Page 22 of Offside and Off-Limits
“Yes, Captain,” I say with a small salute. I win a bat on the arm from him for my trouble.
“If only you’d show me that kind of deference on the ice.”
“Deference? You swallowed a dictionary this morning?”
“It’s a word,” he replies.
“Yeah, I know it’s a word. It’s just not a word I’ve heardyouuse before.”
“Me neither,” says Carson before he chugs some water.
Jamie rolls his eyes. “Whatever. Assume the position, Lennox.”
I chuckle as I lie down on the bench he just vacated, warm from his efforts, and get into position. Jamie spots me as I do my set, and by the time I’m done, I’m sweating as hard as he was, my muscles shaking from the effort.
“Nice form,” my captain says. “Don’t you think, Crane?”
“Looked good to me,” Carson replies as he does a bicep curl.
“So, what do you think of the team?” Jamie asks as I pull off my damp T-shirt that was sticking to me and towel myself down. I collect my water bottle and take a much-needed swig of water.
I wipe the sweat from my forehead with the towel. “I think it's gonna take some time for us to learn to work together, but there’s a lot of talent.” I turn to Carson. “I’m glad you’re on my team these days, Crane. No offense, but when we used to come up against you on the Blades, I hated you.”
“None taken,” he replies. “I hated you, too.”
And I can’t help but smile at the image of the great winger sitting on a unicorn.
“Yeah, it's weird when you're playing against a guy one day and the next you gotta play nice when you're on the same team. But that's the League, my friends,” Jamie says. “How are you finding the move to this small town? Hallmark movie enough for you?”
I laugh. “You got that right. My mom loves Hallmark movies, particularly around the holidays. The first thing she said when I told her I was moving here to Maple Falls is that I might find a local girl and fall in love.”
“Never say never,” Jamie replies.
My mind instantly turns to Clara Johnson and the way she felt in my arms the other day on the ice. The way her blue-eyed gaze captured mine, her full lips forming a surprised “o.” Itwould have been so easy to lean down and brush a soft kiss against those lips. So easy.
It was a total Hallmark movie moment.
“I like it here,” Bama ekes out mid bicep curl.
“Me, too. This place is the total opposite of Manhattan, but it’s growing on me,” I say.
“Yeah,” Jamie replies with a laugh. “We’ve gone from millions of people to what? A few thousand?”
“Ten thousand, I think. Or eleven?” I reply.
“Whatever the number, it’s a shock to the system to have all this nature everywhere, right?” He gestures at the view. “That’s a lot of trees.”
“I like ’em,” Carson says, returning his hand weights to the stack.
I smile at him. “Yeah, me too. It’s peaceful.”
“Who’s being an old guy now?” Jamie asks with a sardonic laugh.
“I’m going to get a refill in the kitchen,” Carson says, holding up his water bottle.
Once he’s out of earshot, Jamie asks, “Do you think it’ll do what you want it to do?”
“What, the nature?” I ask.
