Page 86 of Pucking Strong (Jacksonville Rays #4)
“Of course I know. My phone went crazy with all my sisters calling at once. They were ready to come down here and barbecue you until I called them off.”
Hanna bursts into tears. “Teddy, I’m so sorry!”
His eyes go wide as she stumbles into his arms on a stifled sob. He tries to soothe her, patting her back. “Hey, it’s okay. Hanna, we know this has nothing to do with you, okay?”
“They made me look so awful,” she says through her sniffles. “But I would never—Teddy, I’d never break up a marriage. My dad cheated on my mom and left the family when I was nine. So, I know that pain. You have to believe me—”
“We do ,” I assure her, stepping closer.
But Teddy holds up a warning hand, keeping me back. Best to just let her have a good cry. Proximity to me will likely only make it worse.
“You saw the article?” I say at him.
“Oh, I saw. The articles, the videos, the stupid fucking photo diaries. Who knew he had such a ‘bad boy’ streak, huh?” he teases, still patting Hanna’s back. “I guess I bring it out in him. We’ll have to get him a motorcycle to go with his leather jacket.”
Hanna makes a sound between a laugh and a sob.
“You need to call Poppy,” he says over her shoulder. “She needs to know, if she doesn’t already.”
I lean my hip against the island, sipping my coffee. I’ve resigned myself to taking it with milk and sugar. Teddy and Hanna won’t prepare it any other way. “At this point, I don’t know what else we can do, other than let it all die down naturally. The fires of controversy always flame out.”
“But this isn’t just idle gossip now. Hen, this is serious. They have pictures and ‘inside accounts.’”
“All meritless,” I growl.
“Idle gossip about us is one thing. Proof that you’re violent?
That you’re a dangerous liability? This could ruin your chances at future endorsement deals.
Hell, it could get you traded. The Rays won’t want to carry the weight of your new ‘bad boy’ reputation if it will reflect poorly on them.
Neither will any brands looking to keep a family-friendly image. ”
Hanna pulls away from him, her mascara running as she turns to me. “Oh god, this could get you traded?”
Teddy winces, patting her shoulders. “Still not your fault,” he assures her.
Before I can respond, my phone starts buzzing in my pocket. I check the caller ID and see my dad’s name. I look to Teddy, holding up the phone. “I have to take this.”
His eyes go wide. “Is it Poppy? Elin?”
“My dad.” Turning away from the kitchen, I walk down the hall and accept the call. “Hej, Dad.”
“Oh, Henrik, what have you done?”
Closing the door to the bedroom, I sit down on the edge of the bed and try for a tone of levity. “I take it the story about my new devilish reputation has arrived in Sweden?”
“This is no laughing matter, son. A reporter came to the house this afternoon.”
My heart stops. “What?”
“He asked all kinds of questions, upsetting your mother, confusing her with rumors of your infidelity. The questions played with the holes in her memory. She told him you weren’t married. She’s been crying all evening. Now she keeps asking for Petra.”
My rage surges. “Why did you let him in? Why did you speak to the reporter at all? I told you, never talk to the press!”
“I didn’t,” he retorts. “Your mother let him in while I was out in the yard. The man said he was writing an article about your hockey career. He asked for pictures from your time in the SHL.”
I groan. “Dad, any pictures he could ever need are already publicly available. Or he could contact the teams I played for directly. Same for the NHL. He doesn’t need to go to my mother.”
“Yes, well, you know how she gets confused. By the time I came inside, she’d already sat him down with coffee. She denied you were married. I assured him that you were. But then he kept asking whether you had a violent nature as a child, which upset her greatly.”
“He was just trying to get a new angle on the story making the rounds in the American papers.”
“He showed us the pictures of you and that poor nurse,” Dad goes on. “Henrik, infidelity is so distasteful. I’ll admit, I’m surprised at you.”
“It’s not true,” I shout. “Dad, I am very happily married to Teddy. Hanna is our employee. She’s Karolina’s nurse. Nothing inappropriate has ever taken place. Not even close.”
“Well, why put yourself in the position to be compromised in the first place?”
“If greeting someone on a public street is proof of infidelity, then we are all unfaithful every day of our lives!”
We’re both quiet for a moment. My chest rises and falls with each breath as I clench my fist, trying to calm down.
“Son, we’re just worried about you,” he finally says. “You’ve been so careful to keep your reputation all about hockey.”
I huff a laugh, shaking my head. “No, Dad. All I had was hockey.”
“What?”
Rising to my feet, I pace into the bathroom. “Before Karolina came to stay with me, before Teddy, all I had was hockey. It was my whole life.”
“Well, you were dedicated.”
“I was a ghost! Practice and games, practice and games. Planes, busses, hotel rooms. I had no life, Dad. No friends. No focus, no dreams, no plans. Nothing outside of hockey and the four of you. Then Petra died, and I wanted the earth to swallow me too. But then Teddy and Karro came into my life, and now …”
Dad waits. “And now, son?”
I smile, looking around at the mess in my bathroom. Teddy’s hair products are piled on the edge of the counter. Karro’s bath toys litter the floor of the shower. My gaze settles on the lonely sink, and I laugh, dragging a hand through my hair. “God, Dad, now I have so many plans.”