Easy: Chicago Blaze #6

Erik

Nothing rattles me. Well…almost nothing. As the most even-tempered player on the Chicago Blaze, I take everything in stride – hockey, fame and life in general. No one knows that deep down, even I’ve got a trigger. She’s a tall brunette with a gorgeous smile and an iron will. The woman who crushed my heart long ago. I never plan to return to Greentree Falls, Wisconsin and lay eyes on Allie Douglas again - until suddenly, I’m left without a choice.

Allie

Somehow, I’m keeping it all together. Raising my nieces and nephew alone and working takes everything I’ve got and then some, but I get by. I don’t have time for love, and who needs a man, anyway? I gave up the love of my life a decade ago, and now he’s just a distant memory. Until one day, he comes back home. And once I see him, I’m not keeping it together anymore.Not even close.

Chapter One

Easy

“How’s Jonah doing?” 

My agent Jack tosses a baseball a few feet into the air and catches it, feet up on his desk as we finish up our meeting at his New York office.

“He’s good.”

“Gotta be hard on a goalie, ending the season that way,” Jack says.

Last week Jonah dove for a puck that was flying toward the goal with seconds left in the game. It got past him, ending our postseason run.

“We win together or we lose together,” I tell Jack. “If we’d been better offensively in that game, we would’ve been ahead at the end there.”

Jack nods. “He’s always been good at shaking off losses.”

“In terms of hockey, he’s the best at it.”

“Yeah, when I said losses, I didn’t mean…shit, it was a damn shame what happened to his wife. Does he date much?”

“Jonah?” I shrug. “Occasionally.”

Jack’s a good guy—he’s been my agent since I signed my first NHL contract eight years ago. But I don’t tell anyone personal shit about my teammates. Gossip’s thick enough around all of us as it is.

“You heading to Kauai on the big team trip?” Jack asks.

Most of our team’s already at the beach house my teammate Luca and his wife Abby own. It’s the way we always kick off our offseason break, and I hate that I’m missing it.

“Not this year, unfortunately. I passed because I was originally going to take my mom and aunt on a safari tour trip, but my aunt fell a couple weeks ago and fractured her hip, so we had to cancel.”

“Damn. She’s okay, though?”

“Oh yeah. My Aunt Jo will outlive us all.”

Jack grins. “Got an aunt like that myself.” He glances over at the computer screen on his desk. “So you’re in for the Yankees game tonight, right? I’ve got sweet box seats, and then we can check out this new club I’ve heard good things about.”

“Yeah, I’m game. My flight leaves at seven tomorrow morning, though.”

“No problem, I’ll make sure we stop partying by six.”

I laugh at that. Jack and I have had some epic nights out in New York City, even though I usually only come here about twice a year. He likes to wine and dine his clients, and given how much I pay him, I certainly don’t complain about it.   

“I’m thirty now, man,” I say. “I feel it when I party all night long.”

“Feels like you’re not a pussy, right? Like you’re a man who appreciates all that life has given him and isn’t gonna squander it by going to bed early when he’s in the big city?”

I groan. “Feels more like someone ran me over with a truck, honestly.”

Jack takes his feet off his desk and turns to set the baseball back on the decorative stand on a bookcase behind his desk. “The truck of damn good times, bro. Nut up, we’re going out. We’ll have a good time. Plus, you’re a pussy magnet.”

“Oh, is that it?”

He stands up, shrugging. “I can’t tell you how many fucking times people have asked me if you’re related to that actor…Idris whatever his name is. Women see you coming and it’s like their legs just magically open up. That little hint of a French accent you’ve got doesn’t hurt a bit. Me, you, and a few Yankees players are going out tonight. I have the chance to wake up with multiple women in my bed tomorrow morning. This is a non-negotiable proposition my friend.”

I give in, not because of the partying, but because of the game. I’ve always loved major league baseball, and there’s nothing like seeing a game at Yankee Stadium. 

