Page 74 of Goalie Interference

The turkey was already in the oven and she was working on cornbread stuffing.

“That smells amazing.” Hanny sniffed the air as she let us in.

Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her face was flushed from the heat, but her smile lit up her face.

“Really amazing,” I echoed. “Where should we put this stuff?”

Sophie looked from Hanny’s gift bag to mine. “I didn’t know we were doing gifts!”

“I wasn’t raised to arrive empty-handed,” Hanny responded. “Besides, you’ve invited us here. That’s more than enough of a gift.”

I narrowed my eyes. He didn’t need to be quite so charming.

She waved a hand at a doorway. “There’s a tree in there.”

We headed to the lounge, a huge room off the kitchen with a fireplace, two seating areas, and large windows facing the yard. A big tree was in the corner, lit up. Christmas music played in the background and there was enough pine and ribbon that the room looked like the setting of a Christmas movie. Beast eyed the tree suspiciously, so I held the leash tight to keep him close.

“This is gorgeous,” Hanny said when we returned to the kitchen.

I tied the dog to a chair in the corner. He looked around, probably for Goober.

Sophie smiled at Hanny. “Cash got someone to decorate the place when he found out I was having people over.”

Hanny and I exchanged glances. In theory we could do the same, but it wouldn’t be worth the bother and expense to us. Cash had money on a completely different scale.

“I’m flattered.” Was Hanny flirting with Soph, or was I just paranoid?

There was a knock at the door. “Oh, that’s Diane. She’s joining us.”

“From String Theory?” I asked. Hanny shot me a look but I ignored him. I might not have a good flirting game, but I had this over him.

“Yeah. Would you mind letting her in? I need to check on the turkey.”

I nodded and made my way to the front door.

“Merry Christmas, Remy,” she said, arms full. “Nice to see you again.”

“Can I help you with that?”

She had two pies in plastic carriers that she pushed into my arms. “Maybe take these to the kitchen?”

“Of course. I’m tempted to sample them, but I’ll behave.”

Diane laughed. “They’re my grandmother’s recipe, so they’re good, but you should wait. Sophie’s worked hard at planning the day.”

“I won’t mess things up for her,” I promised.

“Good man.”

I brought the pies to the kitchen. While I’d answered the door, Sophie had put Hanny to work peeling potatoes, and once the pies were set down she passed another peeler to me.

Diane came in free of presents. She’d removed her cape and was wearing flowing pants and a brightly colored print shirt. She looked festive, more so than Hanny and I in our sedate sweaters.

“Diane, this is Larry Han, my friend and teammate.”

Hanny flashed a grin at her. “Nice to meet you, Diane. You’re a luthier too?”

Diane waved a hand. “Yes. But no shop talk today, guitars or hockey. This smells wonderful, Sophie. Since you’ve already got a couple of sous chefs, I’ll open the wine and keep morale up.”

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