FOURTEEN

Mia

“I’m just gonna run to over and grab that lasagna from my freezer,” I call out over my shoulder, as I step out the door.

Jordy is doing much better today. Even said she was hungry, but didn’t feel like the chicken and steak Jared has stockpiled in his freezer.

He left last night, and called briefly this morning when he arrived in Miami, to let us know he’d arrived safely. I did some laundry that was piling up, taking the opportunity to get my hands on that sparkling new washer dryer combo in his laundry room. It was hard not to be jealous when I have to resort to washing by hand at home. While I was taking care of Jordy’s and the baby’s, I figured I could grab Jared’s laundry as well. It felt weird, going into his bedroom. Almost voyeuristic. There’s that word again.

I tried not to be too curious, but I couldn’t seem to help myself. The first thing that struck me was the size of his bed. It must be what they call a California King, longer than a regular one. I guess it makes sense, seeing that Jared is a tall man. A tall, big man. It was perfectly made, without any visible creases. Come to think of it, there was nothing in his room that seemed out of place. He clearly likes things tidy.

Catching myself gawking, I quickly looked for his laundry basket, which I found in the en suite bathroom, equally spotless. With my arms full of his laundry, I hurried out of his room.

The last time I did a man’s laundry was on the rare occasion Blair asked me to take care of his. We usually did our own, something that had evolved since we each had pretty unpredictable working schedules. So sorting through Jared’s things felt a bit illicit.

In between loads, Jordy and I bathed Ole, chatting easily the whole time. She really was doing much better. She mentioned how she’d enjoyed having her friends visit, although she’d seemed irritated with one named Tina. When she told me Tina was annoyingly persistent in her pursuit of Jared, I clued in quickly that she must’ve been the one I saw wrapped around him the other day. I tried to hide the relief, but found Jordy watching me with obvious interest anyway. I avoided any further conversation, on that subject, by getting up and clearing away the laundry. Except Jared’s, that I left folded on the foot of his bed, not comfortable opening his dresser drawers.

My cottage is hot as hell. I leave the front door open and Griffin, who’d faithfully followed me around the trail, distractedly sniffed his empty bowl before heading straight back outside. I pull a few things together, crack the kitchen window facing the lake a little, to get in some fresh air, and head to my garden.

With two grocery totes filled with some dog food, a few groceries, along with the lasagna I’d frozen a few weeks ago; loaded up with some fresh veggies, I start my way back around the inlet. I’m just rounding the bay when I hear a car door slam. Looking up, I spot a man standing in front of Jared’s house, beside a shiny luxury sports car, a bit out of place in the Canadian North. I’m not sure what makes me pick up the pace, but Griffin appears to sense my urgency, beginning to growl low in his throat. I keep my eyes focused on him, ignoring Griffin, who is rushing ahead. I watch him as he walks up to the door and rings the bell.

I’m almost to the end of the trail where it runs into the driveway, when I see the door opening and Jordy sticking her head out. I can’t hear what she’s saying but see her firmly shake her head, before closing the door on the guy. Except she doesn’t get a chance to close it all the way. His hand shoots out and shoves the door back open, sending Jordy stumbling back. I’m running now, rounding the car as I watch Griffin creep closer to the man, the hackles on his back up. His raised voice can clearly be heard now.

“You can’t keep me from him!” he booms. “He’s mine!”

“Hey!” I yell to get his attention, and he swings around, just as I reach out to pull him away from the door. His arm comes around and hits me square in my shoulder, knocking me right on my ass.

“Mia!” I hear Jordy cry out as Griffin charges, stopping just short of the guy, but squarely in front of me. I don’t know what I was thinking, charging up like the damn cavalry.

“I’m okay,” I call out to her, my eyes still firmly focused on the angry looking, well-dressed man, as I scramble to my feet. “Can I help you with something?” I direct at him.

“And who the fuck are you?” he snarls back, causing Griffin to take a threatening step toward him. I quickly reach out a hand to hold my dog back. I don’t want to add to an already volatile situation.

“Get out of here, Nick,” Jordy answers for me, stepping outside with a phone in her hand. “I called the cops.”

That elicits a snarky laugh from him, as he spreads his arms and dramatically gestures around him.

“Out here? You’re in the middle of nowhere, sunshine. Besides,” he adds, taking a menacing step closer to her. “I have every right to be here; that’s my son you have in there.”

With Griffin’s collar in my hand, I pull him along as I step a little closer to Jordy, who by now has smoke coming out of her ears.

“You’re delusional!” she yells. “That is my child! You lost any and all rights when you tried to force me into aborting him. Now you show up? Demanding to see him? Are you nuts? For your information, I was pregnant for nine months, where the fuck were you?” she says, squinting her eyes as she leans forward. “Get the fuck away from here, and stay away!”

Hoping to calm the waters before things get completely out of hand I turn to Jordy.

“Honey, go see to Ole,” I tell her, giving her an encouraging nod. She looks back and forth between me and her ex before heading inside.

“Ole? She named my son, Ole?”

I swing back around to face him.

