Page 8 of Penalties and Proposals

Traitor. “He’s the guy who showed up to set hammered and then tried to get me kicked off future jobs after I asked him to leave.”

Harlow’s jaw goes slack as her hand flies to her mouth. “Noooo. Noah? He didn’t seem like the kind of person to be such a turd.”

“Well, he is. He’s a big ole turd.” I watch as confusion dances across her features. Am I in some kind of parallel universe?

“Honestly, Willa, I think the guy you know from back then is gone. Or at least appears to be. The Noah I’ve met is kind and sweet; he’s an ooey-gooey cinnamon roll, really. I guess he was dating some actress who he broke up with not long ago because he wants to meet someone with more substance. His words, not mine.”

I can’t help but laugh. Of course Harlow would have the inside scoop for me. She was always that friend. “Did he offer this information up to you or is this coming from an online source?” I say teasingly.

“It’s from Teddy. He’s always looked up to Noah. In fact, Noah is one of the reasons a few of these guys are playing hockey now.” She pulls her jacket closer, wrapping it around her to shield herself from the cold. “Even Teddy, who you know isn’t one to give a compliment so easily, thinks he’s one of the coolest guys he’s met in a long time.”

Thanks, Ted, I think as my gears grind. The Teddy she speaks of is hockey legend Ted “the Bear” Powell. He has a resemblance to Ryan Phillippe that I’ve never been able to shake, and he’s also one of Harlow’s oldest and bestest friends, so I’ve had the pleasure of meeting him in the past. I’d seen his name on the team roster.

Casting my eyes around me, I pick up on the colors of autumn glowing their brightest and best, the bright hues I enjoyed as I entered the park now reminding me of fire. As in I’d like to light Noah on fire, but that’s neither here nor there at the moment. It appears I’m a solo party of one on my anger date.

“If he has changed, I guess I’ll see, won’t I?” Maybe I’m the one who needs to work my own steps and drop my guard. Evenmy mother has offered her sage advice for me to “let it go” so I can move on.

A beeping in Harlow’s pocket pulls her attention away from me as she pulls out her cell phone. “Ahh, it’s Teddy. I need to run, but I’ll call you later, okay? Maybe we can hang out more since we’re both here?”

Embracing my old friend again, I nod. “I’d love it.”

Watching her as she jogs away, I can’t help but smile. It’s nice knowing that I do have someone here as a touchstone if I need it, even if they are shockingly on Team Noah.

But Harlow’s Noah and the Noah I remember? These guys sound like two very different people.

I just wonder which one I’m going to get.

CHAPTER 5

NOAH

With the majorityof the team headed out to a VIP party being hosted in town tonight, I see my opportunity to have some quiet time. We may have our own rooms here, but since the day I arrived, we’ve been on the go and you’re hardly ever truly alone. If you’re not at practice, you’re back at the hotel in the gym. If you’re not in the gym, you’re running into a teammate and chatting. It’s full-on.

Zipping up my coat, I head out of the lodge and start up the park trail that leads into the township of Maple Falls. I’ve got my head down as I stroll along, still thrown from running into Willa, but all of this hockey business is really spinning me out lately.

Since before I said yes to coming to Maple Falls, I’ve been on the fence about this life. I’ve been doing this for several years now, and I’ve seen the ups and downs it can bring. I’ve made it through a hard time, for me, and come out on the other side. I’d been tossed from my NHL team, rightly so, down to the AHL, but it was the best thing for me. The Renegades have been my family; they’ve rallied around me and given me confidence to get back on my skates again, as it were.

But, some days when I get home after practice and it’s cold and dark and it’s just me having dinner, I feel empty. Likesomething is missing. I’ve dated. Most recently it was an actress. Cecilia. A tiny shudder makes me laugh out loud. What a train wreck that relationship turned out to be.

We dated a few months before I realized she liked the press we got as a couple, but she really couldn’t have cared less about us and our relationship. I was, and am, ready to be more settled. Looking ahead to the future, she wasn’t there. The final nail in the coffin for me was when she started partying harder and would show up at my games so inebriated that I’d have to steer her out of the arena on those nights. Not ideal when you’re me.

“Noah! Wait up.”

Turning around, I spot Scotty MacFarland jogging to catch up with me. I’ve known him since I started playing, both of us coming up the ranks at the same time. Only Scotty stepped back when his wife was terminally ill. It was around the same time I had my own demons to deal with, and we’d lost touch. Seeing him here, and as assistant coach, had been a nice surprise.

“Hey, man,” I say, stopping to wait for him. “You’re not going to that party tonight?”

“Nah,” he says, shaking his head, clapping me on the back. “I’m grabbing a pizza and helping a friend. What are you doing?”

“Looking for dinner.”

“Ah, well,” Scotty begins as we fall in stride, “I can recommend the pizza place, or there’s a diner nearby, too. If you want something where you can sit and be warm and think quietly, then The Glass Olive, which serves Italian, might be the place to go.”

“Oh, Italian is the way to go.”

“It’s not far, I’ll show you a shortcut,” he says. He then switches gears, his voice going down an octave. “I’ve been meaning to check in and see how you’re doing. I know the first few practices felt rough for everyone. You good?”

“Always reading my mind,” I say. “I guess so. I know it’sgoing to take all of us a bit to get to know our strengths and weaknesses, but we’ll get there.”

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