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JETT

“This is messed up, bro…”

Jett hung his head to calm the painful rumblings of his stomach, drawing in deep breaths to keep from puking on the park bench where he had taken refuge.

They cut him!

They cut him and another player from the team with zero notice. The coach said it was due to his ‘ lack of enthusiasm on the ice’ – but how were you supposed to get ‘ enthusiastic ’ about your team sucking?

They sucked – hard.

It wasn’t funny either.

Suckity-sucked…

He could think of so many other words, but he was trying to clean up his act for his younger brother. That phone call from his mother long ago had left him rattled and a changed man deep-down inside.

It was tough enough to hear your mom was pregnant when you were twenty-one and just starting your career. Knowing that his mother was getting her ‘freak’ on with her boyfriend was not the details he needed – much less knowing it was going to turn an only child into an older sibling.

They had a heckuva age gap.

Jett just celebrated his twenty-ninth birthday and Elton ( because his mother had a thing for the song ‘Bennie and the Jetts’) had just turned eight years old.

He remembered getting picked on for his first name as a kid, so he always called his little brother ‘Big-E’ or ‘E.J.’ because the kid didn’t look like an ‘Elton’ any more than he looked like an airplane.

“I know you are upset, Jett…”

“I’m devastated,” Jett admitted, swallowing back bile as he spoke to the one person whose responsibility it was to get him another job quickly.

He could not tell his younger brother that he’d been fired – not after hearing from his mother about how Elton was idolizing him and had posters all over his bedroom of his big brother.

Apparently, the first day of school had E.J.

wearing Jett’s hockey shirt and the silver chain that he’d given him.

He didn’t know what to get a young boy for his birthday – but making them ‘twins’ had done the trick, and neither Jett nor Elton took off their chains. It was a ‘bro-code’ between them.

“Look, this couldn’t come at a better time…”

“This is awful,” Jett nearly yowled – sounding between a cat about to bring up a hairball and one that just got his tail stepped on.

He reared back from the phone, stunned disbelief pushing his words forward in a rushed manner.

“Maybe you didn’t hear me, Julian? I got cut …

fired … ‘ instantaneous unemployment ’… tres mal ! No more-o dinero, Comprende ?”

… And heard his agent chuckle before the man spoke.

“Oh, I understand you,” Julian replied; his voice was a bit too perky for Jett’s raw emotions right now as he tried to figure out how he was going to let his little brother down.

It wasn’t the money… well, it was - but it wasn’t .

The slight against the Acton name publicly - ouch.

There would be no hiding any of this as soon as the news broke…

and nearly missed his agent’s next words.

“So your Spanish is non-existent, but how is your French?”

“My French?” Jett parroted in disbelief – and groaned. “Maaaaan, did someone tell the media about my nerd award in high school? That’s really not cool – we’re talking salt in the proverbial gushing-wound…”

“ Wait – you actually do speak French?”

“Four years of honor society in high school and a fat scholarship paid for my first two years of college – but I prefer to focus on hockey, bro. Hockey pays the bills for both of us, and I wasn’t cut from the French team today but a…”

“No, I know,” his agent interrupted quickly.

“Oh… then why did you ask if I could speak French?”

“There’s a new team in Quebec…”

“ SAY WHAT ?” Jett shouted, jumping to his feet. “I’m in, bruh! I can be on the next plane to Nova Scotia or wherev’s… you just send me the deets, and I’m there, dude. Can we announce it immediately? Whatcha need me to sign?”

“That’s my boy!” his agent crowed. “I’m so proud of how willing you are to make a change.”

“Heck yeah, bruh. Let’s do this. I’m outta here!

Deuces!” Jett said, kissing his first two fingers on his free hand, holding it up like a middle finger toward the arena in the distance, and then pressing it on his cheek with an exaggerated motion.

“I’m gonna mop them up on the ice when I play ‘em… and then show them what ‘ enthusiasm ’ freakin’ looks like. ”

“Wonderful,” Julian laughed in approval and began to talk rapidly. “I’ll send you the contract right now, and we’ll go over anything you have a question about.”

