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The burr under his saddle

Sophie

I ignored the dog again after lunch as I worked, until the background of growls turned to loud barks. There was a rap on the door and Remy stepped in. Beast was still growling but had stretched his leash till it was almost strangling him, trying to get as close to Remy as possible.

It was the most doglike behavior Beast had shown, so that must be why I smiled, something warm in my chest.

“Thank you for taking care of him,” Remy said, crossing to loosen Beast’s leash. “Sorry it’s later than I thought, but I had to pick up my rental vehicle. I parked the truck just outside, if that’s all right.”

Something was…off somehow. How I could tell after barely talking to him I wasn’t sure, but I’d have been willing to bet on it. “Perfectly okay. Did everything go well at practice?”

He cocked his head. “Fine. Why do you ask?”

I couldn’t say I thought he sounded upset because that would be weird.

Did Ollie do something? I wouldn’t worry with anyone else, but with the way Ollie’s dad never stopped harping on how Ollie hadn’t won things his dad had because of Remy—still, when neither Ollie nor his dad were even playing anymore—meant that the rivalry with Remy never ended for my ex.

“It’s Ollie’s first training camp at the NHL level, so I wondered. ”

He gave me a crooked grin. “Yeah, don’t think I’m gonna call him that. Coach Trent will do.”

“Did he do something wrong? Cross a line?” Remy looked puzzled. Right, it wasn’t my business.

“No, it’s all good. I’ll just take Beast and get out of your hair. I really appreciate you stepping in like this. Did he do anything?”

“He didn’t bite me or pee on my stuff, so nothing like what you’re asking.”

Beast had gone back to chewing on the towel. Remy frowned. “Dare I hope that towel was ripped up before Beast got here?”

I shrugged. “It’s just a towel. It kept him happy and quiet, so well worth the sacrifice.”

A long sigh. “I’ll pay for it. Or replace it.”

“Really, it’s not a problem. Technically it was my brother’s before he passed it on to me to use for my work here. And Cash can afford lots of towels.”

Remy rubbed his chin, bare now, beard gone. He looked so much better shaved. “What does he do?”

Focus, Sophie. “Now he’s a music producer. He used to be in a band.”

Remy’s gaze stared out the window, looking at the size of the property. “Would this be a band I’ve heard of?”

“The Knock Off Heartbeats.” Then I waited.

His head snapped around. “The hell? That’s your brother?”

I nodded. The band had only put out three albums before egos broke them up, but they’d been big. Evan had gone solo, with moderate success. Ryan had started a couple of bands, none of which did much. My brother was the most successful after the breakup, producing for other artists.

I braced for the questions about what happened to them.

The honest answer, that they all felt they were the most important person in the group, was never acceptable.

Fans wanted to know why their favorite band didn’t exist anymore, while also believing they were all great guys.

Or they made requests for an autograph or a meetup, shared what was their favorite song, and usually asked if that meant Ryder Williams was my dad. Dad was more famous than Cash.

I was not. I was one degree of separation from fame.

Remy looked out the window again. “Okay, he can afford towels. But I still like to pay for myself. And my dog.”

It took a moment to realize he wasn’t going to follow the usual script. “Well, when you get a chance, drop off a towel. And you can take that one. Your dog seems to like it.” Beast was chewing on the corner, resigned to waiting for the humans to do something interesting.

“I will. And thanks again. Since I have a truck and the address of the place that’ll take care of Beast, I shouldn’t disturb you tomorrow.”

Why was I feeling disappointed? I didn’t want to be a dog sitter, and I’d made sure he knew it.

“I’m not volunteering to do this every day, but he was very little bother.

I fed him some cat food, which I hope is okay, and took him out at lunchtime.

But once I’m working I tend to ignore everything around me, so I think he just chewed and slept. ”

He ran a hand through his hair. “Shit. I should have given you dog food.”

“Is what I gave him going to be a problem?”

He looked down at Beast. Was he actually eating the terry cloth?

“He was a street dog. He can eat anything.”

That was a relief. “Good. Cash spends a fortune on Goober’s food, so it shouldn’t hurt any animal.”

Remy tilted his head. “Can I ask why the cat is called Goober?”

He was in no position to throw shade when it came to pet names. “Why is your dog called Beast?”

Remy looked down at the towel chewer, that crooked smile coming out again. “Seems to suit him, doesn’t it?”

I laughed. “Goober is kind of the same. Since the cat is kind of cross-eyed, Cash called her Goober and it stuck. I wish I could change it. Yelling ‘Goober’ out the door to try to get her to come inside is embarrassing.”

“So far I haven’t had to yell for Beast like that, but I’d prefer Beast to Goober.” His glance moved around the workshop. “So you work with guitars?”

“That’s what a luthier does, yeah.”

