Chapter 9
“Hey Kyle! Good to see you man.”
Kyle settled back on his chair, his iPad propped up against his bent knees so he could see the faces of the Northwest Ice crew. “Good to see you all. And I mean, all. It feels like forever since we’ve all been together, huh?”
“Way too long,” Ryan agreed.
“Ah, but that’s what playoff schedules can mean.
” Luc clasped his fingers and stretched, releasing a solid crack as the others laughed and teased.
Winnipeg were in the Western Conference finals for the first time in years, and tomorrow night was the decider against Vancouver, who’d knocked out Edmonton in round two.
“Surprised to see you here, Luc,” Mitch said. “Aren’t you supposed to be tucked up in bed, ready for the most important game of your life?”
“Please. That’s game four of the next round.”
Zac’s chin lifted. “Them’s fighting words.”
“And it’s on.” Tom Chavez grinned. “Who needs to go actually watch the game live when we can watch them battle it out tonight, huh Kyle?”
“Right.” Unlike most of the guys here, he’d been forced to watch the games on TV, unable to fly to watch games live thanks to another infection. Doc Cheloff had packed him back to Dr. Winthrop who’d put him on a new round of antibiotics. Fun times.
“Not gonna lie, though,” Luc grinned. “This is pretty awesome. And yeah, Bails wanted me to sleep but the bub woke up so I’m here instead.”
Kyle’s heart twanged. While he was excited for Luc, it seemed Winnipeg’s captain either had or was on the cusp of everything Kyle had hoped and dreamed. A wife, a baby, and the chance to play for the Cup. He swallowed envy. “Hope you do well tomorrow.”
“Hey!” Zac’s teammate, Drew, protested. “Remember us?”
Tom rolled his eyes. “You never let us forget.”
“Must’ve been bittersweet to see Seattle get as far as they did,” Mike sympathized.
“True.” Kyle barked a laugh. “Didn’t seem like they missed me though.”
“Aww, poor dude,” Chris teased. “You’re the reason you guys couldn’t beat us. Without Kyle’s sniper shots, Sam and the rest of your Seattle bros were lost. It must’ve been tough.”
“You got no idea.”
“Nope. They don’t, seeing as Vancouver always make the postseason,” Franklin said.
“Can we help it if we don’t love playing golf in May as much as some of you do?” Chris chirped.
“Wow, that’s just rude,” Tom Chavez said.
Mitch shook his head. “I hope Luc’s guys take them down a peg or two otherwise the next big storm is gonna see Chris and Drew’s gigantic egos sailing right across the Pacific.”
The guys laughed, including Chris and Drew, and Kyle’s heart eased for what felt like the first time in months.
It had been nearly five weeks since he’d been released from hospital, and it had been tough watching Seattle make it to game seven of the first round, only to be knocked out by Vancouver.
The past few weeks of light exercise had left way too much time sitting on his hands, wondering what to do.
And seeing he’d been forbidden from participating in the game he loved as he waited for the injury and infection to heal, his thoughts had turned to the other thing forbidden in his life.
The one that—honest talk—was fast becoming an all-consuming passion.
“So, Kylomeister, what’s happening?” Mitch Reilly said.
“Huh, I thought that was Dougie’s line,” Jai objected.
Doug Lehtonen, who had been quiet until now, shrugged. “Happy to pass on the beacon of greatness to another. Even if he’s less worthy.”
“Whoa. You saying that about Tinks or about Mitch?”
“Mitch for sure. Kyle still gets a leave pass from me.”
Mike frowned. “Are you okay, Dougie? You don’t seem yourself.”
He shrugged, but glanced away.
Kyle joined the others in raising his eyebrows.
“Dude, are you okay?” Mitch persisted. Now that man had softened a lot in the time Kyle had known him. “There’s no shame if you’re struggling. That’s what we’re here for. If you want us to pray for something, then let us know. I’m not a mind reader.”
Doug shook his head, and Jai, his captain, spoke up. “It’s been a little challenging lately. Today was JT’s birthday.”
“Oh, man.”
“I didn’t know.”
“I’m sorry.”
The quiet words said a lot about how this brotherhood was more than just hockey and jokes.
People really did care, and went out of their way to pray or help in whatever way they could.
When Jai and Allie Mullins had asked for the Northwest Ice posse to contribute to a fundraiser for JT’s widow, every man and significant other had stepped up.
Kyle himself had contributed twenty grand for the unborn baby’s college fund.
“How is Elsa doing?” Chris asked.
Doug shook his head. “Not great. The baby is due soon and she’s struggling to find anything positive.”
“Of course.”
“Those first milestones are always the hardest,” Franklin said.
Zac nodded. “You let us know if there’s anything we can do to help. Ainsley was asking about her the other day.”
