Chapter 17 #2
From what I could tell, Ford had done enough damage, painting me as a femme fatale or at least a hockey hater.
The entire town had gone into mourning when the Seattle Wild had lost the game to LA that infamous night.
At least the social media heartache had calmed down after puck bunnies had gone wild with their gloating efforts.
Ford certainly had plenty of offers if he was so inclined.
I hadn’t been able to watch the game, hiding behind locked doors at the hotel. The plane ride had been chilly, devoid of the Wolfman’s antics. Evidently, Ford had booked another flight. He’d gone to those lengths so he wouldn’t be forced to spend any time in close proximity.
The hunt for the Calder Cup had faded and in some reporters’ minds, so had Ford’s career. With no more games to play and the team on a hiatus, my services hadn’t been needed. I couldn’t imagine the coach asking me back when they started practicing again.
Which had meant finding another job.
With my only partially fake ID, I could pretend I was perfectly legal, but I couldn’t fake a degree.
Therefore, I’d taken what I could find in becoming a barista for the Velvet Roast, an adorable coffee and pastry shop that also served sandwiches at lunch.
Thankfully, the owner wasn’t a hockey fan, or I doubted I would have been hired.
The man standing with his wife talking about how I’d ruined the only real joy the town had in rooting for the homegrown team was painful, but after almost a month, I was getting used to being shunned.
I plastered on a smile and finished the specialty coffee order, sliding it across the counter. “That’ll be thirteen fifty.”
The man glared at me with the same level of hatred I’d seen on so many faces. I had to admit I was growing weary of the attitudes, but hopefully soon the town would get back to normal.
As far as Ford, I’d heard several different stories about him, including that he was holed up in his house when not working in the office at his parents’ sawmill. Why should I care? He’d chosen to treat me as if I had been trying to hurt him.
To hell with that.
I was woman, hear me roar.
The quarter tip was pushing my boundaries and my patience and after the couple walked away, I simply held the coin into the light.
At least I’d learned to fight certain urges, which would ordinarily have me chasing them down and tossing the coin in their faces, telling them they needed the money more than I did.
It became obvious I hadn’t lost my underlying bitchy persona because when the late morning news carried a story about a murder in the Cascade Mountains surrounding the town, my thoughts turned venomous for a brief few seconds. I doubted my boss would approve of me killing off the clientele.
Unfortunately, I needed the job. The last thing I wanted to do was to touch the money I’d brought with me. That was my nest egg.
The tinkle of the bell over the door brought new customers and another smile.
And at least one friend waltzing into the shop. With the sun outside the huge plateglass window, I could only tell that Roxanne was leading the way with someone following her. Roxanne ripped off her sunglasses, her usual huge smile crowding her lovely face.
She’d tried to get me to talk or even to go out for lunch or dinner with her, but the time dealing with Ford and what had transpired had taken enough of a toll that all I wanted was to be a homebody.
The second I noticed Samantha was trailing behind her, I held my breath. If the sister was about to unleash on me, I didn’t think I could handle it.
“Hiya,” Roxanne said as she crowded the counter.
“Come for a coffee?” I asked, eyeing Samantha. Her expression didn’t indicate she was angry, but at this point, I appeared to be a very bad judge of character. She was Ford’s sister and I knew how close they were.
“I’d prefer wine, but apparently, you don’t sell that.” Roxanne shook her finger. “You’ve been avoiding my calls.”
“I’ve been busy. Now, what would you ladies enjoy? Come to find it out, I’m not a bad barista. At least I’m good at something.”
“There it is,” Roxanne added.
“There what is?” I tossed back.
She rolled her eyes in her dramatic flair, which I had to admit I’d missed very much. In ten days, the group had become my found family. Now I felt more alone than I had in a very long time.
“The attitude,” Samantha answered, jumping into the conversation.
“I don’t have an attitude. I’m just busy.”
“Yes, you do,” Roxanne confirmed. “Now, why don’t you make the three of us something festive and come sit down.”
“I’m working and there are customers.”
She turned her head, throwing her arms out since there was no one else in the place. “That’s an order. You’re not going to hide from us forever.”
“Fine.” I yanked three cups, making some crazy concoction that made no sense. When I brought the coffees to the table, both women were staring at me to the point I started sweating.
