by G. K. Brady
His mind, as always, circled back to Ellie. He’d sent her texts she hadn’t bothered to answer. He’d even tried pumping Lily for information, but Lily hadn’t spoken to her since Christmas. They were planning some Paige Miller girls’ spa day get-together, and Lily asked if there was a message he wanted to pass along. Since the only message he could think of would make him sound like a total pansy-ass, he declined.
No matter how many times he told himself it was for the best, that not having ties would make a move easier, he couldn’t swallow it all the way. It felt like cramming a fully spiked sea urchin down his throat because he couldn’t move past the simple fact he missed her. Like he missed taking his next pull of air.
And Jesus Christ, it hurt.
He was reclining in front of the TV when his phone buzzed, and he blew out a breath and picked up. “Happy New Year, Herb.”
“Same to you, buttercup.”
“Don’t tell me. Let me guess. Every team that expressed interest has said, ‘Don’t call us, we’ll call you,’ and you’re pretty damn sure that’s the last you’ll hear from any of them.”
Herb chuckled. “Ah, ye of so little faith. While some teams appear to have taken their ball and gone home, Arizona isn’t one of them.”
Dave sat forward with a thump of the recliner. “Are you shitting me?”
“Would I do that?”
“No, not when it comes to something as important as this. But seriously? I can’t believe they’re still interested.”
“Now that doesn’t mean they’re willing to offer the same compensation package, so if you’ve still got your heart set on playing there, you might have to lower your expectations where salary’s concerned.”
“I’ll keep an open mind.”
“Good. Now do what the doctors and trainers tell you, and I’ll be back in touch once I have an update.”
When they hung up, Dave sat back with a “huh.” Arizona still wanted him, even though he was damaged goods? Surprise—and something strangely akin to dismay—twisted inside him, at odds, dark and light, like a vanilla-and-chocolate swirl cone.
Mid-January, and the all-star break loomed. Dave wasn’t going this year, which was disappointing because he could have used the distraction. Today he found himself doing skating drills alongside his teammates, a number of whom were going. No hand stuff for him yet—just legs—unlike Nelson, who was back on the ice, going nearly full-tilt, a full face shield the only sign his jaw had been broken a few weeks ago. At least the dude wasn’t all wired up anymore.
A small audience watched from the stands, including the team owner’s asshole son, Travis, surrounded by a gaggle of hotties. In typical Travis fashion, he was shamelessly leveraging his association with the players to puff up his importance. What the guy lacked in looks and charm, his daddy’s bank account more than made up for, which explained why his ugly ass was surrounded by these attractive girls.
Dave shook his head as he skated by, which proved a mistake because Travis yelled, “Come on over and meet some of my new friends.” Yeah, the guy was planning to apply some holier-than-thou vise grips for Dave’s sin. With an inner eye-roll, Dave headed toward the group—he knew better than to say no to the owner’s son.
Travis introduced Dave to his companions with flourish. It was a scene straight out of a gladiator movie: the emperor showing off to his fawning harem, displaying the meat whose sole purpose in life was to entertain said emperor. And to look good in these girls’ eyes, Travis was primed to one-up the gladiator with his supremeness. Tear down the other guy to build himself up.
Practice was winding down, and some of the guys joined Dave—either to check out Travis’s “new friends” or because they wanted to satisfy their curiosity about the ongoing conversation.
“Girls, this is Dave ‘the Grim Reaper’ Grimson, our team captain,” Travis pontificated. “We go way back. Dave recently flattened a guy but hurt his hand in the process, which is why you don’t see him practicing with the puck today.”
“I know Dave,” one of the girls said in a honeyed voice, surprising the hell out of Dave. He glanced up and recognized Mandy from Sonoma’s shop, and she flashed him a toothy smile and waved a little finger.
His shock at seeing her had him nearly busting out with a laugh. Travis’s mouth swung open, and his beady eyes darted from Mandy to Dave and back again. “How do you two know each other?”
