by Anne Stone
Ryne caught his brothers’ eyes as he followed Ray into the room. Etienne quirked his brow at his twin while Philippe shook his head. His brothers were as clueless as he’d been just moments earlier.
The meeting was short by Ray’s standards. He reiterated the team goals for the year, discussed the game plan for their opening game, and introduced Ryne as one of the alternate captains. All of his teammates seemed overjoyed that he’d been chosen as a team leader and role model. He had a phenomenal reputation in the league and everyone, including his brothers, respected his game.
Etienne was the first to congratulate Ryne. “Hey little brother, congrats.” Ryne always hated it when he referred to him like that. They were twins for god’s sake.
“Etienne, you’re only five minutes older than me, not years like you let everyone believe.”
“Stop it you two.” Philippe slapped Ryne on the back. “What an honor. We’re in the best of company with you wearing an ‘A’ too. Who’d have thought— all three of us being alternate captains?”
“I have to say I was taken by surprise. Let’s just say I was a little concerned when Ray asked to meet with me.” He ran his hand along his jaw. “When I was greeted at the door by Anthony, I was sure I was being traded again.”
“You need to put those thoughts out of your mind. You’re here for the long haul.”
“Phil, I think I am,” he smiled broadly. “Plus, Anthony wants to talk contract so hopefully that means an extension.”
“Sounds that way to me, little brother,” Etienne said laughingly. “It’s all going to work out. Just keep playing like you have and all will be good.”
Ryne couldn’t wait to meet up with Jen. She’d come to town with him, dropped him off at the arena, and shopped while he was practicing. Ryne texted her that he was done for the day, and minutes later she met him at the player’s entrance.
She pulled to the curb and he hopped into the car. He couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. “Good practice?” she asked as she leaned over kissing his cheek.
“The best. You’ll never guess what happened.”
“You upended Etienne?”
Ryne burst out laughing. “Ah, no. Why would I do that to my brother?”
“Pay back maybe?”
“We’re well past that although I wish he’d quit referring to me as his little brother.”
“Well you are, aren’t you?”
“Why do you keep taking his side?”
“I wasn’t aware that I was…”
He was in too good a mood to fight over Etienne. He placed his hand on her leg. “Changing subjects,” he said as he squeezed her thigh. “I have some good news, great news if I have to say so myself.”
“Out with it then.”
“I was called into a meeting with Ray, Anthony, Ty, and Oscar.”
“That sounds serious.”
“I was a little concerned, especially when Anthony opened the door. I have to say I haven’t been that nervous since our wedding.”
“I didn’t think you were nervous,” she said in jest. “You told me you weren’t nervous at all.”
“Well, I was. So anyway, they started questioning me. I thought for sure I was going to be traded again and then they asked me…”
“Asked you what?” She turned in her seat and rested her hand on his arm.
“To be an alternate captain.”
“You get to wear an “A?”
“Yep, I do.”
“Ryne, that’s awesome.” She flung her arms around his neck and planted a loud kiss against his check. “But you’re new to the team.”
“I know. I was totally flabbergasted when they suggested it. They’re impressed with my background and my play during the preseason. They want me to be a role model.”
“Wow. That’s fabulous.” She brushed her hand along his arm.
“And I have even better news.” Ryne grabbed ahold of her hand. “Anthony wants to talk contract. I’m hoping for an extension. I’ve got to call Adam. I wonder if he knows about all of this.”
“Probably not or he would have forewarned you.”
“Jen, if I get an extension…That would be icing on the cake. I can finish my career in Calgary.”
“Don’t go jumping to conclusions until you speak with Anthony. But, yeah, it does sound good.”
“Baby, they want me to lead the Storm to the Championship. Bring a Stanley Cup to the team. Do you know what that means to me?”
“I think I do.” She leaned over and pulled him into a hug. “I’m so proud of you. I think this trade was meant to be.” She planted a kiss on his cheek. “Come on, let’s go celebrate.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
The season was moving along quite nicely. The holidays were nearing and the Storm was leading the Western Division by twelve points. The entire team was riding a high. They were at the end of a long, five game road trip that ended right before Christmas.
Jen had flown home a few days after the team left on that trip. With the Storm’s last game before the holiday break being in St. Louis, she and Ryne decided to spend a few days with Rose and Wilford and then fly on to Greenwich and see Miles and Rowena before returning to Calgary.
Jen was thrilled to return home. She’d only been to St. Louis once since moving. She’d been commissioned for a photo shoot that would showcase the St. Louis area. She was slowly building the career her father would be proud of.
Jen had a rough go of it. She’d overslept and barely made her flight. When she boarded the plane, she’d felt fine until they were airborne, and then she became nauseated. As soon as the doors opened, she deplaned and hurried to the nearest restroom when she became ill.
She hadn’t a clue what was wrong. She’d felt fine when she left the house. She guessed she’d eaten something that upset her stomach.
With carryon in hand, she went straight home. Thankfully, she had a closet full of clothes and was able to avoid baggage claim.
The night before she’d missed Ryne’s phone message. She’d been exhausted with preparing for her trip and slept through his call.
