Taking Charge (36 page)

“I know,” Cole exclaimed, and he drew her into him as
he shuddered, his breath quick, his body wet, his emotions
spent.

“Your heart’s still hammering,” Robyn remarked,
putting her hand onto his chest.

“I know,” Cole replied, almost breathless.

“I think I’m lying on a rock,” Robyn said, shifting
slightly under him.

“I’ve got cramp in my leg.”

“Why didn’t you say? I can move.”

“No. Don’t move. Stay right where you are,” Cole
spoke, kissing her mouth again.

“Ow! My ribs! Mind where you put your elbow.”

“Sorry.”

Robyn laughed and kissed him. They’d just made love
under the stars, in almost subzero temperatures on a blanket that
felt like it had seen better days. She wouldn’t have wanted it any
other way.

“Do you think we’ll always be this happy?” she asked
him as he moved in tight beside her.

“I’d like to think so.”

“Do you think when we’re ninety we’ll still be
driving down to the lake in Leonora and making out on the
sand?”

“We might not be driving Leonora. She probably
doesn’t have that many years left in her,” Cole said.

“We should definitely get a monster truck.”

“What is it with you and monster trucks?”

“What is it with you and wiping your mouth with your
ice hockey shirt?”

“Tightening the lid of the milk?”

“Eating pasta for almost every meal?”

“Dill pickles and ice cream?”

“That isn’t unusual!”

He held her close to him and listened to her
breathing. His heart was still racing, his body aching from the
intensity of the moment. He’d just made love to his future wife for
the first time and he’d never felt anything even halfway close to
it before. Meeting Robyn had changed things for him. Work was no
longer his priority, she was. His focus had shifted and he was
okay. He mattered to her and she mattered to him, and that was more
important than anything else.

“I’ll teach you to shoot,” Robyn remarked suddenly,
breaking his thoughts.

“What?”

“I’ll teach you to shoot, so you don’t embarrass
yourself at the town turkey shoot in the spring. And can you ride a
horse?”

“I did a bucking bronco ride once. Lasted all of four
seconds,” he remarked.

“I’ll teach you that, too.”

It was match night and Robyn felt rough. She’d
worked the roadhouse again and Advil was doing nothing to ease her
rib pain. That, coupled with the fact that the Panthers were even
more depleted, made her want to just go home and watch re-runs of
last year’s Stanley Cup and devour a pantry’s worth of chips. But
there were Sierra and Sienna dressed up again and Pam and Bob. She
fixed a smile on her face and hurried toward them.

“Hey! Girls, water bottles aren’t ready, go get
them,” she ordered as she came to join the men on the team
bench.

“Made Cole the captain,” Bob remarked as Robyn sat
down.

“I didn’t have a choice, did I? Brad’s practically
bathed himself in coffee so he can play, but he’s been drinking
again and I need a captain I can trust. Cole’s the right person for
the job. Only Brad has a problem with it,” she answered.

“I was just telling everyone I’ve seen this beautiful
wedding dress on sale, it’s ivory with…” Pam started.

“Pam, it’s hockey. When hockey’s on, we don’t talk
about anything but hockey,” Bob reminded her.

“I’m sure it’s great,” Robyn responded kindly.

“It’s not, it’s gross,” Sienna informed her.

“It’s worse than gross,” Sierra added.

“Guys, we need to get forward a little more, a little
quicker,” Cole said to his team.

“Are you kidding me? It’s all we can do to stop them
netting a goal. We’re just not getting the run of the puck,” Mickey
responded.

“We’re not playing like we played against Grand
Rapids,” Cole answered.

“Newsflash for you. Brad wasn’t playing against Grand
Rapids and we had Robyn,” Wade replied.

“He’s losing out to everyone,” Mickey said, looking
across at Brad who was catching his breath by the sidelines.

“We’ve got no one to swap him out with,” Cole
reminded them.

“There’s always, Robyn, she could play under Jon’s
name,” Wade suggested.

“Newsflash for you. She has two broken ribs, she can
barely walk without it hurting,” Cole responded.

“Stuck with it then. What d’you want to do? Go for
the win or see if we can hang on for a draw?” Mickey asked.

“Go for the win, because if they score, we’re under
pressure already,” Cole replied, replacing his mouth guard.

“Henrik, man, you’re getting everything,” Mickey
said, slapping him on the back.

