“You couldn’t have just refused the trade?”
“Not if I didn’t want to be suspended and lose my salary.” Another few weeks, and he would’ve hit his twenty-seventh birthday, and in four months, the end of his seventh year. After hitting either, he could’ve negotiated aNo trade to Denverclause in his contract.
Trades were all part of the job, and he’d long ago accepted that a trade at any time, inconvenient or not, was to be expected.It wasn’t that he was angry about the timing. Although, he wished they would have waited until December twenty-seventh— when the Christmas trade freeze lifted— to take him away from his family. He was more upset that they traded him to Denver, specifically.
He chose a toothbrush and added it to his basket.
“Well, congrats on getting Mom and Max notified before your trade was officially announced.”
Sometimes the players themselves didn’t get notified before the media, so the congrats was well-deserved. “I knew she wouldnotbe happy if she found out from the Internet, so I called her as I was walking out of the GM’s office.”
“How did it go?”
He swallowed. “I can’t say it was fun making her that sad.” Christmas traditions were important to her, and he knew that all the ones he was going to miss had likely been running through her head. And he hadn’t even let her know the flight situation yet that wouldn’t allow him to go home during the three-day break.
“I bet.”
“Hey, don’t tell Mom that I’m upset about the trade or that I really didn’t want to come here. I’ll get over being upset, and there isn’t anything any of us can do about the trade being to Denver. I don’t want her to feel bad.”
“I won’t. This is just a new adventure, right?” He could tell that she had tried to make the sentence come out in a cheery voice, and she was mostly successful.
“Yep. A new adventure. Oh, and will you take everyone’s presents with you to pass out on Christmas morning? And will you wrap Max’s for me? I didn’t get a chance.”
“Will do. Maybe we can just video chat on Christmas as everyone opens presents.” There was a small pause before she added, “Okay, I think I’ve got the necessities, including charging cords for your devices. I’ll come back after I get this shipped offand pack more of your stuff. Any last requests for the overnight one? That cinnamon caramel hot chocolate that you love?”
Connor chuckled. “I think I can go a few days without it.”
“It’s weird to think that this morning when we got together for breakfast, you lived here in Charlotte, were one of the Thunderstorm, and had no idea you’d end the day as one of the Glaciers, living in Denver.”
“Yep, weird.” It felt like this morning had happened days ago. Waking up, going about his normal routine, going to practice, finding out he was moving fifteen hundred miles away, making that move, fielding all the phone calls, messages, interviews, and emails, coordinating with the new team, and shopping for the essentials was exhausting. He couldn’t have stuffed more into this day if he’d tried.
Yet, his new team was on the ice against another team right now, and he wished he was there, playing with them. He glanced at his watch. Actually, the game was probably over by now. It would be nice to have a practice with the new team before a game, and his flight hadn’t landed with enough time for him to get to the game, but it still felt strange to have tonight off. Especially because he had tomorrow night off, too— he didn’t play his first game with the Glaciers until two days from now.
Someone turned down Connor’s aisle, and he could tell the moment the man recognized him because the man’s expression turned sour. So, either he recognized Connor as a Thunderstorm player— and therefore was from the team that was the Glaciers’ biggest rival— or the guy already saw the news that Connor had joined the Glaciers, and he wasn’t happy about it. He was sure this wasn’t going to be an isolated incident.
Connor had pictured being traded plenty of times, but never to Denver. The trade had completely blindsided him. He should’ve guessed the feelings that coming back would give him. He got it every time his team had played the Glaciers in Denver.
He glanced around the drug store to see if there was anything he needed that he hadn’t thought of yet, and luckily, he noticed the shampoo.
“You might not have time to go house shopping,” Laura said. “Want me to look through listings and send you the best ones? I can watch for homes with walls that resist puck and stick scuffs. Or one with a trophy room. Swimming pool? An oversized garage with goalie nets and reinforced windows that can handle a hockey puck flying at them?”
“No need. The hotel they’ve got me at is pretty decent. I’m thinking of living there until the end of the season, then moving back home in the off-season.”
“Off-season? If your team does well in the playoffs, that’s what? Three months? You can’t spend the other nine in a hotel.”
“Laura, I amnotgoing to live here again.” He was surprised at how fiercely his voice came out. There were too many bad memories tied to this place, and he really didn’t like who he was when he lived here. He wasn’t about to become that person again. “I’m going to put in a trade request as we come up on the end of the season. I already told my agent.”
He headed over to the self-checkout station and started scanning his items. But he couldn’t seem to get his mind to go down a different path. So, he asked, “Have you talked to Dad lately? Do you know if he’s living here?”
“I haven’t for a year or so, but I don’t think so. Last I heard, he was living in Arizona and buying a house in Spain.”
At least there was that small mercy. Judging by the relief it gave him to know, maybe it wasn’tsosmall. “And there’s a chance I won’t be living in a hotel for the whole season. I could get traded at the deadline to a team that’s closer to home.”
“Or to one that doesn’t get a quarter of their flights delayed due to weather in the winter. Yes, I did, indeed, just look it up.”
“Yes, traded to a team without winter flight delays. That’ll do, too.” He finished scanning the last of his items and tapped his credit card on the reader.
“Then, I’ll keep my fingers crossed that you’ll get completely blindsided and have to move with zero notice again soon.”
