Faceoff (3 page)

When he walked into his parents’ home an hour later, his mom was in the kitchen making dinner. He headed straight to the fridge and helped himself to a beer.

“How did it go?” she asked him, rinsing some green beans in a colander in the sink.

“The usual.” He drank deeply. “I’m tired of it already.”

“I know.” She smiled. “But you’re doing great.”

He grunted.

“I have some good news for you though,” she said. “Scott MacIntosh is coming home next week with his new baby.”

“Cool.” He and Scott had been best friends pretty much their whole lives, although in the last ten years they’d only seen each other a handful of times. Scott now lived in Vancouver and their paths rarely crossed, although they kept in touch by email. Tag had only met Scott’s wife at the wedding and one other time. “That’s his second kid, right?”

“Yes. So Jenn MacIntosh and I were talking. Scott and his family are heading straight up to the lake when they get in. Jenn and Greg are going to be up there for the next three weeks on holidays. And we decided that we should all go up to the lake for a week. All our boys are home right now. All their kids are home. We could have a big family party up there. Doesn’t that sound great?”

It did sound great. A week of chillaxing at the beach sounded like heaven. But he wasn’t sure if that was possible right now. “I don’t know, Mom. The team has all kinds of shit planned for me.”

She gave him a look. “The season is months away. You can tell them to just back off.”

He laughed. “Sure. I’ll do that.”

“Seriously, Tag. One week without you there isn’t going to hurt them that much.”

True. “Our golf tournament is in three weeks. We have to be back by then for sure.”

“Of course. I already talked to Matt and Logan. Jase and Remi fly in Monday and I know Jase wants to take Remi up to the lake to show it to her. But you don’t have to come until next weekend.”

Huh. Jase and Remi. His little brother had gotten serious about a woman, and it wasn’t the model he’d been dating for a couple of years, it was some little school teacher. But, in a bizarre twist, the supermodel ex-girlfriend was pregnant with Jase’s baby. Tag had no doubt that the model had gotten knocked up on purpose in an attempt to hang onto Jase and his fame and fortune, and this new girlfriend would probably be next. Although Mom and Dad seemed impressed by her from the time they’d met her in Chicago.

No, Tag didn’t envy Jase and his messed-up life. He much preferred his single, no strings attached life.

“Okay, I’ll see what I can do. Maybe we can rearrange some stuff.”

She smiled. “Thank you. Can you imagine? It’s been years since both our families were all together.”

“Yeah. It has.” Seeing old friends like Scott was good. Scott’s younger brother Michael was the same age as Jase and they’d probably be happy to see each other again. And then there was Scott’s little sister, Kyla. Tag couldn’t help but smile at remembering her, how she’d trailed after the six boys, trying so hard to be one of them and how hopeless it had been. Poor little Kyla. Totally outnumbered by the boys. Totally outdone by them. All six boys had been athletic and energetic and she had been…not.

“Michael still lives here, right?”

“Yes that’s right.”

“Still single?”

“Yes.”

“And how about Kyla?”

His mom looked at him with a smile. “You be nice to her.”

He laid a hand on his chest. “When was I ever not nice to her?”

“You boys used to torture her unmercifully.”

“She loved us.”

Mom shook her head. “Maybe so, although I have no idea why. Anyway, yes, Kyla still lives here. She works at a big law firm.”

“Oh yeah. She did want to be a lawyer. She always was kind of geeky-smart.”

His mom grinned and bent her head to the salmon she was sprinkling fresh dill over. “Geeky. Well. I guess you haven’t seen her for a while.”

He drank more beer, leaning against the counter. “Yeah. How long has it been? I don’t even remember.” Totally not true. He shrugged. “When’s dinner?”

“About an hour.”

“Okay. I’m going to take a shower. Matt and Logan and I are going out tonight.”

“Ah.” She nodded. “Behave yourselves.”

“Mom. We’re adults.”

She gave a soft snort. “So’s your brother Jase and that didn’t stop him from getting into trouble.”

Tag repressed his grin, remembering Jase’s arrest a few months earlier. Really, getting arrested was serious stuff. It shouldn’t be funny. Jase had caught hell from all directions for that little mishap. He couldn’t wait to rib his little brother about it though.

