Page 51 of Keeping it Real

“Yeah, I’ll be coming solo,” Merriweather announced.

“What?Your wife doesn’t want a free dinner?”Picard asked.

“She doesn’t like leaving the kids.”Merriweather yanked his sweater off his head and headed toward the showers.

Picard shook his head in disgust before heading out to handle the media.

“Something is off there,” Gus muttered.

The rest of the team undressed in relative silence.No doubt eager to put this night behind them.

“Yeah, well, he’s not the only one with something off,” Alek replied.

“Captain’s right.This isn’t all on you.”Valentine sat down on the bench next to Alek.“My wrist cooled off a few weeks ago.Picard hasn’t exactly been in sync either.The first line is letting the team down.”

Gus snorted.“Speak for yourself, Twos,” he said, referring to Valentine’s jersey number of twenty-two.“I’m leading the division in points.”

Valentine bent at the waist in a mock bow.“And we thank God for your talented lumber every night.”He chuckled.“Oh, wait.Maybe that’s only your wife who does.”

Gus tossed one of his gloves at him.

Alek sighed.“I don’t know.It used to be easier to focus on the game.”

“That was when you didn’t have a life,” Gus said.“Now you’ve got an insta-family and everything that comes with that messing with your mojo.It’s bound to affect your game.Hell, I don’t have to be a psychic to know opening a restaurant is screwing with Picard’s.”

“Wow.I hadn’t put two and two together there,” Valentine said.

Neither had Alek.It still didn’t alleviate the guilt he felt at letting his teammates down.“You’ve got a family,” he said to Gus.“How come it doesn’t affect your play?”

“Years of practice,” Gus said with a wink.“Give it time.”

Time was one thing Alek was running out of.His father wouldn’t be around forever.And judging by the way Coach was looking at him tonight, Alek might not be either.

“What do you want me to do with these?”The equipment manager appeared in front of Alek holding a large, black trash bag jammed full of something.

“Andtheseare?”Alek asked.

Valentine reached into the bag and pulled out a stuffed dog toy shaped like a slice of pizza.He squeezed it until it squeaked.“Aw, the fans brought stuffies for Hattie.”

“They tossed them all over the ice before the game.There’s at least four dozen.”The equipment manager looked aghast at Alek.“Is this gonna be a thing now?”

Alek shrugged.“At least the fans have someone they appreciate.But I don’t want those.My place is already a freaking minefield of dog toys.I can’t take two steps in my own house without tripping over one of her toys.”Not that the dog showed any interest in them.She’d rather tear up Alek’s underwear.

“You want me to throw them away?”The equipment manager looked scandalized.

Shit.

If that got out, the talking heads would crucify him even more than they already were.

Seward leaned over the equipment manager’s shoulder and plucked a toy from the bag.“My pooch loves these Lambchop toys.She shreds them up faster than I can buy them.”

“Take it,” Alek told him.“Anyone else need a toy for their mutt?”

Several of the guys rooted through the toys, but they didn’t make a dent in the bag.He was stuck with them.

Twenty minutes later, he carried the trash bag full of dog toys through the mezzanine of the arena to meet up with his family.

His family.