Page 22 of Rainbow Kisses

“I’ve already talked to your mom, but I wanted to talk to you two together.”

Rowdy and I glanced at each other with raised eyebrows. Apparently, my brother didn’t know what this was about either, and that was unusual.

“What’s up, Pop?” Rowdy asked.

Dad didn’t answer right away, looking between the two of us, as if trying to find the right words. That in itself was scary because our dad was never at a loss for words. He didn’t use a lot of them, but he always knew what he was going to say.

“Dad?” I prodded. “What’s going on?”

A few more seconds of silence, and my stomach started to do flips. Something was up, and I hated not knowing what that was.

“I got a phone call from Bill Irving about joining the ECHL.”

It took a second for the news to process through my brain. Apparently, Rowdy’s brain worked faster than mine.

“What was his pitch this time?”

My head snapped around to Rowdy, eyes narrowing. “This time? What do you mean, this time?”

Rowdy grimaced at the rising tone of my voice, flashing a look at Dad, who put up his hand, like he was stopping traffic.

“When was the first time?” My voice sounded screechy, and a little pissy. And that wasn’t good. “What did they say? What did you say? When were you going to tell me?”

Dad waited a beat before asking, “Anything else you want to ask?”

I had the childish urge to stick out my tongue but settled instead for making a face. “I reserve the right to more questions later.”

Now my dad grinned, and I knew it was because he was proud of me. And it just made me want to screech a little louder.

“Told your mom you should’ve been a lawyer.”

“Lucky you, I decided to work for thefamilybusiness.”

I forced myself not to cross my arms over my chest and pout, because I wasn’t twelve anymore.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rowdy grimace. My dad’s grin spread even more. I would throw up my hands and scream in frustration, but I knew it wouldn’t get him to answer me any faster, so I started to silently chant,I love my family, I love my family, I love my family.

Finally, Dad said, “I didn’t tell you the first time because it wasn’t something I even considered. We were still building the league at that point. And I’d made a commitment to the other owners to give it ten years before we made any major changes orconsidered jumping ship. The ECHL put out feelers to two of our teams that year.”

My brows arched. “And neither of you took the offer? Why?”

“Because neither of us felt it was a good fit. It would mean a whole hell of a lot more regulation that we don’t have to worry about now. And there were logistical reasons. More travel. Longer travel. More expenses. We were doing well for ourselves. Why rock the boat?”

Because we were small potatoes in the grand scheme of all things hockey, and a larger professional league believed we could be more. Bigger league, more fans, more promotional opportunities. Fans from other areas coming to St. David for games. Eating at local restaurants. Shopping at local stores. The business it would bring to the town would more than overcome any cons.

Unless it didn’t. Unless we overstepped. Unless we overextended and?—

“I can see your brain sparking, Rainy,” Dad said. “And I know it sounds amazing. But there are other considerations. We’re a big fish in a small pond right now. We’d be a small fish in a bigger pond, and there’d be a whole new learning curve.” He exchanged a look with Rowdy that confirmed my sense that there was more going on than just a phone call. “Plus, I’m not sure it’s what’s best for you and your brothers.”

And then I realized what this was all about.

“Wait. This is about you retiring, isn’t it? I mean, I know you keep talking about it, but…”

I couldn’t imagine this place without my dad. He was as much a fixture here as the aging popcorn machine we refused to replace because we’d had it since opening night. Dad had bought it from the Philadelphia Colonials, who’d had it in storage after they’d built their new arena years ago.

Now, little abstract pieces of information started to click together in my brain. Duties Rowdy had taken over. New responsibilities on my plate the past couple of seasons. It hadn’t occurred to me at the time to think they were anything other than things Dad didn’t want to do.

“Are you really considering retiring?”

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