“Just remember,” Mom continued. “The whole city is watching you now.”

He sighed and clunked his empty bottle down on the granite counter. “Yeah. Thanks for the reminder.”

* * * * *

Tag leaned against the bar at Harmony, loud music thumping in the darkness, strobe lights pulsing over the crowded dance floor. He lifted his beer to his lips.

“I’m too old for this,” he muttered to his brothers.

“Yeah, you are,” Matt said. “It’s embarrassing, actually.”

Tag’s lips twitched. He shifted position and caught the eye of a girl at the end of the bar who was blatantly giving him the eye. She stood with two other girls dressed in skimpy halter tops and short skirts who were also looking at him and his brothers. She looked like she was barely out of high school. And she probably was. After living in the States where the legal drinking age was higher, coming to a bar here at home, where eighteen-year-olds were legal, was a little disconcerting for Tag. The girl smiled seductively at him. Tag sighed.

Matt, at age twenty, fit in better with the crowd in the bar than Tag did. Even Logan, a few years younger than Tag, fit in better.

“I’m here to keep an eye on you youngsters,” Tag said. “Mom was worried about you.”

“About us? Bullshit.”

Tag grinned. “Remember what Jase did a few months ago. Getting arrested isn’t a good move. I think she’s a little paranoid.”

“No shit. What the hell got into him, anyway?”

“He was obviously hammered,” Matt said.

“Obviously. But that’s not like him,” Logan said. “He’s never been one to drink too much.”

“He’d just found out that Brianne was pregnant,” Tag said, remembering those phone conversations. Christ, Jase was going to be a father. Holy shit. Tag could barely wrap his mind around that concept. “We can give him a hard time about it when he gets here,” he added, smiling at the prospect. “He flies in Monday.”

“We can also bug him about losing the Cup to the Sharks.”

“All the way to the finals and then couldn’t do it.” Matt shook his head.

One of the girls Tag had noticed earlier appeared beside him.

“Hi,” she said, fluttering her mascara-laden eyelashes at Tag. “Can you guys settle something for me and my friends? I keep telling them that you guys are famous hockey players and they don’t believe me.”

Tag sighed inwardly and nodded. Matt smiled at the girl. “I’m not famous,” he said. “But I am a hockey player.”

“Oh.” She looked confused, then looked at Tag. “But
you’re
famous, right? You’re Tag Heller.”

“I am.” He resisted the eye roll and smiled. “These are my brothers, Matt and Logan.”

“I knew it! I saw you on TV the other day! You play for the Jets, don’t you?”

“Yup.”

Tag had no intention of flirting with girls, buying drinks or dancing. But apparently Matt did. The next thing Tag knew, the three girls had joined them, introducing themselves, batting their eyelashes and giggling. He couldn’t bring himself to be rude to fans, even though these girls were probably more puck bunnies than true fans who’d be buying season tickets. He recognized the type after many years in the NHL.

He really was getting too old for this. Why had he agreed to come out to a bar tonight? He was tired and grouchy and that week at the lake away from all the attention and the need to always be “on” was sounding better and better.

Chapter Three

Kyla spent the rest of the week buried in work while fielding calls from various family members inquiring when she was coming up to the cottage, including her brother Scott, who’d called from Vancouver.

“Hey, dude.” She’d broken into a smile on hearing his voice. “I hear you’re coming home.”

“Yeah. We’ll be there Friday.”

“Awesome! I can’t wait to meet my new nephew!” She’d have to find time to pop out and buy presents for both the baby and her niece Emily. Except…she swallowed…what if she didn’t get to see them to give them to them?

“I talked to Mom and she said you weren’t sure if you were going to get up to the lake while we’re there.”

She sighed. “Yeah. I’m just looking at my schedule to see if I can rearrange things. Maybe you guys could all come into the city for a couple of days while you’re here?”

“Maybe.” He sounded doubtful. “I’m really looking forward to relaxing at the cottage. So, Kyla, you’d better be there.”

“Oh man. Now pressure from you too?”

“Mom says you’re working too hard. She thinks you’re about to collapse from exhaustion.”

“I am not! Yeah, I’m working hard, but I have to.”

“Look, Mom’s been sick. I feel awful that I couldn’t be there for her.”

