Page 90 of Heat It Up (Off the Ice)
“You really don’t know, do you?” she asks.
“Know what?”
She glances at Toivo, who nods at her and says, “He deserves to know the truth.”
Every cell in my body turns to ice, making it hard to breathe or think. What the hell’s going on? “Is Sofia okay?”
Maija nods toward the waitress walking toward us. “You will need something strong once you find out the truth,” she says.
The waitress shows up and growing more nervous by the second about what Maija has to tell me, I order a beer.
After the waitress returns with it, Maija says, “What do you know about Sofia’s ex-boyfriend?”
I shrug. What the hell’s this got to do with anything? “Not much. He was an asshole who cheated on her. But I’m not him. I would never hurt her.” Then the words I’ve longed to tell Sofia for the past few days tumble out free and unabashed. “I love her.”
Maija smiles, but it’s not the happy smile I would expect after I’ve declared I’m in love her friend. It’s a smile filled with pain. “Do you know what happened to him?”
“No, she never told me. Why?”
“So she never told you his name?”
What is this? Twenty Questions? “No, she never told me his name. What the hell does it have to do with anything?”
“His name was Ian Fischer. Does that ring a bell?”
A bitter chill spreads through me, rapidly numbing my body.Shit. “He was the drunk who killed my wife.”
I wait for her to go on, but she doesn’t. She drinks her beverage, waiting for me to solve the puzzle as to why Sofia refuses to talk to me. “So he’s her ex-boyfriend. What does that have to do with her ignoring my calls and texts? And what does it have to do with her going to Rovaniemi?”
“The night her ex hit your car was the night Sofia found out he was cheating on her. She was afraid you wouldn’t be able to look at her again the same way after you found out the truth. She was afraid she would always be a painful reminder of the life stolen from you. Of the wife stolen from you.”
Double shit. How could she even think that? “But why go to Rovaniemi?”
She glances at Toivo again and he takes her hand. “Do you know what Sofia does best?”
I have a few thoughts but they don’t explain why she went to Rovaniemi. I shake my head.
“When things are too much for her,” she explains, “Sofia runs. She came to Finland because she was escaping her memories of the accident, and now she’s running again.” She takes a slip of her drink, giving me time to allow this all to soak in. “Now you know the truth. The question is, what are you going to do about it?”
WhatamI going to do?
Another voice reminds me how similar Sofia and I are. I didn’t come here just to coach those boys and gain experience toward a new career. I was trying to escape my memories and demons back home, like she’s been doing. Shit. If I hadn’t been so messed up. If I hadn’t held onto my hatred for what the asshole drunk driver did to me and Gabby and our families. If I hadn’t told her about the accident, I wouldn’t be losing the one person who can help me move on. The one person who made me want to move on.
And what was the point of staying angry this past year? Did it bring back the dead? Did it mean I could play for the NHL again?
There’s only one thing I can do. “I’m going to Rovaniemi to see if I can find her. I need to talk to her and figure out how to keep her in my life.”
Maija narrows her eyes at me. “Even though you’re moving to Seattle? Even though she might stay here for a while?”
“I’m not going to Seattle. I turned down the job. And if our relationship must be long distance until she goes back to the States, then we’ll make it work.”
• • •
Early the next morning, with my backpack stuffed with clothes to last me two days, and no idea where to look once I get to Rovaniemi, I drive to the airport. Fortunately, Rovaniemi isn’t Minneapolis, with hundreds of hotels. But what difference will it make? It’s doubtful they will tell me if she’s staying there. All I can do is leave a note at each one and hope wherever she’s staying will pass it on to her.
In the boarding area, I pace back and forth, waiting to get on the plane. The overhead speaker crackles and an announcement is made in Finnish. Judging from everyone’s expression, it’s not good news. People gather their belongings and walk to the counter.
“Ladies and gentlemen. Due to mechanical issues with our plane, we will be canceling flight Air Finland 245 to Rovaniemi. If you approach the check-in counter, we’ll do our best to reschedule you for a later flight today.”