“I wanna make this quick – like tout suite , bruh…” Jett reminded him, thinking of his brother. “I need to phone my family before they hear about the news and tell them that I’m going to another team.”

“I hear you.”

“Sweet, bruh.”

“I’ll send you the contract so you can sign it digitally, and I’ve already dug up a few house listings for you in Quebec…”

“Nuh-uh,” Jett interrupted again. “I don’t do yard work, bro. Ain’t my style, and I’m not home enough to need a grassy patch for the poochie, if you get my drift. Send me a few swanky condos with a garage – you know the drill.”

“I remember.”

“That’s my guy,” Jett beamed. “Bruh, I am so glad you answered the phone…”

“I’m so glad you got cut, and you are willing to take this change on. I think the Wolverines will be perfect for you, and it’s an incredible roster. They pulled Kenneth Salas, Barrett Coeur, and Liam Savage…”

“Whoa…” he muttered, stunned.

“They are being very selective and requested you.”

“Exactly!” Jett preened, his ego completely stroked and relief filling him, “You hear that?” he hollered over his shoulder toward the arena again as if they could hear him. “They requested me, and you guys can suck it.”

“Yup. Just send me a copy of your marriage license and…”

Cue the record scratch in his very soul.

“I ain’t married!”

“Oh…”

“Whaddya mean ‘ OH ’?” Jett practically shrieked in disbelief.

“You didn’t know that? How did you not know that I’m a single-Pringle-ready-to-mingle?

You’re my agent – you get paid to know me, to keep up with me, and why do you need a marriage license?

” his voice getting louder and more frantic with every word.

If he kept talking over his agent, who was trying to calm him down, he would be shattering glass very soon – or pass out.

His heart was definitely pounding exceedingly hard in his chest with fear.

“It’s just a small glitch…”

“Excuse me? Did you say ‘ glitch ’? Glitch? This is not a glitch , Julian!”

“Jett, calm down…”

“Don’t tell me to calm down! THIS IS MY CALM VOICE! I’M CALMING, brUH – CALM !”

And a few windshields nearby wavered precariously. A flock of birds took off out of the closest trees nearby as well as a few squirrels and chipmunks scrambled for safety, hiding. He was pretty sure he heard the neighborhood dogs in the distance howling.

“Jett – breathe!” Julian said firmly. “I want you to breathe and listen to me – don’t interrupt – let me get this out, and you focus on breathing combined with the words coming from my mouth, okay?”

Jett nodded, dragging air into his lungs. His eyes were pinched tight as he stood there, dragging in breath after breath, trying not to have a complete meltdown in the middle of the day in some park that was surprisingly empty.

“It’s not the end of the world that you are single – but it is a requirement…”

“Oh gawwsh …”

“Jett! Breathe!”

“Breathing,” he immediately panted, his hands trembling as he drew in another lungful, imagining the disappointment on his brother’s face.

His mom was always cool in that mom-ish way, but his little bro had those big owlish eyes that made mincemeat of his soul, and he freakin’ loved the little dude with an all-encompassing brotherly bond that was nothing short of amazing.

The fact that his brother looked up to him was everything – and Jett was flailing right now.

“Find someone,” Julian said in a calming voice, “find someone and marry them on paper. Let them know we can annul the marriage in a few months or a year – and that this is just for show. Find someone, phone a friend, do whatever you need to, but get me that piece of paper, and we are golden, Jett.”

“Find… someone…” he breathed, testing the words.

“Exactly. Find someone, go to a nearby store, call someone, call an ex-girlfriend, or marry the first person you find… and we can unravel it once you have the job.”

“I can undo this.”

“You can undo this.”

“Find… someone… and we can undo this later,” Jett whispered.

“Precisely. Now, get moving so I can make the announcement this evening if you can get a marriage license to me this afternoon. Get the marriage license, text me, and we’re golden.”

“Got it.”

“Now – get to it, and I’ll send you the details.”