“All right, man. But I’m gonna need to go back to my hotel and take a nap first. And can you arrange for my bags to be taken to the airport for me?”

Jack gives me a mock salute. “Done, sir. My loins thank you. They’re quivering in anticipation of finally getting some ass.”

“I don’t want to hear about your fucking loins, man.” 

I shake my head as my phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull my phone out and go to answer it, but when I see my mom’s name on the screen, I groan. She’s trying to convince me to stay with her for a few weeks in Greentree Falls, Wisconsin. I’ve taken her and Aunt Jo on a trip during each offseason for seven years now, and when we had to cancel this year because of Aunt Jo’s fall, she told me I could come there instead.

But there’s no way I’m going to Greentree Falls. I’d rather spend a few weeks in any other town in the country—the world, even—than step foot back in that town.

“Excuse me,” I say to Jack, stepping into the hallway to take my mom’s call, answering it with my usual, “Hey, Mom, how are you?”

“I’ve been better,” she says weakly.

My brow immediately furrows with concern. My mother never says anything weakly.

“What’s going on?”

She sighs into the phone. “I was bringing Aunt Jo home from the hospital and I tripped on her front porch steps. My ankle is fractured.”

“Oh no. Where are you?” 

“I’m at the hospital now. Some friends from church drove me here.”

“Are you in pain?”

“It hurts.” Her voice wavers slightly. “Not as much as you’d think, but it does hurt.”

My mom is the strongest person I know. Her tone fills me with a sense of helplessness. She’s laid up in a hospital bed, and I’m too far away to help.

“Are you okay?” I ask. “What can I do to help?”

“I’m okay. I don’t need to have surgery. They’re going to put my foot in a cast and then I can go home.”

“Are they sure that’s all that’s going on? Did you hit your head when you fell?”

With another sigh, she says, “I’m banged up pretty good, but the doctor says I can go home. I’ll have to eventually have physical therapy but they think it’ll heal well and I’ll be able to swap the cast out for a boot brace in a few weeks for better mobility.”

“Do they know how old you are?”

“I’m fifty-six years old, Erik, not eighty.” 

And there’s the Naomi Zimmerman I’m used to—there’s no weakness in her tone now.

“Okay,” I say, backing down.

“Listen, son. You’re not gonna like this, but it’s just the way it is. You need to come up here for a few weeks to help out. I’m supposed to be taking care of your aunt and now neither one of us can walk or lift anything. There’s no way I can do this on my own.”

My mom means more to me than anyone in the world, but I’m not going to Greentree Falls—even for her.

“You and Aunt Jo can come stay with me in Chicago for as long as you need,” I offer. “I’ll send a medical transport to get you guys.”

“Are you out of your damn mind? With her broken hip and my broken ankle, we’re not coming to Chicago. You’re coming here, Erik.”

I dig in. “I’ve got plenty of room at my place, and I can hire nursing care.”

“I don’t want any nursing care when I have a perfectly able-bodied son on summer vacation.” 

“It’s not summer vaca—”

“You’d better get your ass up here, son. You haven’t been home in more than ten years and it breaks my heart that my one and only child never comes home to see me. I know it’s because of Allie Douglas, but—”

I cut her off, just the sound of that name making me tense up. “Mom, I send a driver with a luxury vehicle to bring you to Chicago several times a year. We’ve traveled all over the world together. I’ve told you you’re welcome to come live here if you want; I’ll buy you a nice place.”

“This is my home,” she says firmly. “And even with a broken ankle, I can still whip your ass if I have to, so don’t let it come to that. When can I expect you?”

I move the phone away from my mouth and exhale hard, looking up at the ceiling. Fuck. I can’t see any way out of this. My mom needs me. She’s never let me down, not even once, and I won’t let her down, no matter how hard it’ll be to go back to Greentree Falls.

“Tonight. I’m in New York, but I’ll catch the first flight out and rent a car.”