9. Sawyer

Chapter 9

Sawyer

Traveling for away games is usually a bit stressful for me because of Jake. But as I get ready to head out for a few out-of-town games, I realize that this time, I’m not at all worried about leaving him at home. I know he’ll be happy as a clam and well taken care of.

He’ll be with Violet.

When I step into the living room with my bags, I pause in the doorway. The two of them are sitting at the kitchen table, working on a puzzle together. That’s not something I’ve ever been able to get Jake to sit still long enough for, but Violet’s a natural with him. I think he just enjoys spending time with her, so it doesn’t really matter what they do.

I can relate.

“I think you’re onto something, bud,” Violet says as she watches Jake examine a puzzle piece before attempting to slot it into place. “Try turning it around. Sometimes you have to try a few times before you find exactly the right fit.”

Her words tug at my heart because she’s spot on, although she probably didn’t mean it that way.

“Kind of like trying on clothes, right?” Jake asks, and she laughs and nods.

“Yeah, kind of. I bet you’d know a few things about that consider how fast you’re growing, huh?”

“You have no idea,” I answer for Jake, alerting them both to my presence. “I swear I have to buy the kid a whole new wardrobe every month or so.”

“Daddy! Are you leaving?” Jake asks and jumps up from his seat to come careening toward me. He throws his little arms around my leg, and I pick him up to hug him.

“In a few minutes, yeah,” I say and kiss his forehead. “But you’re gonna be okay with Ms. Violet, right?”

“Yeah…” His eyes fall away from mine, but I thumb his chin to bring them back.

“It’s okay to feel sad about me leaving. But I’ll be back soon.”

“I know. I’ll miss you, but me and Ms. Violet can watch you play on TV, right?”

“Of course.”

Jake throws his arms around my neck to hug me tight, and I hug him back. We’ve done this more times than I can count by now; but saying goodbye to him, even for a few days, never really gets any easier.

Violet stands and meets us in the kitchen doorway, leaning against it. “Got everything you need?”

“As far as I know, yeah.”

“I’d offer to mail you anything you forgot, but I doubt it’d reach you before you come back home.”

“Anything I forget probably isn’t that important anyway,” I say as I set Jake back down on his feet and ruffle his hair. He laughs and squirms away from me, then dashes back to the puzzle. I’m glad he’s not taking my leaving too hard.

I glance at Violet, shoving my hands into my pockets as I rock back on my heels a bit. “Well, I guess I’d better get to the airport. I don’t want to keep the team waiting. Don’t hesitate to call if you need anything. Anything at all.”

“Got it. But I think we’ll be fine. Good luck with the games.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.” I lean around Violet to call into the living room. “Jake, be good for Ms. Violet, okay? Do whatever she tells you, no arguments.”

“Yes, Daddy,” he says and comes running back to us, but stops at Violet’s side. She puts a hand on his shoulder, gently squeezing it, and Jake smiles up at me. It’s the smallest thing, but seeing her comfort him like that, and him respond so well to it, does something to me.

For the first time in… well, as long as I can remember, I’m confident things are going to be fine. Better than fine.

I pat Jake’s other shoulder. “See you in a few days, bud. Love you.”

“Love you too, Daddy. Go Aces!”

I beam at him and pick up my bags to load them in my car. I put a new booster seat in Violet’s car right after she started working for me, so she’ll be able to drive Jake around while my car is at the airport. I can see Violet and Jake watching from the front window until I’m out of sight, and the smile on my face doesn’t fade until I get to the airport parking lot half an hour later.

I head into the terminal and make it through security without issue before heading to the area for private departures. Most of the Aces players and staff are already there, and after waiting for a couple of stragglers, we all pile onto the team’s charter plane.

Thankfully, it’s not a very long flight to our first stop, Chicago, where we’ll be squaring off against the Falcons. But it’s long enough to catch a little shut-eye, so that’s exactly what I do.

Once we’ve stashed our bags at our hotel in Chicago and the puck drop is looming ahead of us, I can feel the familiar pre-game energy starting to build beneath my skin. The away team locker room is rowdy as my teammates all get psyched up for the game.

“Who’s ready to cook some birds tonight?” Theo asks, clapping his hands loudly as he straightens up from lacing his skates.

“Their feathers are probably ruffled as hell already, knowing they’re playing against us,” Reese says, smirking. “Their record so far this season is pretty bad, so I don’t blame them.”

“Alright, alright. Let’s not get too cocky here, boys,” Noah cautions. “Anything can happen out on the ice, and the Falcons have the home advantage.”

“They’re gonna need it,” I toss out, and Theo spins to point at me, grinning widely.

“Hell yeah! That’s the kind of energy we need right there.”

