Page 38 of Goalie Interference

In a moment, the dots on my phone let me know she was answering.

I’m going to the house soon, so I won’t hear him. Want me to check on him after a bit?

It’s okay, I won’t be long.

Despite what Hanny might think, I didn’t want to be a hermit staying here with the dog whenever I wasn’t at the rink. I picked up Beast’s leash, and he sat up when he heard the clank of the clip.

My phone pinged.

If I find Goober bothering him, I’ll take her away.

That made me smile. Beast might be a weird dog, but Goober was just as strange.

“Sending love notes?”

I looked at Hanny. “No. Talking about obnoxious animals.”

Once Beast had peed, after examining most of the bushes in the area before selecting one, I returned him to the apartment, checked his water bowl, and left him chewing on the towel again.

There was a local pub, O’Malley’s, owned by a former player that Hanny said was a team hangout. We drove in his car to his place, a condo in central Austin, then got a ride to the pub in case we drank more than was safe for driving. The team would be pissed if any of us got a DUI. In some cities, hockey players got special treatment, but I wasn’t sure that would happen here. Driving drunk was stupid and irresponsible anyway, so it was a better thing for the community in general if no one got preferential treatment.

The pub looked like Irish pubs I’d found across the US and Canada. Lots of wood, and dim light that was difficult to adjust to after the bright sun outside. The beer was good, the food so-so, and since the hockey team was known to hang out here, there were fans and puck bunnies.

The two goalies, Laplante and Constantine, were already there. I sat beside Lappy, doing my bit so I could tell Otts I was trying. Stryker Bell ended up the center of a group of locals. The newbies, the guys from the farm team, didn’t seem to have gotten the invite, but a lot of the defense, like Johanssen, and forwards like O’Leary showed up. Since I’d arrived just in time for the first day of training camp, it was my first chance to get to know the other players.

Lappy didn’t talk much. I asked him how camp was going for him.

He frowned and said, with a thick French-Canadian accent, “Slow, please?”

“Comment ça va?” A big smile crossed his face, and he spoke quickly in French. I had to hold up a hand. “Je parle petit.” That wasn’t correct, but I was dragging up the bits of French from school that had stuck in my head.

His expression fell. “Me, little English.”

Did anyone on the team speak French? He must have been playing in the Quebec major junior system or he’d have had to pick up more English. Traveling from Quebec to the southern US where no one spoke French would be tough. He was good at covering his lack of comprehension—I hadn’t figured it out.

I dug up my phone, and using a translator was able to ask him if he was doing okay, had a nice place to stay, and told him that I’d help him as much as I could.

“In practice, you play well,” I said. It hadn’t been hard to see why the team had drafted him with their first pick, and why they hoped he could help after Pahlsson’s departure. But it was a lot of pressure on a young goalie, and the language barrier would make it worse. I wasn’t offering help because of Otts now, but because the poor guy needed something.

It didn’t take long before a young woman caught his attention. Some things didn’t need a lot of words to be communicated. Lappy left, and I hoped his evening helped him settle in Austin.

I was never a social guy, but it was nice to hang out with some of my teammates. I listened more than talked, but it was still a good time. I liked the vibes I was getting with this team.

At one point, I did get a text from Sophie. She heard barking, and I prepared to call for a ride to deal with it. But her next message said she found the cat on the apartment doorstep again and dragged her away. I thanked her and kept an eye on the phone though, in case Beast caused more problems.

I didn’t get another message, and it was strangely disappointing.

Chapter 17

She left and the cat didn’t

Sophie

I didn’t see much of our tenant over the next couple of days. And why was I noticing that?

I’d finally finished the star designs Diane had asked me to help with. I sent the drawings to her, hoping they’d work for the client. I was excited about the project now, and had my fingers crossed that they went with the more elaborate option. Assuming they wanted to work with me at all.

I stretched out my neck and shook my arms. I should try to make a yoga class, since my muscles were stiff from work. I closed up the shop, locking it by habit though it would be safe enough inside my brother’s security systems.

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