Hoppily Ever After (Holiday Rivals #4)

Chapter One

JAMES

“ W hat were you thinking?”

That’s a question I seem to be getting asked a lot these days.

“I mean it, James, what were you actually thinking? Using the head as a puck?” Jeffrey McAllister, the General Manager of the Vancouver Lumberjacks–and my boss–asks as he paces back and forth in front of me, his face getting redder by the second.

We’re in the boardroom with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the arena and the Vancouver skyline. The sun is starting to set, leaving the city in pinks and oranges that make it look peaceful.

Unlike this room.

“I…” I start, but he cuts me off.

“No, don’t answer. I’m too angry for you to answer.”

“Jeffrey, maybe if we…” my agent, Casey Wolf, tries to intervene on my behalf.

“No, I don’t want to hear from you either,” Jeffrey cuts him off. He stops pacing and looks directly at me, his eyes burrowing into the depths of my soul with both anger and disappointment.

This is just like being back in the principal’s office in high school. But worse. Much, much worse.

He points his finger at me, his hand trembling a little as he moves it back and forth. “You’re the reason we have a slew of angry parents calling and emailing us non-stop, wanting to cancel their season tickets or have refunds for the events they’ve booked for their children’s minor teams. They say they won’t step foot back into the arena until you’re traded.”

“Come on, now. That’s a little dramatic, don’t you think? I mean, it was just a chocolate bunny. It’s not like it was…”

“Do not finish that sentence,” Casey whispers out the side of his mouth.

“I’m just saying that I think that’s an extreme response for an edible animal. It’s not like I took its head off on purpose,” I add, earning me an elbow in the ribs from Casey. “What? It’s not like you aren’t thinking it.”

“And yet you still decided it was a good idea to take your stick and shoot it like a puck,” Jeffrey says, rubbing his eyes, ignoring my comment. Which, by the look Casey is giving me, is a good thing.

“I don’t know. I guess I wasn’t thinking,” I add.

“Understatement of the year,” Casey says under his breath.

“I saw the head fall to the ground, and I was holding my stick. Next thing I knew, I shot the puck at what’s-his-name , and then he was crying and holding his face.”

“Tommy. His name is Tommy,” Jeffrey adds. “And maybe he was doing that because you shot him in the face with solid chocolate. Not a small hollow one. It had to be a solid chocolate one.”

“Not my fault he couldn’t dodge it. I didn’t even shoot it that hard.”

“ Not helping ,” Casey stresses.

Jeffrey sighs, his big, rounded shoulders dropping dramatically. “I don’t want to do this, James, but you’re going to have to take a leave of absence.”

“What? No!” I nearly jump out of my seat, only to be pulled back in my chair by Casey.

“We can’t risk losing more money because of this, James. The minor league appearance nights alone bring in thousands of dollars of revenue every month.”

I slump in my seat. “All of this over a chocolate bunny,” I say, dazed.

“It’s not forever. Just for a week, at least. Let this all pass over.” Jeffrey says, finally taking a seat in one of the executive chairs across from me. “In the meantime, I’ve worked with our PR team to find you a last-minute appearance that should undo some of the damage you’ve done. Or, it will if you are on your best behaviour. You will be on your best behaviour, right, James?”

“I promised other people I’d be on my worst behaviour,” I say with a smirk.

“Now is not the time for The Office quotes,” Casey groans beside me, rubbing his face. “Michael Scott is not someone to emulate, anyway. Especially in this situation.”

“Fair point,” I concede.

“What’s the event?” Casey asks, obviously taking this way more seriously than I am. Which I should be.

“A First Annual Easter Hop.”

I groan, sinking into my seat and bringing my cap over my eyes.

“It’s being started by…” I heard the rustling of papers before he continues. “C.O.C.O.A.”

Now, that gets my attention.

“By what?” I sit up straight and fix my hat. My eyes are fixed on the papers as if I have super-human eyesight that can see through the sheets.

That would be cool.

“C.O.C.O.A. Christmas Operation for Children and Outstanding Adults.”

“Never heard of it,” I say, slumping back in my seat.

“It’s normally run out of Kamloops, but it looks like they’ve just headed up a branch in a town that might be of interest to you.”

“Oh, yeah? Is it somewhere cool? No, make that hot. I could use some sun right now.” As much as I love playing for Vancouver, I’m so over the cold. I miss feeling some warm rays. Maybe with a pool. Or the ocean. A pool on the ocean–that’s more like it.

“It’s in Gingerbread Grove.”

Nope. Abandon ship. Uno Reverse. I’m out. There’s no way I’m going back to my hometown to try and save my reputation after doing what I did. The holiday-crazed town would eat me alive. Or worse, use me as a puck in one of their Easter games.

I stand to leave, only to be pulled back down by Casey again.

“He’ll do it,” Casey answers for me.

I open my mouth to protest, but he gives me a look that makes me close it immediately. I know that look, and I’ve learned in the five years he’s been my agent not to speak a word when he aims it my way.

“Of course, he will, especially if he wants to stay a Lumberjack. Your contract is coming up soon, isn’t it, Northman?”

Check and mate.

I don’t know the first thing about chess, but I know that he’s got me trapped.

“Ya, at the end of the season,” I add.

“Then I would think long and hard about what role you want to play here in Vancouver. If we don’t have the families on board because of you, you’re a liability, not an asset. Got it?”

“Got it,” I repeat.

“Good. I’m going to go and work out the details with a…” he looks down at the paper again. “Avery Geller. You do exactly what she says, and maybe–just maybe–you’ll be on the Easter Bunny’s good list again.” Jeffrey stands with a nod, his face looking less like a beet and more like a ripe tomato. I think that’s a good sign. For now, anyway.

“I’m pretty sure it’s not the Easter Bunny that has a nice and naughty list,” I say as Jeffrey rushes out of the room.

“I don’t care if Gordie Howe has a naughty or nice list. If there’s a list, you’re on the bad one.”

“You’re always so dramatic,” I say, taking off my cap and flipping it around before putting it back on my head.

“And you’re lucky Tommy agreed not to sue in exchange for those tickets.”

I roll my eyes. “Now there’s someone that’s dramatic.”

“You hit him in the face with a chocolate puck.”

“I said ‘ duck ,’”

Casey deadpans a look at me before rubbing his face again. “I really need to up my fees with you for the next contract.”

“You love me.” I punch his arm lightly, earning me another glare.

“I tolerate you.” He sighs and pulls out his phone. “I have to go research this Avery Geller. In the meantime, go home to Gingerbread Grove and lay low. Don’t do anything that’ll earn me another phone call, and definitely don’t traumatize any more children.”

“It’s like you forget I’m an adult.”

“It’s like you forget you’re one, too, sometimes.”

He gets up and leaves, leaving me alone in the boardroom. While I understand the gravity of what happened, I think the reaction is a little much. I’m not sure why I have to go on leave and do this Easter Hop in Gingerbread Grove, but I guess that’s what I have to do if I want to stay a Lumberjack.

I always thought my time as a Lumberjack would end because of retirement or an injury, never because of a mindless action on a television show. I recognize what I did was wrong—I do—but looking out over the Vancouver skyline, I just hope it’s not the reason I’ll have to leave the place I now call home.

All over a chocolate bunny.