Chapter 30

Delia stretchedher seatbelt until she could shove her head between her knees. She wasn"t made for moments like that. Put her on a stage and she"d stare down a thousand people no problem, but tell her that her mom was running a fever of a hundred and four? Nope. Her brain turned into Cream of Wheat.

"Okay, slow down and try one more time." Jack was still on the other end of the line even though she wasn"t making any sense. This wasn"t the plan. She was going to be there for him. She was going to be sitting in the hotel room waiting when he got back. They were going to have a naked nap and she"d massage his shoulders or something and force him to drink enough water and eat protein or whatever he needed to get ready for game two.

"I can"t, Jack. I can"t think. I wanted to be there–I"m so mad I"m not there for you–but I had to?—"

"Delia, take a breath. Please."

People always told her to take a breath, and it never helped. It only made her lungs forget they"d ever known how to breathe in the first place. But it wasn"t his fault. Jack didn"t know that. He didn"t know that what she was supposed to do was start naming facts about her surroundings and—oh, damn. Had she just therapized herself?

Delia looked up. The seat was leather. It was black. Her brain scrambled to hold onto the chaos, but Delia turned her head and kept noticing. There was a piece of lint on the floor. Her suitcase was on the seat next to her because she"d dragged it in before her driver or Alvin could put it in the back. It was rose gold. Alvin had stripes of grey in his beard. He was coming with her because Mary was going to drive back to Calgary and close things down at the bed and breakfast since they only had it for another week and a half?—

Nope, that thought wanted to send her down another spiral of leaving Calgary and missing Jack, which was the opposite of helpful.

The driver had on a black sport coat. She was wearing her favourite jeans. Better. Delia drew a deep breath. That was better.

"Okay. I think I can talk now."

Jack exhaled, his breath turning into static in the microphone. "I was about to phone my dad and get in his truck."

Delia sniffed. "I"m sorry. This is the last thing I wanted."

"Just tell me what"s going on."

"Okay. Okay." She leaned back in the seat, readjusting her seatbelt as she closed her eyes. "We have a friend who lived next door my whole life. Her name"s Tenille and she"s in her seventies now . . ."

Delia recounted how she"d just arrived back at Jack"s hotel room when Tenille"s number popped up on her cell phone. She hadn"t remembered saving her as a contact, it had been so long since they'd been in contact. Moving away from their apartment had been bittersweet, with relief and regret. Delia and her mom still stopped by every week or so to check on her and drop off cookies or help her chip the ice off the edge of the walkway since management still hadn"t fixed the leaking eaves.

She had no idea how Tenille had even gotten over to their new house. She couldn"t remember ever telling her where they lived. But somehow she"d made it past the gate and showed up on their doorstep. She"d knocked and waited for almost a half an hour before her mom had been able to make her way to the door and open it.

"She must have pneumonia or something, I don"t know. Her cough sounded terrible. That"s where her Lupus attacks hardest, and she"s already taking Ibuprofen for her pleuritis, but she won"t take the steroids they keep trying to get her to take?—"

"Alright. Wow. Well I"m really glad someone found her. Did they go to the hospital?"

Delia groaned. "No, my mom is so stubborn. She hates doctors and is convinced that if she waits it out and drinks her herbal concoctions, she"ll be fine." Delia was sure as hell going to have a conversation with the service they'd hired to help her mom in her absence. Why hadn't someone contacted her?

"Can"t blame her. She has a one hundred percent track record."

Delia laughed, and the sound surprised her. "How do you do that?"

"What?"

"Make me laugh when I feel like the world is caving in?"

"It"s not hard to make you laugh, Dels."

Her chest warmed. Only Mary and Tony called her Dels, but she was immediately in love with the way it rolled off his lips. "It"s hard for most people."

"Well, I'm not most people."

"I"m becoming acutely aware of that." Delia wanted to be back in that hotel room. She wanted to press herself against him and forget about that phone call. She glanced out the window as they hit the exit for the airport. "I'm so sorry, Jack. Last night was . . ." She caught herself, remembering that Alvin sat directly in front of her.

"Yeah. It was."

