Chapter 9

My mom's voice sounded stressed and panicked and full of so much worry I wished I could reach through my phone to comfort her. It'd been months since I'd been able to hug my parents, and I wished more than anything that I could've right then. Strangers were camping out on the sidewalk yelling and asking for her to open the door. They'd been loud enough that the neighbors had called to complain, and my father hadn't been able to sleep after his doctor's visit.

I was glad Hannah had told me not to tell her anything about meeting Penelope and the salon. My mom didn't need to know I lost my job yesterday. I didn't want to add to her troubles since moving home wasn't an option, and she already worried about me paying off my loans. "I'm so sorry Mom. I had no idea they'd bother you and Dad."

"Oh, Lia, it's not your fault."

But I felt like it was. If I'd just done the cut none of this would have happened. If I'd just done what Erin wanted I'd still have a job and a paycheck. But I looked at Penelope where she was finishing her ice cream and I knew that I wouldn't do anything different if given the chance. I looked at Nate and he was talking with Hannah intently. Seeing her had been a big surprise and relief. If someone had told me that I'd be with her tonight I would have rolled my eyes.

My mom was still talking, and I waited for an opening to jump in, "I know someone who might have advice. Let me talk to them. Keep the blinds closed and don't answer the door or any unknown phone numbers."

"Are you safe Lia?" Mom asked.

I only paused for a moment to consider her question. "As crazy as everything is, I am. Nate got me out of the restaurant fast."

"I'll have to make him some fudge as thanks."

"Mom." I smiled and for the first time since answering her call, I knew that she was starting to relax too.

"Don't Mom me. That boy might be the cause of all this, but if he's taking care of you I'll send him as many fudge bites as he wants."

I couldn't help but smile at that. "I hope you're sending me some too."

She clucked her tongue, "Who else is going to hand deliver them?"

"Well, I can't guarantee all of them will make it."

"Ophelia Ray Owens, you will deliver all of them with a thank you card or I'll put you on a fudge ban."

"Yes, Ma'am." I conceded. Maria made a lot of great things, but nothing compared to Mom's fudge.

"Good. Now you go talk to those people. I have to call Haley and tell her not to come over for movie night tonight. I don't want her caught in all of this drama."

My little bubble of happiness burst just like that, but I pushed it aside as we said our goodbyes. When I put my phone away and looked at the others, I found Hannah was talking on her phone, and Nate was crouched by Penelope's chair as he spoke to her and took his phone back. They'd given me as much privacy as they could while I talked to my mom which I appreciated immensely.

Nate stood and ruffled Penelope's hair before coming over to where I stood. "Was that your parents?"

I nodded. "Reporters are on their lawn."

"Can they go to a hotel?"

I shook my head, not wanting to tell him that there was no way my parents had the money to stay somewhere else tonight. "I told them to close their blinds and lock the doors."

"That's good." He stuffed his hands into his pockets. "If things get bad let me know and I'll pay for a stay at whatever hotel they choose."

"You don't have to do that." My heart melted just a bit more that he'd made the offer. He'd done so much already and here he was getting sucked into drama he could have avoided if he hadn't been trying to be nice to me.

"This whole thing is my fault. If you weren't out with me, the press wouldn't be harassing your family. In fact, it's a good idea for you to stay somewhere else tonight." He turned back to Hannah and asked her to arrange a room for me, before turning back to me. "Do your parents live close? I can send someone to pick them up and take them to the hotel."

I shook my head. "They live on the west coast."

The lift of his eyebrows told me he was surprised by my answer. "Do you get to see them often?"

"I haven't been back yet. Work and bills make it hard, although I suppose I have the time now."

His gaze dropped and he looked at his shoes. I'd made things awkward. Just another reason I couldn't get a boyfriend, and another thing to tell Charlotte if we ever had the girls' night she'd brought up.

"I don't see my family much either. Erin always changes when I can get Penelope. Makes it hard to travel to see them."

"Where do they live?" I asked.

"Minnesota."

The pause between us lengthened. I shifted on my feet uncomfortably.

Turning away from him I spotted my melting ice cream and the drippy mess it had created on the conference table.

"I'm so sorry!" I blurted out. Guilt eating at me that I'd wasted so much food after Nate had been so thoughtful to get it for me. "Are there napkins somewhere? I'll clean it up."

