn’t support you if you were. I just mean that I’d rather be married before having kids.”

  She nods her head. “I made a mistake,” she whispers, watching her kids skate.

  “If you’re worried about us sleeping together, we’re not seventeen and it wasn’t a terrible mistake,” he informs her, lowering his hockey stick to his side. “I don’t know why you would think it was a mistake, but we’re adults and we made a conscious decision. You wanted it, I wanted it, and there is no mistake.”

  Her face deepens with color. “You don’t get it, do you?” she asks, unable to look him in the eye. Her stomach tightens, still in disbelief.

  “Elle, you can’t be embarrassed about it.”

  “It shouldn’t have happened,” she whispers, looking at the kids rather than at him.

  “What’s wrong? I know you don’t sleep around with just any guy. I get that, and to be honest, I like that about you.”