“They need a captain,” she said. “Someone who can take responsibility. Show the men what needs to be done because he isn’t afraid of a challenge. That man is you.”
Sometimes, the woman was too lovely for her own good.
“You can just ask for a favor, Clover.”
“I’m getting there.” She locked eyes with me. “Look, you’re a great man, Adrian. Perfect to lead a new team. Perfect for a friend. Perfect…to start a family.”
She had no idea how hard the Ironfield Forge’s transition was going to be.
“Family?” I snorted. “It’ll be a long time before this team is a family.”
“No…that’s not what I meant—”
“We’ve gotta train together first. Practice. Get to know each other. It can take a whole season for a line to coordinate enough to read each other’s minds. Family is a long way off.”
She exhaled with a grunt. “Let me try again. Forget the team. I’m talking about you. How you’re the sort of man who puts everyone’s needs above his own. You take care of those around you. Do you know how rare that is?”
“I can also knock a defenseman into the boards without giving him a concussion.”
“You’re a man of many talents.” Her patience waned. “Also a man who stays level-headed when presented with the opportunity of a lifetime.”
“What the hell do you want from me, Clover?”
The woman crossed and uncrossed her legs, slipping them from my lap so she could tug her shoes back on. A delay.
Why was she so damned apprehensive?
Her fingers pecked at the navy-blue silk tied around her neck. “I really hate this scarf.”
Not sure if that declaration was supposed to mean something profound when stated at thirty-five thousand feet, but I nodded anyway.
“Okay.”
“Every day I put it on, and it just gets tighter and tighter, until, suddenly, I can’t breathe. I could be in the middle of a drink service or we could be landing. Doesn’t matter. I panic. And even if I take it off, the scarf is always there. Reminding me that as soon as it goes back on, I’ll feel choked and suffocated and…stuck all over again.”
Well, now she had my attention.
I leaned forward. “Is it asthma?”
She pinched the bridge of her nose. “It’s not asthma, Adrian. Listen to me. I don’t want to live a life wearing a scarf that’s squeezing all the happiness out of me.”
“…Can’t you talk to the airline about the uniform?”
“No.” She groaned. “It’s more than that. I’ve been thinking about this job. And it’s not exactly what I thought it would be.”
“Probably because you’re slacking off, sitting in First Class with me.” I grinned.
“Forget it.”
I grabbed her hand as she abandoned the conversation and rolled into the aisle. “I’m listening. Keep going.”
She plunked back into the seat, her hands balling in her lap. “Nothing about my life is what I expected it to be. I wanted to see the world, but now it’s like…every time I take off across the country, all I think about is how much I’m leaving behind.”
That was a new, confusing sentiment coming from her.
“You spend more time traveling than at home,” I said. “The only thing you leave behind are hotel soaps and Starbucks cups.”
“And you.”
I smirked. “Good thing I’m moving closer.”
“And you have no idea what it means to me. Especially since…” Her words quieted. “Have you ever wanted something more from life? A future? A reason for being? Do you know what I mean?”
“Absolutely.” I nodded. “I’ve got the team.”
She shook her head. “Not quite. I mean, something better than the game. Something that’s missing.”
“Oh. A championship?”
“More than that.”
“…Two championships?”
“For Pete’s sake,” she said. “Okay, when you were in the hospital, after the surgery…what were you feeling? What did you want more than anything then?”
“Relief from the pain.” I shuddered. “That was a bad night.”
“I’m talking spiritually, emotionally.”
“All I wanted was morphine.”
“What about having someone at your side? So you wouldn’t be alone?”
I grinned. “Why? I had you. The doctors had to kick you out of the room before you decided you’d operate on my teammates yourself.”
Clover quieted as the plane shimmied with the slightest rumble of turbulence. “You’re impossible.”
“I’m serious. You were the first one at the hospital after the injury, the first one with me when I woke up after surgery, and the first one to crack a joke when I was still writhing in pain. Would’ve been even worse without you there.”
“So…you trust me?”
“Against my better judgment.”
“How much?”
“Depends on what you want.”
Her brow furrowed, just a tiny crease of worry. “Well, I’ve been thinking about us lately. About all we’ve gone through. And about what we could go through together. Understand?”
Not a bit. “Maybe?”
“There’s something I haven’t done yet. Something a little crazy. Something that requires you and me and…well…”
“What?”
“It would require a deposit of sorts…from you.”
Oh. So that’s what this was all about?
I sighed. “Clover, if you need money, just ask.”
“What? No!”
“I’ll help you out. Maybe buy you a better fitting scarf.”
“Adrian, just stop,” she said. “Listen to me. For a long time, I thought I only ever needed myself. But, after your injury, I started thinking…”
“You’re…thinking about my balls?”
She shushed me, glancing over her shoulder to ensure I hadn’t woken any of the sleeping passengers. “Yes. I started thinking about your…pucks.”
“My pucks.”
“And I was thinking about my…” She pointed to her navel. “Net. And how I’ve been defending that net for so long that I’ve never considered what might happen if I let a puck through.”
“What?”
“Don’t get me wrong. It’s not like I’ve never been eager to score. I just never found the right…hockey player.”
And I thought she secretly hated hockey. It was too late to be this damned confused.
“Are you…talking about playing the game?” I asked. “You don’t know how to skate.”
“Well, I’ve never tried to skate,” she said. “I never wanted to get on the ice and face-off against that sort of excitement. I played my defense a little too well. And, had I realized what was important, I might’ve let someone…high-stick me a little. Get me into the penalty box.”
“Are…are we talking power play now?”
Her expression twisted with confusion and embarrassment. “Oh, my God. Adrian, I’m asking you for a favor, and you’re going to think I’m crazy. But I’ve wasted so much time on myself and my career that I’ve completely neglected what was most important.”