Page 8 of Her Goal
“No, my ma does,” Mikey retorts around a bite of pizza.
Liam argues with him, contending that his mother is the queen of casseroles.
In reality, Mrs. Smith might take the cake. I was never able to spend holidays at their house, though I did get the leftovers Hunter would neglect in the fridge. I keep that to myself because there’s no sense in dredging up ancient history.
Pierre smirks. “Welcome to Hockey Town.”
There should be one of those little grammar proofreading carets in there with the wordback. Welcomebackto Hockey Town, but this isn’t the same place I left. At least, not that I remember. Then again, I wasn’t on the Knights. Until a couple of years ago, they were based in Omaha. I’d pinch the keys to the car my brother and I shared in order to sneak into games on charm or the hope that the rundown arena’s mechanical room exterior door didn’t always close entirely.
While the guys gather and talk like this is a regular Tuesday, an aluminum can is shoved into my hand. I take a sip of Dr. Pepper.
Jack winks at me.
How’d he know it’s my favorite?Was.I haven’t had one of these in a while. These days, I stick to naturally flavored electrolyte-boosted water.
From the hallway, someone wolf whistles. Worried that they invited a troupe of female dancers to this unplanned and unwanted shindig, I glance up at the same time Grady calls, “Heads up.”
Reminding me of the bungle with the burglar earlier, Howie, the hockey gnome, sails through the air. Mikey lunges, deftly catching it like a football.
My eyes must be wide in question, concern, consternation, or all of the above. I want my house back and for a certain NHL team coach not to walk in right now.
Mikey taps my elbow with his, holding the gnome aloft like the Heisman trophy. I’m more of a Stanley Cup guy, myself.
He says, “I was a varsity catcher before I found my way to the ice.”
I nod. Not that it goes far to explain why everyone ishere.
Even more confusing is why Micah, a retired center, moves like a magician, making the gnome disappear as the door opens, and in walks head coach Tommy Badaszek.
4
LEAH
We meetat Cara and Pierre’s place for the emergency meeting.
When I walk in, I holler, “There had better be snacks!”
Thankfully, Ella brings popcorn and Jess has a new Bundt cake flavor for us to sample. She calls it banana nut brown sugar. I call it sticky … and delicious, even though generally I have a salty tooth rather than a sweet one. However, I fully support her new little shop in the revamped Old Mill building. Her Bundts are selling like hotcakes.
As we settle in, the question everyone is asking isWhat’s this about?I’m usually the first to hear when Cara is in crisis. Given her smile, I can’t fathom why she’d be wearing one if this were truly urgent.
Margo, a wedding planner who’s married to Beau Hammer, the original Knights goalie, breezes in with two big jugs of lemonade. “Can you imagine fighting over what kind of lemonade to serve at your wedding? My latest couple were going back and forth ad nauseam. I brought them both types to taste to demonstrate that they’re the same.”
“Couldn’t they have both?” asks Ella, my other bestie.
She likes to joke that I played fairy godmother in her romance with Jack, but I give my brother credit. I know, weird.He came through for them in the biggest ways. If only Marisol could see that side of him.
“That’s what I gently suggested.” Margo shakes her head. “If they’re already bickering about this, I don’t have high hopes for their future.”
“Says the woman who married the single most disagreeable guy in hockey,” Whit says. She and Redd are a couple and have a few kids.
Margo beams a smile. “He’s not grumpy. He’s stoic.”
“Before you two start fighting like an old couple, is everything okay, Cara?” I ask.
She smirks. “Yes.”
“Then why the emergency?” we all echo at the same time.
