Damn it. Even Kenny’s teasing words were enough to spike Ike’s temperature. He did not need to remember what that had been like with Tracy. “I know for a fact we’re not compatible.”
“How do you know unless you give it a sho—” Kenny stopped and stared at him. “Holy cannoli. You already did it, didn’t you?”
Although Ike had never told anyone what had happened, Kenny and his other brothers had picked up on something between him and Tracy—perhaps the electricity in the air whenever they were together—and delighted in giving him crap about her. Maybe if he admitted it, they’d lay off. “A long time ago. It didn’t work out. Game over.”
Kenny studied him, his usually happy-go-lucky expression serious. “That sucks.”
“Yeah.” His brother didn’t know how much.
By unspoken agreement, they walked back toward Maggie’s hospital room.
“Are you starting in goal again tomorrow night, bro?”
“For sure.” Ike appreciated the change of subject. “What about you? Are you playing? Did the extra practice sessions help?”
Kenny’s confidence had been knocked when Coach Macarty had made him a healthy scratch for the past couple of games. Ike had reassured him that it wasn’t unusual for a player in his first season with an NHL team to struggle—the game was much faster and harder than in the minors—but his brother wouldn’t be happy until he was back in the lineup.
“Coach said he’d let me know in the morning.” Kenny sighed. “It wasn’t so bad. Watching from the press box gave me a different perspective on how the game is played here, so my positioning on the wing should be better. I just need a chance to put what I’ve learned into practice.”
Ike clapped his brother on the back. “Keep at it, kid, and after the All-Star break in January, it’ll click.”
“I hope so. I want to do my part, but I feel like I’m a step slower than everyone else.”
“Right now, we all need to pick up our play, and that includes our big-money guys.”
The Cats’ start to the new season had been okay, but not great. They were fourth in their division and a couple of places out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. But their points tally masked the real win-loss picture; the extra points they’d gotten for going to overtime or a shoot-out blurred the fact that they’d lost every freaking one.
Man, he hated shoot-outs and not just because he was 0-for-4 so far. Damn skills contest. They might as well toss a freaking coin. The Cats had lost a couple of their shoot-out stars when his brother Tru had moved to Denver and Vlad had returned to Russia, and to date no one else had stepped up. Sure, Ike could do better, too, but he needed a little help from his teammates. Like at least one of them could score. Then again, they weren’t scoring much during regulation, either. Worse, they couldn’t hold on to a one-goal lead. The number of times the Cats had given up the tying goal in the last two minutes of a game was plain crazy.
They were all adjusting to the new coach’s “run and gun” style. The veterans, like Ike, Jake and the captain, Scotty Matthews, preferred a more defensively responsible system, where even their best forwards would back-check to help out. The kids liked the focus on offence, but tended to be a bit wild. Shots on net hadn’t gone up. Goals sure as hell hadn’t, either. Ike had had to play out of his mind to scrape the wins they’d got.
Still, Kenny needed reassurance from his oldest brother, not a lecture. “The season’s only a month old. Things’ll get better. Besides, everyone has to sit out at some point in their career. Even JB Larocque.”
“Sure, but no one’s going to send a superstar like JB down to the minors if he doesn’t deliver. I don’t want to go back to riding the bus now that I’ve made it to the show.”
Jake came out of Maggie’s room in time to hear Kenny’s words. “Hang in there, bro. It’ll work out.”
Kenny grinned. He didn’t stay down about anything too long. “If you old guys say so, I guess I’ll be okay.”
Ike cuffed his brother around the head. “You need to learn to respect your elders and betters, brat.”
“Yeah, but I’m only seeing elders here.”
“We old guys have clout with the boss. You don’t want to be benched because you gave us too much lip.” Despite Ike’s ribbing, he was proud to have Kenny playing alongside him.
“This is why I need Tru here.” Kenny shook his head. “He has a sense of humor.”
“Speaking of which, I called him to give him the news,” Jake said. “He’s going to try to stay an extra day when the Avalanche comes east in December.”
“It’ll be good to see him.” Ike grinned. “It feels weird not to have him skating with us.”
They’d all been shocked when the Cats had shown Tru the door during the off-season instead of re-upping his contract. Hardshaw and Macarty had favored the Canucks’ stud defenseman, Troy Davidson, over the second-oldest Jelinek brother. Unfortunately, Davidson hadn’t yet shown the form he’d had in Vancouver, which had made Tru’s absence more difficult.
“Yeah.” Jake sighed. “At least he’s enjoying Denver. He’s slotted into the team well and the Avs are doing better than anyone expected.”
“That’s because we taught him everything he knows,” Ike said loftily.
They all laughed as they headed back into the hospital room.
Despite his best intentions, Ike’s heart squeezed when he saw Tracy cradling baby Joe. Her expression was soft and adoring as she murmured nonsense to her drowsy nephew. The maternal look suited her. He couldn’t understand why she preferred contracts and clients over a child of her own.
Perhaps Ike was projecting his own feelings. His career wouldn’t last forever. He hadn’t considered what he’d do once it was over; he didn’t like to think about it. That was tempting fate. The hockey gods had a funny way of knocking you on your ass when you thought everything was set. But as retirement loomed closer, he’d begun to feel frustrated that his personal life had stalled. It wasn’t as if he were a monk—he’d dated lots of nice women. Seeing Jake and Tru so happy in their marriages had made Ike question why he hadn’t been able to find anyone special.
The answer was simple. He hadn’t thought seriously about a woman since Tracy. Because of Tracy. Even now, four years later, the shock of her turning him down flat ricocheted through him. He hadn’t even proposed, just asked if she wanted to move in with him.
“Your turn. I have to go.”
Ike blinked as Tracy handed him the baby. The little dude snuggled into Ike’s neck; the scent of baby powder laced with a hint of Tracy’s perfume assailed him.
“Leaving so soon?” He hadn’t meant the question to sound accusing.
“I need to phone my mum and let her know she has a grandchild.” Tracy’s icy tone was the stinging rebuke her words weren’t.
“Right. Sure.” He stumbled over his words, but she’d already turned away and was saying goodbye to the others.
Crap. Why was it that when he was around her he couldn’t open his mouth without sticking his big foot in it?
Tracy didn’t acknowledge him again before leaving. Not even when she gently caressed baby Joe’s head. Ike didn’t need his kid brother’s censuring look to know he’d screwed up again.
Maybe it was time to admit he couldn’t handle being around her. He should treat her like any other problem. Do them both a favor and steer clear of her. Out of sight, out of mind. That might even open the door for him to find someone who was better suited to