“I don’t know much about music, but I’m sure that requires concentration.”

I nodded. And then the penny dropped. He was heading upstairs, and I was still here in my workshop. “Will it be a problem for you, me working down here? Some of my machines are a little noisy, but I’m trying to use them when you’re out. I have another place I can use.”

“I don’t want to interfere with your work. I mean, you were here before me.”

That was accommodating of him. “But this is your home, and you deserve to be comfortable.”

“I’ll let you know if there’s a problem, but there shouldn’t be. Thanks again, and I’ll leave you to get your guitars fixed.”

Right. I didn’t have time to chatter. “As long as you’re sure you’ll tell me if what I’m doing interferes with anything you need to do.”

He held back a smile. “I will. Come on, Beast.” Beast growled but stood up. He was still chewing on the towel. Remy frowned at him. “Seriously?”

Grrr , the dog responded.

He walked off, Beast dragging the remains of the towel with him. My gaze lingered on Remy’s ass, because why not…even as I realized I was asking for trouble if I got interested in my ex’s worst rival.

I flexed my fingers and released them. Not my circus, not my monkeys. I didn’t know why I felt protective about this guy. He was old enough, big enough, and fit enough that he didn’t need a luthier watching out for him.

But Ollie. Daniel Rempel was the burr under his saddle that he’d never gotten over. I knew Ollie.

I turned to the guitar I’d been working on. I was doing a fret job for a client and needed to concentrate to do the repair properly. It wouldn’t make noise, and shouldn’t disturb Remy or his dog, but I kept listening for them anyway.

Remy

“You’ll be fine. This isn’t like when I left you with the transportation people. It’s just a few hours, you get to stay here with all your stuff, and I’ll put some peanut butter in your Kong. You’ll hardly know I’m gone.”

Beast growled.

“Learn to live with it. I’m going to a restaurant and they don’t allow dogs. That means you can’t come with me.” I could imagine how people would react. “I can’t leave you in the car either.”

I filled up the Kong, checked that I had the keys for the new truck, and dropped the toy onto the floor. Beast glared.

He’d had a difficult life before I rescued him, even if I didn’t know the details. Living at the cottage this summer he’d gotten so much better. But that wasn’t how my normal life was, and I didn’t really want to be confined 24/7 in one place with my dog.

I hardened my heart and went out the door.

I heard the growling as I went down the steps.

This was okay, I reminded myself. I was allowed to go out to dinner with a friend.

The door to the workshop was closed and there was no sign of Sophie, so Beast shouldn’t disturb anyone even if he did make a fuss.

I reminded myself of that while I followed the directions the truck GPS provided and pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant Hanny had found.

He was waiting outside, hands in his pockets, wearing shorts and a T-shirt, sandals and a snapback.

Like me, he’d avoided any team logo clothing.

We were new to the team, so less likely to be recognized, but better not to call attention to ourselves.

“How’s the truck doing?”

I glanced back at the truck as I chirped it. “It’s handled the trip from the carriage house to here. So far so good.”

He nodded. “What did you do with your own truck?”

“It’s in long-term parking at the Winnipeg airport. I’ll find someplace to take care of it when we play there next month.”

We got a table in the bar area—this was a wings and burgers kind of place, which was fine by me.

Once I had my grocery order delivered, I could worry about eating properly.

We ordered beer, burgers and wings, and sat back to catch up.

Hanny had been in the playoffs last season, though he’d only gone as far as the second round.

He’d been traded to the Aces over the summer.

I hadn’t made the playoffs, so there was less to share.

“So how is the housing situation going? And what’s Otts’s wife like as a roommate?”

I held up my hand, because this seemed like an important difference.

“Not staying with the ex-wife. It’s her brother’s place, and I’m in an apartment over the carriage house?

It’s where Sophie has her workshop. She never said where she lives.

” But she hadn’t parked a car at the workshop. So maybe she was at the main house?

“Right. Sophie is her name. What kind of workshop has she got? She do sewing or something?”

“No, she works on guitars.”

Hanny put down his burger. “You’re shitting me. She’s a luthier? That’s impressive.”

I nodded. It was. Kind of cool. And something Hanny knew more about than me.

“Is she any good?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know shit about guitars.”

“Mine got a bit knocked up on the drive down. I should have her take a look at it. What’s her business called?”

“I’ll ask.”

He picked up his burger. “Weird that the team put you that close to Otts’s wife. You two never got along that well.”

“ Ex -wife. He never got over World Juniors. But he has to know about this, right?”

Hanny looked off to the side, considering. “How else did you get hooked up to stay there?”

Exactly. I didn’t need to worry. Otts must know what was going on. I didn’t want to upset the guy who had control over my season. Even if my main role appeared to be babysitting a hotshot rookie, I was still playing. I was still part of hockey.