Chapter 18
Don’t Punch Anyone
Justin
The timing sucked. Mia thought I was upset about her ex, but that wasn’t it.
My agent had a couple of hours in Vancouver on a layover and wanted to meet.
If he was in town, I definitely was interested in any news he had.
Cooper was close to the Blaze management, and they usually listened to him, but they could tell him things were fine and I’d still find myself traded July first. Joel would be more objective.
I was afraid if Mia came, he’d see that our relationship wasn’t that of client and care worker who’d only met recently. He knew the team had someone helping me and reporting back, but I hadn’t told him about the issues I’d had.
Joel met me in one of Vancouver’s better restaurants. He wasn’t cheap, but he’d been a rock during the Sharleen fiasco, so I didn’t begrudge him his cut of my pay.
He stood when I got to the table. “Justin! I guess shaking hands is out.” He reached out for the awkward bro hug. I thumped his back with my left hand and tried not to bang him with the cast. Add shaking hands to the list of things I missed with this injury.
I ordered a club sandwich and fries, something I thought I could manipulate with my left hand and avoid cutlery. He got a salad and sparkling water. Despite being well into his fifties, he was still in good shape. He’d played hockey in college, never drafted, but he understood the sport.
He settled into his chair. “I hear your recovery is going well.”
I raised my eyebrows. “You do?”
He smirked. “I talked with the Blaze before coming this way.”
Maybe this was less of a fortuitous stopover and more of a serious meeting. I rubbed my cast over my thigh. “Are they worried?”
He rocked a hand back and forth. “You didn’t tell me about the problems you had with your aides and privacy concerns, but at least that seems to be going well now.
” I nodded. “The reports from the medical people are fine. Your aide confirms you’re doing everything you’re supposed to.
It’s what’s in your head that concerns them, but you’re keeping up with your therapy sessions. ”
I grimaced. “One bad moment lasts forever.”
He waved his hand, palm up. “After Sharleen, this cannot be news to you. But on the bright side, more people are interested in you slugging Denbrowski than in your divorce right now.”
When my marriage blew up, I could blame Sharleen. But the thing with Alek? That was all me. “I’m working to make sure nothing interesting happens in the future. I swear.”
Joel leaned back in his seat. “You’re not blowing smoke up my ass, are you?”
I shook my head. “I’ve been dealing with my parents. The Ponzi thing had ripples that haven’t quite settled.”
“Like your sister with Denbrowski?”
“Is that news out now?”
“Yep. That’s now the reason everyone assumes you slugged him. People understand that better. Have you had any encounters with reporters?”
“A couple of ‘no comment, leave the property’ ones. I haven’t been going out much.”
“Less likely to get in trouble that way.”
I wasn’t sure that was true, but I let it pass. “Any trade news?” There was still five weeks before anything could happen, but rumors always got out.
Our server arrived with our food then, so Joel didn’t respond for a few moments.
“Cooper has been talking to team management. Some people are on board, but a few think it’s time to start a rebuild.
So far, I think the balance is tilted in his favor.
That said, they’re going to have to make some changes or the fans will be upset. ”
I grimaced. “What kind of changes?”
“Word is Denny won’t be re-signed—they’ll stick with Ducky.”
Jess had already told me that.
“They’re happy with the situation in net. When it comes to defense, they’ll probably bring up a couple of guys from the Inferno and let the free agents go.”
That would mean keeping me and Coop and Crash. If we kept the top guys on D, I didn’t have to worry about a trade. “So they plan to make moves with the forwards other than Ducky?”
“They’re looking for scoring. They can’t rely only on your first line to get the puck in the net. I haven’t heard about anything too major.”
“Shut down line staying?”
He nodded. “They get the job done, and none of them are big-ticket contracts.”
That eased some of my tension. Coop would be happy, and it should make for a good season. I picked up a fry, thinking I might be able to enjoy this lunch after all.
“But…”
I looked up, fry forgotten. His voice told me this was the main purpose of stopping by. “What?”
“They need to know they can count on you.”
Suddenly my appetite disappeared. “What do they want?”
“First, that your hand will be okay and you can still play. They’re setting up more workouts to assess you, see how you’re doing before the trade deadline.”
Fuck. “As soon as this cast is off, I’m training hard.” I should go back to Toronto then, so management could see I was serious. “Is that something to worry about?”
He shrugged. “I expected that. And if your recovery trajectory is going well, that will ease minds.”
“Okay.” If something wasn’t healing well with my hand, there were no indications, and nothing I could do. So the other thing they’d worry about… “The second thing is the mental side.”
“Yep. If you went off on Denny because of your sister and the money history, then it’s a one-off and everything is good. It spices up your image a bit.”
“What the hell?” What was wrong with my normal image? I was a damned good defenseman, and last time I’d been near the end of my contract, Joel had several teams making inquiries.
He held up a hand. “You’re a boring guy, JJ. Which I’m happy about. But if the team is going to sell Cooper’s idea of keeping the band together, they want something for the fans to talk about. This incident provided that, as long as you aren’t going to get aggressive on other players.”
I couldn’t even be aggressive with Alek, not without pissing off my sister. “How do I convince them I’m okay?”
