Chapter 62
RAIN
After we got to the owner’s suite, I turned my phone on, and my notifications went crazy. There were a hundred, at least. Most were from Eric—my new friend from Hank’s Tulip.
Eric: GIRL! GIRRRRLLLL!
Eric: Okay. Honey darling. Where are you? We need to do our friend date. Remember?
Eric: OH MY GAWD! YOU’RE SISTER CONNORS? WHAT?
Eric: Call me. Jesus. I never have to work this hard to get a girl to call me.
Eric: Okay. Officially mad. And hurt. And mad again. I don’t mean to toot my own horn but in the friends department, I’m kind of a big deal. You are going to miss out on all this. (Pretend I’m gesturing to my well-kept body because I work out. I take care of myself. I’m my own temple.)
Eric: Um. Okay. I just got a call from Skylar, and she told me a bit more about what might be going on. I’m so sorry if you’re going through it. I’m here for you whenever.
Eric: Still here. Just staying. See? I’m a loyal bitch.
Eric: Well. Okay then. I’d like to say this. Your asshole brother puts out that video saying you’re not the greatest and your man is like, “Hold my beer.” And bam. The article conveying ALL OF THE NASTINESS drops, and your brothers are now the most hated players in the league.
Eric: I get that you got shit going on, but honestly, for the love of my manhole, call me.
Eric: Not for the love of my manhole. That was a weird autocorrect. I meant for the love of all that’s holy, and my phone is also gay apparently. CALL ME
Eric: Skylar said that according to your man, you are not responding to anyone. I’m here. We’re here. We care. Where are you, honey?
Eric: Waiting you out, but until then -- WE HAVE SIGNS!
(for the hockey game tonight) We’re going.
Will you be there? Please show up and bam, you’ll suddenly be on the jumbotron and everyone is going to go nuts.
I know I will. The article about you and your brothers and all of the history with Skylar and her brother, it’s making a wave among the die hard fanatics.
Eric: I SEE YOU! YOU’RE HERE! YOU’RE HERE! LOOK AT ME. CAN YOU SEE ME WAVING?!
Eric: HIIIIIIIIIII, BITCH! (smiley face emoji with tears)
Eric: We’re behind the opponent’s goalie. I maybe should’ve told you. Hehe
I looked up at the sudden roar from the crowd and holy shit, Eric had called it. We were on the Jumbotron, me and Mal.
My mouth fell open, and that sent another roar through the crowd. A chant started, “Griffin’s…” I couldn’t make out the second word.
Mal leaned over and said, “They’re saying Griffin’s woman.”
I was officially dumbfounded.
This was just a temporary thing. A fad. That was it.
The hockey blogs loved Tyler already, and they loved to hate my brothers, and mix in good old-fashioned scandal, and this story was a hot ticket.
The hockey news must’ve been slow this week.
By the next game, all of this would be forgotten.
Except then I remembered that the next game was against Montreal.
Daniel’s team.
I blinked back tears, but the game started again, and the jumbotron moved on.
Thankfully. It came back one more time before the end of the game.
This time, I got myself under control enough to give a small wave and smile to the camera, trying not to come off as an ungrateful asshole. I just couldn’t fathom the attention.
Tyler glanced up a few times, but with his helmet on and the game in progress, there wasn’t a chance to really make eye contact.
“He’s playing better,” Mal noted. “They all are.”
I agreed. I’d missed the entire second period, but caught the first one. “That was because of me?”
Mal shrugged. “A lot happened this week for them. Someone they’d begun to rely on disappeared.
But it’s not all about you. They’ve been worried about Tyler, and I think some of them are already thinking about playing your brother in two days.
The rivalry between your brothers and Tyler took some of our players by surprise.
Plus, it’s the holiday. Some of them are missing their families.
All of that’s combined together, I’m sure. ”
Guilt washed through me. “I messed up.”
“None of that.” Mal reached over to squeeze my arm. “Right now, you’re not working. You’re off the clock. You’re here as part of the Grays family. Got it? Let us rally around you.”
I nodded, but my stomach remained unsettled. I was embarrassed to have caused all of this.