Jett nodded erratically, his heart still thudding in his chest. He needed to find someone to marry him…

fast. Scrolling through the contacts on his phone, he flinched, winced, and grimaced several times.

Yeah – old girlfriends were not going to be a good idea.

There would be apologies for imaginary stuff he was accused of, groveling, or demands for a big rock, a big wedding, or an even bigger honeymoon.

No, he needed a stranger… someone easygoing and low maintenance. He needed someone who would be thrilled to have a handsome and rich hockey star even looking their way – with no questions asked.

“I need a nerd,” he whispered as it clicked in his brain. “I need a bookish nerd that isn’t too smart so I can sweet talk her into getting married immediately… but where do I find a girl like that?”

And in that moment, he heard a car horn honk in the distance, causing him to look over his shoulder – spotting a coffee shop bookstore that he never noticed before. It was like the heavens were smiling on him, and he could use all the help he could get right now.

“Bingo…” Jett breathed.

Running across the grass like a madman possessed, he barely looked both ways as he burst into the coffeeshop, causing everything to pause for a moment. He raised a hand and gave a very distracted smile at no one in particular as he whispered ‘hey’ in the form of a greeting to no one in particular.

The place was full of books with tiny little leather chairs tucked in corners. Some of the chairs had little platforms on the armrest to hold a cup of coffee whereas others were neatly arranged around a teensy table the size of a dinner plate.

Angling his neck, he peered down a few of the aisles to see if someone suitable was possibly perusing the shelves for a book. He craned his neck the other direction – and heard a voice interrupting him the moment his eyes zeroed in on a curvy form in pink cashmere.

“Can I help you?” the older woman said, glaring at him.

“Uh, coffee, please,” Jett replied, scrambling to fit in and needing an opening to talk to his pretty pink princess in the back corner to see if she was single. Of course she is, he thought as he glanced up at the small menu. “Um, I’ll have whatever an ‘Emily Brew-tee’ is.”

“Emily Brew- tay ,” she corrected, stressing the enunciation. “Like the author?”

“Of course,” he fibbed, beaming. “I love all her work. She writes amazing stuff.”

“Stuff?” the woman gaped, looking at him in shock. “ Wuthering Heights? Her variety of poems? It’s not stuff, young man. Her many works are an art form and…”

“I was testing you,” Jett interrupted, tossing her a wink as he put down a twenty-dollar bill. “And you passed. I’m very familiar with her poems from when I was in college – and the movie was fairly decent, but I’m more of a sci-fi-kinda-guy.”

“How am I not surprised?” the dry tone and the finality of her words seemed to end the conversation as he moved back from the counter to go take a peek at his pink puffball.

He was going to be there for a moment – and if the face matched the rest of the outfit.

He’d been on a few dates where someone wore something hot that struck his fancy only to realize the girl was a ‘two-bagger’.

That joke was something the guys on the team always joked about because if they slept with an ugly girl, it would take two bags over her head to accomplish the feat. He wasn’t proud to have laughed at the joke, having indulged in a few ‘ give-her-a-chance’ dates of his own… and held his breath.

Peering around the corner, he hesitated before almost sighing in relief.

She wasn’t ugly… so that was a plus… but she wasn’t exactly his type either. He liked them tall, blonde, leggy, and with a little less brain than what this girl obviously had.

She looked smarter than what he was looking for, but if he was going to be married to someone for even a little while, she had to be somewhat pleasant to deal with, and truthfully, sometimes stupid girls were annoying.

Fine , he’d work with the whole ‘smart-girl-scene’ and see what happened. Squinting his eyes, he drank in her appearance, studying everything.

No ring on her finger.

In fact, no jewelry at all.

Good .

That meant she was low maintenance… maybe too low? Her hair wasn’t really fixed up, nor did it have any frippery to make it seem styled. No, her straight brown hair was parted in the middle almost accentuating her nose like a focal point right before she sipped her coffee and went back to reading.

Plain.

Curvy.

Not ugly… score!

And smart.

Yup.

She’d do nicely.

Well, hello, Mrs. Acton, he thought, smiling. That spot on the Wolverines is as good as mine!