“Oh, we go way back,” Dave couldn’t stop himself saying. He winked at Mandy.
“It’s true,” she giggled right on cue.
Travis stammered but quickly regained his composure. “Anyway, as I was saying about Dave’s unfortunate injury, age isn’t your friend in this sport. At thirty-two, his best playing days are behind him, but he’s good for our club, so we like having him around.” A self-satisfied chuckle followed.
Da fuck? Fat little asswipe!
Travis droned on. “I’ve told him hand-to-eye is the first thing to go.” He yuk-yukked at his own joke.
“So, Travis,” came a voice behind Dave. “I’ve always wondered. Where did you used to play?”
Dave turned slowly, and warmth surged inside him when his eyes landed on Nelson.
Travis went bug-eyed. “Excuse me?”
“Hockey. Where did you play?” Nelson persisted in that California-laid-back way he had of putting people on the spot without them knowing it was intentional. In that moment, Dave could have hugged the snot out of him.
“You’re obviously a man who’s done more than just grow up around the game,” Nelson drawled. “You walk the walk, so I assume you played at some elite level once. Minors? College?”
By now, a bigger clog of teammates had joined the fun.
“Uh, a little here and there.”
“Yeah? What league?” Nelson pressed, wonder in his eyes and a guileless smile plastered on his face. Dave had known Nelson long enough to know the smile was anything but guileless. Travis was on the hot seat, but Nelson was doing it so nicely that all Travis could do was squirm.
“Not a league you’d recognize. You know, overseas.”
Now Nelson rested his gloved hand on his stick blade and raised his eyebrows. “Really! Wow! Like Slovakia? Finland? Kenya?”
A few suppressed snorts rippled through their teammates.
Travis flipped his hand. “Yeah, in there.”
Nelson nodded approvingly. “What position?”
Dave could have sworn sweat beaded along Travis’s receding hairline. His bug eyes got a little buggier. “I moved around.”
Now Nelson feigned confusion; dude should have been an actor. “Forward or defense? You weren’t in the net, were you?”
Travis suddenly whipped out his phone. “Oh hey, totally forgot this meeting. Been great talking to you guys, as always. Ladies?” He scurried away so fast the women had to run up the stairs to catch him.
Dave and the guys kept their laughter in check until the entourage was out of earshot. “That was fun,” one of them said.
Nelson shook his head. “If you’re gonna shoot your mouth off—”
“Better know what the hell you’re talking about,” Dave finished for him.
“Ain’t that the truth!” Nelson grinned and held up his fist for a bump, setting off a chain reaction of emotions Dave held in. Surprise. Excitement. Gratitude. A shit ton of relief. It was the first genuine smile he’d gotten from his alternate captain in over a year, and Jesus Christ, was it a gift!
Dave bumped his fist with his good hand. “Hey, thanks, man. Appreciate it.”
Nelson gripped his stick and tapped Dave’s shin. “Yeah, no problem.” Then he skated toward the chute.
One simple act, and bands that had been cinched around Dave’s chest gave way.
Another surprise awaited him when he piled into his car and noticed a text from his attorney. He called the guy right away. “Hey, Tom. You said it was important?”
“Yeah, Grims. I got this weird call from your ex.”
“Nicole
?” Emergency warning lights started flashing in Dave’s head. This couldn’t be good.
“Yes. That’s the one. She said something about giving you full custody of a dog you guys used to share?”
Dave’s heart jumped into his throat. “Benny?”
“She said for me to arrange a time and place for you to meet a friend of hers who will hand over the dog and whatnot. I asked, but she swore there are no strings. Then I asked why, and she said something about her kid spending more time with his dad, who’s allergic. She thought the dog would be better off with you.”
Dave threw himself back in his seat. Tears blurred his vision as he stared out the car window.
