The Enforcer (NHL Scorpions)

by Nikki Worrell

  With perfect timing, Zoe came out. Speed dating was over for the night (thank God), and she was ready to go. Lacey didn’t say anything else to Jody as she got into the car and left.

  On the first day of her new job, Lacey was sitting at her desk when she got called up to the front. There were two deliveries for her. One was a huge, gorgeous bouquet of wildflowers (no roses in sight), and the other was a roughly wrapped package about the size of a book. The flowers were from Jody and were for good luck on her first day of her new job. The package, however, was not from Jody. The card read, “I’m sorry my human misbehaved.” It was signed ‘Izzy’ with a paw print – a real paw print. She unwrapped the package and found a framed certificate for a $1,000 donation made to the local animal shelter in her name. Oh, he’s good, she thought.

  Lacey sent Jody a text thanking him for the flowers and asked him to thank Izzy for the donation. She also told him he got an A for effort. With a smile on her face, she put her gifts on the filing cabinet where she had a good view of them and got back to work.

  Just before she left for the day, she got a text from Jody asking how her first day went.

  Jody: Hey Lace. I just wanted to see how your first day went.

  Lacey: Hi Jody. It was great. Busy, but great. And I got two nice gifts to decorate my office. Thank you again.

  Jody: You’re welcome. Izzy and I are glad you liked them.

  Lacey: I was just on my way out the door. I’ll see you tomorrow?

  Jody: I can’t wait. I’ve planned a spec-fucking-tacular date as instructed. I hope anyway. :)

  Lacey smiled at that. Maybe she was a little harsh with the spec-fucking-tacular comment. She kind of felt bad for putting so much pressure on him, but he deserved it after that stunt he pulled at the speed dating place.

  Lacey: I’m sure it will be. Nite Jody

  Jody was just getting to the rink when he got Lacey’s text thanking him for the gifts. He was glad she liked the gifts he sent her, but he knew that he couldn’t buy her forgiveness. In a moment of clarity, Jody acknowledged his weakness and called Zoe to ask her if she thought he could learn to control his outbursts so that he didn’t lose Lacey. Lacey wasn’t the type of girl to put up with that kind of behavior for long, and he didn’t want to mess up any chance that he had of being with her.

  Zoe was pleased but shocked that Jody had called. She did indeed believe that he could learn to control his outbursts, and she made an appointment for him the next day while Lacey was at work.

  After he ended the call, Jody went inside the rink to suit up. Practice was going to be tough today. Training camp was just around the corner, and he only had one week left before he was expected to be in playing shape. Keith, as captain, was calling the shots until the season officially started and their coaches took over. He asked that they all be there no later than one o’clock ready to bust their asses.

  Jody strolled into the workout room to do some stretches at 12:30 to find it about half full already. “Hey guys. Gonna be a tough practice today, eh?”

  Brandon smirked and said, “Scared old man? Maybe you need to retire, and leave the game to us young guys.” The younger players, kids really, loved to bust on the veterans. Jody, at thirty-six years old, was one of the older guys on the team. He figured he still had two to four good years left as long as nothing major happened to him.

  Jody flipped him off and asked him, “If I’m not here, who’s gonna make sure you keep that face pretty?” Brandon Marcoux, a left winger, was small. His stats generously listed him at five-feet nine-inches tall. He was small but the kid was lightning fast. No goalie wanted to see him behind his net. He had sick hands and could wrap the puck right around the net and over the goal line before the goalie even realized he wasn’t behind him anymore. The guys called the area behind and around the net ‘Brandon’s office.’

  “Yeah, whatever old man. Come on; spot me for some bench presses. I gotta make sure my chest and shoulders are nice and big for the ladies. My face isn’t the only thing that’s pretty, you know.” Brandon was a cocky little shit. At twenty-two years old, it was expected, and for the most part, he didn’t bother Jody. Someday, though, that kid was going to realize that looks would only get him so far. Well, after his hockey career was over anyway. Brandon played the ‘I’m a professional hockey player’ card to the fullest extent to get the girls. And with so many puck bunnies around, he always had a girl or two on his arm.

