Falling Fast (Loving the Sound Book 1)

by Kat Obie

  “Well, Berman already recommended you as an option to Parkey. I overheard the conversation.”

  “Still, thanks.” It wasn’t pure cockiness, and he was grateful for the support.

  Lager shifted the conversation. “You really think Alice will be against you scouting?”

  “No. But both of us were looking forward to having time together. Now I’m leaving again. Sure, I’ll be in town for rehab like every other day, but what does that mean for our time together? I’m sure there will be days that I will barely see her with her mad work schedule. Okay, I might be the one who hates the idea of leaving her.”

  Lager just laughed at the last admission from Scotty before saying, “And you wonder why I’m worried that you two might just elope when no one is looking.”

  “We aren’t that bad,” Scotty jested. Elopement was the one thing he would never do. At worst, it would be a city hall ceremony and a proper reception with their friends. Scotty turned serious. “Besides, I need to talk to Matty before anything is decided.”

  “Yeah. That’s why we have agents in the first place. Make sure he gets you a good deal. Although I’m surprised you haven’t done that yet.”

  Scotty shrugged. “I didn’t want to do it at the rink. I figured it would be better to do it at home.”

  Lager said, “That totally makes sense.”

  Lager pulled into Scotty’s driveway and then into the garage. Scott couldn’t help but notice that his mom wasn’t home at the moment. Scotty felt that was weird, but assumed that she must have gone to the store or something. She had to have used up most of the baking supplies he had on hand since he was always fairly minimal with the amount of food he kept in the house and Alice was pretty similar.

  Alice

  Alice was shocked when she got a call from Scotty. He rarely called her during the day when he was in town. Sure, it would happen when he was on the road but never when he was home. “Hey babe, what’s up?”

  ‘Um, we need to talk,” said a hesitant Scotty. It didn’t sound good, and that phrase was usually the start of a break-up speech, but Scotty caught himself by saying, “Sorry, it’s not that.”

  Alice was glad to hear that; it wasn’t like they’d had a fight or anything. She said, “Okay?” She wanted to ask him to spit it out and just tell her what was going on rather than dancing around the subject. “I’m listening.”

  “Don’t hate me. But this is an amazing opportunity and I have to take it.”

  “What in the bleeding . . .” Alice wanted to throw in a f-bomb or say “hell”, but since a co-worker was beside her, she restrained her language. “I know you couldn’t have gotten traded and you just had surgery so, babe, what are you even talking about?”

  “The Sound wants me to be an emergency scout,” said a slightly more excited Scott.

  That surprised Alice for sure. She let out a stream of consciousness. “Woah, that’s amazing, baby. Why would I hate you for doing that?”

  Scotty sighed in relief. This was a huge shift in their dynamic. Thanks to the burglary, Scott was the one who would calm Alice down with a simple conversation or a hug. She wanted to do the same for him and wasn’t sure if she was capable. He said, “’Cause I’m going to be traveling a ton. Literally all the time.”

  Alice was puzzled by why it would matter. If Scott wasn’t hurt, he would be traveling. Okay, for the next two weeks, the Sound had like five games in a row at home, but still, travelling was part of the routine. “Okay, no big deal. We will make it work. What are we talking about, then?”

  “Like every other day, I’ll be away.”

  Alice knew that was going to get old real quick and cause some wear and tear on Scotty. She was quick to say, “So, every other day you will be here. That’s not terrible at all.”

  “You sure? I don’t know how much I’ll really be here. They made it sound like it might be town for rehab only. But I will ask for as many nights at home as I can.”

  “Babe, I don’t want to stand in your way. Besides, you always said you wanted to scout or coach at the end of your career. Talk about a nice way to see if you actually enjoy scouting.”

  Scotty said something to his mom that she couldn’t quite catch. He’d clearly pulled the phone far away from his mouth as he talked to her in rapid French. After a second, Scotty came back on the line. “Sorry, maman just got home. There was one more thing with this offer and it relates to you. The Sound offered to have you come with me on the Philly trip. Can you get off next Thursday and Friday?”

  Alice laughed in delight. “Another Philly trip? Yeah, I think I could swing that. I won’t book any lessons on Friday, but I will have to ask my boss about Thursday. Typically, I can get off on Thursdays since we aren’t usually short-handed.”

  Alice could tell Scotty was practically smiling through the phone when he said, “Oh, that’ll be awesome. So you are okay with me scouting for 3.5 weeks?”

  “Yeah baby. This is a great thing for you. It’s a great way to spend your time on the IR, helping out your team and learning a new skill. I am proud of you.”

  “So, you will be okay not having me 24/7 during the IR like expected?” asked Scotty, obviously trying to make sure she wasn’t angry or faking.

  “Yes, baby. Besides, you are seriously spoiling me rotten with Philly trips. You know that, right?”

  “Yeah, but you are worth it. I just hope we have time in Philly together so you can show me your favorite sites.”

  Alice had to throw up a roadblock. He was talking about was a little unrealistic. Philly was a city that required lots of walking. Sure, there were Segway tours, but she would never do that. “Babe, won’t you still be on crutches next week?”

