The Enforcer (39 page)

“I’ll text Jody when we get back to the house. I’m sure he can get us in.”

When they got home, Lacey sent Jody a text while her parents were freshening up.

Lacey: Hey big guy, any way we can come see behind the scenes? Dad has the need to see every hockey locker room on the planet.

Jody: Hi, Angel. Of course. Can you get here in thirty minutes? I’ll meet you in the player parking lot.

Lacey: We’ll be there. See you soon.

Jody: Ok. Love you.

Lacey called up the stairs to her parents, “If you want to get behind the scenes, we have to leave now.”

The security guard recognized Jody’s truck and waved them in. Jody came out right on time and her mother said, “Wow, Lace, he’s really cute. You can never tell with those helmets on.”

When they got to the door, Jody gave Lacey a kiss and stuck his hand out to her father. “Hi Mr. Benoit, I’m Jody LaGrange.” Then he shook Raina’s hand. “Mrs. Benoit, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“My little girl tells me you worry about her too much. Well, I don’t think that’s possible, so I say thank you. It’s nice to know she’s got a man looking after her.” Her father could be as much of a Neanderthal as Jody. Lacey and Raina just rolled their eyes at each other, but both were smiling.

“See Lace? It’s a
good
thing.” He winked at her and then led them through the hallways that ran under the arena.

Her parents got to meet most of the team and see the locker room. It was a quick tour since they had gotten there so late. Before she knew it, they were up in the suite. Zoe, Aidan and Gary were already attacking the catered food, but jumped up to greet Lacey’s parents when they came in.

Hugs were given all around, and Gary was introduced. Gary was always a little nervous about how people would treat him when they met him. Some people were fine with gay men, and some were not. His nervousness was short lived.

Raina gave him a hug, and Hunter warned him to be good to Aidan. “I feel like these two are mine, so I take it very personally if someone hurts them, understand?” He gave Gary his threatening look while he shook his hand.

“Yes, sir. I know how lucky I am to have him, sir.” Aidan put his arm around Gary’s shoulders, touched by his words.

“I’m the lucky one, Gary. And don’t worry, Hunter, I’ll put him in his place if he ever tries to leave me.”

The six of them sat down and waited for Jody’s mother and sister to get there while they ate their food. They walked in just before the game started. Lacey got up to greet them. “Where were you two? You came with Jody and Vlad, right?”

At the mention of Vlad, Karen got stars in her eyes. “He’s dreamy. I wouldn’t mind …”

Maddie didn’t let her finish her statement. “Stop. Do not finish that statement young lady.” She turned to Lacey to answer her question. “We were just walking around downstairs, checking out the stores. I bought myself a jersey. You like?”

“Of course I like. Best name on the team.” Lacey took them over and introduced them to everyone. Shortly after, the game began. Unfortunately, they lost, but it was a hard fought game. Vlad was in net and had a decent showing, but it just wasn’t enough and Montreal won in overtime.

Thanksgiving Day was indeed a happy day. Lacey loved having such a large gathering. Zoe, Aidan and Gary also joined them. Jody had invited Vlad, but he declined.

All of the men were watching football as the women cooked dinner and chatted about everything, but mostly men.

Lacey was in charge of the cranberry chutney, green bean casserole and coleslaw (her grandmom’s recipe). Maddie was making the stuffing and turkey. Karen couldn’t cook to save her life, so she was in charge of setting the table and cutting up the bread. Raina took charge of the candied sweet potatoes and double baked potatoes. The men had hit the liquor store and picked up the pies that they ordered from a lady a few houses down from Jody’s who used to be a baker. All of the bases were covered, and the aromas coming out of the kitchen were heavenly.

Lacey’s father got the honor of carving the turkey, and he did it the old fashioned way. He cut it right at the table and passed plates around until everyone had what they wanted. Looking around at all the people she loved, and the ones that she knew she would come to love just as much, was almost too much to take in. She honestly couldn’t remember the last time she felt so peaceful and happy.

Lacey got up to refill drinks. Jody followed her into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around her. She looked up at him and whispered, “Thank you.”

“For what, Lace?”

Lacey waved her arm over the counter that was laden with dishes. “For this. For you and your family. For opening your home to my family. For not taking no for an answer when I didn’t want a relationship. For so many things. Thank you.”

Jody stood there with his eyes closed and hugged her tighter. “Aw, Lace. You have no idea how thankful I am for you. I love you so much.”

The rest of the day was just as nice. At a little after eight o’clock, goodbyes were exchanged and everyone left. Lacey and her parents had to get up early the next morning to get her parents to the airport.

