Page 2 of Defensive Zone

They were sitting in Ava’s living room after the kids had gone to bed. Ava looked like she was ready to drop from exhaustion after everything that had happened in the last week.

“No. It’s okay, Mom. I need to figure things out here. I need to find a job and figure out how I can go back to work. There’s just so much,” she said, her eyes bright red from tears.

“You’ll come stay with me,” he said. He’d thought about it over the last few days and knew it was his best chance of helping his sister.

“What?” Ava asked.

“Yes. I have plenty of room and you’ll have whatever you need. I know Mrs. Maquire won’t mind keeping an eye on your house while you’re gone. Just until you figure out what you want to do,” he said.

Mrs. Maquire was Ava’s next-door neighbor, and she had her eyes and ears on everything happening on the street.

“I don’t know, Max,” she said.

“Please, Ava. Let me do this for you. The house is boring with just me in it. Whatever you want or need will be yours. We can even hire a nanny if you want help with the kids. I have a cleaning service once a week,” he said. “Take a break from everything here.”

He’d bought the place almost a year ago because he’d liked the neighborhood and it was a good investment. At least he hoped it was a good investment. He wanted to think that his future was pretty solid, but without a no-movement clause in his contract, and with the upcoming expansion draft for Houston in June, nothing was certain. Hopefully, he’d be on the short list of protected players and he hadn’t jinxed himself by buying a home.

But right now, that didn’t matter. He could think about June in June. Now, he was living in a too-big house all by himself and he missed the noise that he was used to when he lived in the same condo complex as a bunch of his teammates. His house was too quiet, and he wasn’t a fan of quiet.

Plus, there was no one to prank when he was by himself.

“Max. She should be home with us,” their mother said. “We can help with the kids.”

“Mom. You two are super busy with work. I don’t want to put added stress on you,” Ava said.

“Nonsense. Our daughter and our grandchildren are not added stress,” their father said.

“You are more than welcome to visit whenever you want. You know I’ll fly you out any time,” Max said to his parents.

“We know. We just want to help,” their mother said. “This is so awful and unexpected. I’m sorry, honey. You should not be dealing with this alone.”

“I actually think it might be good to get away from here for a while. I know I have a job in September, but it’s only February. Max can spoil the kids,” Ava said.

“We can spoil them, too,” their mother said.

“I know, but I think staying with Max and getting out of this house might help,” Ava said.

Max slung his arm over his sister’s shoulders and tugged her close.

“This will be a good thing, Av. Whatever you need, it’s yours,” Max said.

Ava looked up at him, her cheeks blotchy, tears in her eyes. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I need to get out of this house.”

“We’ll figure everything out. I promise,” he said.

It was heartbreaking to watch her heart break.

He would do anything for them. The only thing more important in his life than hockey was his family, and they should always come first.

Gabi slammed the car door shut with her hip as she jostled her bag and stared at the house of her nemesis.

Okay. That was a bit much.

Max wasn’t her nemesis. He’d just annoyed the hell out of her for as long as she’d known him, and she’d been second-guessing her decision to come here pretty much since Ava had called her last week and asked her for help.

Ava.

Her heart broke for her best friend. Gabi was still trying to process how a man that young could’ve had a heart attack. When Ava had called in hysterics two weeks ago to tell her what had happened, Gabi had known she would do anything for her friend. They’d been best friends for twenty years, ever since Gabi had moved from Chicago to Montreal after her parents had divorced when Gabi was six.

---