Page 35 of Hot for the Hockey Player
“That doesn’t change your analogy though …” Raina replied, giving our cousin a weird look.
Naomi shrugged and sipped her wine.Honor and Laurel joined us, saying they were hungry.
“Me too,” Marco and Austin said in unison from the living room.
“About five more minutes.Just giving the lasagna a bit more time to rest.”I rolled my eyes and got up from the table to check on the foil-wrapped garlic bread in the oven.
“How’s Jagger’s rehab going?”Naomi asked Raina.
“Seems to be going okay.He hates the cane.Wants to get rid of it as soon as he can.Ithink he’s pushing himself too hard, but what the hell do I know?”
I pulled out the garlic bread and stacked it into a basket, then brought it to the table.“Two minutes, boys.Then wash up, please.”
No response.
I cleared my throat.“A, ‘Yes, chef,’ or even a grunt of a reply would be appreciated.”
“Yes, chef,” they all called—even Maverick, who spun around to grin at me.
Two minutes later, the biggest kid playing video games turned off the game and ushered them all to the bathroom to wash their hands.My cousins helped me put the extra leaves into the table, and set it.Then, we were ready to eat.
I don’t know how it happened, but Maverick ended up at one end of the table—the head—while I was in my usual spot at the other.Like the king and queen of the castle or something.He beamed at me as he took his seat.
“Wine?”Naomi asked him.
He shook his head.“I’m okay, but thank you.”
We all dove in, the clink of utensils competing with the murmurs and pockets of chatter.I kept glancing up to find Maverick watching me with a keen level of interest in his gaze.It made me warm in some inconvenient places and I immediately shifted my focus to anywhere but him.
It didn’t last long, and I’d find myself looking up again, only to discover him watching me.
“So, uh … I met Jolene Dandy today,” Maverick said, after clearing his throat.
Like he just told us all he was pregnant with triplets, every person around the table went dead silent.Naomi and Raina’s mouths hung open, and my wineglass paused midway to my mouth.
“Yeah,” he breathed.“Hugh Tapper gave me the lowdown on her.A bit late, I’m afraid.”
“What.Did.You.Tell.Her?”Raina asked, horror in her eyes.
Maverick swallowed.“Just, uh … just that I’m staying in one of the cabins, and I’m here visiting family friends … the Campbells.”
“Shit.”Naomi dropped her chin to her chest.
“I didn’t know she was The Island Mouth at the time.We met at Unger Wellness.She said, ‘Who are you?You’re new.’Which I thought was a bit abrupt and blunt, but whatever.I told her my first name—only—and that I was staying on the island for a bit, in a cabin, and visiting friends.Then I said I had to run to a pottery class.”
“And she showed up at Hugh’s, didn’t she?”I asked.
He nodded.“Yeah, with Brenda Pickford and Karen … Something.”
“Ribko,” I finished, dread gnawing away in my belly until a pit the size of a grave opened up.I shook my head.
Brenda Pickford was a miserable woman.Her husband was a terrible principal with outdated, backward views, and she was just … hell-bent on infecting everyone around her with the same level of chronic discontent that she lived with.
Karen, however, was just dumb.No other word described that woman as accurate as “dumb.”How she managed to make it into her sixth decade and not get hit by a bus, let alone run a successful trinket shop near the ferry terminal, beguiled anyone who met her.She was harmless, but I wouldn’t tell her anything that I didn’t want to get back to Jolene, then out to the rest of the island.
“Did Hugh put the run on her at least?”Raina asked.“Hugh’s great.Doesn’t take shit from anybody.”
Maverick’s head bobbed.“He did.But I wanted to give you all a heads-up.I’m really sorry.I had no idea the Pandora’s box I opened by simply making small talk with a stranger.Y’all need nametags here.And I need a binder on who to avoid, keep quiet around, and who is okay to say more than ‘Hello’ to.”
