CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
It was the first week of the New Year, the Harriers were still holding their position in the division, and Thad whistled as he strolled the halls of the Hawk’s Nest on his way to the locker room before the Harriers’ afternoon game against the Dallas Steers.
“Hey, Thad!” Tyson called out.
Thad glanced over his shoulder to see his boss jogging toward him and slowed his steps until he drew even with him. “Hey. What’s up?”
“Just wanted to give you a heads-up we’ve got a couple of VIP guests tonight. It’s a last-minute addition to tonight’s schedule.”
“Yeah?” Thad asked with a frown. “Who?”
“Noah Boucher and Simon Lawrence.”
“Huh,” Thad said, wondering what the retired NHL goalie and his photographer husband were doing in Boston. “Okay? Are they doing anything special here?”
“Noah will be stopping by the locker room to read the starting lineup, then they’ll both come by after the game to chat with the guys. They’re in town for something else, I think, and are just dropping by. Gavin was the one who suggested Noah read the starting lineup and he agreed.”
“Oh fun,” Thad said. “Yeah, that’ll be great media content. I assume during the lineup read you want a visual focus on La Bouche and Jesse? The former Toronto players and goaltending connection angles?”
“Yes. But feel free to get creative. I trust your judgment.” Tyson patted his shoulder.
Thad felt a little glow of pleasure at the praise. “That means a lot to me,” he said. “I know you were a little … reluctant when Gavin hired me.”
Tyson gave him a wry smile. “I suppose I was. To be honest, I was afraid it was some nepotism hire.”
“Well, it kinda was,” Thad admitted.
This was the kinda shit he talked about all the time with Harlan. How if he’d been anyone but a well-educated upper middle class white kid going into prison, he’d have had a hell of a lot harder time turning his life around after.
Having connections like he’d had with his brother? That had been worth its weight in gold.
Tyson shrugged. “On paper, sure. You wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity otherwise. But you have the skills and you’ve more than proven yourself. We’re glad to have you with the organization. You’ve become a real asset. That isn’t going unnoticed around here.”
“Yeah?” Thad said, pleased.
“Yes. In fact, from what I understand, Finn is talking about allocating a little bit more of the budget to our department next season. For a small promotion and a raise for you. Your work has far exceeded expectations and the scope of what you were hired for. You should be compensated for it.”
Thad’s jaw dropped. “Seriously?” He’d gotten a small bump at the beginning of this season already but another raise? That felt too good to be true.
“Seriously. You deserve it. Nothing is set in stone, so I wouldn’t go out and buy a fancy new car or anything until the paperwork is official, but Finn’s a man of his word and I have every reason to believe it’ll happen.
You’d better head to the locker room to get set up.
I believe Noah and Simon are on a short tour of the arena with your brother now. ”
“On it!” Thad said, already picking up the pace. “Thanks, Tyson!”
Thad made it to the locker room in time to see the guys dressing for the game. Gavin strolled in a few minutes later, though he was alone, no future Hall of Fame goaltender in sight.
“Hey guys! Tonight, we have a surprise special guest who is going to read the starting lineup,” Gavin said, his tone almost theatrical. “So, without further ado, I’d like to welcome Noah Boucher!”
Thad had his camera trained on Jesse’s face and he had to stifle a chuckle as he watched the goaltender’s jaw drop. Jesse composed himself quickly, but it would still be great footage.
Thad slowly panned over to the man walking in the room, tall with red-gold hair pulled back in a bun and a short, neat beard.
The entire locker room sat up straighter.
Despite having played for Toronto his entire career, Noah Boucher was revered around the league. Not only because he was the first active player to come out, but because he was that kind of guy. Someone who drew respect and admiration from everyone.
Noah shot the team a bright grin and, though he held a paper in his hand, didn’t look at it once as he called out, “Alright, let’s get this going, guys. First, in net tonight, goaltender Jesse Webber!”
Everyone clapped.
“On defense, number twelve Mickey Krause.” He paused to let guys clap again. “And his partner, Rafael Moon.”
More clapping.
“Left wing, number sixty-four, Anker Henriksen.”
Clap.
“Right wing, number seventeen, Graham Pennington.”
It took everything in Thad not to pump his fist and cheer, but he restrained himself, keeping the camera steady.
Noah grinned, his eyes bright as he said, “And your captain and center, number ninety-one, Connor O’Shea!”
A huge cheer rose up from the room and Noah grinned before he walked over to Connor.
“Hey, good to see you,” Connor said warmly.
“Good to see you too. Congrats on the relationship.” He nodded toward Jesse who stood and walked over, as if that had been his cue.