“Sit,” Samantha commanded and I could at least see some spunkiness in her eyes. Maybe she didn’t hate me for ruining her brother’s life as everyone else had done. “And I know what you’re thinking and no, I’m not angry with you, but I am furious with Ford and fed up with the two of you.”
“What did I do other than care?”
“You let him get away with being five years old,” she tossed back at me.
Well, she had a point there.
Even the media had acted as if at twenty-eight years old, he was completely washed up. Had they not seen him play? He was strong as an ox.
“Okay, I’m sitting. Did something happen to Ford? Did he not take care of himself and he’s in the hospital?” I shifted my gaze from one to the other, groaning as soon as I did. So much for pretending like I didn’t give a shit.
“I told you,” Roxanne said to Samantha.
“Same garbage as when I try and confront my brother. Although he runs like a deer in the headlights. Well,” Samantha chided, her nose wrinkling, “I’ve tried to talk to him, but he either remains behind locked doors or shoves me away when he comes into the office.
He’s such a baby, acting like he’s going to quit playing hockey. ”
“Shit. He’s believing the social media garbage,” I growled.
“Yeah, but he also lost a huge national sponsor. At least that’s what he told our dad.”
I slunk further into the seat, feeling even guiltier than before. “That’s terrible.” All my fault.
“So he’s working?” Roxanne pushed.
Samantha laughed. “Absolutely. He’d be out there in the woods, cutting down trees, hoisting the logs over his big, broad shoulders and carrying them to the sawmill himself if our father hadn’t put his foot down.”
“Did he say anything about Georgia? They are very good together.” Roxanne’s insistence was sweet.
“I agree and he adores her even if he doesn’t want to admit it, the big lunkhead.”
“Hello. I’m sitting right here.” I raised my hand, shifting my gaze from one back to the other.
It was impossible to keep my glare full of anger.
“Just tell me if there’s something critically wrong with the man.
I haven’t seen Ford at all and I’ve been afraid to ask anyone about his condition.
” The truth was I didn’t want to bring up the subject for fear of being run out of town.
Maybe a little dramatic, but the people were hockey crazy. Was there such a thing as puck people? The images flashing through my mind were ridiculous.
“You haven’t asked because you’re stubborn just like he is.” Roxanne allowed one of her cutesy snorts. “You two really are two peas in a pod.”
Tell me something I didn’t know.
“Here’s the short version,” Samantha began.
“You were right to be very concerned about his health and the level of pain he’d been experiencing.
He’s the master of ignoring and forging on.
When Ford was required to go to the hospital, the emergency room doctor was concerned enough that my brother was admitted for a night. ”
“Wow,” Roxanne breathed, watching me carefully. Did she think I was suddenly going to break into some chorus about being right? I hated what I’d been forced to do.
“I know,” Samantha continued. “They did so because there was so much fear about how severe the break was. The x-rays were… Let’s just say even my mother was prepared to stand vigil, refusing to allow him to leave.
Don’t worry. My idiot brother is healing and from what I heard about his last doctor’s appointment, he’ll be able to play hockey again as long as he rests.
But with one hit, things would have been terrible.
You were right to be concerned. And yes, the lunkhead knows that. ”
Relief flooded me along with a healthy dose of fury. “Does your brother know he’s supposed to take it easy?”
Samantha laughed. “Yes, he does. As you might have guessed, he doesn’t like doctors and even went to one of ours to get a second opinion.”
One of theirs. I’d read a little more on the world surrounding shifters and didn’t like most of what I’d read. No wonder they hated anyone in the medical field as there were several professionals who wanted to dissect them to learn more.
“Can I ask you a question?” I posed.
“Anything.” At least Samantha wasn’t surly like her brother.
Even though there were no other customers, I leaned in to ensure no one could overhear us. “Is it really true about your anatomy in that you can heal at a faster rate than humans? What little I’ve read doesn’t provide detailed data.”
“That’s because you’ll likely never develop the full picture about shifters unless you talk to one of our elders. Even then, they likely won’t talk to you. If you think Ford has trust issues, you don’t understand our people.”
“You make it sound like just yesterday you remained in shifter form, foraging for food in the forests.” Roxanne laughed, causing me to follow suit.
Samantha wasn’t laughing.
Until our faces fell.