Page 92 of Offside Attraction

Jordan ran his thumb over the inside of her palm. “What do you know about Curtis and his wife?”

“Snowballs’ Curtis?” she asked. Jordan nodded. Rhonda thought for a moment. “He’s a family guy. They have four kids. Why?”

Jordan brushed a strand of hair away from her cheek. “I coach his oldest son. He and this other kid aren’t sympatico at the moment.”

“Ah. Hoping not to tattle?”

He grinned. “No, I love tattling. I just need to know how best to do it.”

“Maximize the trouble this kid will get in.”

Jordan laughed. “Exactly. See? You get it.”

The lights dimmed, and he settled back in his seat. Rhonda leaned over. “I’ll call Curtis’s wife. I’ll let you know if I hear anything that could help.”

It was only two days later when he and Rhonda sat in the hospital coffee shop that she followed up. Rhonda had just finished a meeting with Dr. Mallory. She said she’d sweat through her shirt, but he couldn’t tell.

Rhonda wrapped her hands around the warm ceramic mug. It was already getting dark at four in the afternoon, the sky outside the coffee shop a deep indigo. He still had three hours on his shift. He’d been storing up time for a couple of times over the holidays where he was going to need to take time off.

“I think I might be a genius at this now.” She took a sip of coffee.

Jordan laughed. “What now?”

Rhonda gave him a look. “Just, being open. Telling people the truth.” She set her mug down. “I talked with Sasha.”

“Jace’s mom.”

She nodded. “I told her about how I don’t talk with my sister, just put it right out there, and she said that’s her biggest fear for her kids. Then she said that Jace doesn’t want to have anything to do with his siblings.”

Jordan’s brow furrowed. “Sad.”

Rhonda sighed. "Jace hasn't been the easiest to deal with at home. He's been giving them a lot of attitude, not doing his homework, and generally being a pain in the ass."

“So, teenage boy.”

Rhonda frowned. “Maybe. But after everything you told me, I don’t think it would be a bad thing to say something. I think they’d be grateful for some insight.”

He nodded. “Perfect. Thank you.”

Rhonda beamed. “You’re welcome.”

Jordan took a drink and leaned back in his seat. “So, you helped me.”

“I did.”

“Which means I get to help you with something. I get a freebie.”

She scoffed. “That’s not how this works.”

Jordan was already scooting his chair back. He stood. “Meet me tomorrow morning. I’ll text you the address.”

He grinned, then shared a location for his favourite tire shop. He’d already called to make sure they had the right snow tires in stock.

He was about to slip his phone back into the pocket of his scrubs when a text came through. Unknown number. He wouldn’t have clicked on it, but his name was in the preview.

Hey, Jordan. This is Anne.

And Tina!

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