Three weeks after Thanksgiving, the Scorpions had their Christmas party. It was a black tie event, and Lacey was excited to go. Zoe had almost convinced her to wear the red dress that she made Lacey buy a while back. Lacey wasn’t sure if she had the nerve. She called Keith’s girlfriend to see what she was wearing, since Kelly had gone to the party the previous year.

“Hi Kelly, it’s Lacey. Do you have a minute?”

“Sure, Lacey. How are you?”

“Fine, thanks. I was wondering, what kind of dresses do the girls usually wear to the party?” She would die if she were the only one in such a sexy dress.

Kelly laughed. “Oh girl, we go all out. It’s like a red carpet of hockey girls. The sexier the dress – the better. We get our hair done, makeup done, the works. As a matter of fact, you could go with us if you want. We go to different salons in groups. We have room for one more.”

It would be so much easier to go through it the first time with girls who had been there before. “God, yes; that would be great. I’m still not sure about my dress, though. Zoe made me buy it. It’s much more her style than mine. Any chance you might be willing to come over and look at it?”

“Absolutely! The guys won’t be home for a while, so how about if I drive over there now?” Lacey gave Kelly directions to the house and went upstairs to get her dress and shoes out.

Kelly arrived looking fresh and perky, as usual. She was a beautiful girl. Her long blonde hair was perfect for California. She had flawless, porcelain skin that she left natural, except for some mascara and a dab of lip-gloss. “Okay, let’s see the dress.”

Lacey motioned for Kelly to follow her up the stars. “I have it laid out on my bed.”

“No! Let me see it on you. Go put it on, if you don’t mind.”

“Sure. I’ll just be a sec.” Kelly took a seat at the breakfast bar while Lacey ran up the stairs to put her dress on. Trying it on again didn’t make her feel any better. It was still super skimpy.

“Okay, here I come. Be honest, please. Remember, wild Zoe picked it out.” Lacey walked carefully down the steps and held her breath.

“Oh my God. Spin around.” Kelly thought Lacey looked gorgeous. It was ultra sexy, but the lines of the dress were still classy. It hinted everywhere, but revealed nothing
overly
scandalous. The rhinestones gave it just the right amount of sparkle. It would look fabulous under the right lighting. “Has Jody seen that?”

“No, and I’m debating on letting him see it before we go. This dress could push him over the edge. He tends to be a bit, shall we say, unappreciative if another man looks at me a certain way.” It was just a dress, though, right?

“Well, make no mistake. Every man there will be looking, including Keith. Damn, Lacey, I should go buy a sexier dress!” Kelly could admit that she was a little envious of Lacey’s dress. No one would be able to compare to her in that.

“Thanks, but Jody’s gonna freak, don’t you think?”

“Lacey. Do you feel good in it? Do
you
like it?” Kelly thought that Jody needed to learn to accept that his girl was a hottie. He should be preening and showing her off!

Smiling a smile only another woman could understand, she answered her, “Yeah. I feel like a goddess. I mean, I’m a little uncomfortable with the amount of skin that it shows, but why? I go to the beach, you know?” Looking down at herself again, she made her decision. “You know what? I am going to wear it and I’m not going to show Jody beforehand. He’ll just have to deal with my sex appeal!”

“That’s the way to go. He’ll get over it, and then he’ll be beaming with pride.” Kelly left her to her thoughts, and they agreed to meet at Kelly’s house at two in the afternoon the day of the party.

Jody couldn’t wait to see Lacey dressed up for the party. He had already donned his penguin suit. As much as he hated wearing it, he supposed he looked pretty good.

He was picking her up at Zoe’s in a limo. Since he went to the trouble of getting his hair trimmed and wore a tux, he decided to go all out.

When he pulled up to the house, he saw Lacey through the window. All he saw was a lot of skin and something that sparkled. He tried to get a better peek, but Lacey saw him looking in and quickly put her black, floor length cape on to cover up.

Lacey came out of the house and gave him her award-winning smile. “Wow, Jody. You look magnificent. I mean, drop dead gorgeous.” Lacey fanned herself as her face flushed with appreciation of the male specimen standing before her.

Jody bowed before her. “Thank you, ma’am. I wish I could say the same, but I only got a look at lots of skin through the window. Am I going to approve of that dress, dear?”

Lacey laughed at his haughty behavior. “Probably not, but you’re going to pretend to and tell me how nice I look, got it?”

Jody played along for now. “Yeah, I got it.” He offered her his arm, and that’s when she saw the limo.

“Wow, a limo? I’ve only been in one once before when I went to the prom.” Lacey was surprised by the limo, but pleased. Their way home from the party held lots of potential. She hoped it was a long drive.

“Nothing but the best for my girl. Speaking of which, I got something for you. I have to admit, I asked Zoe for advice. She wouldn’t tell me what you were wearing, but gave me an idea of what might look nice.” He handed her a thin, black velvet box.