Chapter 38
No Pining Allowed
Another gray mid-January day. Ellie parked the van in the alley and checked her mirrors. No muscle cars, no shiny red Mercedes SUVs, no bright white trucks. Not that she suspected Dave was the stalking type, but if he just happened to be visiting his cousin and he just happened to park in back and he just happened to get in his vehicle … Ellie wanted to be prepared. She quickly hopped out of the van and scrambled through the back door into her office.
“C’mon, Casper,” she urged the dog, whose head was forever on a swivel these days, on the alert for her favorite Wookiee since that awful night weeks ago. “He’s not here.” Ellie’s heart squeezed. Her anger had dissipated long ago, but the disappointment and hurt left a bone-deep ache inside her. In time, that would go away too, she reminded herself—again.
“Hey, El,” Finn greeted her as she dumped her load on her desk.
“Hey.”
“We’re all done with the Christmas light takedown, and next up …” He went on, and Ellie’s attention floated in and out, snatching a key word or phrase here and there. She’d been in a sort of fog the last few weeks and wrote it off to a Dave hangover. God, getting your heart snapped in half sucked. It wasn’t just mental—it was physical. And she couldn’t even get a Dave fix because he wasn’t playing. She’d caught one glimpse of him on camera before a game, all dolled up and waving at the crowd from the team suite, where he and other injured players were relegated during home games. And oh, he’d looked good. She didn’t dare ask Finn or Sonoma how he was or what he was doing because she didn’t want anyone knowing how affected she was by the split—as if they didn’t already know, judging by the big sympathy eyes they continually gave her.
No word about a possible trade, and she couldn’t probe about that either because Dave had told her it was top secret until it was a done deal.
“El? Did you hear a fucking word I said?” Finn’s voice jolted her back to the present.
“Um, yeah. Mostly.”
He put down his clipboard and pen, then leaned forward on his desk. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about for a while.”
Her eyebrows crawled up her forehead. Was he going to lecture her about how non-present she’d been of late?
He pulled in a big breath. “I’ve been thinking about going out on my own—”
“Finn, you can’t do that!” she howled, panic shooting through her like a wave of electricity.
He chuckled. “Hold up and hear what I have to say first, okay? Nice to be needed, by the way.”
She did need him, didn’t she? When had that role reversal happened? She chugged water and took a calming breath. “Okay. Better now.”
“Like I said, I was thinking about running my own show, which got me thinking how much I’ve always admired the way you run your business and how you’ve taken it from life support to a brand the community associates with quality again. I’ve also been thinking about how hard you work and how unhealthy that is, El.” Light blue eyes pierced hers. “What if I were to buy in for a fifty-fifty share and we split the load?”
She blinked. “You want to buy in? And you’ve got money to do it?”
He wagged his head side to side. “I’ve put a little aside. Why do you think I’ve been living in that shithole all this time? I wouldn’t be able to pay for it all up front, though, and I was hoping we could work out an arrangement, like maybe you carry a note for the rest or something like that. We’d need an attorney to hammer out the details, but what are your initial thoughts?”
“I don’t know. I’m a little stunned, to tell you the truth.”
“That’s not a no.”
“It’s not a no. It’s a ‘Wow! Never considered that.’ Although I gotta say, on the surface, it holds some appeal.”
He smacked his palms against his thighs. “Good! That’s a start.”
Movement outside the front window caught Ellie’s eye, and her tummy went into hummingbird flight mode. Just as quickly, it stopped fluttering when she recognized the motion was caused by Agent—er, Rick—Clemente and Felipe. Together. Weird, but neither of them was Dave, so her stomach calmed down to a manageable clench.
Felipe opened the door, and Rick breezed through with his usual coffee offering and a wide grin. “Morning, Ellie.”
“Hi, Rick. Just happened to be in the neighborhood again?” He stopped by once a week, sometimes more, always with a smile and a coffee, and she couldn’t decide whether it annoyed or unnerved her. Nor had she figured out what, if anything, he was up to.
