Chapter 27

Chapter

Twenty-Seven

Jordan

Jordan clocked out at the urgent care, his shoulders slumping as his shift officially came to an end. He rubbed his eyes, the fluorescent lights glaring down from the ceiling.

“You out of here?” one of the nurses called from the station.

“Yeah, I’m out. Merry Christmas, everyone.” He waved and headed for the break room. He opened the bag he’d stashed under the sink earlier and pulled out a variety of snacks. Protein bars, fruit, assorted gourmet teas and coffee. He knew what the other nurses liked, specifically not more candy, and he’d picked up their favourites.

He set the snacks on the table, arranging them neatly, and then pulled out a handful of gifts. Personalized hand sanitizers and packets of gourmet hot chocolate. Nothing fancy. He left them on the counter and avoided the main hallway, opting to slip out the back door to the parking lot.

The early morning frost clung to the streets, the air crisp and biting. He shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked to his truck. The second he closed the door and started the engine, he re-read the messages from Anne and Tina.

Anne

Rhonda just cooked the Snowballs

Tina

She called you her boyfriend. Told them to get over it

Anne

I tried to kiss her for you, but she wasn’t into it

He’d planned this weekend in the hopes that they’d be at a place to enjoy it, and after Rhonda had kissed him in the lobby? He could barely wait the eight hours until he got to see her.

The best part? Rhonda had no idea. Anne and Tina had been working things behind the scenes, and now all their plans were about to snap into place.

Jordan drove home and trudged to the elevator. He needed to sleep. He knew that. But he could already tell his brain wasn't cooperating. He walked to his apartment, kicked off his shoes, and headed straight to his bedroom.

He stripped off his scrubs and threw them into the washer, then collapsed onto his bed. He stared at the ceiling, willing his thoughts to slow down. He had to be up in a few hours if he was going to get to the hotel on time, and the clock was ticking.

Jordan rolled over and checked his phone one last time. There was a message from Anne confirming everything was set. Tina had responded with a thumbs-up, and Rhonda had apologized profusely that she wasn’t going to see him that weekend.

He chuckled and set the phone on his nightstand, then forced his eyes shut.

_____

The alarm blared in his ear, and Jordan jolted awake. He blinked, his eyes gritty and his mouth dry. It felt like he’d barely slept, but his heart had already jolted like he’d been defibrillated.

He threw off the covers and leapt out of bed, then stumbled into the bathroom and turned on the shower. The hot water pelted his skin and woke him up fully. He washed his hair, soaped up his body, then stood under the stream, letting the warmth seep into his bones.

When he finally shut off the water, he grabbed a towel and dried off, then pulled on the clothes he'd laid out the night before. A pair of jeans, a long-sleeved shirt. He was half tempted to wear a clean pair of scrubs since Rhonda went feral every time she saw him in them.

He grabbed his phone and keys from the nightstand, then put on his socks and shoes and left his apartment.

He was just turning off Deerfoot when a call from an unknown Calgary number came through on his phone. Jordan debated, but answered it just in case it was a problem with the hotel.

"Hello?" Jordan spoke up to make sure he was clear over the speaker.

"Jordan?”

“Yep.”

“This is Curtis. Jace’s dad.”

Jordan tapped the steering wheel. Jace’s dad. Not Curtis from the Snowballs. “Hey, thanks for getting back to me.”

"Yeah, I got your message. I thought since it's the holidays, we'd just talk on the phone. If that's okay?"

"Sure. I wanted to talk about the issue with Jace and Ethan."

Curtis exhaled. "Yeah, we heard about it. I want you to know that we're taking it seriously. We want both boys to feel safe and respected during practice."

"Agreed. I don’t expect them to be best friends, but you remember what it’s like in the locker room at that age. We can’t be in there to police them.”

“Wouldn’t expect that. He’s seventeen. He needs to figure that out.”

Jordan hesitated. He didn’t want to out Ethan. “I’m not sure what all Jace told you?—”

“He filled us in on the attempted kiss, if that’s what you’re referring to.”

Jordan breathed a silent sigh of relief. “That’s the one.”

“Sad to see a friendship shredded like that. They’re going to need each other.”

Jordan blew out a breath. “Yeah.”

“Well, thanks for looking out for these boys. I’ll see what we can do.”

Jordan's grip on the steering wheel relaxed. “Great. Appreciate that.” He expected Curtis to end the call, but instead he cleared his throat.

“Uh . . . I just wanted to say, I’m open—I mean, some of us are open—to talking about our teams as well.”

Jordan blinked, staring at the road bending in front of him. “Not sure what you mean, bud.”

“Snowballs. Pucks Deep.”

Jordan couldn’t think of a damn thing to say to that. Luckily he didn’t have to because Curtis was talking again.

“We got our asses handed to us the other night. Might be good to clear the air.”

Jordan almost laughed. He had to be talking about Rhonda. “That would be good. I’ll talk to the guys and see what we can set up."

“Right. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas.” Jordan pressed the button on his steering wheel, then hit the brakes. He’d been so focused on the conversation, he almost missed his exit into Canmore.