CHAPTER EIGHTEEN #2
“I’ve been chatting with the lovely Casey here.
Brainstorming, really, and she suggested that you might be able to contribute to an upcoming fundraiser I’m putting together.
My organization is planning to raise funds for Lakeside Children's, the pediatric wing at Bayshore General.
We've been raising money for a new family resource center—a proper space where parents can stay close when their kids are inpatients, not just a row of plastic chairs in a hallway.
We're about forty thousand short of our goal.
" Renee fixes me with the kind of look that has probably gotten her everything she's ever asked for.
“And you know, I've been doing this for thirty years. If you want people to give generously, you’ve got to give them something worth showing up for. "
I crack a grin, looking between Renee and Casey. “And how do I fit into this?”
“She wants your sexy body,” Casey blurts.
Renee waves her hands in the air like shooing the words away. “I never said that. However, Griffin Keegan, I would love to have your name on something. You’re the hometown hero, and people follow you wherever you go. I was hoping we could collaborate a little bit.”
Casey reaches for something beneath the bar and a moment later my favorite beer appears, uncapped. I grin at her before looking back at Renee. “Okay. I like doing events to raise money for kids. What are you thinking?”
“An auction,” Casey says, her eyes lighting up.
“Like win a date with the hockey pro?” I grimace, shaking my head. “I don’t know about that.”
“Maybe you could donate your time for some lessons or coaching,” Renee suggests. “The winner will get, I don’t know, a one-on-one consult with you.”
I tip my head back and forth. “A little niche. But doable.”
“Oooh, what about a hockey game?” Casey says, eyes going big. “You and, I don’t know, a bunch of your friends play a game. I bet a bunch of people would show up for that.” Then she pauses, thinking. “And shirtless.”
I snort. “I wouldn’t say no.”
Renee gasps, holding up a finger. “What about a friendly hockey game where it’s the pros versus some other group? Kids? Or, wait, no…” She snaps her fingers, eyes lighting up. “First responders!”
Casey gasps. “Hockey players and firefighters facing off! Who wouldn’t show up to that?”
Renee claps. “This is the stuff record-breaking fundraisers are made of! Friendly, wholesome, and quite the draw.”
“It sounds like a great idea,” I tell Renee. “I’ve got some buddies I can call. A few guys from my team live not too far from here. I know they’d be willing to help.”
Renee’s entire face transforms. “Now that,” she points at me, “is how you raise forty thousand dollars in an hour.”
Casey is beaming from behind the bar, looking so pleased with herself that I could haul her across the bar and kiss her. I restrain myself.
"When are you thinking?" I ask.
"Two weekends out."
I do the mental math. That puts the fundraiser the weekend before Claire’s wedding. Fundraiser, wedding, Casey moves to Chicago. I can’t unsee this calendar in my head. The end of summer is coming for us fast, and these next few weeks are going to be breakneck and full of good times.
Until the mother of all bad times hits us like a freight train.
“Isn’t that a little fast?” I ask.
“Two weeks is nothing,” Renee says with a wave of her hand. “I once put together a black tie gala in nine days. Besides, I’ve had the date reserved with the city for months; I just need to finalize the headliner. This will come together perfectly.”
“I need to run this by my team and my agent,” I tell her. “But if I get the green light, you can count me in. I’ll confirm my buddies by the end of the week.”
Renee lets out a small whoop of excitement.
She stands and squeezes my arm, jostling me a little.
“I’m so excited. Thank you, Casey. Thank you, Griffin, for even being open to this.
I’ll have my assistant reach out soon with the details, and in the meantime, I’ll pray for good news.
” She gathers her things, giving Casey a warm smile. “You’ve got a good one here.”
“Oh, we’re just—” Casey starts.
But Renee’s knowing smile shuts her up, and soon she’s across the bar and out the door.
“Wait, did I agree to the shirtless thing?” I ask before taking a pull of my beer.
“You didn’t disagree with it, is all I know,” Casey says with a laugh. She wipes down the bar then flits over to a new customer a few spots down. I can’t help but watch her as she works and moves.
I take the downtime and call Neil. I waste no time cutting to the chase.
“Would I get sued or fired if I agree to a friendly game against some local firefighters in order to raise money for a pediatric unit?”
Neil lobs a heavy sigh. Papers rustle in the background.
“Hang on. I need to pull out your contract.” I nurse my beer extra slowly while he searches—I’m on a low-to-no-alcohol diet these days.
Finally, he says, “Okay. It looks like based on the pre-season clause we added, you have approximately three more weeks of hockey-related off-season endeavors provided you aren’t doing anything strenuous or hazardous to your peak season condition. ”
“So in other words…”
“Yes, you can battle the firefighters in order to save the children, or whatever it was you said.”
I’m grinning as we end the call. Casey and Renee are going to be pleased. The bar begins to empty out. Soon it’s closing time, and just Casey and her manager Ryan remain behind the bar.
“I sure see this guy around here a lot,” Ryan cracks in a loud enough voice for me to hear from about mid-way down the bar.
Casey giggles and shrugs as she taps on the register screen. “He’s my other half, I guess.”
“She’s my better half,” I say before I can think better of it. Casey nearly snaps her neck to look over at me, amusement and shock warring on her face.
“That’s what I say to my wife,” Ryan says with a grin. His words sink into me, and I catch the faintest blush on Casey’s cheeks. She busies herself with her clean-up tasks.
“Your last day is coming up pretty quick,” Ryan says after a bit, joining Casey at her side. “There’s no chance we can convince you to stay, is there?”
Casey laughs, clearly flustered. “Well, I…I have everything set up in Chicago—”
“I knew it was a long shot.” Ryan sighs, resuming his wipe-down of the ice coolers. “If anything changes, keep us in mind, okay? You’ve been an incredible addition to the team.”
She smiles, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. “Thanks, Ryan. I love working here. I wish things were different, but…”
She doesn’t need to finish that sentence.
We both know this is better—the choices we made, the paths we carved out. It’s safer this way.
I need to stick to the plan, even if every day closer to mid-August makes me question everything I thought I knew.