Page 69 of Center Ice
“Colt said you needed relationship advice,” Patrick Walsh says.
“Walshy seemed like the natural person to ask,” Colt says when I glare at him. “Given that he’s so happily married, he’s making us all sick with how much he talks about his family.” Walsh just smiles in response. His wife and kids are at every game, even the baby, and I’ve never known another player who is more into his family. So even though it annoys me that he opened his mouth about it, Colt was probably right about including Walsh in this conversation.
I’m about to flippantly ask if McCabe is here to give me relationship advice too. But then I remember he’s my team captain and think better of it.
Impulse control…clearly still a developing skill. But I heard what Audrey said last night, and I’m going to work on being more intentional, both with my words and my actions.
“And everyone else?” I ask instead.
“I’m your fucking Captain, that’s why I’m here,” McCabe says. “I want to make sure that whatever’s going on isn’t going to fuck up your game.”
“Dude, you have a baby at home. Could you just get one sentence out without swearing?” Walsh asks.
McCabe’s legendary scowl crosses his face. “Fucking doubt it.”
We all burst out laughing. Then Zach Reid adds, “I’m here because I’ve been in therapy for, like, a decade, so I’m a pro at dealing with emotions.”
“Alright,” I say. “But I wasn’t planning on broadcasting this situation. Honestly, right now, the fewer people who know about it, the better.”
“You didn’t fucking get someone pregnant, did you?” McCabe asks.
When I pick up my water glass instead of answering right away, all heads swivel toward me. “It’s kind of complicated.”
“Nah,” Colt says. “Either you did, or you didn’t.”
“I did, but?—”
“Dude, you’ve only been back in Boston for, like, a month! How is this even possible? Or was this some chick in Colorado?” Zach asks.
From across the table, Walsh eyes me skeptically.
“First of all, she’s not ‘some chick.’ So cut that shit out.” I lift the water glass to my lips and take a sip, hoping that Colt doesn’t lunge across the table and strangle me when I come clean. “There was a girl in college, and we got together right before I was drafted. I headed to Vancouver, and she didn’t find out she was pregnant until after I was gone. I only discovered I’m a dad a few weeks ago.”
“You. Fucking. Asshole.” Each word comes out of Colt’s mouth on an exhaled breath, low and deadly sounding. He’s gripping the edge of the table with both hands, like he might flip it.
“I didn’t know Audrey was pregnant,” I say, holding my hands up in a gesture of surrender, “or I would have been there for her and Graham.”
“Who’s Audrey?” Zach asks.
“Flynn’s little sister,” McCabe says. Jameson isn’t his agent, but he’s been with the team for long enough that they probably played together at one point.
“Jameson Flynn?” Zach sounds worried. Jameson’s got a reputation for ruthlessness, and I’m sure Zach is wondering what the fallout will be for me. When I nod, he asks, “Does he know?”
“He does now. Audrey initially didn’t tell him, or anyone except for her sister, that I was the dad. But she told him, like, a week ago.”
I can tell by the look on Colt’s face that he’s surprised Jameson knows, which means Jameson hasn’t told him. Andunless I’m reading too much into it, he looks a bit hurt not to be in the know.
“Why didn’t she tell you?” Walsh asks.
“This is the part where I’m the asshole,” I warn them, and Colt’s eyes narrow. “She tried calling me, and I didn’t call her back. She obviously could have told her brother and had him reach out to me about it, but she was afraid he’d ruin my career if he knew.”
“Yep,” Walsh agrees. “You’re the asshole in that situation. So, how did you find out?”
I describe the scene at the fire a few weeks before.
“So youwerewatching her that night. It wasn’t just my imagination!” Colt says, and I nod. “How is Audrey taking all this?”
“Well, that’s the part I need advice on. Things between us are…actually really good. But she doesn’t trust me to stick.”