  “Probably, but also I will have my brace then. I will be more mobile and able to put some weight on my knee. If it gets to be too much, we can just eat our way through Philly. But I hoped to see the parts of the city that you always talk about.”

  “We can work it out when we are in Philly. How do you feel about this, other than being afraid that I would hate this chance?”

  “I am in shock but happy about it. The main thing keeping me from being super excited is the idea of not sleeping next to you every night.”

  “Yeah. That part will suck, but still, they are having you come back for PT so it won’t be a straight three and a half weeks away. It’s already better than the past few weeks. Too bad you won’t be playing at all during that time.”

  Scotty chuckled. “I would kiss you right now for not only saying that but understanding the need to play.”

  “Trust me, I would love for you to be here to kiss me,” said Alice slightly wistfully.

  “Later mon cherie, je t’aime,” said Scotty tenderly in the way that always made her swoon.

  “Fine plutard, mon cheri. Je t’aime aussi,” said Alice, trying to be just as romantic.

  Unfortunately, it wasn’t as romantic as she thought. “Sorry,” said Scotty, “but your accent is absolutely horrid, mon cherie.”

  Alice should have known that was coming,. “As you keep reminding me. I’ve never said I can speak French well, so sue me for trying.”

  “Thank you for that. I should let you get back to work.”

  “Okay. I’ll see you later tonight. Love you.”

  “Je t’aime,” said Scotty. Then the phone went dead, and Alice was filled with a mix of emotions. She was happy for Scotty, but she knew she always slept ten times better when he held. She hated the idea of him being run ragged by travel like she thought was going to happen. She wasn’t going to share that with him even if he suspected it.

  18

  Scott

  Scotty came home from the latest scouting trip exhausted. He looked forward to being able to sleep in his own bed. It was weird that only Backup greeted him downstairs by the door. At the very least, Chloe should be at the door too. One part of him hoped that Alice would be there to greet him while the other wanted her to be sound asleep.

  Scott climbed up the sta
irs. Upon entering the room, he saw his two missing girls. Alice was curled up in the fetal position with her two teddy bears in her hand. He didn’t like that one bit. He hadn’t seen her bears since the burglary.

  In his normal spot on the bed was Chloe, and between them both was Chloe’s puck. He wanted to rush to the bed and find out what had happened, but his speed was still pretty slow. Chloe must have caught Scotty’s scent because she jumped off the bed. She tried to push Scott towards Alice. Scotty looked down at Chloe and said, “I know, girl, I’m getting there.”

  Alice

  Alice woke up in Scotty’s arms. She was already feeling much better than when he’d woken her up during the middle of the night. She was still not feeling a hundred percent normal, but she didn’t feel like an emotional wreck anymore.

  She was glad they were going to have a few days together. She moved to put the bears back in their normal home and check the time on her phone but she was stopped. Scotty gripped her tighter and said sleepily, “You aren’t going anywhere.”

  That’s when Alice realized that he was still dressed from the night before. He had his suit pants, belt, and business shirt on. She didn’t see his suit jacket or tie, but he would have ditched those immediately. She felt like an ass because he wouldn't have slept in those clothes if he wasn’t worried about her. He’d rushed into the bed without taking any time for himself. While it was an expression of true love, she felt bad for making him worried.

  Alice said, “Who said I was going anywhere?”

  “Just making sure you know I’m not ready for you to go anywhere until it’s absolutely necessary.”

  She smiled, and he kissed her.

  He pushed some of her hair away from her face and gazed lovingly into her eyes. “You seem better this morning.”

  “Why wouldn’t I be? You’re here. We are going to a Flyers game tonight, and we will be there together.” Alice was smiling and calm.

  She was ready to put yesterday’s news behind her. She talked to the prosecutor and found out that instead of two people who broke in, there were three. She realized she could have easily been killed, raped or had lots more taken so easily since there were three people got caught with the break in. The fear of it happening again reemerged.

  Scotty propped himself onto his elbow. “Babe, you seemed so upset last night and that was after god knows how long you were dealing with it solo. It’s kind of amazing to see how much calmer you are. Hell, the fact you were even crying yesterday was a big deal.”

  “Yeah, it was a bad day.” She hung her head low and didn’t want to admit how badly the call had shaken her or the fact he found her crying the night before. “Sorry to worry you. You didn’t even take the time to get undressed. You should have changed before or after checking in on me.”

  He ran his hand along her arm. “Even if I wanted to, which I didn’t, Chloe wasn’t going to let me.” Alice frowned. She’d come home and finally let herself cry and get out the emotions she’d been holding in all day. She basically tucked herself into bed with the teddy bears and let her emotions out. She hated knowing that she’d caused everyone to worry. Scotty must have picked up on her self-hatred. He ran his finger along her jawline and said, “Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself. We all have those days, and it’s okay to show your emotions.”

  Alice nodded her head and said, “I’ll try to remember that.”

  Scotty said, “There is no try, only do.”

  He broke out into laughter, knowing he was doing an absolutely terrible Yoda impression just to make her smile. Which totally worked.

  The alarm went off. They quickly got ready for their Philadelphia trip. The two of them didn’t do anything of now since they basically needed to go straight to the airport so they could have as much time in Philadelphia as possible. Even the flight was short and uneventful.

