скачать книгу бесплатно
Angie stomped off to her room, and Michelle let her go. It was easier to put away a few dishes than fight with her daughter. She sank her head on her hands on the counter, and breathed deeply. How could she get her daughter to understand this wasn’t a malicious act on Michelle’s part, but necessity?
Tommy paused his game and came and hugged her. It almost brought her to tears. “Thanks, sweetie.”
“I’ll help you.” He started to put away the cutlery.
Michelle sighed. Tommy didn’t yell at her and roll his eyes, but he still hadn’t made friends. She’d really appreciate some kind of sign that this decision to come to Toronto hadn’t been a complete mistake.
* * *
MICHELLE WOKE UP the next morning from dreams of endless tests where she knew none of the answers and had red X’s slashed over everything she wrote. It took her a moment to realize she wasn’t sitting in an exam room, but lying in her new, comfortable bed.
When she sat up and threw back the covers, the rustle of paper indicated where she’d left her test from yesterday. No surprises as to where that dream came from. She picked the test paper up from where it had drifted to the floor and stuck it in the notebook she’d been working in when she fell asleep. She hoped she might have finally worked out the right answer to question one. Or maybe that had been a dream, as well.
She stretched. It was Saturday, so for one morning she didn’t have to herd everyone out the door. She could hear Tommy in the living room, but there was no sound from Angie. Michelle pulled on her ratty robe and yawned her way to the kitchen. Two cereal bowls in the sink showed her that the kids had both gotten up and eaten. But the bowls also mocked her. Saturday morning and she hadn’t gotten up to make a good breakfast for her children. She wasn’t doing anything right. Her shoulders slumped.
She poured water into the coffeemaker with bleary eyes. They should do something fun this weekend. She’d rather spend the time studying, but the kids needed her attention, too. She flipped the laptop toward her, and typed in “cheap things to do in Toronto” while the coffee machine gurgled.
There was a knock at the door. Michelle wished she’d had a chance to ingest some coffee before dealing with whatever new problem was waiting for her on the other side of that door. Had the kids done something? Had Troy complained about Angie?
She opened the door to find Troy standing there. He was awake, alert, showered and dressed. He had no responsibilities, no problems and enough money to satisfy every whim. He was carefree while she was almost going under. She hated him in that moment.
“Can I help you?” she asked, trying to keep as little of the door open as possible. She hadn’t looked in a mirror yet; she had no idea what her hair was doing, or how bad the robe would look to him, but she would have placed a bet on “pathetic.”
Troy grinned. “Not a morning person, eh? I have something for you, if it’s okay.” There was a dip in his confidence, perhaps as he got a better look at her.
Michelle blinked. She really required coffee before dealing with this. “What is it?”
“Tickets to the game tomorrow. It’s only the preseason...”
Angie came bursting out of her room. She must have ears like a bat.
“Oh, Troy!” she squealed. “Really? Tickets?”
Michelle realized she couldn’t refuse them now. She could only fight so long. It probably wouldn’t help Angie resign herself to not playing this year, but she deserved a treat. They all did.
Troy eyed her questioningly. She gave him begrudging credit. He apparently had intended to get her approval first. Michelle shrugged. It was done now. And if he was giving them tickets, that gave them a weekend activity on the cheap. Unless they got some concession food...
Angie had grabbed the tickets and started drilling Troy with questions. The coffeemaker beeped. Michelle veered to the sound and asked Troy over her shoulder, “Coffee?”
She was surprised when Troy said yes, but she had no more brain cells firing until some caffeine got up there.
* * *
TROY WASN’T SURE why he said yes to the coffee. Michelle didn’t look like she’d meant the invitation, but Angie had lit up.
The girl was bouncing on her toes at the news she was going to a game. He warned her it was just the preseason, but she didn’t care. She had a million questions for him. He answered as best he could, since she didn’t always wait for an answer. He knew she’d been having a rough go of it without any hockey to play, and he didn’t want to make things harder for her. He hoped that Bridget could come up with some idea to get her to play.
