Page 171 of Puck Me Secretly

“Lolita showed up here on her own. It was her idea.”

“Is she okay?”

I nodded. “She wanted to do this. Brian has been working with the detectives in Minnesota. They're confident they have enough to arrest Joseph.”

He swallowed a lot of emotion. “I wanted to tell you.”

“You were protecting Lolita.”

“She showed up here?”

“Looking for you. I ran into her and this whole thing was her idea.”

“I need to call her.”

“She’d love that.”

He stood up and disappeared out of the waiting room.

CHAPTER 58

Momand I stared at each other.

“I’m sorry, Rory.”

“Mom, don’t apologize. It’s been a trying few days.”

“Why would Baxter try and set up Max?”

“Dad and Baxter got into a fight. Dad wanted to bring Max onto the team, Baxter wanted Joseph. Their difference of opinion cost Baxter his promotion to assistant GM.”

“Baxter came here and asked me to put him in charge.”

“You didn’t know.”

“I signed the paperwork that put him in charge.”

“Brian is on his way here with the paperwork to reverse that.”

“Rory, I’m sorry I misjudged Max.”

I stood there, feeling helpless. “What’s the truth, mom? Dad has taken a dislike to him since he got here. And so have you.”

Her face became more pale. “It’s a long story. From the past.”

“Does it have to do with someone named Garrett?”

She flinched. “Yes.”

“Can you tell me?”

She sat down on the seat with a heavy sigh. “It was the first year we owned the team. Garrett Walter was our star player.”

I sat down beside her. “He played for the Wolves?”

“Yes, and he was a total cowboy. Things were different back them. The NHL was like the wild west. He was handsome and a star on the ice. But he was also wild with his partying.”

“What happened?”

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