Page 10 of Until He Scores

“Then I guess Madison and I will have to have a girls’ day without Uncle Thierry.”

Ohhh...That was totally uncalled for. “You wound me. I’m going to tell Rick.”

She laughed, the bright, cheerful sound brought a smile to my face and took me out of my dark mood. “He’ll side with me. I’m his favorite.”

Again, she had a point. “Touché. You win. But I won’t guarantee anything.”

“Don’t need a guarantee, Thierry. I just want to see you happy. Also, for what it’s worth, Derrick’s a piece of shit. He lost the best thing he ever had when he cheated on you.”

“So, are you going to be at Wes’ party next Friday?” I had to change the subject. If we continued to talk about my wants or desires or my ex, I’d end up in a spot I didn’t like being in. I spent too much time in that dark depression, going through the motions of my life. I didn’t want to be there again.

“That’s the plan,” she said. “My little sister is going to watch the kids for us along with her new boyfriend. It’ll be nice to have one more fun night before all the havoc starts again. Since you’re asking, are you coming?”

“Yep,” I sighed. “Told Wes I’d be there too.”

“Then you can ride with us. Where are you staying while you’re here?”

I’d thought of just taking up my old room, but then I thought twice about it. My parents didn’t need me under foot all day or all night, depending on my schedule. Sure as shit, didn’t need to be up at the butt-crack of dawn, causing a ruckus, because I had to hit the gym either. “I’m thinking of getting an apartment while I’m with theMountaineers. Something I don’t have to worry about leasing forever. Or at least until the dust settles.”

“I know a person,” Lily-Mae said. “I’ll have her call you in the morning with some places to check out.”

“Sounds great,” I replied. “Thanks, for, you know.”

“My pleasure,” she answered. “It’s really great you’re home, Thierry. We’ve all missed you.”

Hated to admit, I missed them too. “Likewise. Tell Rick I said, congrats.”

“I will. Talk soon. Say hi to your mom and dad for me.”

The rest of the evening was filled with good food and good conversation. I’d contemplated leaving and grabbing a hotel room for the night or at least a week, but my room was just down the hall, and I’d been exhausted. I said my goodnights to my parents and headed to my room. My knee ached something awful and I wondered again for the hundredth time if I was doing the right thing. If my desire to win outweighed the use of my leg. If pushing myself, even as a coach, wasn’t a bridge too far.

I had a degree I could fall back on and a network of people who’d help manage my new life after hockey. Yet, half those same people were “yes” people. They’d bent over backward to make sure I was happy. Not tell me the truth or put me on a different path. Plus, I had coaching too. I couldn’t give up before I tried.

As I lay in my old, sagging twin bed, knowing full well I’d wake up with such a crick in my back and neck, I allowed the doubt to creep in for a moment. I figured if I got all the ill-feelings out of the way, in the morning, I’d have a better grasp of what I wanted or at least what I was going to do.

If only I could have turned to my best friend in this situation. I was sure Pope would know what to do. Unfortunately for me, he was no longer my voice of reason. Whatever I decided to do from that moment on was on me and that thought scared me more than anything.

Because one false move, and my whole world would come crumbling down around me.

For good this time.

Chapter 4

Pope

“In other news...” I angled the tablet to the left while shading in the last part of a tattoo design I’d been working on for a client. They didn’t have an appointment, nor did I ever expect them to make one. We used the “any time,” system. So, any time today they’d get inked, and I wanted to make it the best experience they could have.

“After being medically retired at the end of last season, Thierry Thomas has reappeared in the AHL as an assistant coach. He’ll be with the MurfreesboroMountaineersfor the upcoming season. His first game as the defensive coach is on Thursday the sixteenth, during fan week against the Las VegasVipers.”

Well, shit.

Hadn’t heard that name in a long fucking time. That was a lie. I heard his name more times than I wanted to think about over the years. Every time I did, this pang twitched within my gut and a sense of longing filled my chest. I fucking hated it. There was nothing left between us. I went one direction, and he went the other.

End of story.

I pinched my fingers together on the screen, minimizing the drawing on my tablet, so I could assess the progress I’d made on the dimensions of the tattoo. No one wanted shitty work inked onto their body. I should know, I’d had quite a few myself that I’d covered up years later once I’d honed my skills.

“TheMountaineers’chances of winning the game have increased since Thierry joined the team. He’s more than qualified to whip those boys into shape and hopefully make them competitive this season.”

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