She heard the frustration in his voice. Not only had she seen the first period of their game against the San Francisco Otters, she knew Ryne had incurred two penalties losing in a shut out 6-0.
The team had lost their last two games, and he hadn’t been happy with his play. He blamed the loss on himself. “I don’t know what happened,” he said, “but I royally messed up. I know my mistakes cost us two maybe three goals. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m supposed to be a team leader, but by the looks of my play I wasn’t one tonight.”
He went on complaining about their losing streak, and he worried they wouldn’t make the playoffs. Jen knew he was blowing this way out of proportion since they’d barely played a third of the season, but she could also understand his frustration.
Ryne had taken his role of alternate captain seriously and since being given the opportunity, he’d placed an inordinate amount of pressure on himself. When the team did well he was happy, elated, but when they were on a losing streak such as they were, he was almost a bear to live with. She knew winning a Stanley Cup was important to him but wondered at what cost.
By the time she got home, she barely had enough strength to make her way from the car to the house, let alone phone Ryne. She threw her carryon over her shoulder, stumbled up the stairs, fumbled with her key, dropping it as she tried to place it in the lock. She brushed her hair aside as she bent down to grab her key. She became lightheaded and threw her hand against the door which prevented her from collapsing onto the porch.
She steadied herself and reached for the key. Rising ever so slowly, she slipped it into the lock and pushed opened the door. Somehow, and she didn’t know how, she made her way inside. With a thud, her bag fell from her shoulder and she leaned against the closed door.
She stood there for a few seconds as she caught her breath. What’s wrong with me? I feel like I’ve been hit by a Mack truck.
Ever so slowly, she practically crawled to the sofa. Her purse and cell phone lay right inside the door.
Before she knew it, she was sound asleep.
Jen was startled with an incessant pounding and the ringing of her doorbell. She scrubbed her hand across her face, unsure where the sound was coming from when she realized her phone was ringing, someone was pounding on her door, and her doorbell was continually chiming.
“Uh,” she groaned. The room had grown dark and she’d lost complete sense of time. She eased herself up, threw on the lights, and walked to the door.
“Jen, Jen are you in there…Jen.” She recognized the voice and opened the door.
“Oh my God, Jen are you okay? Ryne and I have been trying all afternoon to get ahold of you.” Lauren rushed through the door.
Dazed, Jen watched Lauren hurry past. She closed the door and leaned against it, and that’s when she noticed her purse lying on the floor beside her carryon. Again, as she reached down, she became lightheaded and crashed against the door, causing Lauren to turn around.
Before she knew what had hit her, Lauren was at her side leading her back to the couch. “You look awful. Are you sick?”
“I think so. Can you get my purse for me? I need to check my phone.”
Lauren grabbed not only her purse but her carryon and set it on the couch beside Jen. “I don’t know what happened. I felt fine when I left this morning, but I started feeling ill on the plane. I don’t even remember driving home…”
Jen pulled her phone from her bag. She had twelve missed calls. Ten of them were from Ryne, one from Lauren and the last from Jacklynne.
“Ryne’s been trying to reach you all day.”
“I can see that. I missed ten calls from him.”
“I had quite a few myself. I was in a deposition and forgot my phone. By the time I was able to get back to him, he was frantic with worry. He said he’d left a message for you last night, and you never called him back.”
“Yeah, I was pretty tired and missed his call. I overslept this morning and was lucky to get to my flight.”
She flung her hand across her eyes and then looked at her friend. “I’m exhausted. I hope after a good night’s sleep I’ll feel better.”
She glanced at her watch. “Thanks for checking on me. I’d better call Ryne.”
“Yeah, you’d better. I’d stay a bit longer but I have a dinner meeting. How about I drop by tomorrow and pick you up for the game?”
“Great idea. And then we can catch up.” Jen walked Lauren to the door and pulled her into a tight hug. “Thanks for stopping by. I’m sorry Ryne made you come over.”
“He was worried. In fact, he told me that was the last time he was trying me and then he was calling the police. At least you got me and not the police.”
“I’d much rather see you, my friend.” Jen said her goodbye and then made her way to the kitchen. It was nearly six o’clock and she was starved. She grabbed a can of soup and while she waited for it to warm phoned Ryne.
The Storm was playing in Chicago and then he was coming to St. Louis to play the Generals. She couldn’t wait to see him. This had been one of the longest road trips of the season. She missed him, especially at night when he wasn’t there to hold her in his arms. She’d become accustomed to sleeping with her head on his chest. The strong beating of his heart seemed to lull her to sleep.
She knew she was taking a chance calling his phone as the Wind’s games usually began at seven thirty. She was almost sure he was on the ice warming up but tried his number anyway.
She stirred her soup waiting for the call to go through. She felt much better since Lauren had arrived. I guess it’s just a little bug but I think I’m over it.
Jen expected the call to go to voice mail when an unexpected voice answered. “Jen, is that you?”
“Yeah, it’s me, Philippe. Where’s Ryne and why are you answering his phone?”
“He’s on the ice right now and asked me to listen for it. He’s been worried sick since he wasn’t able to get ahold of you. All I could think about was Annabelle…”
“Philippe, I’m sorry to have caused you such grief. I apologize. I wasn’t feeling well and came home and took a nap. I dropped my purse at the door, and didn’t hear my phone.”