He checked out the condo while Michelle poured out the coffee. This place was roughly the same size as his, but had a whole different vibe. Mrs. Epps definitely had old lady furniture. The couch was chintz, and the legs on the table were fussy, elaborately carved and curling. Troy preferred the clean lines on his stuff. Some of the old lady effect was offset by the kids’ debris scattered around.
Same basic layout as his condo, totally different feel. Maybe not as calm and soothing as his place, but it had something his clean lines were missing.
Michelle had to dig around in the cupboard for sugar for his coffee. She obviously took hers without. She set it out in front of him. As he stirred the spoon, he watched her wrap her hands around the mug as if she had just come in from the cold and was warming up. Her eyes drifted closed as she held it to her lips, and he could feel her pleasure as she savored that first caffeine hit. Her eyes opened, and he was annoyed to find himself self-conscious when she found him staring at her.
He noticed Tommy playing a video game with men in uniform running around killing each other. He wondered if that was really appropriate for a kid his age, but he didn’t think Michelle would appreciate his interfering. Angie wanted Tommy to switch to a hockey video game so they could all play, but Michelle looked like she was waiting for Troy to leave, and Troy didn’t want the kids to start fighting, even though he was tempted to agree. Michelle would blame him, and he was trying to improve relations with this family, not make things worse time with them.
So he offered to drive them to the game tomorrow.
Michelle frowned. “Don’t you have to be there early to get ready?”
“Yes! Could we go early with him and check out the arena?” Angie asked.
Troy held up his hands. “Whoa! I’m not going to be playing tomorrow.”
Both Michelle and Angie had disappointed faces, but probably for different reasons.
“The regulars aren’t playing tomorrow because we’re checking out the rookies and wannabes. I’ll get you seats for a regular season game later,” he promised, hoping he wouldn’t forget. Not that Angie would let him.
The girl perked up at the prospect of another game. “Are you going to be sitting with us, then?” she squeaked.
He hadn’t thought much past getting them close to Bridget, but now that Angie had brought up the idea, he did want to sit with them. Troy nodded. Angie cheered, but Michelle had a dazed expression, as if someone had hit her on the head. Hard.
CHAPTER THREE (#u943ef691-6190-54df-bace-46f4776070ea)
TROY KNOCKED ON their door the next day and was almost bowled over by Angie. She had on a Team Canada shirt.
“I’d have worn my jersey but it’s from the Winnipeg Whiteout so Mom said that might not be polite,” she blurted.
Troy saw that Tommy had a similar T-shirt. He should have gotten some Blaze jerseys for the kids, he realized. That was stupid of him. Michelle was wearing a red sweater with jeans.
“Best I could do,” she said. “At least it’s the right color, isn’t it?”
It was. The Blaze colors were red, yellow and black. Red was definitely her color. It brought her face to life.
The sweater also hugged her figure much more closely than a jersey. And it was a pretty nice figure. With her hair flowing loose down around her shoulders, and without that stressed expression on her face, she looked good. Troy reminded himself that she wasn’t his type—he preferred blondes—and that she was a mother, and he wasn’t big on responsibility.
Troy took them over in his big black pickup. Michelle was in the front seat with him, but Angie was as close to a front seat passenger as was possible while being restrained by a seat belt in the backseat. Tommy was quiet, but appeared to be happy to be there.
Troy was able to park in the players’ lot, and took Michelle and her family in through the players’ entrance. Michelle tried to remain unimpressed, but Tommy’s eyes were wide and Angie couldn’t be still. Or quiet. She asked questions as if she’d been called up from the minors and was going to be playing here next week and needed to know every detail.
Troy had gotten them seats in the lower bowl so they could be close to the action, and so they’d be close to Bridget. But before they could get to their seats, he was stopped by fans, so he waved the family on. Angie looked disappointed, but Michelle shoved her forward. Troy felt oddly bereft as they left.
* * *
MICHELLE LET THE kids each hold their tickets so they could find their own seats. She was sure Troy had been getting a little overwhelmed by Angie’s questions. But Michelle hadn’t seen her daughter this happy since they moved to Toronto, so she had been hesitant to play the heavy again. Angie would be quiet when the game started and she was absorbed by the play on the ice.
