Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
DELANEY
Ican breathe a sigh of relief. The first practice of the season is always the one I worry about. It sets the tone for the rest of the year. Having a group of women playing together for the first time? You never know what you’re going to get.
But after mixing up the lines today, I’ve got a feeling that we have something special brewing.
I watched the women that have been in the league for years help those that were called up with the expansion.
“Hey.” Bailey, one of my assistant coaches, knocks on my door. “Want to grab dinner with Nadia and me tonight?”
With fiery red hair and freckles, I remember Bailey from my playing days. She was one of Canada’s greatest players to ever play the game. Everyone thought she quit at the peak of her career, but she wanted to move into coaching.
I’m thankful we snatched her up.
“I wish I could, but I have to go home and wait for my furniture to be delivered.”
Her hazel eyes go wide. “Are you sleeping on the floor?”
I shake my head. “No. I grabbed a hotel room. I’m too old to sleep on the floor.”
Bailey bursts out laughing. “Definitely not in our college years anymore where we could sleep anywhere.”
“Don’t I know it.” I smile back at her. “Sorry I won’t be able to join you.”
“Unless you want some help?” Bailey asks.
“You want to help me move?” I lean back in my chair, crossing my arms.
“Call it bonding.”
Standing, I lock my tablet and put it into my bag to take home with me. “If you really want to help me move, I will take you up on that.”
“Great. You have anything to drink? Moving is made better with beer.”
Laughter spills out of me. “Beer and vodka.”
“My kind of girl.”
“Do you think Nadia will want to help?” I ask.
“Nadia is my partner. She’ll come.”
“Wow. You have no idea how much of a help that will be.”
Maybe if I’d planned better, I wouldn’t be in this situation. Since I walked off the plane here in Toronto, I’ve had tunnel vision. Yes, I’ve met my assistant coaches, but I’ve been so hard at work getting ready for this day, that I’ve ignored everything else.
I throw the strap over my shoulder and follow Bailey out of my office and hand her my phone.
“Text me and I’ll send you my address. Anything you’re allergic to?”
“No, we’re both good.”
“Great. I’ll order a bunch of food for us to snack on.”
“Awesome. See you soon.”
I smile as I head toward my SUV. I was planning on having to unpack everything myself, but I’m happy for the help and the company. On the way home to meet the movers, I call the local pub down the road to order delivery.
Pretzels and cheese. Buffalo wings. Artichoke dip. Pizza rolls.
Everything to make moving and unpacking boxes better.
By the time I’m pulling into my small driveway after studying film and drawing up some more lines for practice tomorrow in my office this afternoon, the moving van is there.
Thank God.
“Miss Charles?” the young man asks, jumping out of the cab of the truck.
“That’s me.”
“Great. Ready to get started?”
“Yes. I appreciate you coming later.”
Unlocking the front door, I swing it open so they can start moving everything in. With four of them, they start with the furniture, taking it where I direct.
“There’s a reason they made you the coach.” Nadia laughs as she and Bailey follow my mattress into the house.
“Hey, I want to make sure it goes in the right room. I won’t have time to move it later.”
“Well, I’m glad they’re starting because we grabbed the food from the delivery driver out front.”
Bailey holds up two large plastic bags and hands them to me.
“Thank God. I’m starving.”
Setting them on the counter, I start to take out all of the containers and crack them open. With no plates yet, I hand out sets of plastic forks to divvy up the food.
“Pizza rolls?” Bailey questions.
“What do you have against pizza rolls?” I laugh. “They are bite-sized pockets of deliciousness.”
“Nothing. I’m just surprised the bar had them.” She takes a hearty bite as Nadia takes a seat on one of the barstools.
“Okay, beer for both of you?” I ask, grabbing a pizza roll and stuffing it in my mouth.
“What are you having?” Nadia asks.
“Dirty Shirley.”
“Interesting.” Nadia smirks.
“What?” I grab a pretzel and dunk it into the dip.
Is there anything better than a hot pretzel and cheese?
“Just not what I expected from you. I figured you’d be a bourbon or scotch woman.”
“I like cherries. What can I say?”
“I’ll take one of those,” Nadia tells me.
She’s a striking woman. Even though Nadia is short, with a dark pixie cut and wide brown eyes, she is a force to be reckoned with.
Handing each of them their drinks, I hold my glass up in a cheers.
“Thank you both for helping me. I know this is probably not what you thought you were going to do tonight, but I really appreciate it.”
“What are friends for?” Bailey smiles at me. “But we need a getting to know you activity.”
“Wait, seriously?” I choke over the bite of dip I just put in my mouth.
“I agree with Bailey,” Nadia says. “All we know about you is that you coached at VU before being named head coach of the Rosebuds.”
“We want to know the good stuff.” Bailey rubs her hands together.
“Well, what is it you want to know?” I ask, taking a carrot stick and dunking it in the ranch.
“Are you dating anyone?” Nadia asks.
I shake my head. “No.”
Except that I hate the first thought that comes to mind is Lydia.
“Do you want to be dating someone?” Bailey asks. “We know a lot of nice people we could set you up with.”
“As much as I’d like to get to know a nice woman, I’m okay. Hockey first.”