“Get into condition. Live, breathe and talk hockey and nothing else. Show up in July for Cooper’s camp-slash-retreat-slash-winner’s circle or whatever the hell it is.”
I could promise that, no problem.
“And don’t punch anyone in the meantime.”
Mia
“Who is that?” Tonya hissed at me as she helped me arrange the snacks I was responsible for at today’s tournament.
I looked to where Erik was talking with Arne, who was hopping from one foot to the other. “That’s my ex.”
Tonya cocked her head as she checked him out. “Not the hockey player.”
I huffed a laugh. “No, the ex-husband.”
Tonya watched him for a moment. “He’s better looking than your hockey player.”
“He’s not mine, and how do you know?”
She raised her eyebrows.
“Right. I forget how hockey-crazy people are around here. Erik is an actor.” I held back the wannabe that wanted to come out. He had credits, maybe not a lot, and he was here for a series that seemed a level above his usual stuff, so I could rein in my skepticism.
“Really? What’s he been in?”
“Mostly blink-and-you-miss-it parts, but he’s here to shoot a series. After the Fall.”
Tonya’s forehead creased. “Oh yeah, I’ve heard of the books. Maybe it’s his big break.”
“Maybe.”
She opened her chair and set it down beside mine before dropping into it. “So what’s the story here? Do we hate him?”
I flashed a smile at her. “Not hate. Just cautious.”
“Ah, like that. Damn, it’s sometimes easier if they’re just straight assholes. At least then you know what to expect.”
Coach blew his whistle and Erik walked over to where Tonya and I were sitting. I’d brought along another folding chair for him.
He sat down beside me. “Arne’s excited.”
I nodded. “He likes playing.”
Erik leaned forward to look at Tonya. “Hi there, I’m Erik, Arne’s dad.”
Tonya shook his hand. “I’m Tonya, Mia’s friend.”
“You have a kid playing?”
“Yes. Barney. He and Arne are friends.”
“Nice to meet you.” Erik leaned back and silence fell.
I couldn’t talk to Tonya the way I normally would with Erik there, and I had no idea what these two people could talk about together.
Tonya took control. “Mia says you’re an actor?”
Erik smiled. “I’m in town to shoot After the Fall.”
Tonya looked impressed. “Wow. How long are you in BC?”
“Six weeks, depending.”
“Who else is in it?”
Erik’s lips pinched for a moment, since Tonya not knowing meant she wasn’t a fan of the show. But once he started listing his costars and the directors and she seemed impressed, he was happy again. He’d have talked longer, but the first game started.
It was the usual mess of six-year-olds playing. There were competitive leagues for kids who showed promise, but those took time and money that I didn’t have. Arne so far enjoyed the games and did pretty well but hadn’t expressed any desire to focus more on soccer.
He’s excited about hockey, said a little voice in my head and I ignored it.
The game was tied 3-3 at the half when the kids came off and swarmed around for snacks.
Tonya was a pro at this, and she helped me get everyone something to eat and a drink.
Erik stepped back and talked to a couple of the dads, the ones who weren’t hands-on with their kids’ snacking.
Gender stereotypes were strong with my ex.
Once the feeding frenzy had calmed, I gathered empty juice boxes from the kids. Arne ran over to his dad.
“Dad, did you see my goal?”
“I sure did. I used to play, and I was thinking, if you tried a more man-on-man defense…”
I drew in a long breath. Erik could certainly offer any advice he wanted to his son, but to drop in for half a game and think it was the right time and place to coach from the sidelines?
I could go over and mediate, but decided no.
If Erik was going to show up once in a blue moon, I didn’t need to share what I’d learned from attending every soccer game possible.
Arne creased his forehead in the way that meant he was thinking hard as he listened to his dad. “Um, should we talk to Coach? Mommy says I should listen to her when we’re playing.”
Erik’s gaze snapped to me. My face mustn’t have looked encouraging. “No, you listen to your coach for the game. Maybe we can play sometime and try the things I mentioned.”
Arne nodded. “Okay, when do you want to do that?”
Erik’s eyes widened. He shot another glance at me but I didn’t respond.
I often intervened, so Erik didn’t make promises he couldn’t keep and Arne didn’t get hurt.
I still would rather take the hit myself than have Arne in pain, but I was too stretched out to take on anything else, even something as small as this.
Erik could sink or swim on his own. Arne had only seen his dad a couple of times in the last year.
He had to know he wasn’t Erik’s priority.
“I’m not sure, son.”
Tonya and I exchanged glances at the son.
“My work schedule is a little chaotic. Shooting films is hard to predict—if a shot doesn’t work first take, we have to stay till it’s done.”
Arne studied Erik. “So, were you just saying that to be nice?”
Erik flushed. “No, I’d like to get together with you, but I don’t know when.”
“Well, soccer only goes till the weather gets cold, so maybe it won’t happen.”
Without meaning to, Arne had fired a killer shot. He wasn’t counting on anything from his dad before winter. Erik’s mouth dropped open, but the coach whistled for her team and Arne ran off.
Tonya leaned over. “Out of the mouths of babes…”
I nodded. I wished Arne didn’t have to learn lessons like this, but Erik’s behavior was out of my hands. He could try to do better, or he could disappear again after his show was shot. But I’d be here for Arne. He’d know he was loved.