Noah shoots him a look, but Theo doesn’t even notice—or at least, he pretends not to—as we finish gearing up. Coach Dunaway and our assistant coach give us a pre-game speech, refocusing us on our goals, and then we hit the ice. The crowd that’s already gathered in the stands, presumably mostly Falcons fans, gives us a modestly warm round of applause. But it’s nothing compared to when the Falcons hit the ice.

“Don’t let it get to you. They’re just trying to juice their team up,” Theo calls over the ice, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t affect me a bit. I know firsthand how big of a difference a supportive crowd can make, let alone one that’s fired up like this group seems to be.

“Theo’s right. As long as we keep our heads on and play as well as we have been, this game is ours,” Noah agrees, clapping me on the shoulder as he skates by.

I nod, trying to shake off any lingering nerves. Once the warmup is over and the anthem has been sung, I take my place on the defensive line while the refs hit the ice and the rest of my team forms up for the face-off.

Surprising no one, Theo snatches the puck almost before it hits the ice and streaks off toward the Falcons’ goalie.

They seem to be totally blindsided by his speed, and their goalie must be asleep at the net, because he lets Theo score probably one of the easiest shots he’s ever taken. There’s barely any applause, unsurprisingly, but when everyone returns for the next face off, there’s a different kind of energy coming from the Falcons.

This time, it’s me on the backfoot. Their center beats Noah for the puck and is already rushing toward me before I realize it. I try to intercept him, but he spins around me at the last second, sending me crashing into the boards and eliciting a burst of noise from the crowd. All that’s standing between him and the net now is Grant, who’s already tensing up to try to block the shot.

The center’s stick slaps, and I grit my teeth as a deafening roar from the crowd meets my ears, nearly drowning out the blaring horn that signals we’re tied up one to one. My blood pumps angrily in my ears, and my face stings when I think about Jake and Violet watching my fumble on TV at home.

Coach Dunaway is shouting something at us from the box, but I can’t hear him over my own thoughts.

Get it together, Townsend. Noah was right. These guys are hungry. They’ve got something to prove. But you can’t let it knock you off your game, and you damn sure can’t let that happen again.

I shake my head and take my position, determined not to let a soul past me. But this goal has gone to the Falcons’ heads. I see them smirking and laughing at each other as they get in position. One of them says something to Theo, and although I can’t hear it, it’s plain to see Theo’s pissed. That’s not good.

The ref’s sharp whistle brings my focus back to the ice, and in the blur of bodies fighting for the control of the puck in the aftermath, I struggle to keep track of what’s happening. I pace nervously across the ice, trying to be prepared for anything. But a Falcon bursts out of the bedlam and tears off toward me with Theo hot on his trail.

I head the guy off, driving him toward the boards. He sprays me with ice when he stops abruptly to avoid hitting the boards, but Theo slams him right in the back, sending him careening into the boards. The ref’s whistle pierces the boos from the crowd, and Theo gets sent to the penalty box.

The next few minutes pass in a blur as the Falcons take advantage of us being down one of our best players to score another goal.

By the time Theo breaks out of the box and hits the ice again, absolutely fuming, the damage is done. They score on us once more, and although we play like hell and manage to hold them off after that, they’re so fired up from how they’re kicking our asses that we never sink another goal ourselves. The game ends 1-3, and I leave the ice with the rest of the Aces, feeling totally demoralized.

“So much for an easy win,” Theo grumbles and slams his helmet against the floor in the locker room while we’re getting undressed and showered. “I can’t fucking believe they gave me a penalty for that! It was fair play!”

We all know better than to argue with him when he’s heated, and it’s pretty obvious that none of us are really in the mood to talk after such a piss-poor performance, so we stay in our lanes and pile back onto the bus to head to the hotel.

When I’m back in my room, I flop on the bed with my phone and instinctively dial Violet. After that horrible game, I feel like she and Jake deserve an explanation.

“Hey,” she answers gingerly after a couple rings, and just hearing her voice eases some of the tension I’ve been carrying since I left the ice.

“Hey. How’s Jake doing?”

“He’s already asleep, actually. He was drifting off halfway through the game, so I tucked him in early. He’s out like a light.”

“Well, that’s a small relief. At least he didn’t have to watch the worst of the Aces getting our asses handed to us.”

Violet laughs and groans. “Yeah, that was painful to watch. I’m sorry. How are you holding up?”

I shrug as if she can see me. “I’m alright. It’s not the first game we’ve lost, and it won’t be the last. But it sure doesn’t feel good. I don’t really know what happened tonight. We started off strong, but we just kind of, I don’t know, got in our heads or something.”

“It happens sometimes. I knew something was up as soon as Theo cross-checked that one guy. He put his force into it.”

“Yeah, that was… not great,” I say, and we laugh together. “I think he was just pissed that he got shown up. But anyway, I’m sure you don’t want to sit and listen to a full debrief of the game. Did Jake behave for you tonight?”

