“Oh…
that
. Well…” She chewed on the inside of her cheek and thought about it. “If you really want to know, it just seems like ever since you came here, you’re
competing
with all of us.” Kim pretended to examine her nails. “You’re so pretty and nice and I see how men look at you and... I can’t compete with that.” Kim gestured to her curvy plus-size hips and voluptuous bosom.
Sarah just about doubled over with nervous laughter.
Just because she kept herself out of everyone else’s business, Kim automatically thought she was a threat? Wow, they were on two totally different pages. “Kim, believe me, I’m not here to compete with you. I’m just trying to…
survive
.” In L.A. Sarah had been beaten, stolen from and raped. The last thing on her mind was competing for the attention of the opposite sex.
Kim studied her with a critical eye.
“So, why don’t you, like, ever come to lunch with us or anything?”
Was that what this was really about?
Money
?
Sarah sighed.
“Money is tight for me right now, Kim,” she explained. “So I have to be really careful what I spend it on.” She’d seen the take-out menus scattered around in the break room. She could buy a couple of cases of Ramen noodles for the price of one lunch at The Blue Moon Café, the trendy restaurant her coworkers frequented.
“Oh
. I thought you were just too stuck up to want to eat with us or something,” Kim said, sounding relieved.
“Lord, no! That’s not it at all.”
“Well,
I
can buy you lunch,” Kim offered. “I have a trust fund, you know. I’m just working here because my mom is friends with Peach.”
Sarah shook her head.
“Thanks for the offer but that’s okay. I’ll try to start setting aside some money so I can join you guys for lunch once in a while, okay?”
Kim nodded. “Cool.” She tapped on her phone, signaling that the conversation was over.
“Thank you for being honest with me, Kim.”
“No problem,”
Kim said and started for the door.
“Kim?
” Sarah waited for her to turn back around before saying, “You’re a beautiful girl. You could have any guy you want.”
“Really?
You think so?”
Sarah stared at her in disbelief.
“Definitely.”
“Oh. Well, thanks.”
“Wait, no one’s ever told you that before?”
“No. I mean no one besides my
Dad anyway.”
“Well, you are.”
“Thanks for the boost to my confidence, Sarah, but I wouldn’t say I could have
any
guy. I tried to talk to Nathan at the party the other night and he wouldn’t even give me the time of day because he was too busy chasing after you.”
“Oh.” Sarah didn’t know what to say. Nathan had passed up Kim in order to talk to
her
? Holy moly.
Kim shrugged and left Sarah alone with her thoughts.
* * *
Dwight cursed himself for almost falling for the bogus bus ticket. Sarah hadn’t left any other trace of her existence at the house yet she’d left a huge “clue” to her whereabouts for him to easily stumble upon. What a crock! He should have known she’d pull some kind of shit like that. Crazy little bitch.
“She’ll pay for even
thinking
about leaving me,” he mumbled to himself. The fact that she had purchased a bogus ticket to set him off course
and
had her friends cover for her aggravated the living bejesus out of him.
Oh, she would pay all right.
Big time.
In the living room, Troy was in his usual spot rooted in front of the TV. Dwight never saw his son move but somehow, like magic, a new item of food always appeared on his lap. Troy was like a human vacuum, suctioning potato chips by the bagful. He hovered up Twinkies like they were being discontinued
or something.
“You find her?” Troy asked, his eyes never leaving the TV.
“No thanks to you. But with a little detective work of my own I found out she’s not goin’ east after all. I feel like fuckin’ Columbo over here.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. She’s pulled a fast one on us and is headed north.”
“When you find her, I’ll hold her down while you beat the shit out of her,” Troy volunteered.
Dwight sneered. “Shuddup and git your stuff. We’re goin’ after her.”
“Where to, Boss?”
“Some town called Red Valley.”
“Never heard of it.”
* * *
Even though Nathan wasn’t helping out at the salon anymore, Sarah still felt his presence. She ate
the leftovers of his home cooked meal for lunch and every time she walked past the bathroom she remembered when he’d consoled her. She was also wearing his sister’s sweater. Throughout the day she caught a whiff of fabric softener and smiled a secret smile.
Right after Sarah finished with her last client of the day, Kayla came through the front door of the salon.
Because Sarah was always the first one to arrive at the salon in the morning and the last one to leave, the other girls had already left for the day. If they
had
been there, Sarah knew they would have gone ballistic when they saw little Robbie. He held tight to Kayla’s hand and didn’t look too sure about where his mom was leading him, but he was as cute as a button nonetheless.
Sarah waved but before she could make it over to them Peach spotted the
pair and let out a deafening shriek of excitement. “Kayla! It’s so good to see you!” She rushed up to them and squished Kayla into a hug forcing her to let go of Robbie’s hand. He grabbed ahold of his mom’s leg while staring up at Peach with wide eyes.
After a long hug, Peach and Kayla
exchanged a look that Sarah couldn’t quite read. It was like they knew something that no one else did or were in on a secret. Then the moment was forgotten and Peach fussed over Robbie.
“And you brought the little one!” Peach released Kayla and squatted down to look Robbie in the eye. “How are you, Mr. Robbie? You are a
handsome
little guy, aren’t you?”
Big brown eyes peeked out from Kayla’s pant leg.
Robbie kept hidden behind his mom and stared at Peach like she was an alien from another planet.
“I’m a friend of your Uncle Nathan’s,” Peach
explained.