“I was here for her then.” A faintly defensive tone crept into her voice.

“I know you were. But this is a chance for us to all get together. With all our schedules, and with Mom’s cancer scaring the hell out of us all, this is really important, Kyla.”

Her heart tightened in her chest. “I know it is. I’m working on it. Okay?”

“Okay. Good. Emily’s all excited about seeing Auntie Kyla again.”

“Sure, sure, play the guilt card,” she muttered, rubbing her temples. “Mom already did that too. God, even Dad did! What is with you guys?”

“We love you,” Scott said and she heard the amusement in his voice. “Not sure why sometimes, you workaholic bitch, but we do.”

She laughed. “Thanks a lot. I’ll have you know I come from an entire family of workaholics.”

“I know you do. But lately…well, family’s important.”

“Becoming a father is making you go all soft.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “That along with Mom’s cancer. So we’ll see you next weekend. Right?”

“I’ll try.”

It wasn’t going to happen. She tried to figure out a way to rearrange things so she could take that week off and make her parents happy without pissing off her superiors at work. It hadn’t looked promising, and then they’d announced they were going to name the new partner at the end of the week.

She hated to disappoint her family. And herself. But she was stuck in the city. In the office.

Then it was Friday, the end of the week, the day the decision was supposed to be made. She could barely concentrate on her work, so much nervous energy sizzled through her veins. She could hardly sit still. If she got partner, maybe she’d take the weekend off and go up to the lake just for a couple of days. So she could make the announcement and celebrate with her family. She smiled as she anticipated their reaction, her parents’ pride, her brothers’ teasing, which she knew would hide their own pride in her. God, she
so
wanted that. She bounced a little in her chair. It would be the perfect way to announce it, even if maybe she did have to take some work with her to make it happen.

By mid-afternoon she was getting tired of waiting for it, so she wandered by Jim’s office. The lights were out and the office was empty. She stopped at his assistant’s desk. “Where’s Jim?” she asked, frowning faintly.

“Golfing.” Sandra smiled at her.

Kyla’s eyebrows flew up. “Golfing? I thought they were announcing the new partner today.”

Sandra tipped her head to one side. “Oh. Didn’t he tell you? They decided to put it off for a few more weeks.”

“What! No, he didn’t tell me. He just told me on Monday they were going to do it this week.”

Sandra shrugged. “I guess they changed their minds. Jim’s on holidays for the next two weeks and the other partners start their holidays week after next. Nothing much will be happening around here until August.”

Kyla fought down the pressure rising inside her, the disbelief and…yes, anger. “I see,” she said quietly. “Thanks, Sandra.” Then she paused. “Who’s he golfing with?”

“Alex, Hugh and Joe Pittman.”

Kyla nodded, pressing her lips together. “Great! Nice day for it.”

She returned to her office and stared out the window at the city twenty-nine stories below her, the prairie city spread out so flat you could almost see to the very edges of it, much of the urban landscape richly green with mature trees and parks.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

She’d spent the whole week there busting her butt trying to show them she was ready for the promotion, feeling sick with guilt about that, but determined to show everyone at the firm she was there…and they went golfing. Without her. And didn’t even bother to tell her that everything had changed.

She tapped a pen on the desk. Her chest ached, the muscles in her neck and shoulders burned and even her jaw throbbed from clenching her teeth. Then she jerked when the pen in her hand cracked―she’d tapped it so hard on her desk she’d broken it. She stared at the broken utensil. More pressure built inside her. She wanted to get up and walk out. Just walk out.

She couldn’t do that.

But she could do something.

She hit her computer keyboard and the monitor flickered to life. She pulled up her email program and started tapping away. Half an hour later, she’d rescheduled and delegated and sent out an email telling everyone she was going to be away from the office for the next week. She closed down her computer, started to put some files into her briefcase and stopped. She looked down at them. Her stomach hurt with that familiar gnawing pain. She needed this break. She wasn’t even going to take work with her. She was going to the lake.

It was almost physically painful to leave the office empty-handed, but she forced herself to do it. Walking home along Rorie, she fought the anxiety that tightened her muscles to the point of making it difficult to breathe. This was going to be good. This would be fine.