Page 23 of Soulmates and Slapshots
I take that as my answer and make my way to her table. “Is this seat taken?” I ask, placing my hand on the back of the empty chair. “I’m worn out and need a place to hide for a few minutes.”
She grins. “I’m not surprised. Schmoozing with fans seems like hard work.”
I chuckle as I sink into the chair. “It definitely takes a lot of energy.”
“I was actually surprised you didn’t get up there and give a speech,” she says, sipping her drink.
This makes me laugh. “Me? Nope. I leave that to my teammates. Speeches aren’t my thing.”
“Well, you seem to have a lot of people rooting for you,”she says. “There’s a real buzz about the new team. I’m looking forward to seeing a game.”
Hearing this is music to my ears. “I’m grateful for all the support. It’s been awesome to be so welcomed here already. Honestly, I was nervous about the transition.”
“Were you sad to leave your old team?” she asks gently.
I nod. “Yeah. The Wolves were like a second family. I played with the organization for most of my career and my best friend Mac is still on the roster. Leaving them felt like walking away from home.”
“That had to be hard,” she says, her voice quiet. “Starting over somewhere seems terrifying, like leaping into the unknown.”
I meet her eyes. “It really is. But sometimes it’s necessary. And you never know what’ll happen—you might land somewhere even better. Change can be difficult, but I’ve learned it helps me thrive.”
Her expression shifts slightly, something flickering behind her eyes. She looks down at her glass before responding. “That’s a good point.”
Our conversation is interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing.
“Sorry,” she says. “I thought I had it on silent.”
She reaches into her small black bag and takes out her phone. When she looks at the screen, all the color drains from her face. She quickly ignores it and puts the phone back in her bag.
“Do you need to answer it?” I ask.
“Definitely not,” she exclaims. “Anyway, are you ready for your first game?”
Her phone rings again, making her groan. “Sorry. I just need to turn it off.”
She frantically grabs the phone and pushes the button on the side to power it down.
“Now tell me about your first game,” she demands, clearly not wanting anything to do with the phone calls she just received.
I answer her questions, and while she acts like she’s interested, I have a feeling her mind is on something else. Whatever it is, she’s trying to avoid it. And I’m more than willing to be a distraction for her if she needs one.
CHAPTER 8
FIONA
Mabel points to the book propped in the front window of Falling for Books. “There it is. That’s the book my friend Willa wrote,Benny the Blue Rock Thrush. It’s a children’s book all about the endangered bird I mentioned.”
“Benny the Blue Rock Thrush?” The bird has a name.
“We’re doing this,” Mabel exclaims. “We’ll contribute to the town with Benny’s help.”
“Okay,” I say unconvincingly. Mabel seems more confident than I feel.
“Anyway, Willa says the bird was thought to be in Europe and Asia, but it ended up in Oregon and Washington. And the best part is it was added to a protection list.”
“So that means the land around here could be protected as well?” I ask.Could it be this easy?
“I’m not sure,” she says. “But we could find out.”