“Come on Panthers, let’s go!” Wade said, skating over
to Brad and encouraging him to become more involved.

Play recommenced and the puck went straight to a
Cincinnati Cyclones player who turned, neatly passed Brad, and
slotted it under the goaltender’s pads.

“Shit!” Robyn exclaimed, putting her head in her
hands.

“It was always going to happen,” Grant said.

The players’ heads had dropped. Mickey was beating
his stick against the ice and Brad was on his ass on the rink. Cole
was calling them to regroup but their morale had just hit rock
bottom.

“With Brad the way he is, yes it was always going to
happen and we only have half a squad. Maybe I could play under
Jon’s name,” Robyn mused as the referee recommenced play.

“Absolutely not. You’ve got broken ribs… you go out
there, you’re a liability to everyone,” Bob told her.

“Jason could play under Jon’s name,” Grant
proposed.

“You’ve got to be kidding, Grant,” Bob said, looking
at him with wide eyes.

“He’s here, he’s sitting just over there. He’s a good
player. Obviously he’s been a little short on practice but…” Grant
continued.

“I don’t know how you could suggest such a thing. He
shouldn’t even be here,” Pam said, putting her hands to her mouth
in shock.

“Listen, I know what you all think of him, but he’s
my son, and what happened to innocent until proven guilty?” Grant
asked them.

“He was proven guilty, Grant,” Bob reminded him.

“And that DNA evidence was tampered with, I’m telling
you. He wouldn’t lie to me, not about something like that,” Grant
insisted.

“Get him kitted up,” Robyn stated, staring out onto
the ice as Cincinnati threatened again.

“What? Robyn, honey, no,” Pam answered
immediately.

“I said get a uniform on him. As soon as he’s ready,
Brad’s coming off,” Robyn informed determinedly.

“I think you’re making a mistake, Robyn, the team
feeling is…” Bob began.

“In a few days, I’m going to know for sure whether
Jason was responsible or not, okay? You won’t let me play, Brad’s
playing like crap, and Jason’s good. It’s a decision,” Robyn told
them.

“Should I go and get him?” Grant asked eagerly.

“Yes, Grant, go and get him. Tell him to get all over
their number twenty-five. Cole! Watch the space there. You’re
giving them too much!” Robyn screamed.

“We’re swapping out? You want Brad off?” Cole asked,
skating up to Robyn.

“Yeah, get him off. Jon is coming on,” Robyn
replied.

“Who is it?”

“Don’t get mad.”

“What?”

“It’s Jason,” Robyn informed him.

“Are you kidding me?” Cole exclaimed in horror.

“Listen, you know I would do anything for the
Panthers, right? Well, I’m doing this. Brad’s shocking, he can’t
hold onto the puck to save his life, and if he keeps it up, we’re
going to lose big time. Jason’s a good player and…” Robyn
began.

“Robyn, I want to kill the guy. You let him on here,
I’ll put him in the boards myself,” Cole stated.

“I don’t think he did it,” Robyn said with a
swallow.

“We don’t know anything yet,” Cole told her.

“Look, I’m playing Jason. Call it a gut instinct.
Just make sure you call him Jon and tell Brad to come off,” Robyn
ordered him.

“Okay, I guess,” Cole reluctantly agreed.

He skated back to the center of the ice as the
referee prepared to restart the game.

“What’s going on? Who’s kitted up?” Brad wanted to
know.

“Jon. You’re going off for a while,” Cole informed
him.

“That isn’t Jon,” Brad remarked.

“Look, get over there and swap out or we’re going to
get trashed,” Cole warned as Mickey picked up the puck and prepared
to pass it off.

“Robyn, thanks for giving me a chance. I can’t tell
you how much it means,” Jason said, preparing to take to the
ice.

“Good. I don’t want to hear how much it means. Just
go out there and play hard for the Panthers. I don’t want anything
else, you got that?” Robyn said, unable to meet his eye.

“I got it,” Jason responded as Brad came over to the
side of the ice.

“Jason! You’re replacing me with Jason? What the Hell
is going on around here?” Brad blasted angrily as Jason headed for
the center of the rink.

“Get off the ice, Brad, go and take a shower. You’re
not going back on,” Robyn told him.

“This is bullshit! You’re taking me off for him? Him,
Robyn!”

