Page 69 of Dump and Chase

Our small dinner party would consist of the two of us plus Jeremy, Brandon, and Ryan and his girlfriend Amanda. She hadn’t been dating him while I was around, so I looked forward to meeting her. Maybe I could make a connection and a new friend.

“Does she know about the baby? That you’re the father?” I asked as I prepared my turkey for the oven.

“Ryan said she doesn’t, and I’d like to keep it that way. She can be a bit of a gossip. So if you could let Warde know,” Ethan said, placing some beer he’d picked up into the fridge.

I gave Ethan some instructions on when to put the bird in the oven and at what temperature and then headed out. I had to put in my morning of work.

A month and a half into the season, and injuries were mounting on the Ravens, not that it surprised anyone. Suddenly, my workload had increased, and I jammed in all the injured players who were scheduled to see me, and during a short fifteen-minute break, I sat in my shared office Jim at the practice rink, since we were only permitted to the use the Graham Place on game days.

“Hey, Jim, how are you today?” I asked, plopping down in my chair. I guzzled some water and pulled out a bag of cut vegetables to munch on.

“Dube wants painkillers.”

Interesting start to the conversation. Dube was the enforcer on the team, and when the Kodiaks needed some extra muscle, they called him up. He got himself into bust-ups on the ice fairly often, but not once had he ever come to see me for treatment. I assumed one of two things: he either didn’t want to be treated by a woman, or he played through injuries. It seemed it was the former.

“For what?” I asked, dragging my cucumber through some dip I’d brought along.

“He says he’s feeling achy.” Jim’s forehead wrinkled as he spoke. Clearly, he was conflicted.

“Do you want him to come see me?”

“I suggested that. He just wants Warren to prescribe him some painkillers. I told Allan. I think he’s addicted.”

Whoa! When had he made that leap? “Jim, I think you need to fill in the missing pieces.”

Jim blinked a few times. “He asks for them all the time. I told Allan and I told Coach Fontaine last year. Warren stopped prescribing them. I think he’s getting them somewhere else.”

I leaned back in my chair. This wasn’t good. “What do you want to do about it?”

“I’ve seen it before. It ruins players’ lives. We can’t have it start again here with the Ravens. I’m going to talk to Allan and Coach Fontaine again.”

I could tell he was holding something back, which was unusual for Jim. So I prodded. “Are you worried about something?”

Jim focused his gaze on me, something he rarely did. His light brown eyes looked tired. “He’s going to know it’s me.”

“And why is that a problem?”

“He’ll make me pay for it.”

Oh. Now it all made sense. Even if I was the one who went to Coach Fontaine and Allan, Dube would still think it was Jim, and I’d heard he could be a bully off the ice too. “What has he done before to make people pay for things?”

“Keyed a car. Slashed another player’s tires. Pushed them around when no one was looking. No one could prove he damaged the cars, and players didn’t want to rat him out. But I know.”

I was sure he did. “What do we do about it?” I said, including myself now. I wanted him to feel supported.

His mood lifted at that. “I don’t know, but I’m telling Allan and Coach Fontaine today. They have to know.”

* * *

I got home just around two that afternoon. Ethan had put the bird in the oven and was tidying up the living room even though it didn’t need it. I changed out of my Ravens T-shirt and headed to the kitchen to make a quick lunch since I hadn’t brought one to work. While I was eating, Ethan wandered in.

“Do you need me to do anything right now?”

“I don’t think so. I planned to relax for a bit before tackling the side dishes.”

“I may go down to the gym and work out, then.”

“Before you go, what can you tell me about Chris Dube?”

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