Page 3 of The Pucking Girl Next Door

Shaking his head. "No, you are focused on hockey. That's the problem. You put so much energy into hockey that you can't think of anything else. And now everything is getting to you."

"Maybe." I'm not really convinced that what he's saying is true though.

"Listen. We have a few days around Christmas. My family is going to the Bahamas for the holidays. Go chill out at my parents' house for those few days. Maybe hit the slopes, sit in the hot tub. No one will be there to bother you. What do you have to lose?"

"Thanks. I'll think about it.", Right at that moment, the server brings us our food and we both turn silent as we eat. Looking over at my best friend, I think more about what he said. Maybe a vacation would do me some good and he's right, nothing bad could happen if I take a break for a few days. It would be nice to get sometime by myself where I have nothing else to worry about.

I really don't want to spend Christmas with my dad and Kimberly. Watching them dote on each other, talking about the baby. On top of that, my dad would probably try to get me to do something else for it, like he did at Thanksgiving.

Taking a deep breath, maybe being in the wilderness will be good, surrounded by trees and fresh air. It's not like I'll be roughing it, but it will give me time to get out of my normal routine. It has to be the way to help my game and maybe I'll even find someone I can close my other type of game with, too.

I know what I'm going to do for my break, deciding I'm going to take Steve up on that offer. With that decision made, I feel lighter already. Yep, that's what I'm going to do. Take some time and hang out at his family's house, hike in the snow, maybe even go snowboarding, and take a moment to just breathe.

I turn to my friend. "I'll take you up on staying at your family's house. You're right, I need a break."

He laughs as he grabs his phone. "It's the right call. I'll text my parents to let them know."

Chapter 3

Annabelle

Two weeks later

"Annabelle, I need you to finish up this report before you leave for your Christmas vacation." Frannie, my boss, sneers at me as she places a pile of papers on my desk.

Clearing my throat, I sit taller as I pull all of my courage from deep within to speak up. "Frannie. I was actually on my way out. I have to leave if I'm going to make my flight to the Bahamas."

Frannie's face doesn't even move, no emotion whatsoever. Sometimes I wonder if she can even make expressions.

"You know, the one with my family," I say trying to encouraging her to remember the conversation we had just a few months ago.

After a few tense moments, she finally responds, but not in the way I wanted her to. "You will not leave until this report is completed."

"But I put in for—" I start to say but Frannie interrupts me. "I don't care when you put in your vacation. You can't leave until this is done. If you don't finish this before you leave, you might as well not come back," she demands. Before I can even say anything else, she turns and leaves my tiny office.

Dropping my head on to my desk, I groan. That was not how I wanted this to go. I can't help but wonder how this has become my life, stuck at this job, a job I hate. The only reason I've even stayed this long and put up with the abuse is because I make more money here than I would've anywhere else. Not that I have time to spend it on anything, since all I do is work and sleep in my parents guest house. The same guest house I've been living in since I graduated from college. I haven't even had time to find a place to stay.

The whole reason I moved back here to Ember Bend is because I always imagined a future where I would raise a family here, next to mine. Where my kids get to run around in the snow with cousins, laughing while us adults watch and talk about how we used to do the same as kids. But that dream seems like a lifetime away.

Taking another deep breath, I try to release all of my pent-up stress out. Something I have to do. Alot! Sitting up, I glance over at the clock. It's three thirty in the afternoon. My eyes go to the pile of papers Frannie just left, and if the amount is any sign, then this is going to take longer than the thirty minutes I have before I leave.

Damn! I'm supposed to be on a plane in a few hours to join my family in the Bahamas. I can't help but feel anger bubbling up underneath my skin. She probably did this on purpose, knowing that I'm supposed to leave for vacation. One that I put in monthsago. Even after reminding her, she didn't care because all she cares about is that someone gets the work done. And it definitely won't be her. I could just leave her high and dry, hoping to get a chance to plead my case by justifying that I had a plane to catch to HR or the higher ups, but something in my gut tells me that won't make a difference.

Letting out a breath, I resign myself to the fact that I'm going to have to push back my flight. Grabbing my phone, I rebook my flight for tomorrow, ignoring the little notification that says there's a possibility that my flight could be postponed because of the impending storm. I just have to pray that I can get on that flight tomorrow and now on top of that I have to hope that I don't lose my job either.

Once it's done, I send my mom a text to let her know.

Mom: Annabelle, have you seen the weather report? You need to get down here tonight.

I take another deep breath as I read her text. My mom can lay the guilt on real thick, and I don't want to deal with that right now. Instead of responding to her, I put my phone back in my purse and grab the papers that my boss left for me. Flipping through them and seeing all that I need to do, I can feel the pressure building behind my eyes. I blink my lashes repeatedly, hoping to keep the tears away, because I will not do that here. I will not cry.

I pull up the program on my computer and start working on the report. Hopefully, I can get this done quickly and run home to grab my suitcase. Even though I pushed my flight back, I hope that I can get on a standby flight. I won't tell my mom this but I'm a little worried about the weather too.

But for now, I've got to concentrate on this. No need to worry about something I can't control.

When I finally finish the report, I feel upbeat, hoping that everything will fall into place, and I'll make my flight. I glance down at the clock and all those feelings flee from me immediately. Damn! That report took longer than I thought. Hitting the print button, I grab it and staple it together.

Once I have it all together, I walk down the hallway to Frannie's office and all the lights have been turned off. Of course she's already left. My shoulders slump over as I curse her out in my head. If I had the guts, I would tell that she-devil exactly what I think about her. But since this is not a perfect world, I can't.

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