“Shut up! You sound like a five year old who isn’t
getting his own way. I’m taking you off because you’re playing like
you’ve never held a stick in your life. I’m putting on Jason
because I don’t have anyone else!” Robyn screeched, holding her
ribs as she yelled.

“Everything okay?” Grant asked, stepping forward in a
bid to be peacemaker.

“Oh yeah! Everything’s great! Just peachy!” Brad
blasted.

He vaulted the side of the rink and began stomping
back toward the locker rooms.

“What are we going to do about him?” Grant asked.

“I’ve no idea,” Robyn admitted.

“Come on Panthers! There’s just over three minutes to
go, a one nil loss would be something of a miracle,” Grant
said.

“Go Panthers! Go Panthers!” Sierra and Sienna
chanted, waving their pompoms about keenly.

“Cole looks done in,” Robyn remarked as Cole
attempted to keep pace with the fresh legs of a new Cincinnati
player.

“They all do. We need some new players in the squad.
Come on Mickey! Stay with him!” Grant said.

“Pass it forward!” Robyn screamed, seeing that Jason
was unmarked.

Mickey slotted the puck to Jason, Jason turned, laid
it off to Henrik, who looked up and hit home, rifling the puck into
the top of the net. The light went on, the horns were let off, and
the home crowd expressed their delight with the goal.

“Yes! Yes!” Robyn exclaimed delightedly.

“Way to go Jason!” Grant yelled proudly.

“Yay Panthers!” Sienna and Sierra screamed
ecstatically.

The team bundled onto Henrik excitedly and Jason
looked over at the bench, a smile from ear to ear.

“He did well,” Robyn said, seeing the delight on
Grant’s face.

“Thank you Robyn, for…” Grant started.

“Don’t thank me. Come on Panthers! See it out!” Robyn
shouted.

“What happen here? It look like storm come through,”
Henrik remarked as the team arrived in the locker room after the
match.

Clothes were strewn about the floor, all the showers
were running, and the door of Cole’s locker had been ripped from
its hinges.

“Shit, this is Brad,” Mickey said immediately.

“What the Hell? Where’s my stuff man?” Wade wanted to
know.

“I’m gonna find him,” Cole said, looking at his
wrecked locker and his stuff lying on the wet floor.

“Oh, no you don’t. I don’t think you half killing him
is the right way to sort this out,” Mickey said, grabbing hold of
Cole’s arm.

“I’m just going to talk to him. He’s making things
difficult for Robyn. She doesn’t need that,” Cole said, hating that
Robyn had to deal with both the Jason situation and Brad.

“Maybe I could talk to him,” Jason suggested
quietly.

“Are you kidding me? He hates you! We all hate you,
actually. Get showered, get dressed, and get out of here,” Mickey
ordered him.

“I was just trying to…” Jason started.

“Here is my shower gel, you can use,” Henrik said,
throwing Jason the bottle.

The door opened and Robyn and Grant entered the
room.

“Guys! You were amazing tonight! I… what’s happened
in here?” Robyn asked, seeing the changing area in complete
disarray.

“Brad’s happened. He’s half flooded the place and
he’s pulled the door off of Cole’s locker and he’s thrown our
clothes everywhere…” Wade began.

Robyn bit her lip, looking at the mess, sensing his
anger as if it were still hanging around the room.

“We’ll clean it up,” Mickey suggested.

“No, leave it,” Robyn said and she bolted from the
room.

When Robyn arrived in the main bar, she could see
Brad was already on the scotch. Ely, one of the stewards, was
chatting to him, and there were a small group of high school girls
sitting alongside him, autograph books on the bar.

“Put the glass down, you’re coming with me,” Robyn
stated angrily, coming up behind him.

“Oh, here she is girls, the manager of the Panthers.
If you want to say anything about her choice of substitution
tonight, now would be a good time,” Brad said, turning to face
Robyn and smiling at his admirers.

“Get off the stool Brad and come and clean up your
mess,” Robyn spoke warningly.

“My mess? Oh no, Robyn, I think you’ve got that all
wrong! You’re the one in a mess; in fact, totally freaking messed
up,” Brad snarled.

“I’m not going to ask you again,” Robyn stated, her
temper rising.

“Good! Because to be honest, I’m sick of hearing
anything you have to say!” Brad snapped.