Page 9 of The Sweet Spot (Kodiaks Hockey #3)

Chapter Nine

Wolseley

T he worst part about being back in the same city with my two best friends was that they were busy with their jobs. While I didn’t love high school like Tangi did, days like today were when I missed it most. The opportunity to just sit around and hang out with my friends. I did get the chance to tell them about my job offer and how I’d accepted it. Jill had chastised me for not negotiating—or letting her negotiate—even though she admitted I was being paid well, while Tangi congratulated me and sent a virtual hug.

While they worked, I’d been making menu plans and doing research. I had to find appropriate meals for Brandon in thirty other cities! After I’d accepted his job offer, he gave me the rundown of what made up his day. I already knew about the five thousand or so calories a day he had to eat, but he broke down how his meals went. I would have a breakfast and lunch ready for him, a smaller pregame dinner, and then a postgame dinner for game days. On nongame days, he wanted three meals and plenty of snacks.

For road trips, he’d provide a schedule, but since the team provided some meals, it looked like I would only have to find him meals when the Kodiaks were on their own. At least it wasn’t too onerous. Like a mom, I’d be sending him on road trips with more than enough snacks, and now that I’d found the perfect protein powders, making all those snacks tasty was so much easier.

The time suck was finding meals outside Vancouver, but I had a secret weapon: chef friends from around the country. I spent the entire day mapping and messaging them, and by late afternoon, I had twenty of the thirty cities covered. I sent each of my chef friends Brandon’s criteria and looked forward to their replies. By the time Tangi and Jill were home from work, my brain was mush, and I needed my friends.

To make it easy on Tangi, we met at her place after dinner. Tangi was getting Maddy ready for bed, and Ethan was recovering from the last day of physicals. He’d had dinner and was gaming with some of the guys but planned to make it an early night. I would have my friends to myself.

“Tell us everything,” Tangi said, pouring two glasses of wine. I noted she didn’t pour one for herself, and I’d ask about that later.

“I told you that the tasting went well. I spent the whole day tracking down places to get him meals when he’s on the road. My job officially starts next week. I have a lot of meal planning to do. The last thing I want is for him to eat repeats all the time. No one wants to keep eating the same food.”

Tangi snorted, caught herself, and giggled. “Ethan pretty much eats the same thing every day. I don’t know how he does it. He will deviate a bit, but it’s pretty boring.”

“I’m not going to make it boring for Brandon. I have to earn my wage.”

“And what he offered you was great,” Tangi said.

“Especially if you land Ryan too,” Jill added.

Tangi poured herself what looked like lemonade and shot Jill a glare. “Why are you pushing so hard with Ryan? Do you know something? Because none of this is making sense. You’re obsessed with the poor guy.”

Jill had pale skin made paler with the lack of sun in Vancouver. At least over the summer in Minnesota, she managed to get a bit of color on her face, so when she flushed a bit, we both knew something wasn’t right.

“No,” she said quickly.

“What do you know?” I asked, sipping my wine.

“Nothing I should share.”

Tangi tilted her head. “You think we’re going to let you get away with that answer?”

“Really, I can’t,” Jill said, putting on her serious and stern face, not that Tangi and I were going to be discouraged by it.

“I think you can, and at this point, you better.”

Jill groaned as she pushed away her wine glass. “All right, but this is strictly between the three of us. Tang, you can’t tell Ethan, and Wolseley, you can’t tell Brandon. Got that?”

Something about the way she said that, about including me with Brandon, was kind of nice. Not that he and I would ever be a thing.

“Of course. Spill it,” Tangi said, knowing I would never breathe a word.

“Ryan has been having some issues. He’s getting help from the players’ assistance program. I found out by accident because we got some of the paperwork. I don’t know the specifics, but, of course, the gossip has started. If I had to guess, it’s alcohol or drugs.”

Jill was a little too flip about it, mostly because that was part of her fa?ade. She maintained a wall of strength, wanting no one to see the real her, but she wasn’t fooling me. Deep down, she probably felt bad for Ryan. Despite that, her coldness was still off-putting.

“It could be a mental health issue,” I said. “It’s possible he’s dealing with things we don’t know about. We shouldn’t jump to conclusions.”

Jill glanced at me, her shoulders sagging a bit. I hadn’t meant to put her in her place, and she knew that based on her reaction. “You’re right, but whatever it is, he needs help. And that help could come from some healthy eating.”