Nadia bumps her elbow against Bailey’s. “That’s how this one was until we met. You’ll find the right person at the right time.”
I nod, grabbing another pretzel and dipping it into the hot cheese. “Well, unless I meet them at the rink, I doubt I’ll be finding anyone anytime soon. I feel like I need to prove my worth to the team.”
Nadia waves me off. “You’ll do it. Trust me. Both of us felt it today.”
“Yeah? Because I did too.”
The team looked great. Every year with Vermont, I always start with a scrimmage. Mixing the lines gives me the best chance to see strengths and weaknesses. How they best work together.
“Hey. Here’s to a great season ahead.” Bailey holds her beer up and we each toast her. “We’ve got a good team together and I think we can go far.”
“Knock on wood.” Nadia raps her knuckles against the table. “We don’t want to jinx it.”
“That is the one thing I don’t buy into,” I tell her.
“An unsuperstitious hockey player? I didn’t think they existed.” Nadia laughs, grabbing a wing and tearing into it. As we’re chatting, boxes marked KITCHEN are set in a stack against the wall. “Should we get started on those?”
I nod, grabbing a napkin and wiping my hands off.
“Back to this you not being superstitious,” Bailey says, ripping open the top box. “Plates and bowls. Where do you want these?”
I spin on my heel, assessing my kitchen. “Cabinet next to the refrigerator. And I’m not superstitious because if we have the talent and work hard, there’s no reason we won’t go far.”
“Okay, that’s fair,” Nadia says. “But what if the other team is just as good?”
She starts handing dishes over to Bailey as she puts them away. I grab another box of glasses and find a cabinet for them.
“That means we have to work harder. Learn their weaknesses to beat them.”
“Wow,” Bailey says. “You really are a coach. But you’re never going to convince Nadia not to be that way.”
“Sorry. Not going to happen.” Nadia smiles at me.
The two of them share a familiar smile. One of comfort, like they’ve been together for a long time.
“So how long have you two been together?”
“Three years now?” Nadia asks. “Has it been that long?”
“Do you have to ask?” Bailey questions.
“Well, is it three years? Because we weren’t official for six months or so.”
“Uh-oh.” I break down the box and rest it against the counter. “I hope I didn’t start something.”
“We disagree on this a lot. We always decide on two and a half years,” Bailey clarifies.
Nadia rolls her eyes, mouthing three to me.
I snicker, starting on a new box. Listening to these two go back and forth, I know I’m going to like them. One of the things that I always found hard with hockey and traveling around was making friends.
When I met Lydia, we connected on the first day. I felt lucky to have made a new friend. Once I got to know her, I saw how easy it was for her to make friends. Something I never had.
So when Bailey volunteered so readily to help? It makes me feel lucky that I’m going to have these two in my corner.
“Are you thinking of the game over there?” Bailey asks, chucking a balled-up piece of packing paper at me.
“What? No.”
“You totally were.” She laughs. “You really are all about hockey.”
“Seattle does have last season’s second highest scorer,” I tell them.
“And the first was Lydia.” Nadia’s eyes gleam. “And we’ve got her.”
“Damn straight,” Bailey says. “Did you ever play with her?”
I nod. “For a few years. Until I got injured.”
“I’m sorry that happened to you,” Nadia says. “That had to have been hard.”
“ACL and MCL? You seemed to make lemonade out of lemons,” Bailey tells me.
“Not how I wanted to end my career, but I didn’t want to become bitter. I always planned on coaching. It just sped up my timeline.”
“And hopefully we can bring home a cup or two together,” Bailey says.
“Hey! Knock—”
“On wood,” Bailey interrupts Nadia. “We know.”
“Okay, I’ll let you have that one.” I smile at them.
“Oh, thank God. I can’t change.” She fake wipes her brow.
With the kitchen almost done between the three of us working, and the food annihilated, I tell them, “You really don’t have to stay. I can finish up the living room tomorrow.”
“Are you sure?” Bailey asks. “It’s still early.”
Glancing at my phone, it’s almost ten. “This is early for you? Damn, I’m getting old.”
“You’re what, thirty?” Bailey asks. “Nadia is a spring chicken here at twenty-six.”
I laugh. “Thirty-six. And I’m usually in bed by this time. Early practice and all.”
“Well, we’re happy to stay if you want us to.”
I shake my head. “I’m okay. You can head home. Do whatever spring chickens do.”
“Like a face mask with a warm cup of tea,” Nadia says. “I need to be ready for practice tomorrow.”
“I appreciate that.” I point a knowing finger at her. “I’m really thankful you two helped.”
They both come and give me a hug. “Anytime you need anything, just let us know.”
“Same. Whatever you need, you have my number.”
They grab their bags and jackets and walk out. I wave the two of them off, closing the door behind them. Boxes are still strewn around the living room. I’ll have to get my bed made and dig out some clothes for tomorrow. But having one room done takes a huge load off my shoulders.
Especially since it was done with friends.
I’m glad these two are going to be my assistant coaches. Having real friends here is going to help occupy my brain. Keep it from focusing only on hockey. Or Lydia.
That last one is something I really don’t need to be thinking about.
Lydia. Lydia only.
Damnit.
Hockey. Hockey has to be the priority.
Now if I keep telling myself that, maybe I can believe it.