Hannah waved her hand. "I'll get someone to take care of it. Nate, you need to get to warm ups. Lia why don't you and Penelope follow me to the suite."

Nate checked his phone, and after a quick 'thanks' to Hannah and a nod at me, he was out the door.

I turned back to Hannah "Are you sure there isn't something I can use to clean this up?"

"This is nothing compared to what the stadium will look like after the game." She threw a glance at Penelope's take-out container with smears of ice cream. "Penelope are you still hungry?"

Penelope smiled innocently before saying hopefully, "For Glacier Berry Ice cream?"

Hannah rolled her eyes. "I was thinking Glacier nachos."

Penelope pumped a fist and did a little dance before snatching up her stuff. She was too busy drawing to eat much lasagna at Charlie's before we left.

"I think that's a yes," I said to Hannah.

"Good thing. I don't think Nate wants a kid with a stomach ache on top of everything else."

"Well those nachos must be epic."

Penelope nodded excitedly. "They're the best. The chips look like little mountains, and they have the best gooey cheese."

Hannah shrugged. "There's a reason we sold out of them opening night."

Turned out we didn't need to take the elevator or stairs to go to the suite. We just had to walk to a different side of the arena.

As we followed the rounded edge I wondered to myself if it was considered a corner. I made a mental note to look it up online later.

Hannah guided Penelope and me into a private suite that had a security guard standing outside of it. A large TV took up the right wall behind a bar topped with white marble. Staff members were busy putting out food as we walked by. A black leather couch took up the left wall so anyone could comfortably watch the TV if they didn't want to look down at the ice. Not that the seats facing the ice were the hard plastic stadium seats that lined the rest of the arena. No, the only thing they had in common was that the bottom half of the seat could be folded down, otherwise these seats were covered in thick padding and leather that matched the couch. The team's logo was also embossed into the back of the seat.

The jumbotron that hung above the center of the rink was right in front of us and had a disclaimer about pucks going over the plexiglass.

"Does that happen often?" I asked Hannah as I pointed to the sign.

She shrugged. "Sometimes, but we have medics on standby if they're needed."

Well, that's not alarming at all. I thought to myself.

"Help yourself to anything in here. It's the team's suite, so we keep it stocked with the regular favorites. I've put in an order for nachos, but it'll be a little bit before it gets up here."

"You have to try the hot chocolate on a stick," Penelope told me. "It's the best drink here."

"It really is," Hannah agreed as she pointed to the end of the bar with lots of alcohol-free drink options. Tea, coffee, milk, juice, there was even a freestyle drink machine that let us pick our flavor combinations. "The coffee, hot water, and hot milk kettles are right here so be careful when you pour."

Penelope dumped her stuff by a chair closest to the glass before going to the far end of the bar where a silver tray was filled with individually wrapped packages. I had to walk closer to see that each package included a chocolate block with a stir stick poking out of the center. They were all labeled and the suite had supplied every hot chocolate flavor I'd ever thought of, and then some. Peppermint, salted toffee, dark chocolate, hazelnut, orange, and so on. There were too many to choose from. Penelope picked up the one with a red and white candy cane instead of a stir stick and took it out of the packaging before placing it in a mug full of hot milk.

I smiled at Hannah as she put the kettle down. For all her comments about upset stomachs, she clearly had a soft spot for Nate's daughter. Nate had to trust her as well considering he'd left Penelope and me with her while he went to go play on the ice.

As Penelope stirred, the chocolate melted and mixed into the milk. When she was satisfied with stirring, Penelope picked up a can of extra creamy whipped topping and sprayed it on top.

Hannah took it from her. "Okay, that's enough until you can talk your dad into more."

Penelope didn't even pout as she took her cup and walked back to the chair she'd claimed so she could drink it in comfort.

Shaking her head in amusement, Hannah looked at me. "Think those knots in your stomach have settled enough to let you eat?"

"How did you know?" I asked.

She started making herself a cup of tea. "It's not easy being in the spotlight."

"I don't know why anyone would like being in it. The last two days have been crazy. First I was fired?—"

"From the bakery?" She asked in alarm.

