Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 130307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 652(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 652(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
There was a brief silence before he said, “Um… care to elaborate on why her teacher is there this late?”
“Not even a little bit. What do you want, Fabio?”
Carter Fabri was the closest thing I had to an annoying little brother. The kid had rolled up as a rookie last season with a feather in his hat and a grin the size of his home province. As much as he gave me gray hairs, I liked his attitude. I liked that when he was here, he was dedicated — no matter how much he partied in his off time.
The problem was that he wasn’t here long.
He rode the bench for a lot of his first season, coming in for sporadic line changes every now and then before he was sent down to the AHL to help them with playoffs. He came back to training camp for this season and stuck around for a few months, but he just wasn’t quite where he needed to be to stay put.
And so, he was back with our AHL affiliate once again.
I knew he had it in him to secure a permanent spot here in Tampa, he just needed to grow up a little bit. He also needed to get laid more or find some kind of way to beef up his confidence. As a center, he needed to be a leader. He needed to call the shots and communicate with his linemates without any hesitation.
As it was currently, he had the backbone of a grasshopper.
“I sent you a film clip,” he said, and my phone buzzed in my ear with the text arrival. “I need some Daddy P tough love because I’m about to lose my mind if I can’t figure out why this shit keeps happening to me.”
Daddy P was the nickname bestowed on me by my team. Daddy for obvious reasons, and P for Perry — or Pickles, depending on who you asked, because I was “cool as a cucumber.”
The Pickles side of that argument clearly hadn’t seen me at my lowest.
I watched the clip, seeing the error immediately. He’d cleared the puck up the middle only to lose control and have the opponent take it the other way and score.
In other words — a turnover.
He wasn’t back checking hard enough, and I told him as much, coaching him through the scenario and giving him some drill homework.
It took nearly thirty minutes to get him off the line, and as soon as I did, my phone rang again.
This time, it was Maven — fiancée to Vince Tanev, one of our right wingers and, in an interesting twist of events, a good friend of mine.
Well, as good of a friend as I let into my life, anyway.
“What?” I answered.
“Don’t what me, you prick.”
The difference in how she responded to my greeting compared to Carter wasn’t lost on me. Maven King was feisty. I liked that about her.
“I heard another nanny bit the dust today,” she said. “Was just calling to see if you needed me. I have a lot going on with the foundation right now, but I should be able to move things around to help.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose on a long sigh, feeling like an asshole — which was nothing new.
“Thank you,” I said. “I might take you up on that. Let me try to figure something out, but if I can’t…”
“I’ve got you,” she said. “You can take her to school in the morning before pre-game skate?”
“Yeah.”
“Give me a call after and let me know if you need me to pick her up. I could bring her to the game with me, too.”
I nodded. “Thanks, Mave.”
My head was pounding by the time I ended the call, and I made my way back inside to find the kitchen spotless and a note from Chef on the counter.
Pre-game pasta is in the fridge. See you in a couple days, turkey.
I dragged my sore ass upstairs, nearly forgetting Miss Knott was still here until I heard her voice coming from Ava’s room.
I frowned, the words familiar as I crept closer, and when I made it to the door, I paused at the sight of her sitting against Ava’s headboard reading one of her favorite bedtime books.
My daughter was already sound asleep, one arm around her Ospreys stuffed animal fish, her mouth half-open and a little drool coming out.
Chloe startled when she saw me, glancing down at Ava with a soft smile before she carefully slid off the bed, replaced the book on Ava’s shelf, and tiptoed toward me. I waited until she was out of the room before I took her place, bending to kiss Ava’s forehead and turn on her night light.
I met Chloe in the hallway, and she waited until we were away from Ava’s room before speaking in a whisper.