“Look,” I start carefully. “Maybe it’s better—”

“Not going anywhere,” he cuts me off. “And you—whoever the hell you are—can save your fucking advice! None of your goddamn business!”

Griff starts growling again and straining against my hand. He’s clearly not a fan either. With a firm yank on his collar, I pull him with me, backing into the house and quickly slamming the door shut and engaging the lock.

“Is he gone?” Jordy asks, walking into the living room with the baby on her arm.

“Nope,” I tell her, letting go of Griff, who sits down in front of the door like some sentry, before I head to the sliding door, flicking the lock on that. “Windows locked?” I ask casually, after sneaking a glance at the driveway. He’s still there, leaning with his back against his car, talking on a phone. It gives me an uneasy feeling.

“Should be,” Jordy answers from the couch, flipping up her shirt to feed a fussy Ole.

Still, I quickly do the rounds, making sure every last one is latched.

“Did you really call the cops?” I ask, when I return to the living room.

“No,” she says, her bottom lip trembling. “I thought it might scare him off. Nicholas Quarles is the passive type. Under his daddy’s thumb,” she snorts derisively.

“I’m calling them,” I announce, grabbing the phone from the coffee table. “He doesn’t seem so passive now, and he’s not leaving.”

“He’s not?”

“Out there staring at the house, talking on the phone. At the very least he’s trespassing, honey.” I don’t remind her that it’s just the two of us here, and that the man was pretty angry. I can handle a bear, their behaviour is mostly predictable, but I’m out of my element with a pissed off asshole.

I briefly explain the situation to the nine-one-one dispatcher, and she assures me they have someone on the way and to stay inside. No shit, lady. Another glance out the window shows him pacing back and forth, still on his phone, when my eye catches the grocery totes I must’ve dropped in the driveway. Well dammit.

“Why would he show up now?” I ask, sitting back down beside Jordy.

“I’m surprised he found us at all,” she says, lifting a half-sleeping Ole to her shoulder and absentmindedly patting his back. “I never saw him or spoke to him again after he bailed. There aren’t many people who have this address, Jared wanted to maintain his privacy. The press went rabid after he was injured. They were constantly on his case, to where they would stalk his surgeon’s office, and even the physiotherapy clinic, to try and get information on his recovery.” She half-smiles at me. “Jared was kind of a big deal in the world of hockey,” she says with a hint of regret. “It’s been a tough year for him.”

“I can understand that,” I sympathize. I do get it. I may not have had a job in the limelight, but I lost something I was passionate about; something that gave my life meaning. “So how did he find you? Your ex, I mean?”

“Like I said, only a handful of people know where we are. Heck, even my friends didn’t know until I invited them up here and gave them directions.”

The sound of an engine outside has me shoot out of my seat and over to the window. An SUV, the familiar black and white of the OPP, the Ontario Provincial Police, comes rolling down the driveway. Jordy’s ex, who apparently got into his car at some point, gets blocked in when the SUV pulls up, right behind him, leaving him nowhere to go but the lake.

“Cops are here,” I tell Jordy over my shoulder, watching as the officer steps out of the vehicle, his hand resting on his sidearm as he approaches the driver’s side door.

“What’s he doing?” Jordy asks from behind me, Ole nursing on the other side.

“Talking,” I report, when I see the car door open and Nick get out, placing his hands on the roof. I watch as the officer pats him down, before stepping back, and crossing his arms over his chest. Nick is doing the talking now, getting more agitated by the minute. The other man takes a step closer, and he immediately drops his hands, which I think is a good idea given the policeman’s size.

Another OPP vehicle rolls in behind the first, and a second officer gets out to join them. I watch as the first one turns this way.

“He’s coming to the door,” I tell her, as I watch him bend over to pick up my grocery bags before walking up to the house. I turn away from the window to see Jordy covering herself and the baby with the receiving blanket.

“Afternoon,” the officer’s pleasant voice greets me when I open the door, “Are these yours?” I grab the bags from him with a smile, surreptitiously glancing over his shoulder. “He’s looked after,” he says, smiling at me reassuringly. “Can I come in?” He gestures past me, his eyes clearly landing on Jordy when I see them widen slightly.

“Come in,” she calls out, nodding at me.

I step aside and close the door behind him.

“Sergeant John Leblanc, ma’am,” he says, walking straight through to the living room.

“Have a seat,” she offers, and he sits down across from her, never sparing me another glance.

-

“Do you wish to press charges?” his voice startles me. I’ve only half-listened to the conversation since he sat down. Instead, I’ve made myself busy in the kitchen.

“Sorry?”

“Ms. Kesla mentions he shoved you to the ground?”

I shoot a quick glance in her direction before answering.

“I don’t think that was on purpose. I startled him and he swung around. I wasn’t hurt.” Much. I might have a bruise on my ass. LeBlanc’s dark eyes squint a little as he studies me.

“You sure? My colleague has sent Mr. Quarles home, with a stern warning, but I’ve offered to take Ms. Kesla to file a restraining order tomorrow. I’ll be able to help her get one on an emergency basis, but it would help if you came along as well. Give your statement directly to the judge.”