She heard the slam of a car door. "Are you back at the hotel?"

"Yep."

"I left you something. It"s not nearly as cool as a coat."

He chuckled. "Yeah, you"re not going to beat that anytime soon."

She grinned. "I"ll phone you when I land?"

"Text. I"ll probably go to bed early so I"m rested for tomorrow."

"I"ll watch the game. Every second. Even though I"m not there, you"ll know I"m seeing it, so your stats should still go up, right?"

Jack laughed out loud. "Wait, you know about that?"

She"d seen it on two different memes when she braved the internet before Tenille had reached out. "I like being your good luck charm."

There was the ding of an elevator. "I"m a big fan."

Delia"s car pulled to a stop in front of the WestJet sign. "I have to go check in for my flight."

"Yep. Travel safe."

It felt wrong to say sleep well or rest up like she"d say to any random acquaintance. The words she felt in her soul bobbed to the surface like a cork, and she wasn"t fast enough to shove them back under. "I love you, Jack."

Her throat closed like she"d just swallowed poison ivy. She shouldn"t have said it—it was too soon, and then he was going to feel pressure to say it back, which she absolutely did not want, so she did what she did best and panicked. Which might"ve involved her finger pounding against the screen until she hung up on him.

"Nice." Alvin gave her a thumbs up, then opened his door and got out of the car.

_____

Delia

10:01 PM

Landed. Heading home. Hope you"re sleeping

Jack

6:34 AM

I was out by 8:30. I feel superhuman. But maybe that"s because of the bra

Delia

8:56 a.m.

Lol. You found it

Jack

8:57 a.m.

I slept with it

Delia

8:57 a.m.

Jealous

Jack

8:58 a.m.

How's your mom?

Delia

8:59 a.m.

I could roast marshmallows on her feet

I"ve almost convinced her to come to the doctor, though I may have used the word patisserie instead. It"s on the way

Jack

9 a.m.

All"s fair in love and . . . pleuritis

Delia settled into the armchair she"d pulled across the room to be directly next to the couch. Her mother was asleep, and Delia was fairly certain no matter how high she turned up the volume, she wouldn"t wake her.

She"d successfully gotten her in the door to their family doctor, who had tried to check her into the hospital, but when her mother started cursing in French, he relented and gave Delia all the instructions to care for her at home. She had pneumonitis and needed antibiotics and corticosteroids, which Dr. Kemp had been sure to keep just between him and Delia. Vitamins. For the love of God, just tell her they"re vitamins.

Delia had followed his advice and successfully gotten the first doses down her mom's throat. Dr. Kemp had also threatened her mother with bad luck if she didn"t drink a glass of water every hour. It didn"t seem that Delia was going to have to force the issue on that, though she would have to wake her if she slept too long.

For the moment, things seemed to be looking up. Tonight, she would watch Jack play. Tomorrow, she"d clean the house and take flowers to Tenille. She wanted to be back in Edmonton cheering in the suite, but sitting there in her living room with her mom curled up on the couch felt equivalent to drinking a cup of tea next to a roaring fire. Her mother needed her for once, and she"d dropped everything and jumped on a plane. It made Delia inspect herself through a new lens, and she liked what she saw.

The puck dropped, and Delia glued her eyes to the screen, hunting for Jack at every moment, whether he was on the bench or the ice. While she was no hockey expert, she knew he was having a killer game. He stayed out longer than usual and rarely lost the puck to a defender. He was graceful and strong. Superhuman was right.

Her favourite plays were the ones where he skated in loops like he was carving a name in cursive on the ice. Not his name, a name with lots of s"s and o"s. It was beautiful. She cheered when he attacked the net, cringed when he slammed someone against the boards or got crunched himself, and sat on her hands as they entered the third period tied at ones.

"C"mon, Jack." She closed her eyes and tried to keep her silent prayer simple that time. Help him show what he"s capable of. The crowd erupted, and Delia"s eyes shot open. There was a huddle of blue jerseys with mitts slapping on helmets and she jumped from her seat. "Did they score?" she yelled at the glass. As if in response, the image cut to a replay of what she"d missed.