Today Felipe was grinning too as he parked his butt on the corner of the desk beside Ellie’s. She looked from one man to the other, then back to Finn, who shrugged.
“What’s going on with you two anyway?” she said. May as well put it out there.
Rick handed her the tall vanilla latte from a local coffee shop he’d found a block away, claiming he preferred supporting local business over mega Starbucks. “Well,” he began, “I’ll tell you. Because I can now.”
She straightened and wrapped her hands around the cup. “Tell me what?”
“For the past few months, Felipe has been helping me out with an especially thorny problem.”
Ellie and Finn both raised their eyebrows at the same time. Felipe nodded in silence.
“What kind of problem?” Ellie asked.
“Thorny,” Rick repeated with a chuckle. “I’m not at liberty to disclose, but let me ask you this. Did you read about the human-trafficking ring that just got busted?”
Finn crossed his arms over his chest. “About a week ago, right? They were bringing people in from Central America and Mexico?”
“That’s the one. Well, my team was part of that bust, and Felipe here”—Rick nodded his way—“was very helpful.”
“What?” Ellie gawked at mild-mannered, so-seemingly-average Felipe. “But how? Why? I thought you were dogging us because you wanted to arrest him or me.”
Rick laughed. “Like I said, I can’t go into specifics. Let’s just say he and I came to an agreement that worked out very well for us both … and more importantly, for the people that were rescued.”
Ellie sat back hard. “Oh. My. God!”
Finn stood and clapped Felipe on the shoulder. “Super-secret spy, huh?” Felipe grinned wider in response.
Ellie pointed at her coffee and said to Rick, “The coffees were a cover so you could come in here and talk to Felipe.”
Rick leaned in and dropped his voice. “And they gave me an excuse to see you. Now that this is over, I was wondering if I could take you out to dinner?”
Finn frowned, but one side of his mouth quirked. “I heard that, Agent. Hitting on my sister when you think no one can hear?”
Rick straightened and put his hands up in surrender. “My bad. Should I ask for your permission first?”
“Damn straight.”
“Please, sir, may I take your lovely sister out?”
“That’s entirely up to her.” Finn shot Ellie a pointed look while Rick gave her a questioning one. Felipe’s eyebrows bounced mischievously.
A blush rose and heated Ellie’s cheeks. Nothing like being on display. “I’m, uh, sort of coming off a breakup, and—”
Rick barreled ahead. “Then it’ll be good for you to get out and have so
me fun. I promise I don’t bite. My job doesn’t allow it.” He beamed a boyish grin. “You can’t shoot me down in front of an audience now.”
She had to hand it to him: he was persistent and charming. But going out with him? The invite soothed her abused ego, but no one appealed right now. “Can I think about it?”
“Absolutely. I’ll be back in a few days with another coffee.”
Shit! Nothing like a little pressure.
Days later, Ellie had put aside the uncomfortable question of how to turn Rick down nicely as she got a mani-pedi alongside Natalie. Paige had booked the entire spa at Four Seasons for herself and her crew, which consisted of her contractor’s wife and daughter, her assistant, Katie, Natalie, Lily, Sarah, and Ellie. They’d been pampered and soaked, buffed and massaged, fed and champagned. Ellie was reduced to a polished, boneless, fleshy mass that smelled really good.
Natalie and Sarah were going for the royal treatment because they would soon be on their way to the all-star weekend with their men. Ellie learned that Dave, a perennial fan favorite, had to sit this one out because of his broken hand, and her mind once again detoured to how he was doing.
“Paige thought of everything, didn’t she?” Natalie inspected her blue-gray fingernails on one hand while the manicurist applied polish to her other hand. “Even a limo to bring us here and take us home.”
“Mm-hmm,” Ellie sighed. “I think I could get used to this. Although the nails don’t hold up so well when I’m playing in the dirt.” She gave her own silky-pearl polished nails another appreciative once-over.