Mike nodded. “Bree said to let Elsa know that she’s praying for her.”
“Bailey did too,” Luc said.
“Thanks,” Doug rasped. “I’ll pass that on.”
Hmm. Interesting that it was Doug who seemed to be carrying more of the emotional burden of this than Jai. And while he couldn’t see Doug as being interested in a widow, it was still kind of interesting to see.
“Hey, we still haven’t heard what Kyle has been up to,” Ryan complained. “Anyone else thinks he’s holding out on us?”
“Yeah, he keeps changing the subject.” Zac smiled.
“No, I don’t. There’s just not much to say.”
“Come on. There’s always more to say,” Luc goaded. “What’s this I hear about you being treated by a pretty doctor?”
“What? What have you heard?” How had he heard? Was his encounter now part of hockey’s gossip chains?
“Aha. Here we go. Now we’re talking. Spill the tea.”
“There’s nothing to spill,” he protested.
“Come on. A man doesn’t have that kind of reaction unless there’s something to say.”
“Wait, is this the girl you once told me about?” Mitch asked.
Uh-oh. Last year he and Mitch had shared a few times about relationship troubles when Mitch and Britta had been working out how to make things work. Along the way Kyle might’ve accidentally spilled a little too much about his own challenges.
“Okay, now I need popcorn.” Ryan smirked. “What’s going on in Kyle’s world that he gives such a big reaction like that?”
“Nothing is going on.” And that was the problem.
“Judging from that face, the man sure wants something to be going on.”
“A doctor, huh?” Franklin smiled. “What’s her name?”
He shook his head.
“Okay, then. Luc, give me your source, tell us how you know about a pretty doctor,” Franklin said.
“Anyone else think Franklin’s been taking notes from Hannah?” Tom raised his brows.
Hannah James was a sports reporter who had been involved in some serious investigative work over the years, earning herself an award or two along the way. She’d been on maternity leave as she and Franklin had welcomed their little son, Jonah, at the end of last year.
Kyle’s heart clenched. He’d love to be a dad one day.
“Let’s not get distracted,” Ryan said. “I want to know about this doctor friend. What’s her name?”
He sighed. It looked like there’d be no getting out of this today.
He could end the call but that would only make it more obvious how much he was bugged by all this.
Besides, these guys were so persistent they’d only ask the next time.
So he might as well tell them the truth. Some of it, anyway. “Her name is Gen.”
“Jen as in Jenny?”
“Gen as in Genevieve. I knew her at school. We went out then.”
“She’s the one who got away.” Mitch rubbed his hands together. “I was wondering about this when you mentioned her last year.”
“Last year?” Zac said. “You been holding out on us, Tinks?”
“Reilly, isn’t it time you had to leave? It must be past your bedtime, seeing you’re retired and all.”
Kyle’s jibe earned chuckles, but it was later than Mitch usually hung around. He’d retired from hockey last Christmas thanks to persistent concussion injuries, and now was training as a youth worker in Saint Paul, Minnesota, while he and Britta planned a June wedding.
“Anybody else notice how Kyle keeps deflecting?” Ryan asked.
“It’s almost like he doesn’t want us prying into his business.” Jai grinned.
“It’s cool, Kylos,” Dougie said. “You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to.”
But part of him did want to. If nothing else, he could really do with some prayers. Especially when his own didn’t seem to be working.
“Look, this is hard for me, okay? But I really would appreciate it if you could actually pray for me. I always thought the point of this group was to help us grow in God and I really need some wisdom about this.”
“Dude, we got you,” Tom said.
“You know that we’re always happy to pray for you,” Mike said. “What’s happened?”
So Kyle told them the story. Most of it, anyway.
He shared about Gen, their different paths growing up, the sense of being soulmates that he’d always felt with her.
“Not that I think that ‘you complete me’ stuff is real, but I’ve always felt like we just clicked and she was my perfect match.
And then we broke up because I got drafted and went east and she had her medical studies to pursue, and we both knew it would be too hard.
But anytime I tried to check in on her, I couldn’t, because I later found out she’d moved away. ”
“Ooh, that bites,” Chris said, nose wrinkling.
Kyle shrugged. “So ever since then I’ve felt like part of me is missing. She was my best friend, and then suddenly wasn’t. It felt like she dropped off the planet for ten years.”
“Wow.” Mike nodded. “I can’t imagine missing Bree for that long. It was hard enough when we had a couple of months apart.”
“Back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth,” Jai teased. Mike and Bree had been together forever, it seemed.
“And I won’t go telling Karlsson he’s not your bestie anymore,” Doug said virtuously. He and Detroit’s Brent Karlsson had been teammates back in the day, and everyone knew the bond between Mike and Brent was tight.