Michelle was impressed with the seats: they were quite close to the ice. Angie was thrilled, and even Tommy was looking more interested than he had been in anything but Tae Kwon Do for a while. She was grateful to Troy for this break. It had been easier than expected to get the kids to do their chores yesterday when they had this treat to look forward to today. They’d even had a dance party last night, the first since they’d moved. She smiled as she saw Angie taking photos with her phone. She’d have something to show her friends at school Monday.
Michelle was surprised when the redheaded woman behind her said hello. She judged the woman to be just a bit younger than she was, and was with a boy about Tommy’s age.
“Are you here with Troy?” the other woman asked.
Michelle nodded, cautiously. She had no idea if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
“I’m Bridget,” she said, holding out a hand. “My husband is one of the goalies. Troy said he’d invited his new neighbors to the game today, so I guessed it was you.”
Michelle took the proffered hand. “I’m Michelle, and these two are Angie and Tommy.”
Bridget shook each of their hands. “This is my nephew, Bradley. Did I hear that someone here was a hockey player?”
Michelle wondered what Troy had been saying about them. But Angie thought it perfectly natural for people to be interested in her, and answered promptly.
“I’m going to be the first girl playing in this league—the first one not a goalie, that is.” She said it pugnaciously, ready to do battle since people tended not to believe her.
Bridget nodded. “I was going to beat you to it.”
“What happened?” Angie asked. Michelle moved to stop this line of talk, which might be too personal, but Bridget merely pointed to her glasses. “I don’t have proper depth perception, so I couldn’t play professionally.”
Angie cocked her head. “So you don’t think it’s crazy for a girl to want to play? Most people tell me I won’t because girls can’t play against guys.”
“That is so not true. I play with my brothers all the time,” Bridget assured her.
Angie looked at her with respect. “Real hockey? On the ice? And you don’t play goalie?”
“Nope. Real hockey. I play defense, like Troy.”
Angie’s eyes widened. “I’m a forward,” Angie announced.
“Winger?” Bridget asked.
“Center.”
Bridget raised her eyebrows. “You’re going to have to be really good.”
“I am,” said Angie confidently.
Michelle marveled at her daughter’s self-assurance. She couldn’t remember a time when she’d felt that way. But her daughter had no doubts about her own abilities. Michelle was proud, but also afraid of what knocks life might have for her daughter.
Meanwhile, Bradley had started a conversation with Tommy. Bradley was taking on the biggest part of it, but Tommy was answering. Bradley was bragging about his uncle, and when Angie learned that Bridget was married to the team’s starting goalie, Mike Reimer, Michelle could see that Bridget had become a very important person in Angie’s eyes.
The kids went down to the glass, after Bridget assured Michelle that it was fine, and watched the players come out to start warming up. Michelle sat back in her seat and was pleasantly surprised when Bridget sat down beside her.
“Troy said you were a widow, and new in town.” Michelle tensed, wondering what else he’d said. He had mentioned that she was a widow, and that Angie played hockey? She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She hadn’t told him their story, but she also didn’t want to be so reticent that it would arouse anyone’s curiosity. She wanted to shut that part of their lives behind a firmly closed door.
“That’s got to be tough,” Bridget continued. “Mike and I have put off having a family till he retires because we didn’t want one person to have to carry all of the load.”
Michelle just nodded. It was difficult, but she wasn’t used to sharing personal information with strangers.
“Are you okay with Angie playing hockey? Some people don’t think it’s a game for girls,” Bridget asked with concern in her voice.
Michelle smiled. “Don’t let Angie hear you say that. She believes she can do anything the guys can.”
Bridget laughed. “I agree with her on that.” She turned to Michelle. “Can I be blunt? I’m not really good at being tactful. Troy said Angie isn’t playing with a team this year—” Michelle stiffened. “But next weekend Mike and I have rented out a rink for a family hockey game, and it would be great if you could come along. Angie would get a chance to play, and Tommy would, too, if he wanted. Do you play?”