Tangi and I had no idea what to say to that. Jill had simplified someone’s possible addiction with some healthy eating. But then again, Jill normally only saw things in black and white, and only on rare occasions did she manage to see some gray in the middle. In order to not have us arguing for the rest of the night, I chose to segue out of the conversation.

“That would help. But I want to know what Tangi is keeping from us. I have a sneaking suspicion she has some news.”

I knew Tangi well enough that she was silently thanking me for the change of subject. She smiled from ear to ear.

“I was going to wait a few more weeks to tell you guys, but how can I keep this from you? I’m pregnant!”

I sort of figured it out, but hearing it from Tangi’s mouth made it all the sweeter. I leapt up and gave her a huge hug. Jill did the same.

“When are you due?” I asked.

“May, so it’s early days. I was hoping not to get pregnant so soon, but no changing that now.”

“I’m so happy for you,” I said. “I get to be an auntie again! And Maddy will be a big sister.”

“I’m happy for you guys too,” Jill said. “I figured it was a matter of time before we got this news.”

“Hence no wine,” Tangi said. “So you two better drink up so this bottle doesn’t go to waste.”

Jill and I were on our second glass when Tangi ventured into dangerous territory and asked Jill about her future plans with Jeremy. Jill had a history of keeping mum about the men in her life, and she’d been more open about Jeremy, but she still seemed to hold back, so when Tangi pressed, I braced for Jill’s shutdown mode.

“Have you and Jeremy set a firm date? Made any plans?”

Instead of pivoting to something else, Jill surprised me with an answer.

“I know neither of you want to hear this, especially his family, but we were thinking of something small and a destination wedding. And before you complain about that, hear me out. I don’t want my mother there. So if Jeremy and I get married in Italy, France, Tokyo, Siberia, or Timbuktu, she won’t come. She’ll whine about not being able to afford it, and when she hints that I should pay for it, I’ll say to her what she said to me for all those years: 'Honey, it’s just not in the budget to bring you along.'”

“You are savage,” Tangi said as she giggled.

Jill nonchalantly shrugged. “I don’t owe her anything. I made peace with my relationship with her. She’s toxic, and I don’t want her toxicity in my life or ruining my wedding day.”

“You’re sure you don’t want to try to fix things?” I asked. “She’s your mom.”

Jill shot me a glare I probably deserved. Jill’s mom was a piece of work. Probably one of the worst mothers ever. I shouldn’t even have suggested it, but the part of me that wanted everyone to be happy and get along wouldn’t shut up.

“She gave birth to me. That’s about it.”

Her statement struck me hard. I should have known better and not walked into that. My friends and I rarely discussed that me and my brother were adopted. My parents were all I’d ever known. I was barely two years old, and Craig had just turned four. Mom and Dad had been amazing, giving us love and everything we ever needed. I’d told Jill and Tangi I was adopted when I’d met them in middle school, but other than once or twice, we’d never discussed it because it wasn’t important to me. Yes, I was curious about my birth parents, but they’d never sought us out, and we’d never looked for them. The only thing I knew about them was that my mother was from Minnesota, and my father was from Canada. Mom and Dad had been smart, seeing a future opportunity, and made sure that Craig and I maintained our Canadian citizenship just in case. They’d also started college funds for us; they put us in every sport imaginable even though I was a total disaster at all of them; they sent us to fun camps in the summer; we went to plays and operas—Mom and Dad did everything at least once, and if we liked it, we kept on doing it. And that’s how I became a chef. Mom had us take kids’ cooking classes, and I was hooked.

“Fair enough,” Tangi said. “Have you guys thought about when?”

“Next summer, probably early August. We haven’t even picked a place.”

“And babies?” Tangi asked.

Jill arched a brow. “We are still negotiating that. I think he’s got me up to one. But that’s it. If he had his way, it would be a dozen, but then again, he doesn’t have to birth them.”

With the lightened conversation, we finished our wine, and Jill and I shared an Uber back to our places downtown.

“I was an ass about the Ryan thing, wasn’t I?” Jill said.

“A bit.”

“I’m working on that. Thank you for shutting me up before I went down a very horrible path. ”

I smiled. “You’re welcome. Isn’t that what friends are for?”

“I get that he’s probably going through things. I should have cared about that, and in retrospect, I do. I hope Ryan gets what he needs.”

The Jill I liked to see had finally gotten it. That’s why I loved her so much. She wasn’t perfect and didn’t try to be. And I couldn’t express enough how happy I was to have my two best friends around.