Page 7 of For Puck's Sake

“Breathe, Ridley. I need you to remain calm. I need you to stay off social media. In fact, don’t comment at all. Don’t talk to anyone. I’m getting the team on it now and will sort this out. I’m thinking this is a publicity stunt, a bunny wanting her moment in the sun. Furthermore, if she is pregnant, you can get a paternity test. We don’t even have to wait, but we will fight this. If she’s not, then we will drag her ass through the mud. What I need you to do is lay low. Take Lia away for the summer, spend time with your family. By the time preseason starts, I plan to have this cleared up. I promise.”

I hang on to every word desperately. Hazel has always taken great care of my affairs, and I know I can trust her to find out the truth. I hate this part of being an athlete. I love hockey, my team and teammates. I never wanted to be in the spotlight. The constant scrutiny, the rumors and lies, someone always out to get something from me. It never stops. I used to pride myself on not drawing too much attention my way. Like Tor, and even Devan, I keep what’s private in my life, private. That all changed two years ago when my very public engagement fell apart.

“I didn’t have plans to do a lot this summer. Lia is busy with her new business, she is sticking close to home for the time being. No worries, I’ll figure something out.” I blow out a breath and let the tension ease out of me. “If you think remaining quiet about this is the best course of action, then I’ll do it.” I shrug helplessly and walk back toward my car. I take a longing look at The Lazy Brew a few blocks away and decide against it. Hazel is right, I need to disappear.

“Good. Good. Let me know where you end up. I’ll be in touch,” she says quickly.

“Thanks, Hazel,” I reply while opening my car door and flopping down in the driver seat with a huff of frustration.

“Hey Kiddo,” she says in that motherly way, indicating she’s taken off the agent hat and put on her familial one. It’s times like this where I miss my father and mother the most. I can almost hear my father’s reaction if he was here with me right now. “Whatever happens, Ridley, we own our mistakes. We take care of what is ours, no matter what. Be strong, son, be the man I raised you to be.”His voice doesn’t sound the same in my head anymore, but the words, those words will always stay with me.

“Yeah,” I finally reply, my voice sounding way too vulnerable for my liking. But any thoughts of my parents revert me back to the twenty-year-old man-boy, rookie hockey player entering the NHL with a seventeen-year-old sister to be responsible for after just losing them both. I felt like a child then, barely knowing what to do with myself or Lia, hopeless and in need of guidance. I need guidance, I need a fucking miracle, I need someone I can’t have right now. I need my Luna.

“Regardless, we will get through this. I will help you in any way I can.” Hazel’s warm words give me the strength I need. I know whatever the outcome, I will get through it. I will face it, because I don’t run from my problems or mistakes. She doesn’t let me reply though, knowing Hazel she has met her emotional quota for the day, because the phone hangs up before I can utter a word. It’s her way though, so I’m not at all upset.

“Fuck!” I yell once the door is closed and this time I do bang my head against the steering wheel. “This can’t be happening, not now,” I say under my breath as the phone immediately starts to ring again. I answer it and slide it into the holder on the dashboard.

“Yeah,” I call out as I start my car and pull out of the parking spot.

“Do I need to ask?” Tor asks with a hint of amusement in his voice. With all the attention he and Alexis have been getting the past few months, it must be a relief the focus is not on him for achange. I guess he thinks all of this is funny, now the tables have turned.

“You know me better than that, Tor. I fuck responsibly,” I respond incredulously.

He sighs and clears his throat. “Yeah, I know you. It’s the desperate dick damsels who you need to be wary of.”

I huff out a laugh only to hear Alexis praise his use of alliteration in the background, making my smile widen, lightening my darkening mood.

“Damn it, Tor. I’m fucked. I have no idea who the woman even is. I just hung up with Hazel. She told me to leave the city and let her take care of it,” I say in defeat.

“Hazel is the best. Don’t tell Parker that though, he’ll demand more money for putting up with my shit. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that Hazel tried to steal me a couple of years ago.” He chuckles. “I almost took her up on her offer, but Parker and I fit,” he says with a sigh.

“I’m not sharing Hazel with you, Bailey. She only has room for one superstar attention-grabbing hockey player,” I tease, happy to get lost in the random conversation.

“Superstar? Well, I’m not going to hit a man while he’s down, so I won’t comment. Which brings me to the reason why I called. I need a favor,” he says as Alexis laughs in the background. I can almost picture the big smile on her face, a smile that never leaves her now that she’s back with my boy.

“Tell Ridley the baby momma trope is not what I envisioned for him,” I hear her say as her words become muffled and then there is nothing but silence. I keep driving toward my penthouse, waiting for Tor, who I assume has muted their conversation. I groan as I replay her words, she doesn’t mean, surely she wouldn’t . . . Would she?

“I need you to run my hockey camp this summer,” Tor finally says, pulling me from my thoughts. Before he can say more, I cut him off.

“Please tell me Alexis isn’t writing a book with me in mind. Please tell me your fiancée isn’t about to lock herself in her cave or whatever she calls it.” I know I sound frantic, because all the asshole does is laugh. I pull into the underground parking lot of my high-rise penthouse and park. Turning the car off I wait for him to stop enjoying my torment.

“It was either you or Devan, but listen, I have a plan,” he says hastily before I can protest. “I love my hockey camp and the kids, but Alexis and I just got back together. I want to spend my time with her before she does lock herself away to write and we are back on the ice. I want to marry this woman now, Rid, I don’t want to wait. Unfortunately, I have to settle on taking her abroad. Well, that’s what I am telling her and her family,” he whispers the last part, and if I know Tor, I know he is planning to get his way no matter the consequences. “So, I need you to go to Lark Bay and run my camp for me, while I take my Supernova to Paris.” Tor is all business now. He loves Alexis. She is his one and only. I know all too well what that means. After everything they went through, he deserves this time with her. It’s why I don’t hesitate in my decision to take his place in Lark Bay this summer.

“Of course, Tor. I’ll step in for you. You know I’ve got you. Whatever you need. Go, be with your girl,” I reply as he blows out a breath of relief. “You’ll be helping me as well. I need to get out of Seattle.”

“You can stay in my summer house. Parker already prepped it for me and Alexis, so it will have everything you need for the next few weeks. Other than that, you know everything else. The camp practically runs itself after all this time. Devan and Bast are coming up for a few days to help out, so you won’t be alone,”he says reassuringly. I don’t need it though, I used to help Tor run his camp in the past. I am familiar with the volunteers and counselors at the local community center. Returning to Lark Bay won’t be easy with all the memories I created there, but I will do it for Tor.

“You don’t need to sell me, Tor. I got it covered. I’ll leave tonight,” I say as I grab my phone and climb out of my car.

“Thank you, Ridley. I’ll owe you. I promise you it will be worth it. I better go, before Alexis really does lock herself away. Parker is only a phone call away. Talk soon.” He quickly ends the call, leaving me stunned as I travel up to my penthouse.

It’s not until a few hours later, my bags packed and I’m driving away from Seattle that I wonder what he meant by it being worth it. I guess I have the rest of my summer to figure it out. For now, I turn the music up, roll the windows down and head to Lark Bay.

FOUR

BREA

“Good morning, Lark Bay. This is WBKS, Lark Bay’s one and only local radio station. I’m Jay Frank bringing you all the happenings around town. I have someone special in the booth with me today. If you’re just tuning in, I am talking about none other than the spectacular Brea Brookes, Lark Bay’s own.”

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