  After practice was over, all Jody wanted to do was sit down and relax. Practice was as tough as he thought it would be, and he was beat. He and Vlad picked up mass amounts of Chinese food and went back to Jody’s place to eat and chill out for a while.

  “You have your big date tomorrow, don’t you?” Vlad knew Jody had been thinking about taking Lacey on a date since the day he met her. Jody was a romantic. That surprised most people before they got to know him. He was tough as nails on the ice, and no one wanted to go a round with ‘Chief,’ but where girls were concerned, he was a big old softy. It was an interesting combination.

  “Yeah. Man I have to tell you, I love this girl. I know that sounds crazy. I know I don’t know her that well, but I feel like I’ve known her all my life. She’s the one for me. This date has to be perfect.”

  Vlad smiled. “There’s not one of us that doesn’t know how you feel about her. You wear your heart on your sleeve, man. How do you do that? How can you be such a bruiser on the ice and such a marshmallow off it?”

  Jody threw a bottle cap at him. “Marshmallow? Am I really that bad?”

  “Dude … as soon as she walks in the room you go all gooey- eyed and shit. It’s embarrassing.” Vlad was just messing with him. In truth, he was jealous as hell at Jody’s budding relationship with Lacey.

  Ignoring Vlad’s snarky comment, Jody told him what he had planned. “I’m going to take her horseback riding on the beach. After that, we’re going to have an evening picnic. I’m packing a cooler with Grey Goose, strawberries and cream. I’m going to go sit with my girl on the beach and do all that romantic stuff you tease me about.” Jody couldn’t wait. He couldn’t think of anything better than riding on the beach, watching the sunset and then sitting on a blanket under the stars with Lacey tucked in his arms, feeding her strawberries and cream. Okay, that’s not entirely true. He could think of one thing that might be even better, and he was going to try for that, too.

  “Grey Goose? Aren’t you supposed to give girls that champagne crap?” Vlad was surprised that Jody wouldn’t know that. Champagne was almost another word for romance.

  “My girl likes vodka. I don’t even know if she likes champagne. But you’re right; I should have a bottle of that, too. I read in some women’s magazine that strawberries go well with champagne.“

  Vlad laughed, knowing that Jody had probably read stacks of chick magazines doing research for his date. Getting up, he collected his trash from dinner and said, “Well, I’m outta here man. Keith killed us today, and I’m beat.” On the way out, he gave Izzy a pat on the head. She, in turn, leaned fully into him, rubbed her head on him and caused him to stumble sideways. “Good Lord this dog is a menace to society.” Smiling, he added, “She sure is a sweetheart, though. See you tomorrow, Chief.”

  Lacey and Zoe were sitting on the deck enjoying an after-dinner drink together. Lacey’s first day of work was great, and coming home to Zoe being there was even better. She’d forgotten how nice it was to have companionship after being alone for almost a year.

  “This is the life, isn’t it? Are you glad you moved out here, Lacey?”

  “Are you kidding? I love being here with you. I think this was the best decision you ever made me make in my entire life.” Lacey laughed when Zoe gave her an incredulous look.

  “I am not that bad. All I did was ask you to move out here. Okay, maybe more than once.” Lacey tilted her head and raised her brows. “Oh fine, I bugged the shit out of you on a weekly basis for a year. But it worked!” Zoe held up her glass of wine and toasted. �
�To us, for being awesome and being together again. I love ya, Lace.”

  They clinked glasses, and Lacey told her she loved her, too. Zoe was the one constant in her life, and Lacey was thankful for her every day. Lacey confided to Zoe that she was nervous about her date the next night.

  “He’s sucking me in. I don’t know how I’m going to keep resisting these feelings I’m starting to have for him. Now, I’m telling you this as my friend, not my therapist.” Lacey could tell Zoe was biting her tongue. Rolling her eyes, Lacey pointed at her and said, “God Zoe, you’re head’s gonna explode. Go ahead, therapy me.”