Immediately I feel the irrational panic overwhelm me: tingling in my hands and feet, itchy skin, lightheaded, shallow breathing. I grab onto the edge of the counter for stability as I start swaying on my legs, the full impact of events suddenly robbing me of air.

“Are you okay?” I hear concern in his voice, but still shrink back when he tries to touch me.

“She’s fine,” Jordy’s voice pipes up as she walks up. “Hold him,” she says to the man, before shoving Ole in his hands. If I weren’t gasping for air, I’d laugh at the startled look on his face as he holds the baby like it could attack any minute. I feel Jordy’s hands grab me firmly by the upper arms.

“Look at me,” she snaps. “Eyes up here. In through the nose, out the mouth. Just like me.”

I struggle but manage to follow her lead. It doesn’t stop the urge to come out of my skin, or puke up my guts, but at least it stops me from passing out. When she sees I’m regaining control, she lets go with one hand and turns to the officer.

“You can take Mia’s statement here,” she announces as if I’m not even in the room. “There’s no need for her to come in.”

I’m about to open my mouth to object when the front door slams open and a very angry Jared comes in.

“What the hell is going on here?”

Jared

I’m exhausted.

I spent last night strategizing with Brian until close to midnight, slept until the blasted alarm woke me up a scant three and a half hours later, and walked into a meeting in Miami at ten o’clock this morning. I passed on the Panthers’ offer of box seats at a Heat game and the penthouse suite at the Four Seasons. Instead, with Brian complaining all the way, I opted to head straight back home.

The meeting had been good, the offer on the table nothing to sneeze at, but understandably management had wanted an answer right away, and I wasn’t ready to give one. They grudgingly gave me a week.

“You’re going to turn them down, aren’t you?” Brian said, as the first class flight attendant slid dinner in front of us.

“Probably,” I admitted, feeling like I was letting him down. Brian just nodded and proceeded to eat his meal.

“Tell me,” he asked, putting his fork down when his plate was empty. “Before your career took off, what did you use to dream of doing down the road?”

“Other than make the NHL? Coaching kids,” I recall easily. I’d been fortunate with parents who supported every step I made in my career, but I’d also had some pretty awesome coaches growing up. Coaches that spent a good amount of time not only honing my hockey skills, but my personal development as well. Kept me on the straight and narrow, forcibly at times. I’d been nineteen the last time a coach plucked me off the streets of Sault St. Marie one night, after I snuck out of my billet’s house, and benched my ass for five games. In the eyes of the law, I might’ve been an adult, but as my coach reminded me, the law didn’t make the rules, the team did. I smiled at the memory. “If not for all of this,” I waved my hand around the first class cabin, “I’d be coaching kids.”

“Okay.” Brian slipped the tray back into his armrest, when the flight attendant cleared our plates and turned in his seat to face me. “Let’s talk OHL.”

Turns out Brian had maintained some pretty decent connections in the Ontario Hockey League. Despite the fact none of those salaries would come close to the earning potential in the NHL—which meant Brian’s percentage would take a hit as well—he didn’t flinch when discussing amounts less than half of what my income might have been. The years have made him into a good friend.

I’d thanked him when I dropped him home and waved off his offer to crash there and drive home in the morning. I just wanted to get home tonight. Check how Jordy’s doing, get a snuggle in with Ole—fine, and see Mia. If I had any doubts left about my decision to turn down the Panthers, I expect my need to see all three of them would’ve taken care of that.

What I didn’t expect is OPP cars in my driveway.

I slam the car in park and ignore the officer trying to block my way into my own damn house.

“What the hell is going on here?” I roar, pushing through and seeing a very pale Mia, a perfectly fine Jordy, and my nephew in the arms of another good-sized OPP officer.

“I’m sorry, sir,” the cop pipes up, having come in behind me. The one holding Ole is clearly his superior.

“Jared!” Jordy calls out, a smile on her face.

The big guy looks from my sister back to me and his face visibly relaxes.

“It’s fine, Jenkins. Why don’t you head back? On your way out, make sure Mr. Quarles hasn’t decided to linger around somewhere after all. I’ll finish up here.”

I hear the door click shut behind me, but I don’t take my eyes off the man, who is smiling at my sister as he hands her the baby. I don’t like him.

“I’m OPP sergeant John LeBlanc, Mr. Kesla, ” he says, coming at me with his hand outstretched, which I choose to ignore until Jordy walks up and stabs me with a pointy elbow.

“Jared,” she hisses.

Grudgingly I reach out and take the man’s hand, letting him know he may be big, but I’m still bigger, as I force a grin on my face and put some extra force in the handshake.

“Let me explain what’s going on,” John offers, pissing me off when he doesn’t even flex his fingers when I let him go.

“One minute,” I snap, turning my attention to Mia, who hasn’t said a word. I walk straight up and cup her face in my hands. “You okay?” I ask, searching her eyes, that looked wild when I first walked in. They’re a lot calmer now as she gives me a wavering smile.

“I’m fine now,” she softly says, lifting a hand to cover one of mine.

“Okay. We’ll talk after.”

After a quick kiss on her forehead, I take her hand and lead her into the living room, where LeBlanc is observing us with interest, and Jordy wears a grin from ear to ear.