Page 44 of Goalie Interference

“Exactly.” I smiled back at her, and it was good. In different circumstances, Sophie and I could be friends. Maybe more. My mind wandered for a minute thinking of thosemorethings. Her smile dropped.What?Oh, wondering why I was there. “I came to ask how Hanny’s guitar was going.” It was a lame excuse, but with the team gone I was grasping at straws.

“Good. He was going to come by after the road trip he said the team was on. Maybe you can let him in, in case I’m…” Her hand waved at her machine.

“Yeah, absolutely. We usually finish up practice at the same time, so I could bring him by after that. You’re here working afternoons, right?”

“Usually. Maybe check first.”

“I’ll do that.”

I should leave. That excuse had been weak to begin with. I’d like to look around her shop and ask what she did with all this stuff, but I knew nothing about music and guitars, and this was going to be awkward if I just hung around. I should go upstairs…where I would have nothing to do except walk Beast till practice tomorrow.

“Do you watch hockey?” The words slipped out of my mouth and I cringed.

She cocked her head. “Do I watch hockey?”

“I just wondered, because you and Otts, and maybe you’re a fan? Or maybe you watch the Aces because they’re local and his team?”

She shrugged. “Not often. He’s with the team, but he’s not on the game feed.”

“Of course.” I knew that. Smooth I was not.

“Sometimes I watch with Cash when he’s around. He’s a fan and always watched Ollie when he was playing.”

“Oh. Right.”

“So why aren’t you with them? They’re on a road trip, right? Are you injured?”

That would be preferable to admitting the truth. “No. The team is carrying three goalies, so we rotate. And I was rotated off this trip.”

She cocked her head. “Is that normal?”

“This is the first time I’ve been on a team with three netminders. I was brought on because I’m older, and there’s a rookie they think could use someone looking out for him.”

She squinted, eyes focused upward. “You’re the same age as Ollie, right?”

I nodded.

“Since Ollie’s a coach now, I forget that there are still players his age in the game.”

“And older too.”

“That’s got to be physically tough.”

“Yeah. I don’t like missing games, but it is easier on the body.” This was painfully awkward. I should just go upstairs. That was the smart thing to do. But Beast grumbled, and something in my brain fired. “I’ve been going to the shelter near your friend’s shop. If you were headed over there and wanted to carpool…”

Sophie rested a hand on the instrument on her table. “Maybe tomorrow, if you’re going again? I really have to finish this.”

The team wouldn’t be back for a couple of days, so I was at loose ends. “What time? I can be flexible in my workouts while everyone’s on the road.” Damn, I sounded desperate.

“Want to go noonish? There’s a great little place we like to eat lunch.”

Maybe she wasn’t just placating me. “I can do that.”

“I’ll let Diane know.”

I finally dragged myself away. This might be a positive to the team’s rotating goalie situation—I could spend time with Sophie without worrying about how Otts would react. If I could just be natural around her.

I called the shelter, to see if I could come by. The woman I’d met the first time, named Delores, told me the vet was there this aft, so tomorrow would be better. I promised to come in the afternoon and hung up, feeling better about the next couple of days. Playing poorly then being left behind had spiked my anxiety. But walking a dog, who cared nothing about hockey, and hanging out with people who didn’t recognize me was a good mental break.

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