"No, the salon." I'd justified not talking to Maria yesterday by telling myself that she needed sleep since she got up so early.

"Well Maria better not. I'd hate to stop going there after just finding it."

I smiled and started to make a hot chocolate for myself. After selecting the salted toffee option I asked Hannah, "Did the double chocolate muffin fix your morning yesterday?"

"No, but it did make an impression. I've officially been tasked with bringing food to the game day meetings." She tilted her head towards the couch. "Let's sit."

"Is the suite just for the three of us?" I asked as I looked at the trays of food that had been put out and took a spot on the couch. Hannah sat next to me with her tea.

"Depends on how many tickets the team has given out. We have a section of tickets closer to the ice as some people prefer to be closer for the game. Kids usually like the suite because of all the food and drink options. Plus the suite doesn't serve alcohol if anyone under 21 is in the suite."

I took in the bar again and for the first time noticed the lack of wine or beer glasses. A bottle of sparkling cider was set in a bucket of ice to chill, but that was it. Not sure what to say I took a drink of my hot chocolate. My eyes widened in surprise. Rich velvety chocolate floated over my tongue, layers of sweetness from the chocolate and toffee complimenting each other, followed by a surprise pop of salt. "Oh, Maria needs to try this."

Hannah smiled. "I can get you the chocolatier's name and number. She also makes truffles."

"I can see why the team put you in charge of food."

She let out a peel of musical laughter. "I can't help it. I appreciate good food."

"Something we have in common."

"Did you at least get to try Charlie's fries?" she asked.

I shook my head sadly. "Not even a bread basket."

"And Nate only brought the sundaes with you?"

"There was so much going on. I'm surprised he was able to get that."

She tsked, then sat her tea down in the cupholder on the couch armrest next to her. I watched curiously as she picked up a plate, and as she walked along the bar food options she loaded it up with different finger foods. The plate she handed me when she returned was filled with a smaller plate of nachos, a few chicken strips, and a pile of fries.

"I'll take you to Charlie's another day, but this'll do for now."

I thanked her and after the first bite of nachos, hunger kicked in with a ferocity I didn't expect. Penelope had been right to be excited about the nachos, they were topped with deliciously seasoned beef, cheese, beans, jalapenos, guacamole, sour cream, salsa, and green onions. I dug into my food and Hannah was kind enough to not say anything as she picked up her phone and started typing away on it again.

Hannah looked at me apologetically, "Sorry I need to finish the statement for Nate before I talk more."

"Don't let me get in the way." I continued eating my nachos and thought of Penelope, she hadn't had a lot of food either. Today had been bad for me, but Penelope had been there too. I sat my plate to the side before I got up and picked up a nacho plate to take to her. When I got closer to her I held out the plate, "Hungry?"

"Yes!" Penelope took the plate. "Thanks."

"How are you doing, with everything from yesterday and today?" I asked her.

She shrugged and picked up another chip.

I returned to the couch and picked up my plate and cup of hot chocolate. Hannah was still working on her phone, so I took both back with me and sat by Penelope. I could respect not wanting to tell a stranger about everything. "Do you get to see a lot of your Dad's games?"

"When it's my turn with him. Mom doesn't like hockey."

That surprised me.

"She says it's too violent for me to watch."

"Does your dad get in a lot of fights?"

She shrugged. "Sometimes, but normally he's trying to stop the team goons."

"Goons?"

She looked at me as if I was from an alien planet. "Do you know anything about hockey?"

I winced. "Will you hate me if I say no?"

Penelope took my answer as a personal challenge and started to point at the ice and tell me all there was to know about hockey, and the team her dad was the star center on. I may not know a lot about hockey, but it was clear to me from everything I'd seen the last two days that Penelope loved her dad, and he loved her just as fiercely. She talked me through the pre-game rituals, and we stood when the national anthem played.

Player 23 skated to the center of the ice in a blue jersey to face a black and red jersey from the other team. Penelope lit up.

"Dad's the best at faceoffs."

"Faceoff?"

She didn't stop looking at where her dad was getting ready on the ice. "The ref is going to drop the puck and Dad's going to try getting it for his team."

The jumbotron showed that the camera was zoomed in on Nate bent forward on the ice, ready to go. I could see the determination on his face, and then the puck dropped.