“I don’t mind, honestly. And yeah, he was great, as usual. I made him some chicken nuggets and mac and cheese for dinner. No surprise, he tore it up.”

I laugh. “Sounds about right for a kid his age. But that’s probably what made him fall asleep early. He’s just like his dad in that way. I fall into a coma after I eat.”

“Good to know. I’ll keep that one in mind,” Violet says and I hear her phone vibrate with a notification and the rustle of her checking it while she keeps me on the line. “Shit,” she curses, and the line suddenly gets louder when she puts me on speaker.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I just… it doesn’t matter. Don’t worry about it. It’s just personal stuff.”

She’s not doing a great job at convincing me. It’s probably not any of my business, but I can’t help wondering. She sounded worried when she swore, not annoyed, and that concerns me. I don’t mean to make it all about Jake and me, but she is my nanny now, so if something’s going on with her, I want to know. And I want to help if I can.

“What is it? Whatever it is, you can tell me. No judgment here.”

“Hm.” She hesitates for several seconds, the line going quiet while she thinks it through, then finally sighs. “Alright. Just promise me you won’t tell Reese, okay?”

“Whatever you say stays between us. Guaranteed.”

“Okay, good. Um, look, there’s really no good or easy way to say this, but…”

She trails off, and I pull the phone away from my ear to make sure the call hasn’t dropped. Nope. Still there .

“You can tell me,” I urge, a trickle of concern sliding down my spine. “Like I said, no judgment.”

“Right.” She lets out a soft breath, then speaks in a rush. “I—I actually lost my job in Chicago several months ago.”

My eyes widen. That wasn’t what I was expecting her to say, although it does explain why she showed up in Denver so suddenly without notice. But I’m getting the sense there’s more to the story, so I stay quiet.

“I’d been looking all over for a new job in Chicago so I wouldn’t have to leave the city, but I couldn’t find one. So I had to come back here because I didn’t really have anywhere else to go. I know it’s not great to lie to my brother about it, but Reese would make a huge thing out of it if he knew, so it’s just easier this way.”

“I see.” I nod thoughtfully, chewing over her words in my mind. “So the notification you just got was, what? An unexpected bill or something?”

“Uh, sort of. It was an overdraft notification. But everything’s fine, I’ll just move some money around to cover it and?—”

“Do you need me to pay you upfront this week?” I ask, a protective instinct rising inside me. “I’m happy to do it if it’ll help you. Those overdraft fees can be nasty. I’ll send the money over right now if you want.”

“No, no, you don’t need to do that. I appreciate it though. I have the money to cover it, I just need to move it around, like I said. And I’ll have this new job in California starting in a few months that will be a huge step up for me in my career. It’s all going to work out for the best. It always does.”

Coming from anyone else, I probably wouldn’t buy the optimistic spin she’s putting on things. But there’s an earnestness to Violet that goes a long way toward selling her words. She’s not just putting a bow on things to make me feel better. She really believes everything will be fine. It’s refreshing, and it makes me like her even more.

“I’m sure you’re right,” I tell her quietly, a small smile tugging at my lips. Then I clear my throat. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I think you probably should tell Reese. He’d want to know about something like that happening to his little sister.”

“I know, but I really don’t want to be a leech on him. He’s done a lot for me over the years, and I already owe him for all of that. I’d rather go into a little bit of credit card debt than run up more sibling debt with him, you know?”

“I get it,” I say, thinking back to what she told me about how Reese took care of her after her heart surgery. There’s probably a lot more to it than she’s shared, and she and I don’t really know each other like that, so it’s not my place to tell her what to do. “I think he’d understand, but either way, your secret is safe with me.”

“Thank you. Truly, Sawyer, I mean that. Besides, it’s all fine now. I have a great job for the time being, thanks to you, and there’s a big new step in my career on the horizon. Everything’s great.”

“I’m glad I could help with the job thing, and you’ve been a huge help to me too. But seriously, if you ever need a pay advance or something, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“If that ever happens, it’ll be a last resort.”

I grimace, wishing there was more I could do to help her. “That’s fine. Just as long as you know it’s an option.”

“Thanks,” Violet says, and I can hear the smile in her voice. It makes something warm spread through my chest, and I find myself smiling back.

“Well, I should probably try to get some sleep,” I say after a brief moment of silence. “I’ve got an early morning tomorrow. I’m glad everything went well tonight.”

“Me too, not that I had any doubts it would. Sleep tight, Sawyer. I’ll see you in a few days.”

“You too, heartbreaker. Good night.”

We hang up, and I lie in bed for several minutes after the call ends, staring at my phone with Violet’s words buzzing around in my head. I would never betray her trust by telling Reese that she’s been unemployed for a while and is struggling financially, but I can’t stand the thought of someone as sweet and hard-working as her struggling.

That ends now, I promise myself silently . No matter what it takes, I’ll make sure she’s taken care of.