“You’re sure that’s it?”
“Yep, I’m fine. By the way, how is my dear husband? He seemed a little stressed in the message he left me last night. I saw the first period. What was up with those penalties?”
“Yeah, I don’t know. Ryne’s been a little off this trip. Hopefully tonight he’ll be more in the zone, and if he is, maybe we’ll catch a win.”
“Philippe, he needs to settle down. He’s so consumed with being a role model. I’m happy he was chosen as an alternate captain, but I think he’s taking the responsibility way too seriously. All he talks about is going to the playoffs and winning the Cup. He needs to calm down and enjoy his time on the ice.”
“I know. Etienne and I had a long talk with him this afternoon when he became unglued and couldn’t locate you. I had my worries, of course, but I put those thoughts aside as we tried to calm him down. Et and I believe he feels like he has to justify being traded to the Storm on top of being selected to wear the ‘A’. We’ve noticed how hard he is on himself when he falters on the ice. I told him he needs to play his game and not worry about everything. The rookies will follow his lead…”
“You know more about it than I do, but yes, he leads by example. He needs to forget about this Cup. It’s consuming him.” She sighed. “Philippe, you don’t think he’s hiding an injury, do you?”
“Physically I think he’s fine. Right now it’s all emotional with him. I’m betting once he gets his arms around you he’ll be one hundred percent again. He misses you. I remember what those days are like. Annabelle and I were together a long time. I know what he’s going through being so much in love. I also know what he went through today when he couldn’t reach you. I think his finger was on redial all day.”
“It was. I have ten missed calls, and I haven’t the faintest idea how many voice mails he left me. I just picked up my phone and called after Lauren left.”
“Yeah, he was frantic to reach her too.”
“She was in a deposition.”
“That’s what Ryne said. I’m glad you’re okay. Here he comes.”
Jen briefly closed her eyes and stretched out her neck waiting for him. Then, she heard the voice she’d needed to hear.
“Jen, are you okay? I’ve been trying all day to reach you.”
“I’m fine. Sorry about that. I almost missed my flight and by the time I got home I was exhausted. I took a nap and didn’t hear my phone.”
“That’s alright. I was worried something happened.”
“Nope, all’s well. Shouldn’t you be on the ice warming up?”
“I was but I came back in to put on a different jersey. I’d asked Philippe to listen for my phone.”
“Isn’t he playing tonight?”
“No, he’s a healthy scratch. Ray thought he needed a night off. He was pretty busy last night killing off all of my penalties.”
“I saw the first period.”
“That wasn’t pretty and neither was the rest of the game. I lost count with how many penalties I incurred. In fact, I’m surprised I’m playing tonight with as badly as I played.”
“You’re entitled to an off night.”
“Not really. We need to take every game seriously, every game counts.”
“They do but you need to stop being so hard on yourself.”
“I’m the only one that can be accountable for me. If I don’t hold myself to those standards, who will?”
“Ah—Adam, Ray, Anthony…They will.”
“Enough of this. So what’s new? Have you seen Rose and Wilford yet?”
“No. Like I said I came home and took a nap. I don’t know why but I’m so tired. I guess I haven’t been sleeping too well. I miss you.”
“Likewis
e. Hey, I need to go. I’ll phone after the game. I love you.”
“I love you too.” She stared at her soup as she stirred it, watching it swirl in the pot. She knew he wasn’t himself. The way he spoke, the words he chose…it seemed almost like he was keeping something from her. She knew he was upset with himself, but there was something in the tone of his voice that made her suspicious. She would wait until they had a few days to themselves and maybe she’d discover what was bothering him.
After eating, she phoned her grandparents and went straight to bed, again missing Ryne’s call. When she woke the next morning she was still tired but felt better. She checked her phone and listened to Ryne’s message. “We won,” she heard him say. She could see the smile on his face as he spoke. “It was a good game. Thankfully, I stayed away from the penalty box. We’re going to have a morning skate here before coming down to St. Louis. I should see you around two. Love you.”
She smiled at the phone as she stretched and made her way to the shower. She couldn’t wait to see him.
She showered, dressed, and headed off to the grocery store. She needed a few things as they weren’t going to be in town very long. She stopped by her grandparents on the way to say a quick hello.
“Oh my, Wilford, look who’s here,” Rose called out as she drew Jen into her arms.
“Grams, it’s so good to see you.” She pulled away and saw a look of concern on her face.
“Dear, are you feeling alright? You have such dark circles under your eyes.”
“I think I have a virus. I’ve been so tired. Yesterday, I even got sick at the airport when I arrived. I came home and collapsed and barely heard Lauren when she woke me pounding on the door.”
“Heavens, dear, why was she pounding on the door?”
“Because Ryne couldn’t get ahold of me. I was asleep and my cell was right inside the door. I didn’t even hear it ring.”
“I guess you needed your rest then. Are you feeling better?”
“I am. I think I needed a good night’s sleep.” She spent about a half hour with her grandparents. “I need to head out, Grams. Ryne will be here soon, and I want to be home when he gets there.”
