Page 5 of Hot for the Hockey Player
Vance’s clean-shaven jaw dropped.“What?Here?The team has a physiotherapist.”
That was precisely why I wanted to take the doctor’s advice and use someone not beholden to the multimillion-dollar team that signed their checks.And if I had to go to LA to see Rolph Mazurenko, rather than go home to my condo in Portland, then so be it.I liked Portland, but I’d much rather rent a hotel or a penthouse with an ocean view in the Golden State for a few months and maybe be able to play a few games during the playoffs.
“I’m going to make some calls,” Vance said, the look in his soulless brown eyes telling me he wasn’t on board with my decision, and he was going to see who else he could rally to his cause to get me to change my mind.The answer was: nobody.But I’d rather he made himself scarce and try, than annoy me anymore.Honestly, as much as I tried to see the good in everyone, Vance Pye made searching for his redeeming qualities like aWhere’s Waldo.I kept him on as my agent because he was a good agent.A good human, not so much.
“Can you make those calls outside?”I asked, reaching for my phone.“I’ve got a headache, and I’d rather have some quiet.”
All he did was nod, his phone already to his ear as he headed out.
“Can you turn off the light and close the door?”
More nodding, but at least he did as I asked.
Ah.Peace and quiet.
I didn’t, of course, have a headache.I was hopped up on so many painkillers, a headache might as well be Mars.I was, however, unable to stop thinking about that beautiful face I saw in the crowd three nights ago, right before they shoved me into an ambulance.
Gabrielle Campbell.
Did I actually see her?Or was she a figment of my concussed brain?If so, why after all these years was I seeing her again?
While she had technically been my “host mom” for three years, I never really saw her as a mother.She was a fantastic mom though.To Damon and Laurel.To me, she was a woman who worked her ass off to get a college degree while recovering from a traumatic past I never figured out.But I could tell she had one.Her aunt helped her out financially, but Gabrielle wanted to bring in some income on her own.So that’s why she offered up her spare room to an out-of-town hockey player.Over the years, I’d periodically hear her on the phone with someone cryptically discussing her ex-husband, their divorce, and keeping the kids protected.I never pried, but I was always very curious.
Her tenacity and how much she loved her kids was what stuck out to me about her the most.I never had a crush—per se—but I always found her pretty.It wasn’t until a month before I graduated high school and left their house that I started to developfeelings.I was hungry one night and came upstairs from my room in the basement and heard her moan from behind her bedroom door.
It was all I could do to not stand outside that door and listen more—but I didn’t.
And I never acted on my feelings, because it was no more than a boyhood crush on a nice, attractive woman who was so out of my league, not to mention older than me.
Was she still in Spokane?Or did she live in Seattle now?
How were the kids?Back when I lived with them, Damon idolized me.Apparently, that was the other reason Gabrielle wanted a hockey player in their house.She needed a positive male role model for her son, which led me to believe her husband had been abusive.
I punched her name into Google now, and the first website to pop up was a law firm in Spokane, which had her listed as a practicing attorney.
Holy shit.
The law firm’s website said they specialized in helping women.Gabrielle had become a badass lawyer fighting for women, helping them flee abusive relationships and get custody of their children.
Was she still there?
I hit the phone number on the bottom of the website and put my cell to my ear.
“Leaena Law, how can I direct your call?”came the chipper voice of the receptionist.
“Hi, yes, I’d like to speak with Gabrielle Campbell if she’s available, please?”
“Oh, I’m sorry.Gabrielle no longer worksinthe office.She handles very specific cases remotely and by referral only.Have you been referred by someone?”
“No.Thank you.Have a nice day.”Then I hung up.
Hmm.She didn’t workinthe office and only handled specific cases, and by referral.Also, remotely?So wheredidshe live?
All other search results for Gabrielle came up empty.So I switched gears and typed in “Rolph Mazurenko.”
While Mr.Mazurenko was still a practicing physiotherapist, he was no longer in Los Angeles.
Thank god for that.
