Chapter 2
T he scrape of skates on ice would always be my second favorite sound. The first being the sound of Penelope's laugh as she told me about how excited she was to show her friends her Christmas presents. I'd gotten her a charm bracelet kit and an artist gift box, complete with a professional sketchbook. She'd already texted me a picture of the drawing she'd started of me playing on the ice. She'd picked the photo of me falling on my face after spraining my ankle. My ankle was doing better now, and with some extra tape I should be able to play in the game tonight.
"Dad, I gotta go. Mom wants to take me somewhere."
"I'll see you next weekend Sweet Pea."
I hated that I didn't have more time with her, but the judge didn't want to give me more custody when I was gone so much during hockey season. Hard to keep on top of Penelope's school work when I had games October through April, and half of those took me out of state for days at a time. Not to mention that Erin made it so difficult to co-parent that every nanny I'd hired ended up quitting in less than a month. The last one didn't even last a week before Erin reduced her to tears.
"Nate!" I looked up to find Lou skating across the rink towards me. "One of those for me?"
He pointed at the white pastry box in my hands. I'd pulled the sticker with the bakery logo off the lid before anyone saw me with it. Selfishly, I didn't want any of my teammates discovering the gorgeous redhead that worked there. My exchanges with her made me feel normal, and for the first time since my divorce, I was tempted to try dating again. She made me hopeful that one day when Penelope was all grown up I could date again. But that didn't mean I wanted to see any of the knuckleheads on my team flirting with her.
More of the team skated over and swarmed like teenage boys when they realized I had food. There were some things that would always be the same. In a matter of seconds I was left holding an empty box. Good thing I'd eaten mine before I entered the building.
"You cleared to skate today?" Lou asked after he'd taken the last bite of the egg and bacon croissant.
"Going to see the doc now."
He nodded. "I'll save a puck for you."
The room for the team trainers wasn't as fancy as the NHL-level rooms, but it had the necessities. The rolling ultrasound and stimulator racks, whirlpool tanks, treatment tables, ice makers, and other rehabilitation equipment. There were drawers and cabinets of medical stuff to treat injuries that didn't require a trip to the hospital.
"Mr. Mitchell." Doc greeted me. "Shall we see if you're good to play tonight?"
"I know I'm ready to play."
"Hop up on the table and we'll see."
The sprain had felt bad at first, but luckily it wasn't as bad as first diagnosed. Resting and following the RICE protocol had done wonders for it. I hadn't needed crutches for a couple of days now, and while it was tender, I didn't limp now. I sat on the table Doc pointed at and pulled off my shoe.
He sat on one of those rolling stools in front of me as he picked up my foot. "Tell me if it hurts."
I felt the smallest twinge in a couple of spots as he had me move my foot around. But it was nothing I hadn't played on before. No pain no gain as my dad liked to tell me growing up.
Doc picked up his clipboard and checked a box before signing his name below. "Suit up for morning skate. But I want you in extra tape."
The grin spread on my face. "You got it."
I put my shoe back on and headed to the locker room to get my gear on. My blue jersey was hung up in front of my pads, I moved it to the side and reached for my shoulder pads. Only to find they were all taped together. I shook my head as I turned to find Daniel laughing from where he sat on a bench across the locker room.
"Married life too boring for you?" I asked him.
I'd been there and done that, Erin had made sure to destroy any and all desire I had to date or get married again.
He shook his head, a beaming grin on his face as he thought of his new wife. "Nah man, but I owed you one after the gum in my glove."
I hid my grin and started ripping away the tape. "That was payback for the lid on the water bottle."
"That wasn't me," Daniel said.
"Sure it wasn't." I pulled my stuff apart and started putting it on.
"See you on the ice." We bumped fists as he walked by me towards the rink.
My first step on the ice after being out felt as good as coming home after a long time away. Here on the ice nothing else mattered, there was a reason the NHL had drafted me young, they knew I gave each game my all. If things hadn't fallen apart with Erin, I'd still be playing there. Instead, everything had fallen apart, and I'd been traded to the minor league before finding my way to the city of Glacier Bay. Dan and the other guys on the team had helped me get back on my feet, and I wasn't looking forward to leaving them at the end of the season.
Stupid custody arrangement. I thought to myself. The puck slid across the ice towards me and I took off with it, aiming my stick towards Dan in the goal.
A blur of blue body-checked me from the right side.
"Head in the game Gramps," Lou teased as he took off with the puck he'd stolen from me.
I chased after him. We traded a few hard hits before Coach told us to save it for the game. We took it easier after that, sharing verbal blows instead of physical ones. Doc checked my ankle after the skate and told me to get my nap in before the game against the Falcons.
I headed to the locker room to take a quick shower before heading home. I grabbed my bottle of body wash and headed to the showers. Still thinking about the upcoming game, I didn't pay attention to the bottle I grabbed until the smell of vanilla cupcakes reached my nose. It was then that I looked down at my normal bottle of amber and musk body wash to notice it had been swapped for a glittery cupcake type Penelope would love.
I rinsed off as best I could, smiling even as I vowed retribution to whoever pulled the prank. When I returned to my locker a few of my teammates were smirking. I'd get them back.
The team met with Coach to talk through the game we had tonight, and I enjoyed an orange cranberry muffin from the familiar bakery boxes Hannah had brought in. I could only hope that my teammates would forget the name of the bakery.
Coach talked through a lot and then I chatted with Dan and Lou for a while. Hours later all I wanted to do was head home and get a quick nap in before having to be back here. Game days meant long nights for everyone.
I enjoyed the short walk back to my place. On game days I was especially glad my condo wasn't far from the arena. I could walk between the two in five minutes when the crowds weren't around. I checked the time on my phone as I rode the elevator up to the top floor where I had the penthouse. The elevator opened into a small room with the door to my place. I pulled out the key, and walked into my place. It was quiet and too clean without Penelope leaving her colored pencils and papers everywhere. The plate I'd used for breakfast was still in the sink, but I'd cleaned up the toast crumbs from off the white marble counter.
Light streamed in through the big windows wrapping around the corner on the far wall. I could see the dark blue ocean water not too far in the distance and the cloudy sky above. No doubt it would rain later, so I'd want to take my car to the game instead of risking getting soaked after the game.
I set an alarm on my phone and noticed that I had the Do Not Disturb setting on. I must have accidentally turned it on after talking with Penelope earlier. I switched the setting off, and my phone immediately started pinging with texts from an unknown number. I read the first one, and immediately grabbed my keys off the rack and ran out the door.