Chapter 19
Jacob
It might have been a normal day of practice for Jacob, but he was very conscious of the fact that for Tane it was something else altogether…
“Are you okay?” Jacob said, reaching across to put his hand on Tane’s knee as the two of them sat in Tane’s Porsche inside the Pine Rise training complex parking lot.
“I’m good,” Tane replied, his voice stern. “Let’s get this over and done with.”
“Hey, you’re going to nail the fitness test,” Jacob said, his voice full of hope.
“How can you be so sure?” Tane replied, for once showing a slither of doubt in his own powers of recovery.
“I just know,” Jacob said. “And if I’m wrong, you can give me two hundred spanks!”
Jacob waited a moment for Tane to respond and wasn’t sure whether joking around like that was actually the right thing to do. Jacob knew how important passing the fitness test was to Tane. If Tane failed, then there would be no new contract on offer from the board of directors.
When Tane first told Jacob about Antonio Cardini’s offer, Jacob couldn’t believe how unfair it seemed. But Tane had explained how the Cardini family worked, and how once they made an offer there was simply no room for negotiation.
Jacob had suggested that Tane could look to play for another team in the league.
There would surely be plenty of offers for such a decorated veteran.
However Tane had batted this idea away. As Tane explained to Jacob, if he couldn’t play for his beloved Enforcers, then he would hang up his blades for once last time.
Just as Jacob was about to apologize for making such a silly joke, Tane burst into laughter. It was one of Tane’s big, full-on belly laughs and it filled the confines of the Porsche’s small cabin with ease.
“You do make me laugh, boy,” Tane said, still laughing. “And that’s why I think so much of you. Well, part of the reason. You’ve got so much going on for you. And whatever happens today, I know one thing for sure, my feeling for you won’t change on damn bit.”
“I know,” Jacob said, relieved that Tane was laughing and relaxing just a shade. “Shall we go?”
“I think we should,” Tane said, clenching his jaw before giving Jacob a soft kiss on the lips. “You and Ricki can gossip and have one of your tea spilling chats while I’m with the doctor. I’ll come and get you when I’m done, okay?”
“Are you sure you don’t want me in there with you?” Jacob said, wanting to at least give Tane the option of some company.
“Thank you, but no,” Tane said. “This is one thing that, good or bad, I need to face on my own. Trust me though, I’ll be thinking about you the whole time. If nothing else, I’ve had enough of these medical checks over the years to know that they take a seriously long time.”
Jacob smiled and the pair of them got out of Tane’s car.
“I’ll be with you before you know it,” Tane said, smiling and waving back to Jacob as he walked toward the doctor’s suite.
For Jacob, it was time to head to the physio room for protein shakes with his friend Ricki. And Jacob was determined to find out exactly what was going on between Ricki and a certain Mafia man called Antonio Cardini…
* * *
“I hope Tane is getting on okay,” Jacob said, sipping on his shake and then taking a bite of his extra protein bar. “I wish he’d have let me go in with him.”
“You know what these older guys are like,” Ricki replied, smiling as he rustled in the jar and pulled out two protein brownies, one for him and one for Jacob.
Jacob smiled and gladly received his the brownie.
“Damn, I hope these things don’t actually have a ton of calories,” Jacob laughed. “Yeah, they’ve got a ton of protein or whatever. But tasting this good, there’s got to be a catch.”
“Right,” Ricki laughed. “Screw it. Who cares. Like you say, they taste damn good.”
Ricki’s physio room was looking as clean and organized as usual. Even with the possibility of spilling brownie crumbs to contend with, Jacob didn’t think he’d ever seen someone keep a space so neat.
However it wasn’t Ricki’s ability to keep his workplace neat and tidy that Jacob wanted to dive into…
“So…. Antonio Cardini?” Jacob said, immediately noting how Ricki’s cheeks flushed red at the mention of the Mafia man’s name. “Wanna talk about whatever’s going on with you two?”
“I… ummm… can’t talk about it?” Ricki spluttered, his voice with a questioning, uncertain tone to it. “I don’t want to get in trouble.”
“Okay, but are you happy with whatever it is you’re not allowed to talk about?” Jacob asked, wanting to ensure that Ricki was feeling safe and comfortable with whatever the deal was between him and Antonio.
“I’m definitely happy,” Ricki blushed, covering his face with his hands in a burst of excitement. “I wish I could say more. But I can’t, not right now.”
“Poop!” Jacob said, totally frustrated at the fact that his friend wasn’t able to share his secrets. “But when you can talk about it, I want to be the first to know. Okay?”
“Of course,” Ricki replied, a giddy look in his eyes.
Jacob could see just how desperate Ricki was to spill the beans on his situation with Antonio. But while it would have been easy to keep trying to get Ricki to talk, Jacob decided that it was only fair to respect his friend’s privacy.
After that, the pair of them began to talk about Jacob’s plans for the off season and potential vacation destinations and so on. And it didn’t take long for the subject of Tane’s impending retirement or hopefully non-retirement to come around…
“I’ve got everything crossed for good luck,” Ricki said. “I’ve known Tane ever since I came to the Enforcers, and he’s just as much a part of the franchise as anyone or anything else. He’s a legend.”
“I think deep down he regretted announcing his final season a long time ago,” Jacob said, worry in his voice.