Gaudreau. He had the puck. Streaking down the ice. A defender barreled toward him, and he reared his stick back for a slapshot. The defender dodged right, and Gaudreau slowed his shot, tipping the puck left.

Where Jack was waiting.

Delia stood on her tiptoes. Jack arced toward the net, faked left, then flicked the puck toward the opposite side of the goal. It flipped end over end past the goalie's glove and landed in the back corner of the net.

Delia screamed. She jumped up and down. Then clapped her hands over her mouth and dropped to her knees to make sure she hadn"t given her mother a heart attack.

_____

On Thursday, Jack waited for Mary to roll another bag into the hall. He"d already taken two down and had no idea how many still awaited him. "I"m sure Tyler and Emma could"ve extended your rental."

Mary shook her head. "We didn"t want to do that to them. They were already losing money by only charging us for the two rooms. It"s not a big deal to get a hotel if we come back out."

If. That word landed like a sucker punch to his gut. If? Did Mary think they wouldn"t be coming back out to Calgary? Jack"s resolve to beat the Oilers compressed into granite. Two more games. Then it was a foregone conclusion they"d play the Maple Leafs. The first two games would be at home, but then he"d be in Toronto. The thought made the ache in his chest turn torturous.

Mary rolled out another suitcase, and Jack hoisted it up and carried it down the stairs. This was only temporary. Delia"s mom would get better. The playoffs would eventually be over, one way or the other. He"d have the whole summer to spend however he wanted, unless he got signed for another season.

His goal in Edmonton had poured kerosene on that torch of hope. Had he done enough to prove himself? Doubtful. He"d sold tickets, but he"d been less than a team player for a majority of his time there. Last he"d heard, Beefus was healthy as a horse, but his doctor and physical therapist were requiring him to take another three weeks before hitting the ice.

Three weeks and his position on the Blizzard would be officially filled.

Alvin pulled up in a black SUV and parked in front of the steps to the house. Jack grabbed two of the suitcases and hauled them down to the sidewalk.

"Today"s the day." Alvin popped the back hatch. His voice held a note of sadness, and it was only then that Jack wondered why Alvin was there in the first place.

"You"re not—are you going out to Toronto to work for Delia?" Jack handed him a bag.

Alvin loaded it in the back and reached for the next one. "No, I"ll be moving on to a new client. Starting next week."

"Another singer?"

"A politician."

Jack put his hands on his hips. "Anyone I"d know?"

"It"s not something I can talk about."

"Right." A clatter sounded behind them, and they both looked up to the porch where Mary was attempting to bring two more suitcases out onto the step. Jack jogged back to help.

It didn"t take long to get everything in the back, and after Mary ran back into the house twice for things she"d forgotten in the shower and the fridge, they were strapped in and ready to go.

Mary rolled down her window. "Good luck with the games. I know Delia wishes she could be here."

Jack's lungs compressed like a luggage strap was cinched tight around his ribs. "I wish she was, too."

"Her mom will get better." Mary started to raise the glass, then paused. "Hey, Jack? I know you're not on socials regularly, but you should probably check out Delia's channel. You might see something you like."

She winked as Alvin drove away from the curb, and Jack pulled out his phone. He clicked on the app, but it had to re-download since he hadn't used it once after spending a few hours answering comments on his video the week before.

He stared at his screen, watching the download pie slice get bigger over the square icon. Jack hoped Delia"s mom would recover, of course he did, but that wasn"t what was giving him heart palpitations. Delia living in Toronto and him in Calgary was now the permanent state of things. Unless he got fired from the Blizzard. Or Delia dropped her contract with IndieLake, if that was even possible.

What was their plan? To keep flying out and seeing each other between games and shows? He dropped his fist against his chest. He"d spent three years on his own, but now he couldn"t imagine spending a week without Delia there with him.

The download stalled, so he climbed the steps and locked up with the keys Tyler had given him, then strode to his truck. Just as the app opened, a message came through on his phone from the Blizzard"s GM, Alex Renard. As if the Universe had heard his thoughts and wanted to pile on.

Jack. Meet me in my office at 4:30