AllFreeNovel
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He finishes chewing and glances at me and Tabby. “Well, it’s kind of…” He seems to catch himself. “It’s a mess, actually.”
“Why?” I always figured training camps for professional athletes were more of a formality than anything else. The athletes get paid to play games. It seems like training must be an afterthought.
“The veterans. A lot of the old guys came back not looking like they did anything this off-season.” He stabs a forkful of pasta and shoves it in his mouth.
“Why the veterans?” I would assume experienced players would take their job more seriously.
“Last year was a rough one, and I think a lot of them tried to pretend it didn’t happen. Now that reality is hitting, they’re regretting their life choices.”
“Oh.” I take another bite and consider. “Why was last year rough?”
He tilts his head. “You really don’t know much about hockey, do you?”
I shrug. “No. I really don’t.” I motion with my fork. “I work a lot. And when I don’t work, I was in school. It has left little time for following sports or television shows or whatever.”
“What do you do for fun?”
“I read, like I told you.” I shovel another bite of food into my mouth. The pasta turned out well, if I say so myself.
He makes a noncommittal grunt, and then he answers. “Last year was hard because we had a couple of guys on the team who were more interested in making headlines and getting endorsement deals than they were in winning games.” His lips thin. “I didn’t appreciate them turning our team into a circus.”
I nod and decide to look that up later. As Duke continues to eat, I get the basic idea. He’s a serious guy, and I bet he takes his job seriously, too. He’s the captain. That means he holds a leadership role. I bet having members of his team who lacked the same commitment bothered him.
“And this year?”
“Management traded most of the biggest offenders.” When I tilt my head in question, he explains. “The coaches didn’t like the drama either. This isn’t a town or organization that puts up with a lot of nonsense. Our fans want us to come in and work hard for them. The rest of it was a distraction.” He moves his pasta around to get the last forkfuls. “But they decided not to invest in any other big name players. Instead, they drafted some prospects, signed some young guys who had been top draft picks out of college, and called some players up from the minors. It’s obvious they want to rebuild. It’s just making for a weird mix of the old guard and a bunch of young rookies.”
“There must be a big discrepancy in experience, then.” I’m trying hard to understand the dynamic.
“Yeah.” He snorts. “Like, a bunch of overeager newbies and some leftover cynical d—dummies.” He catches himself before the last word and glances at Tabby, as if reminding himself she’s there. She’s busy scarfing down her dinner.
“Right. Dummies.” I meet his eyes and grin. We both know he wasn’t going to say that.
Tabby drops her fork. “I’m done, Dad. Can I go watch a show?”
“Do you have homework?”
“I’m in second grade.” She rolls her eyes and gets up. “No.”
“Take your plate to the sink, then.” She nods, collects her dish, and scurries toward the family room. She drops her plate in the sink, as requested.
In the silence, I search for new conversation starters. I rarely struggle with this. But with Tabby gone, I’m intensely aware of him, and it’s shorting out my brain.
Even my rare dates aren’t this full of tension. He’s not the only super hot and talented person I’ve ever met. He might be the most blatantly sexy, but Duke’s my boss, my charge’s father. Why doesn’t my stupid body know he’s totally off-limits? If my body doesn’t get it, my brain certainly should and be able to come up with some bit of thoughtful conversation.
Nothing.
We sit there in awkward silence for long minutes until he finally says, “Thank you.”
“For what?” I ask.
“Dinner.” He motions to his plate, which is completely empty. “I don’t eat a lot of pasta.”
“No?”
“No.” He chuckles, and the sound warms my belly. Stupid belly. “Carbs,” he offers as explanation.
I swallow hard. “Carbs. Right.”