  “Okay, but remember you said I could. I honestly don’t think that this qualm you have about not dating guys who travel has all that much to do with Steven. I believe it comes from a fear of being alone. You are afraid of people leaving you, and why wouldn’t you be? First, I moved to San Diego, and then David was killed. After that, your parents moved back to Canada, and the very last person you had around you broke your heart. Jody represents something else that you could lose. It’s fear of being alone again that’s holding you back, not Steven’s cheating.” Zoe took a deep breath. “But you’re not alone now. We’re back together, and you’re so much closer to your parents out here. Just think about what I said, and see if there’s any truth to it. If not, then I’ll tell you I was wrong and back off. If I’m right, though, you need to find it inside yourself to take another chance at loving someone.”

  After their little chat, Lacey went inside to get them both a refresher on their drinks. She noticed that she had a missed call. On her way back out to the deck, Lacey grabbed her phone.

  Zoe saw the phone in Lacey’s hand. “Jody texting again?”

  “Didn’t look yet.” Taking a look at her missed call, she sighed. “Nope, not Jody. It’s some idiot who obviously has the wrong number but keeps calling. They never leave a message and even when I pick up, they just hang up.”

  “So call them back, and tell them to stop calling you,” Zoe stated, matter of factly.

  “Damn! Why did I not think of that myself?”

  Zoe snorted at her. “Okay, that was a stupid thing to say. So what happened when you called the number?”

  “I didn’t call. I can’t. The number is ‘unavailable.’ It’s getting annoying too. I wonder if the phone company can block it for me, even though it comes up unavailable. I’ll have to call them.” Lacey hated dealing with stuff like that. Customer service centers rarely employed anyone she could actually understand anyway. It was almost not worth it, even if it meant she’d get the number blocked.

  Steven could not fucking believe it. He’d been in London for a day, and the orchestra already wanted him to compose a new piece. They loved him. He knew they would of course, but as great as that was, he had a problem. He hadn’t composed an entire new piece since he was with Lacey.

  He tried to start coming up with a melody – just a few notes to get him started in the right direction. The keys on the piano just stared at him. His hands rested there, but nothing came to him. Nothing. He drew a complete blank. After spending three hours sitting at the piano, Steven thought he knew what the problem was. Lacey was his muse! He needed to talk to her pronto.

  Steven called Lacey’s cell phone, but as soon as it rang, he hung up. He doubted she’d talk to him over the phone. But he had to talk to her. It was still shocking to him that she turned him down. Well, he couldn’t think about that right now. He had two months before he was actually required to be in London. He went there so early to do some sightseeing and get the lay of the land.

  Over the next couple of days, Steven called Lacey’s phone at least a dozen times. He’d hang up if she answered. Just hearing her voice allowed him to compose a bar or two. If he got her voice mail he got to hear her voice for longer than “hello?” But he needed more. He was going to call her right now and talk to her.

  Steven could feel his adrenaline flowing at the thought of talking to Lacey again. He just couldn’t get that bitch out of his system. How dare she not come with him? After all they had been to each other. The phone rang.

  “Hello?” Lacey sounded sleepy. Steven did the math and knew it was almost midnight in San Diego. “Hello? Look, please stop calling me. You obviously have the wrong number.”

  Right before she could hang up, Steven said, “Wait! Don’t hang up, Babe. It’s me.”

  Lacey wouldn’t have been more surprised if she looked out the window and saw it snowing. “Steven? You’re the one who’s been hanging up on me? Why are you calling? I told you to leave me alone.” Would he never go away?

  “Come on Babe, you weren’t serious about that. Look, I’m sorry about the way we left things last time. I shouldn’t have stomped off like that. I should have stayed so we could work this out. I miss you Lacey.” Lacey knew that he was leaving something out. She just couldn’t imagine what he wanted from her.

  “What happened to you Steven? Were you always like this, and I just didn’t notice? Tell me what I can say to you to make you leave me alone forever. How can I convince you that we will never be together again?” Lacey truly didn’t know what to do about him.

  “You happened to me. You did.” His voice was rising, and she could tell he was getting angry. “You got me all fucked up in the head. You ruined me! I can’t write music, Lacey. I can’t write it without you. Damn it, you little bitch. YOU happened to me! Now you have to make it right.” He was screaming at that point, and Lacey had had enough.