“And now if this fitness test doesn’t go well, that’s the end of his time here.
I don’t even want to think about it. I just want him to get his new deal and then we can both have the happiest off season and come back ready to hit the ice next season. ”
“And I think next season the pair of you would both be even stronger as a partnership,” Ricki said. “I know I’m a physio, but I’ve been doing some of my own analysis on the team and I think you and Tane could dovetail even better on the ice.”
“Tell me more,” Jacob said, immediately seeing that Ricki had some tactical plans that might well be worth listening to.
With that, Ricki picked up his iPad and began to show Jacob some ideas for new plays that he’d been working on. Jacob hadn’t been sure what to expect, but he was genuinely impressed with what Ricki was showing him.
“These are great,” Jacob said, his eyes lighting up as Ricki talked and demonstrated a really great instinct for the offensive side of the game. “You should be working in the coaching team.”
Ricki blushed and Jacob could see that Ricki definitely had aspirations of moving into coaching. But that was something that could wait, as no sooner had Ricki started explaining one final play than Tane walked into the room.
“Tane?” Jacob exclaimed, his heart skipping a beat as he tried to get a read on Tane’s face. “Is it good news… or?”
“It’s not good news,” Tane said, his voice flat as he walked toward Jacob. “It’s fucking incredible news!”
Suddenly the whole room erupted into the happiest, purest sound of celebration as Tane wrapped his arms around Jacob and spun him around in delight.
“The doctor said that it was a close call, but ultimately there’s no reason that I can’t play again,” Tane said. “I’ll need to be careful, but I’ve passed the standard fitness testing and I’m good to go.”
“Let’s fucking go!” Jacob trumpeted, his face filling with emotion as the reality of what Tane was saying hit home. “That means a new contract! That means we get two more years together!”
“Boy, you do know it makes no difference to our relationship, don’t you,” Tane said, pausing the celebrations. “Contract or not, I always wanted you to be mine… forever.”
“I love you, Tane,” Jacob said, his eyes filling with tears of pure joy. “I always wanted you to be my one and only. And now it’s really happening I don’t know what to say.”
“Well we can both think about that kind of thing later,” Tane said, arching his eyebrow. “Now it’s time to hit the ice and show the Titans that our destiny is the playoff final, and they’re not invited.”
The game against the Titans was tomorrow, but Jacob knew that both him and Tane had time for one more practice together. And with Ricki’s new plays fresh in his mind, Jacob was ready to hit the practice ice and get ready to make the entire Enforcers family proud.
And with his Forever love by his side, Jacob felt like he could take on the world – and win too…
* * *
Game day came and Jacob was ready to take the first step toward helping the Enforcers to the title in his first season at the franchise.
“Tane, we’ve got this, I just know we have,” Jacob said as the pair of them waited for the signal to head out onto the ice.
“That’s the spirit, Jacob,” Tane roared, turning back and raising his hockey stick to the rest of the team. “Enforcers!”
Jacob and the whole squad bellowed Enforcers at the tops of their voices before heading out onto the ice for a rapturous reception from their home fans.
After a quick start, Jacob scored one goal and assisted Alex Rebrov for another.
Things were looking seriously good for the team – but Jacob could see that Tane just wasn’t quite himself out there.
“Everything okay?” Jacob said during a brief pause in play.
“I’m fine,” Tane replied, tension in his voice. “Just focus on your game. The Titans are going to come back at us hard in the final third. We need you on point and ready to strike. Okay?”
“Got it,” Jacob replied, seeing that Tane’s role on the ice might have been lessened this time, but he was still a hugely important player from a leadership point of view.
After Tane’s words of encouragement, the game ebbed and flowed all the way through to the final couple of minutes.
The Enforcers were still in the lead, but it was uncomfortably close going into the closing moments.
The Titans had a reputation as a team who never gave up, and many of their wins that season had come from losing positions going into the final seconds.
“Keep fucking going,” Tane said, grimacing as he awkwardly passed the puck on toward Alex. “Don’t stop. Work. Everyone. Let’s bring this home.”
Jacob darted from left into the center and took the pass from Alex before homing in on the Titans” goalie.
This was a huge moment.
A goal now would seal the victory and see the Enforcers into the next stage of the playoffs.
Jacob knew what was at stake, but rather than let himself get into his thoughts he simply trusted that all his hard work in practice would pay off.
This is my time.
No one’s stopping me.
Relax and….
The crowd went wild as Jacob calmly slotted home what would be the winning goal. Jacob was filled with sheer joy. It had been a goal crafted by the team and Jacob had applied the finishing touch to it.
“Hell to the motherfucking yeah!” Connor bellowed, slapping Jacob on the back as he skated back into position to see out the remaining couple of seconds of the game.
“Sweet pass, Alex,” Jacob said, pointing his stick in Alex’s direction.
“And an even sweeter finish,” Alex replied, nodding his head in admiration.
Jacob then turned and saw Tane skating back into a deep position. Tane looked happy, but Jacob could see that there was something not quite right. Tane hadn’t played poorly. Far from it. But there was something not quite right, and Jacob wanted to know exactly what that was.
But now wasn’t the time.
The Enforcers needed to see out the formality of the last few seconds and then enjoy the moment in front of their home fans. Jacob was edging nearer to the finals in his first season – and having scored the goal that secured the win, he couldn’t have scripted it better himself.