Page 55 of The Slapshot and the Single Mom
I take advantage of his absence, and the shield provided by my teammates and their wives and girlfriends, to wrap an arm around Maggie. “He’ll be fine. He’s in good hands.”
Nodding, she uncaps her water and takes a sip. “I know. I’m sure you’re right. Once he gets his bearings, he’ll be friends with someone new in no time. That’s how it normally goes, anyway.” She wrinkles her nose, shaking her head. “It’s just hard, you know? I want everything to be smooth and easy, and that’s just not how life works.”
I make soft, reassuring noises and rub her back, unsure what to say, really. I’m not a parent, so I don’t know what she’s going through. I’m glad Nick and Tina are here, though. I’m sure they can sympathize with the parenting aspect of her situation better than I can, even if they haven’t had to deal with her specific set of issues, like a deadbeat ex and custody battles.
“Let me introduce you around,” Nick says, pointing at everyone in turn and throwing out their names, rapid fire. Everyone lifts a hand or nods in response, a few of my teammates eyeing Maggie in a way that has me narrowing my eyes at them, the rest all giving their polite attention before returning to their conversations.
Nick moves along, taking us to one cluster after another until we end up at the table where Tina had been sitting with Marissa. Dozer’s sitting next to her, and he looks at Maggiewith undisguised curiosity. “So you’re the one who’s managed to capture Bouchard’s attention,” Dozer drawls after Nick’s made the introductions and excused himself to resume grill duty. “I bumped into Jenkins the other day, and he was complaining you’d ditched him for a chick.”
“I haven’t ditched him,” I protest at the same time Maggie says, “Oh, I’m just some chick, huh?”
Dozer cackles, enjoying how much he’s stirring up shit with just a couple of sentences. Asshole.
Marissa smacks him lightly on the arm. “Be nice,” she admonishes. “Maggie? Nice to meet you. Would ya’ll like to sit with us?”
“That would be great.” I pull out a chair for Maggie, leaning down to kiss her cheek before murmuring, “Dozer likes to talk shit, but he’s a good guy. And Marissa’s nice, too. I’m going to get a drink. I’ll be right back.” Straightening, I level a glare at Dozer. “Listen to your girlfriend,” I bark, then turn and head to where Locke’s guarding the beer.
He watches me approach, taking a pull from his own bottle of pilsner—at least I assume that’s what he’s drinking. That man does love a good pilsner. And he’ll tell you all about it if you give him the slightest opening.
With a nod in Maggie’s direction, he keeps his ass parked on the bench and asks, “What’s the story there? I’ve never seen you bring a woman with you to anything, let alone a family function. And a kid? Did I miss something?”
I shake my head. “Not that I’m aware of. Unless you keep close tabs on everyone?” I make a gesture to encompass the part of theteam that made it out today. “What have you been doing with your time off?”
Not dissuaded, he narrows his eyes. “We haven’t finished talking about you.” He gestures toward Maggie with his beer. “Fill me in, dude. Or get yourself a soda.” He nods at the other coolers by the door.
Sighing, I flip him off.
“Dude!” Barlow yells. “Kids!”
Nick swivels his head and glares at me. “You know we keep things family friendly here, Bouchard.”
I drop my hand. “Sorry, Dad,” I sing-song, and Nick rolls his eyes. To Locke I say, “I met Maggie during the playoffs. We started dating after we got knocked out.”
He narrows his eyes at that. “That was when that hit piece aired.”
Clenching my jaw, I jerk my chin in a nod. “Yup.” I don’t want to talk about that.
Locke grunts, but he finally moves his ass off the bench, moves the cushion, and lifts the lid to the cooler hidden beneath. “Take your pick. It’s a nice day for a beer and a burger.”
“Thanks,” I grumble, still annoyed at his interrogation. I should’ve expected it, though. Nick’s reaction didn’t throw me off that much the other night, and I guess I’d hoped people would just follow his lead and be welcoming instead of giving me the third degree while Maggie’s waiting, stuck at a table with strangers.
It seems I didn’t need to worry about her, though. When I get back to the table, she and Marissa are deep in conversationabout baseball, with Dozer watching on, affection stamped on his features when he looks at his girlfriend.
They got together in the middle of the season, and apart from one game that could easily be written off as a fluke, it didn’t seem like Dozer was at all distracted by her being part of his life. The only reason I suspect that he was distracted by her at any point is because they were both deep in denial about their feelings for each other for months beforehand, and I’m not sure exactly how they overcame that issue, but they had some kind of fight in the middle of it. Dozer was an asshole, and one game he played like absolute dog shit. He said it was because he was having trouble sleeping, which I believe, but I think whatever happened with Marissa was the reason for the poor sleep.
Something to keep in mind, I guess. Make sure to take something to help me sleep if it’s the night before a game and I’m fighting with Maggie. Also, don’t stay up all night having sex with Maggie the night before a game. Somehow the second one seems the more likely option. At this point, I can’t imagine having a fight with Maggie. What would we even fight about?
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Maggie
I don’t knowif my initial anxiety about coming to this barbecue was my own or if I was picking up on Jack’s obvious nerves. Probably a little of both, if I’m honest. Jack’s so rarely nervous, that seeing him fidgety and out of sorts, especially as we were walking up to the house, had all my senses on high alert.
After we got into the party, and I saw all of his teammates giving him shit about bringing a woman for the first time ever, it all fell into place. He wasn’t nervous about bringing me, exactly, more about how I’d handle the banter of his teammates and if I’d be upset by it.
It seems like it’s all in good fun, though. And they obviously care about Jack, everyone I’ve talked to has taken an interest in getting to know me, asking how exactly my relationship with Jack came about. I stick with the story we’ve been telling all along—we started dating right after they got knocked out of the playoffs and have been enjoying spending time together this summer.
“If you have any questions about how things work once the season starts, let me know,” Marissa offers.