“Can I tell Tyler about Miriam?” I asked. “To help him understand?”
Mal’s face softened. “I already did. That’s how I got him to trust that I’d bring you back. He knows about Miriam.”
Tears sprang to my eyes again, but no, no, no. I would not let the Jumbotron catch me sobbing. I wiped them away and was grateful when they showed an image of Wolfie, the Grays’ wolf mascot, dancing with a drum in one of the fan sections.
During one of the breaks in the game, I pulled my phone out again and debated clicking on Tyler’s name. My finger trembled. I was scared to see what he’d sent me, but there was no avoiding it.
Tyler: You need to come back, baby.
Tyler: I have things to say, and I can’t say them unless you’re here. I need to say them to you, not to this phone so you need to come back.
Tyler: Come back to me.
Short, but to the point. Powerful.
There were so many other texts and calls and voice messages, and I’d get to them.
I would. But I wanted Tyler’s to be the last one I read for now.
Tucking my phone away, I sat back and watched him until the last buzzer sounded.
As soon as the game ended, with New York winning five to one, Tyler skated to the middle of the rink and took his helmet off.
He stared straight up at me. Standing, suddenly so nervous, I stepped to the edge of the suite. He raised his chin when he saw me.
I gave him a little wave.
“You came back,” he mouthed.
I wanted to cry again, but I only drew in a sharp breath and gave him a jerky nod.
He continued looking at me until some of the other players tugged him toward the locker room. Once he was out of sight, trailed by Bruge, who had a hand on his shoulder, Mal sidled up next to me.
“That exchange is going to be all over social media in five minutes.”
I drew in more air. “I have no idea how to respond to that.”
“I have a feeling your time being in the background is over.”
There was a knock on the suite’s door. “I should warn you that my phone’s been blowing up since our first appearance on the Jumbotron,” Mal said. “There are a few people here who’d like to see you.”
“Who?”
“I believe one goes by the name of Eric…”
I was already smiling.
He motioned to the door, and one of the staff opened it.
Eric came through first, rushing to throw his arms around me, lifting me up in a hug. Paul was next, holding up a hand in a much more calm wave.
Skylar and Zoey followed, holding hands, and both seemed to be fighting back tears.
Bertle was the last. He only glanced our way, his hands in his pockets, as he veered over to the counter to order a drink.
“Girl!” Eric set me back on my feet. “Do not ever do that again.”
“Do what?”
“Disappear.” He scowled at me, his hands still on my hips. “You got it? And you need to respond to my texts. You’re not the only one with abandonment issues.”
“I’ll respond. I promise. It’s been…” I felt light-headed. “It’s been a lot.”
“You okay?” The scowl vanished, and his eyes filled with concern.
I began to nod, then paused and asked myself the same question. Then I continued nodding. “Yeah. I will be.”
“Good.” He sniffled and pulled me in for another hug.
“There are others who want to hug you, but I need to show you our signs from the game. And we’re going to Friday’s game too.
We all already asked for the night off, because no way in hell are we going to make you see your asshole brother by yourself.
Daniel Connors is going to learn he’s not welcome in the Grays’s arena.
He’s going to be shocked by what we have in store for him. ”
I tensed, but Eric didn’t seem to notice.
He moved aside and then Skylar hugged me.
“I’m sorry about how I treated you the other night.
Tyler tried to tell me it wasn’t what I thought, but I didn’t listen.
Then that article came out, and after reading everything, I realized I should’ve stopped to think about how Daniel would’ve treated his sister.
I know how he was with me, and why would he be any different to anyone else?
I pity his two little girls, that’s for sure. ”
My eyes widened. “He has two little girls?”
Her face fell. “Oh. You didn’t know…” She nodded. “I’m so sorry. Yes. He has two girls from two different marriages.”
“Wh-what are their ages? Do you know?”
“I think eight and four?”
Dane had three girls. Daniel had two. I had five nieces.
I began laughing.
Skylar chuckled too, but she didn’t seem sure if she should be laughing. She moved back to Zoey’s side, holding her hand again.
“It’s just…” I couldn’t get over the irony. “They only have girls.”
The universe was funny sometimes.