  It wasn’t long before they were touching down in Philadelphia. Scotty looked damn sexy in his jeans, black t-shirt, his ever present Sound ball cap, and sunglasses. Alice was dressed casually in a pair of leggings, one of her Philly Phaithful shirts celebrating the Flyers, and a black flyaway sweater. She had one of her Giroux jerseys in her bag, waiting until right before the game to be put on due to a silly superstition. Scotty was on the move and said, “Come on, we have to get going.”

  Taken aback by that, she said, “Wait, what? I thought we were going to take it easy this trip.”

  “Yeah, we will. I scheduled something, and we don’t want to be too late. If we hurry, we can check into the hotel and then get to the meeting.”

  As the two of them were waiting for their Uber, she asked, “So, what’s the meeting?”

  Scotty gave her a knowing smile and shook his head. “Not saying anything just yet.” The two of them got into the Uber.

  They went to their hotel that was in Center City. They just dropped their stuff off, and then they were off in another Uber.

  They headed towards Old City, one of her favorite areas. They stopped at a residential complex with a professionally dressed woman holding a folio standing out front. As soon as they got out of the car, the woman said, “Mr. Wheiland, I assume. I’m Tammy. It’s nice to speak to you in person.”

  With a wide smile on his face, Scotty said, “Thanks for meeting with us. This is my girlfriend, Alice. How many places will be able to visit today?”

  “I got three places that I think you might like.”

  “Does that include the Elfreth’s Alley place?” asked Scotty.

  That’s when Alice realized what was going on. She’d mentioned how one of the places on Elfreth’s Alley was up for sale and how it had always seemed like a cool place to live in Philadelphia. She grabbed Scotty’s arm and asked in a harsh whisper, “What do you think you are doing?” as the realtor said that it was too late for the place he’d initially mentioned but they were going to look at a rental that was available on the alley.

  Scotty smiled and said in a whisper, “Thinking about getting us a place in Philly.”

  Alice shook her head. It seemed so insane. While she loved the gesture, it seemed like a silly decision. “Um. I work year round and you already have a place in Canada that you live in during the off season. When would we be here?”

  Scotty looked nonplussed and said, “Holidays and weekends. Baby, let’s just look at the places for right now. I thought you would love the idea.”

  Alice shook her head. He was asking for a reasonable thing and she did love the idea. She knew he was doing it for her. Scotty was amazing to her. Just having someone to lean on after the burglary was more than enough. But he continued to surprise her and show how much he wanted to provide for and protect her. She knew damn well that he wouldn’t be considering a place in Philly if it wasn’t for her.

  While Alice was excited to look at a place on Elfreth’s Alley, she was going to dismiss it out of hand. No way she was going to live on America’s oldest continuously lived in residential street. People would be coming to their doors and looking into their house every day. Plus, she thought she remembered hearing about how there were various restrictions on residents of the street since it was a tourist attraction. Tammy told them that would be the last place they would visit that day.

  The first two places that Tammy showed were condos in the Old City area. The outsides looked old and fit into the characteristics of the area with brick walls, tall windows, and tree lined sidewalks. The insides were sleek and modern. It was everything that she loved. Nothing was like a model home. The condos all had some cool features or room shapes due to the old architectural trends.

  It was the second place that Alice fell in love with. It was perfect. There was a library that had a view into Center City, a huge kitchen by Philly standards for Scotty, and just a nice atmosphere. It was hard not seeing the two of them having a great life in that condo. If Scotty was going to insist on a home in Philly, it was the second place that she wanted.

  The place on Elfreth’s Alley was charming, but even Scotty saw how the v
isitors could get more than a wee bit annoying. The home was charming and modern, but it didn’t wow them. After seeing the Elfreth’s Alley place, they parted from Tammy and headed back to the hotel.

  While they were in the car, Scotty turned to her and asked, “So, you hate the idea of getting a place here?”

  “Actually, I think it’s impractical. I love Philly—we both know that. But our lives are mostly in Cleveland right now and you already have a home in Ontario that I’ve never seen. So why would we need a third place?”

  Scotty held her hand and said, “I liked the idea of having a place here for when you need to get away and recharge. I won’t lie. I’ve been thinking about this for a while. I thought you might like having a place to go to for a weekend away after each court date. This was even before I saw the effects of the call with the prosecutor.”

  Alice smiled and said, “I won’t disagree to a weekend away, but what about your Canadian home? I still want to see it.”

  “And you will.” Scotty kissed her on the neck. It was only a quick kiss since they were coming up on the hotel and didn’t want to get too frisky in an Uber. “We just both need to have some patience.”

  They freshened up before dinner and the game. They decided to get dinner at her favorite dim sum place in Chinatown where they could feast on soup dumplings, various small plates, and other treats.

  Then it was time for the Flyers vs. Isles game. They had club level seats by the aisle. Alice sat in the inner seat. She relished the idea of going to a game together. Alice hadn’t imagined it could be possible. At least not until Scott retired. Until then, they could be at the same place but would always be separated since he had team commitments. She wanted to savor every moment of the game.