Page 94 of Dancing in the Rain

He hung out and talked to a few of the guys and the trainers. It felt so normal, and yet he still had that sense of not really belonging anymore. The guys were great—laughing and trash-talking him. But it wasn’t the same.

When he left the arena as he had so many times as a player, he paused. When he’d been playing, he’d spent plenty of afternoons at Paterson House, working with kids. Why couldn’t he do that?

So after grabbing some lunch, he drove to Paterson House.

“Hey, Drew!” Hal strode toward him, hand extended. “Long time no see!”

“I know, I know. My bad.”

“Heard you retired last year.”

“Yeah.” The words weren’t quite as much a punch in the jaw as they had been. “My knee just couldn’t handle it anymore.”

“That sucks, man. What are you up to these days?”

“Not much, actually. Had some personal stuff going on but I’m trying to get back on track now. Thought I’d stop by and say hi to the kids and see what’s going on.”

“They’ll be thrilled.”

Drew doubted that, but to his surprise, even a washed-up NHL player was still exciting to these kids who loved the game and idolized players, but whose families couldn’t afford to pay for hockey fees and expensive equipment.

He was also surprised at how much fun he had joking around with the boys, some of whom he knew from last year, some he was meeting for the first time.

“Next time I’ll bring my skates,” he promised them as he left later that afternoon. “Be ready.”

“When are you coming again?” Brendan asked.

“Uh, not sure.” Jesus, it wasn’t as if he had a full schedule. “How about tomorrow?”

“Yeah!”

He left the center with a warm softness in his chest that actually felt kind of good.

He was just starting his car when his phone beeped. He pulled it out. Jack Shipton.

“Hey, Jack,” he answered. “Finally we connect.”

“Yeah, I was wondering what was going on. Sorry to hear about your…loss.”

“It’s a weird situation,” he said, shoving a hand into his hair. “Anyway, the funeral was last week and I finally had a chance to get back to you.”

“Why don’t we meet? You want to come to my office? Or maybe have lunch one day?”

“Lunch sounds good.” Casual. Less intimidating.

They arranged a time and place to meet and Drew dropped his phone on the passenger seat. He still wasn’t sure what this was going to do for him, but it was at least somewhere to start.

Then he picked up his phone again to make a call.

Peyton answered.

“Hey,” he said. “It’s me.”

“Hi. How are you?”

“Good. You?”

“I’m okay. Today was weird.”

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