  “Steven, calm down. I think you need to seek help. You need some anger management or something. I’m hanging up now. Stop calling me.” Lacey hung up the call, but it rang again about a minute later. She shut her phone off and went back to sleep, thankful that Steven was in Europe.

  Lacey got three more calls from Steven the next day, but she just ignored them. She had called the phone company but was told that they could not block an unavailable number, unless she was willing to block all calls that could come in as unavailable. Changing her number seemed to be her only avenue left. She was going to go into the store on her lunch break and do that, but it pissed her off that she had to be inconvenienced because of that bastard Steven.

  “Do you even believe I have to do this, Zoe?” Zoe went along with her to keep her company while she waited for the customer service girl to assign Lacey a new cell phone number. “After all this time, he just won’t go away. What a pain in the ass.” Lacey’s phone rang in her hand. “Oh my God, it’s him again.”

  Lacey told the sales girl to give her one minute before she changed the number. She wanted to tell Steven that this would be his last call to her. Lacey walked out of the store and answered the call. “Steven, this will be your last call. I’m at the phone store right now getting a new phone number.”

  “You don’t have to do that anymore, Lacey. I’m coming home to you. Now, don’t argue. We’ll talk it all out when I get there. But then we’ll have to be back in London in two months. That will give you time to tie up any loose ends there, while you help me compose that new piece.”

  Lacey’s face paled. Steven sounded so matter of fact. It was eerie. Who was this man? He sounded bat shit crazy. “Steven, we’ve talked about this a million times! I am not going anywhere with you. I’m with someone else. You have to move on.”

  “Fuck him, and fuck you! I’m coming to get you and bring you back with me. And Lacey, if I can’t have you, he can’t either! I’ll make sure of it! I’ll see you on Saturday.” Steven hung up, and Lacey stood there staring at her phone in shock.

  Lacey went back into the store where Zoe was looking at the latest phone models. “Was that your hottie?” When Zoe saw her face, she grabbed Lacey’s arms. “Lace, what’s wrong? What happened?”

  “That was Steven. He’s coming here to get me. He wants me to go to London with him, and he said that if he couldn’t have me, then he’d make sure Jody couldn’t either. Zoe, he sounded crazy. What the hell happened to him?”

  Zoe was as stunned as Lac
ey. She had always thought there was something off about Steven, but she thought maybe she was just protective of Lacey. Plus, he was an artist, and they tended to be a bit different – kind of like goalies. Oops, her mind was wandering. “Okay Lacey. I think it’s time that you went to talk to the police. I know he hasn’t actually done anything illegal yet, but he did threaten you. Let’s go down to the station tomorrow, and just talk to someone, okay?”

  Lacey agreed with Zoe. She didn’t know what to do, so going to talk to the police seemed like a good start. One thing she did know was that she was not telling Jody about Steven on their date night. She’d tell him tomorrow. “Holy hell Zoe, Jody’s gonna flip. Don’t say anything to anyone; I’ll tell him tomorrow. I’m not going to let Steven ruin our first date.”

  Lacey got her new phone number and sent a text to all of her contacts to let them know she had a new number. She’d tell Jody that she kept getting wrong number calls for now, and then tell him the truth later.

  Zoe was just pouring herself a glass of iced tea when the doorbell rang. She answered the door and let Jody in. “Would you like a glass of iced tea?”

  Jody was nervous as hell. What he really wanted was a whiskey. “Sure, thanks.”

  Zoe picked up both glasses of tea and led the way into her office. She took a seat in one of the armchairs next to the couch and placed her tea on the table. “Have a seat.”

  “Thanks. Okay, look doc – I’m not at all comfortable being here. No offense or anything.” Jesus, he was starting this off great. That was exactly what he should do. Insult the good doctor.

  Zoe smiled and waved her hand. “Jody, don’t worry about it. Therapy gets easier with time. Like I told you before, you don’t offend me in the least. Let’s start with something easy. What made you decide that you wanted to come and talk to me?”