“Boucher,” Jesse said with a faint tremor in his voice, and Thad smiled when he realized how starstruck Jesse looked. Almost nervous.
“Hey, how many times have I told you to call me Noah?” he chastised softly, pulling Jesse into a friendly hug.
“Uhh, at least a couple,” Jesse said with a quiet laugh when he drew back. “It’s just … you’re such an inspiration to me.”
Noah laughed, but it was filled with kindness. “Yeah, I heard you have a little shrine set up. Something about Saint La Bouche?”
Connor let out a choking noise and Jesse’s face went white before he covered it with his hands. “Oh my God, who told?” Jesse finally sputtered. “I am going to fucking kill them!”
“No, no, don’t be embarrassed. It’s quite flattering,” Noah said with a laugh and a wink.
“Glad I can help out. Not that you needed it. You’ve had a hell of a couple of seasons, man.
Honestly, I liked it better when you were doing it for Toronto, but I have to admit, you’re definitely flourishing here. ”
Jesse relaxed a little, leaning in to press his shoulder against Connor’s. “Yeah, it’s been good. Connor and the girls and Nolan are everything to me. I’ve found my place here.”
Noah smiled. “Seems like a great group you have.”
“It is,” Connor agreed. “We have something special here.”
“Well, I won’t keep you two any longer,” Noah said with a glance at the clock counting down to when they needed to go out for warmups. “But Simon and I will drop by after the game, and we can chat more.”
“Sounds great,” Connor said with a hearty handshake. “Enjoy the game, man.”
As Noah left the dressing room, Thad continued recording the guys inside it, but once he’d followed them into the hall and they’d headed down the tunnel for warmups, he lowered his camera.
To his surprise, Boucher stepped up and said, “Hey. You’re Thad Racine, right?”
“Uhh, yes?” Thad replied, surprised La Bouche had ever heard of him.
“My husband, Simon …” Noah frowned and looked around. “Well, I am not sure where he’s at the moment, but he specifically wanted to speak to you.”
“To me?” Thad asked, even more confused.
“Yes. Oh, there’s Simon!” He gestured toward a tall, handsome man with jet-black hair who was juggling two toddlers, one on each hip, as he and Tyson came around the corner. “Oh, shit, let me go help. He has his hands full.”
Thad followed Noah over to Simon and Tyson. Without a word, Simon passed over their son to Noah with a grateful look, still nodding at whatever Tyson had said.
Noah stepped closer to Thad, grinning and turning his body so Thad could see the face of the toddler he was holding. “This is Théo and Simon has Camille.”
“Twins?” Thad asked, smiling at Théo who buried his head against his father’s neck.
“Yup. That’s common with surrogacy. We knew going in but …” Noah gave Thad a faint shrug. “I guess nothing prepares you for parenthood, no matter how many you end up with. Turns out caring for twins is a lot of work though, eh?”
Thad chuckled. “I have heard that.”
Noah smiled. “Worth it though.”
“Wait until they become teenagers,” Thad said drily. “Then you’ll really have your hands full, if Gavin and I were any indication.”
Noah laughed. “That’s what my sister, Margot, keeps telling me, eh. She was our surrogate and she and her husband, Hugh, have four kids of their own.”
“Wow. That’s quite a gift,” Thad said.
“Yeah. It was very generous of her. We sent her and her husband on a trip to a tropical destination after, but it doesn’t quite feel like it covers it, you know?”
“I’m sure.”
Simon appeared at Noah’s elbow.
“Hey, thanks for grabbing Théo earlier. I had my hands full. Tyson offered to help but neither of them wanted to be held by a stranger, apparently.”
“Of course.” Noah jiggled Théo. “You gotta make Dad’s life difficult, huh, dude?”
Théo giggled, his face still buried in the crook of Noah’s neck.
Simon laughed and turned to Thad. “Hey, Thad. Sorry, I’m being rude. Let me introduce myself, I’m Simon Lawrence. I don’t know if Noah mentioned it, but I’ve been wanting to speak to you about—”
But Gavin swooped in. “Hey. Sorry, guys. I got pulled away for a moment. Are you ready to head up to your seats? You’ll be sitting with Finn and me on the executive level, if that’s okay with you.”
“Yeah, as long as the kids won’t disturb you?” Noah said, jiggling Théo.
“Not at all. There’s a private restroom and quiet lounge area nearby you can use, and Finn has plenty of experience wrangling kids. Me, not so much, although I’m always game to try.” He smiled. “Do you need ear protection for them?”
“No, we brought some.”
And then they were all heading down the hall, leaving a very confused Thad in their wake.
Simon turned back. “I’ll catch up with you after the game, Thad!”
“Sounds great,” he said, although he still didn’t have a clue what the hell was going on.