Robbie perked up at the sound of his Uncle’s name.
“Thun!” he yelled.
“Yes, your Uncle Nathan is very handsome, too.”
Peach narrowed her eyes at the little boy and tapped her acrylic fingernail against her bottom lip. “I think I know of something you might like, Robbie,” she told him before disappearing down the hall. A few seconds later, she returned with Bean cradled in her arm. “Do you like dogs, Robbie?”
Robbie gasped and forgot about being shy. “Pup!” he yelled. Pure wonder washed over his face.
“This is Bean. He’s very friendly.”
“
Puppup!” Robbie yelled but still kept his distance.
“Come say hello,” Peach coaxed. “It’s okay.
”
Robbie questioningly
looked up at his mom and Kayla nodded her approval.
Robbie’s
little shoes pitter pattered across the floor to where Peach squatted. Slowly, he lifted a hand to Bean’s head and patted a velvety ear. Bean sniffed Robbie’s outstretched hand and then licked him.
Robbie giggled. “Good
puppup!” he cooed.
Kayla left Robbie with his new friends and walked over to greet Sarah at her station.
“Great, now he’s going to want a dog,” she joked under her breath so Robbie wouldn’t hear.
Sarah
looked over at Robbie and couldn’t help but smile. The two-year-old was putting up with Peach’s overenthusiastic questions just so he could pet Bean. Every few seconds Bean’s tongue darted out to lick Robbie’s cheek and the little boy squealed with delight.
“What brings you to the salon?” Sarah asked.
Kayla turned her attention to Sarah while Robbie chattered on to the pup-pup. “I thought you might like a ride home.”
Sarah narrowed her eyes.
“Did Nathan send you here?”
Kayla hesitated before answering. “He just wanted to make sure you made it home safely.
”
As nice as it sounded, Sarah
was hesitant. “I can’t have him fighting my battles for me, Kayla.”
“True,
” she shrugged. “But it sure is nice to have someone fighting with you on your side.”
That did sound like
it would be nice for a change.
“
It’s okay to lean on other people once in a while,” Kayla said from experience.
Sarah thought about it. Leaning on Nathan just might be kind of nice.
“Besides that,” Kayla added. “I thought it would be fun to go out for pizza.”
Chapter Sixteen
Tough Crowd
After a nap and a typical hockey meal of chicken and pasta, Nathan arrived at the NorCal Center a few hours before the game. Sebby was scheduled to have his appendix removed and TJ had already been called up from the minors to serve as backup.
When
Coach Baker told Nathan he’d be starting, he wanted to pump his fists in the air, shout from the rooftops and have a Rocky moment. This was his chance!
He drank a liter of water before he left the house to keep him hydrated throughout the game. Once he got to the rink, he drank another liter.
Because goalies sweated out up to seven pounds of their body weight during a game, it was crucial to stay hydrated.
In the hallway, Nathan threw a tennis ball against the wall and caught it in his glove to kick start his hand-eye coordination. Then he r
ode the stationary bike for ten minutes to get the blood flowing, stretched and then did some visualization in his head. He taped up his sticks and checked his equipment and thought about the shooters on the other team and their tendencies.
There was no margin for error as a goalie. When a defenseman made mistakes during a game it didn’t always cost the team a goal.
When a goalie made a mistake, the red light came on over the net and 17,000 fans told him exactly how they felt about it. Nathan’s job was to be perfect and with that came a certain level of stress and expectation.
Before the stands filled
with fans, Nathan went down to the ice to reflect and think about the game ahead. He stepped away from the guys in the locker room and their loud music to the quietest place in the building. The ice.
It wasn’t something that had been part of his routine before, but it seemed appropriate to mix things up
and sitting quietly by the ice was a good way to focus and take everything in. Except for the hum of the Zamboni, the arena was empty and quiet. Nathan sat down and breathed in the smell of the ice.
Soon, t
he stands would be full of fans and the building loud with their chants. Music would blare and excitement would course through everyone’s veins.
Dale, the Zamboni driver and Ice Technician finished the last lap and pulled
to a stop in front of Nathan.
“How’s the ice?” Nathan asked.
“Good. It’s a little slushy on the east side, but she’ll hold. You starting tonight?” Dale asked.
“Y
up.”
“Keep sharp
out there. They’ll try to screen you twice as much as any other team. Don’t let ‘em get away with it.”
“
Will do.”
“
You know, the Russian doesn’t come out to the ice before a game. Says it’s bad luck.”
Nathan nodded.
Sebby was also the most superstitious player Nathan had ever met.
They both looked out over the ice
, each with their own separate thoughts.
“It’s a
purty sight,” Dale said.
The overhead lights reflected off the surface of the ice and Nathan had to agree.
No matter how many different arenas Nathan traveled to, the beauty of the ice remained unchanged. And no matter what happened out there tonight, he wouldn’t take for granted the fact that he was able to play a game for a living. Playing hockey in the UNHL was a dream come true and he was well aware of the guys lined up behind him ready to take his place in a heartbeat.
In the locker room, TJ sat down in his stall next to Nathan. Nathan shoved his headphones in his ears and cranked up the volume. He did not need TJ’s constant blabbering to distract him. The less commotion in his head the better.
When Coach Baker came in to give his pre-game pep talk Nathan put his iPod away. Coach announced the lineup and a
fter each player’s name was called, there was a “whoop”.
“
Tric, you good?” Coach asked.