CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT #2
Jesse laughed. “It’s not like we can’t fucking see how happy Kady and Mandy and Lauren and Jake are.” He gestured to the pile on the couch where they were all sprawled.
Kady beamed. “So happy! 10/10. No notes. Polyam is best.”
“Yeah, but—”
“Tom!” Connor sounded almost annoyed now.
“We’re not fuckin’ blaming you or Krista for some woman who didn’t have her head on straight.
It could have happened to anyone. Hell, Jesse was right.
I think we all assumed it would’ve been Tanner who brought home someone who caused problems. Instead, he dragged home our divisional rival. No offence, Rasmussen.”
“None taken,” Leif said drily while Tanner sputtered.
“I hear you,” Tom said, although he didn’t quite look convinced. “I just … this is the best team I’ve ever been on—”
“2026 Cup champions, bay-bee!” Tanner hollered.
Crawford flinched and rubbed his head.
“Best in that way, yeah,” Tom said. “But also best because—because this is the tightest team I’ve ever been on. The most inclusive. Do you know how hard it is to be a Black man in this league and polyam on top of it? I’ve never fucking felt like I really belonged before.”
“Well, you fuckin’ belong here,” Connor said.
“I don’t want to lose that,” Tom admitted. “I know I’ve probably only got another year or two in me, but I hope I can retire here.”
Gavin sighed. “We have to hammer out your contract next season, but believe me, unless you’re looking to make bank, we’ll do everything we can to get you squared away before the current one is up.”
“So I have a question,” Tanner blurted out.
“About Tom’s contract?” Gavin looked confused.
“No, about Darla. How’d she get in anyway? I thought security knew she wasn’t allowed in the building.”
“Ahh well,” Gavin said. “It appears she had a plan for that. From what we can tell, she was following Tom in L.A. When she couldn’t get to him there, she kind of …
snapped, and uprooted her life to come to Boston.
She made friends with someone in the security department and—and told her a sob story.
Convinced her that she was the one who’d been wronged but now she just wanted closure. ”
“And the guard, she believed that?” Leif asked.
Gavin shrugged. “It appears so.”
“I assume that guard has been fired,” Connor said.
“Pending a full investigation, yes,” Gavin said.
“So this guard lady,” Tanner said. “I’ve never even seen her before. How new is she? Seems weird they’d put her in the players’ area, you know?”
“Not that new,” Gavin said with a sigh. “Shana has been working different areas of the arena but got herself put on relief duty this season. Norman, who usually works the family lounge door, was on his break. Shana was supposed to fill in and that’s when she let Darla in.”
“Okay,” Tanner said, nodding. “This is making more sense now.”
“Clearly, the organization is going to have to do a full evaluation of policy and protocol this summer,” Gavin said, dragging a hand through his hair, looking a lot less relaxed now. “Retraining. The whole thing.”
“Is this going to hit the public?” Connor asked with a frown.
“It shouldn’t,” Gavin answered. “The police were discreet about the arrest and because of Darla’s mental state and that she didn’t actually threaten to harm anyone else, she was sent directly to a psychiatric facility.”
“I hope she gets some help.” Tanner frowned too. “She made me sad.”
Leif reached out to take his hand.
“You’re a very empathetic person, Tanner,” Gavin said. “Though we’d all prefer if next time you didn’t try to hug women holding knives.”
“I still can’t fucking believe Tanner of all people was the one who disarmed her,” Luke rasped.
Tanner shrugged. “Nah, just gave Tom and Krista the assist. They were doing fine.”
“You helped though,” Krista said. “You could be more objective about it than we could. Really listen and get through to her. That—that means a lot. What she did was terrifying, but I did—I do care about her. I want her far away from me and my family, but I do want her to get help.”
“Hey, we’re a team,” Tanner said. “We help each other out, right?”
Everyone fell silent for a moment before Tanner remembered something else he wanted to ask. “Hey, so, question, Krista. Were you all lying to her when you said that you weren’t dating Brie?”
Krista and Tom both looked startled. “Oh, no. That wasn’t a lie. Tom and I need a good long while before we get involved with anyone else.”
“And I don’t date hockey players.”
Tanner jumped because he hadn’t even realized Brie was sitting there. He craned his neck and spotted her on the floor, not far from where Tom and Krista were sitting.
“Hey, we’re not so bad,” Tanner protested.
“Yeah, you are,” Sebastian said drily.
“You say that because you’re dating Crawford,” Tanner pointed out.
“I was also a hockey player myself,” Sebastian said with a laugh. “Trust me. We’re awful.”
Tanner glanced at Leif, then shrugged. Well, at least they were awful together.
“All of that.” Brie laughed too. “But also, I’ve never dated a woman before. Never thought I’d want to.”
“But would you now?” Tanner pressed. “Do you want to date Tom and Krista?”
“Don’t be so nosy,” Leif hissed, poking him.
Tanner rolled his eyes.
Brie smiled at them. “Right now, I need friends and to heal from my divorce. Tom and Krista need to heal from the situation with Darla. I don’t date hockey players. But maybe someday, after Tom’s retired and if the timing all works out …” She shrugged. “I’m not saying never.”
Tanner grinned. “That’s the spirit!”