“Dallas—”
“So if you could get your things sorted, and pack whatever you need for Maddie.”
“Dallas?”
“We’re playing two games there, you need to come too. It’s in the contract.”
“I just assumed the words travel as needed implied a maybe.”
He appeared confused. “No, it’s on, we’re in Dallas and you and Maddie are coming with.”
Okay then. “I’ll get Maddie’s things ready.”
“There are a hundred of these teeny tiny sleep suits in the cupboard by the front door, Raptors ones, we should take some.”
“I’ll do that.”
“And we need to—”
“Go. We got this.”
He pressed a kiss to Maddie’s head, and I had the insane need to brush back the hair that had come free from his loose ponytail. Maybe he needed looking after as much as Maddie did, but he was a grown-ass man.
He stood in the doorway. “Bye.”
And then before I could reply, he was gone.
Seven
Colorado
“Colorado, you’re leaning on my arm again.” I drew back, moved my elbow from Andre’s forearm, and mumbled an apology. My backup goalie waved it off. “I’m pretty sure you’re not going to see their plane from this plane.”
“Yeah, I know. You sure you can’t switch seats?”
Andre’s gray eyes grew to dinner plate size. “No, no, you know we can’t switch seats. We are always in row fifteen which are the goalie seats. Me in seat one and you in seat two because one-fifteen is my birthday and why I wear number fifteen. If we move and you sit by the window, that would be much bad luck. No, sorry, no, we cannot move seats.”
“Yeah, I know.” As frantic as I was about Joe, Simon, and Maddie flying to Dallas to meet us, moving seats might call the bad luck trolls out. Fuck knows I did not need to push my luck. The Raptors had barely managed to claw their way to the second round, a flunky, bouncing goal from Ryker Madsen the only reason we were jetting to Big D instead of the Vegas team. I’d sat on the bench throughout that series. Andre had done a fantastic job in the crease, but I wanted my net back.
“It’s asking for the rotten luck just by having Tate go back and play his old team,” Andre whispered, stroking the beaded bracelet his sister had made for him. It was his good luck charm. Crafted out of moose antler to imbue the wearer with the strength and stamina of a bull moose, or some sort of Canadian folklore bracelet thing. “It feels bad off.”
“It’ll be fine.” I said it but deep down I wasn’t sure. Tate, who was sitting next to Vlad, appeared tense. If he was off then the rest of the team would pick up that vibe and it would run through the ranks like a bad case of the shits. “It’ll be fine.”
Andre returned to looking out at the clouds. I tried to compose a song for the new album but was getting nowhere. How damn long could it take to fly from Tucson to Dallas? It was insane to be in the air for… oh, only an hour had passed. Fuck. We still had another hour. I shifted and wiggled around for that hour then literally shoved Ryker and Alex aside to get off the shitty plane and sprint to the charter bus.
More delays, but at least I could maintain a solid cell connection now. Joe hit me back to inform me they were already at the hotel and Maddie was taking a nap. He’d snapped a picture of her snoozing in her little portable playpen.
“Hey, look at this face. Look at those little lips,” I shoved my phone into Henry’s face as he passed by my seat in the coach. I was again next to Andre who was by the window, and yes, in row fifteen.
“Oh yeah, she’s cute. She looks like you when you fall asleep on the plane and drool all over yourself.”
Andre snorted.
I chuckled. “Yeah, she has her dad’s pipes and his saliva production.”
Roaming through the bus to show the team, and Coach, the picture of my sleeping kid took up quite a bit of time. The married players had to show me pictures of their kids because that was what proud papas did. When we pulled up to the Dallas Embassy Hotel, I rushed the door then had to wait until the bus came to a complete stop before I was let out. Stupid safety rules.
Check-in was quick and I was on the fifth floor of the ten-story hotel in a blink. I scanned my card and slipped into the blue and tan suite which was attached to Joe’s room. Tossing my bag to the bed, I then kicked off my sneakers, whipped my shirt and suit pants to the corner, pulled on a sheer fuchsia robe to go with my ragged Levi’s and rapped gently on the door separating our rooms. Joe opened it with a finger over his lips. I snuck into a room that looked exactly like mine, save for the playpen.
“Was she okay on the plane?” I asked as I bent to listen to her breathe.
“Yeah, she was quite good. She’s a really pleasant baby.”
I grinned at him. He seemed looser now, less skittish than he had been. “Thanks for coming with us. I love knowing she’s here. And you can hang out with the WAGs before and during the game.”
“I have no idea how hockey works, but I’m excited to watch a game.”
I pulled the thin blanket up to Maddie’s chin then straightened. “I’ll give you a crash course. Want to chill on the balcony and watch a Dallas night settle on the city?”
“I’m not sure that will be appropriate.”
He was so buttoned up. It turned me on I cannot lie. “Joe…”
“Joseph.”
“Joseph,” I corrected. “It’ll be fine. She’s sound asleep five feet from where we’ll be. I promise not to ravage you. This time.” I gave him a randy wink which made his cheeks pinken.
He sized me up, mentally running over something