Michelle shook her head. Things were moving too fast here.
“We wouldn’t want to impose, and we don’t have skates—”
Bridget interrupted. “It’s not an imposition, I promise. There will be a ton of people, so a few more is not a problem. And we have lots of extra skates and gear.”
At the mention of spare gear, Michelle sat up straight and looked directly at Bridget. “Why would you invite strangers to join you? What did Troy tell you?”
“Not much. Just that you were new here, and a widow and couldn’t swing hockey this year. But I can give you three good reasons to have you come join us.”
Bridget held up her hand and started counting off fingers. “First, that’s just how our family is. We love having company, and the more, the merrier.” Bridget nodded at the three kids at the glass. “The kids are getting along, and there’s more where Bradley came from. Second, I’d love to help Angie achieve her goal. I have five older brothers, so I’m all about girl power. Thanks to Mike, we have some pull in hockey circles, so maybe we could find a way. And finally, Troy. He and I don’t always get along, and inviting you to the game is probably the nicest thing I’ve known him to do. I’m happy to encourage that.”
Michelle wondered why Troy was being this nice. It apparently wasn’t his normal behavior, though she had to admit that he’d been more than kind to her kids so far. The kids came rushing to their seats as the players left the ice, so Michelle didn’t get a chance to ask Bridget.
“Mom!” said Angie. “Bradley asked if we could go play hockey with him next weekend! Can we?”
Bridget raised her hands, indicating that she hadn’t arranged this. Michelle looked at Angie, happy, her normal daughter, not the sullen creature she’d been living with recently. And even Tommy, behind her, seemed pleased at the prospect. Michelle didn’t want pity, and had learned to be very touchy with people who only viewed her family as a charity. But it was one party, one game—she didn’t have to agree to anything more. So she nodded, and was rewarded by a hug from her daughter. It felt good.
* * *
TROY CAME DOWN the aisle. He’d made a detour to pick up a gift for the kids, so he’d been gone longer than he’d expected and missed the warm-up. He saw Michelle and Bridget sitting together and talking to the kids, apparently getting along well. He should have been prepared for that. Neither woman seemed to like him much, so that gave them something in common.
Tommy noticed him first and prodded his sister. Angie turned with a big smile on her face. “Guess what, Troy? I get to play hockey next weekend!”
Bridget glanced at him. “I invited them to a birthday party. The family’s rented the rink and will be having a big multigenerational hockey game. I want to see the league’s first female skater-to-be in action.” She gave Angie a nudge with her elbow.
Troy was glad that Bridget was working on a plan, but after her invite, his gift might seem anticlimactic. He pulled out a couple of jerseys he’d picked up in the team store. He looked at Michelle, hoping this wouldn’t upset her.
She frowned.
“I couldn’t have kids here without proper jerseys,” he joked. “Not when they’re sitting with me.”
The kids didn’t wait for their mom’s permission. They pulled the jerseys on and looked for their mother’s admiration.
She told them they looked great, but her furrowed brow gave him reason to believe she might not be completely happy with him. Too bad. It wasn’t going to hurt anyone, and it made them happy.
The Blaze lost the game, which frustrated the kids more than the adults. It was just a preseason game, and very few of the men on the ice would be there for the regular season. Mike Reimer had joined Bridget, and Angie assured them that when Mike and Troy were back on the ice the team would start winning. Troy could see that Angie admired Bridget. He tried not to be bothered by that. He’d asked Bridget for help, and Bridget and Angie had a lot in common.
Mike had drawn Michelle into a conversation about prairie weather, since he had grown up in Saskatchewan, neighboring province to Michelle’s home in Manitoba. The three kids were talking about the game, and Bridget took the opportunity to update Troy on what she’d worked out.
“They’re coming to Brian’s party next weekend. I’ll see how good Angie is and then we can try to figure out the right place to get her to play and how to work that out.”
This was exactly what Troy wanted, but he wanted to be a bit more involved, somehow.
“Why don’t I bring them? I want to see Angie play myself. Plus, they don’t have a car.”
