Offside (66 page)

“Yes.” Scott let out a rough sound, half between a laugh and a groan. “Get my stuff. Tell Jimmy I’m fucking done.” His shoulders shifted as though a massive weight had just been lifted from them. He tipped his head back. “I’m done.”

“Good.”
No. Fucking perfect.
Zach hugged Scott, then went to tell Becky he’d see her tonight.

She worried her bottom lip with her teeth, glancing over at Scott as he returned to his seat with a bowl. Casey offered him her cereal, and Scott nodded, letting her pour him a huge helping. Becky pulled Zach aside as the two bent their heads together to talk smack about the Sabres, who the team would be playing tonight.

“It was Jimmy, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. But don’t worry, I’m handling it.”

“What about Scott? Is he okay?” She lowered her voice, even though they were both already speaking too quietly for either Scott or Casey to hear. “Should I stay with him? If I call Mr. Keane and explain—”

“No. This stays between us. The only other person who knows is Tim, and I trust him not to say anything.” Zach smiled as Scott used his spoon to snap a piece of cereal off the table into Casey’s bowl. “Scott’s got a full schedule today between seeing Stephan about the Rose charity and the fan meet and greet before the game. He’ll be fine. You go to work. Keep things as normal as possible.”

“All right.” The doorbell rang and Becky hurried down the hall to open it and let her mother in. Zach kissed Casey’s cheek, patted Scott’s shoulder, then went to say hello and goodbye to Erin before pulling on his shoes and heading out. He made one stop, then went straight to Scott’s place.

Jimmy sat outside in his beat-up, once red Toyota POS. He watched Zach climb off his bike, rolling his window down about half way as Zach strode toward him.

“Hey, I don’t want no trouble, man.” Jimmy scooted back in his seat, eyeing the door as though to make sure it was locked. “I just wanted to make sure Scott’s okay.”

“Sure you do.” Zach’s lips curled away from his teeth as he stared down at the despicable excuse for a man. Much as he wanted to beat the fucker to a bloody pulp, Jimmy wasn’t worth risking even one game to busted knuckles or a night in a jail cell. “We both know why you’re here. You want money.”

“He owes me—”

“He. Owes. You.
Nothing
.” Zach practically spit out each word. He could feel the bile rising in his throat as he braced his hand at the top of the rust-eaten door. Being near this man was about as pleasant as trudging through manure. Actually, he’d prefer to be knee-deep in shit. He stuffed his hand into his pocket, pulling out the cashier’s check he’d had made up at the bank. He reached through the open window and flicked it into Jimmy’s face. “Take this. Consider it your final, get-the-fuck-out-of-his-life, payment. And don’t you dare come back begging for more, because you won’t get another cent. If this isn’t enough to pay off the people you owe, they can fucking bury you. Scott is done. Got it?”

Jimmy’s eyes were wide as he held the check in front of him and gaped at the amount. He nodded quickly. “Got it. This is . . . thank you. It’s plenty.” He gave Zach a yellow-toothed grin. “Fuck, he’s still got it. He really nailed you, didn’t he?”

All the muscles in Zach’s body tightened like thick steel cords fused around his bones, the way they did before he dropped the gloves on the ice to defend a teammate. He straightened, not sure he wanted to test his control by being any closer to the man than necessary. “Don’t thank me. This is for him.”

“Whatever.” Jimmy folded the check carefully and slipped it into his pocket. “You tell my brother that he’s not gonna have the game forever. Or his good looks. One day he’s gonna be a nobody, and he’ll have nothing because he’s never had any business sense. You tell him, if he’s real nice, I may consider helping him out. Because I’m gonna make it big. Maybe I’ll end up buying the stupid team he loves so much, and then I’ll give him a cushy job because that’s the kind of brother I am.”

If that ever happens, Scott will have the strength to tell you where to go himself.
Zach gave Jimmy a cold look, not willing to waste another breath on the loser.

Jimmy shrugged. “I’d wish you luck for the game tonight, but I’m a gambling man and all odds are against you. Just try not to embarrass yourselves.”

For a moment the man sat there, as though waiting for some kind of reaction. When Zach didn’t give him one, he shrugged again and pulled out. Zach stood at the side of the street, watching the red car until it turned. Then stayed a little longer, not sure why the tension within hadn’t eased with Jimmy gone. Scott had told Zach how much money he usually gave his brother. What Zach had given Jimmy should tide him over for a very long time.

Or it could be tossed on a table that very night and lost. Zach shoved his hands in his pockets and crossed the street, making his way up to Scott’s condo to collect Scott’s things. He knew very well he might have just exposed himself as someone else Jimmy could leech off of, but he had time to figure out how to deal with it. Jimmy was his problem now.

It was worth whatever the cost to protect Scott. Money meant nothing compared to seeing the man he loved smile again. To see the shadows fade from his eyes. To see him finally free.

S
crambling for the puck, Scott threw his body into the Sabres’ center, leaning all his weight into the other man as he scooped the puck out from beneath his own skates for a pass to Pischlar. Ramos charged up from behind them, brushing off a hard check to receive a pass from Pischlar and drive into the offensive zone. He snapped the puck to White, well prepared when it came back to him as two hulking defensemen crowded the tenacious left winger.

Cobras were on a power play after Vanek received a vicious slash from Nelson, the Sabres’ captain. For a bit, it had seemed like the Cobras might lose a man to roughing when the teams had crowded in the corner, not a single man willing to put up with Vanek becoming a target after his long absence. But Vanek had wrestled his way into the center of the tussling group to let Mason and Ramos know he was fine. He had a bloody lip, but he shrugged off the trainer, determined to let the team know they had to get back at the Sabres where it counted.

On the scoreboard.

That, Scott could handle. He drove hard to the net, angling his stick blade as Ramos took a hard shot. The crack of the puck on the base of his stick reverberated through his arms. The lights flashed. The sirens sounded. And Scott couldn’t believe it. He missed his opportunity to do some showy kind of celebration as the ref signaled that the goal was good. His teammates were all around him, shouting at him and pushing him toward the bench for congrats from the rest of the guys.

This was the first game in a while that they had enough of a lead for the Cobras to feel good about. Hunt wasn’t letting anything by him. The score was 5-0, end of the second period. The fans were going crazy, and he could practically hear the front rows jabbering about the Cup already.

Awesome, but part of him was waiting for this period to end. Because between the second period and the third, he knew what was coming. Something that would have a bigger impact on his life than raising that silver trophy over his head. Not much could top that, but this would. He felt himself shaking as the puck was dropped, and he touched it with his stick without any real effort because there was less than a second left. As most of the men headed off, he held still, watching the scoreboard. The cameras fixed on Zach as he stepped onto the ice.

A murmur from the crowd had the men heading off, those that didn’t already know, pausing and looking around curiously. Those that were in on this hadn’t moved. Ramos, Carter, Vanek. Pischlar and White. Tim, leaning over the boards, a broad grin on his face. Mason by his side, his smile a little sad.

Zach took a knee as the song “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman” by Bryan Adams played loud on the speakers. Well-timed, the big screen switched to Becky, in the press box.

God, she looked beautiful, her dark brown hair pulled away from her face with a few loose strands left to frame it. Her grey eyes were wide. She’d taken off her harsh grey suit jacket, and her pearl colored shirt brought out the beautiful shade of pink coloring her cheeks. She brought her hand to her mouth.

A microphone was pinned to Zach’s collar. Zach held out the ring he and Scott had chosen together, taking a moment to look down at the words engraved in the rose gold, across from the four embedded diamonds. Then he looked at Scott, smiling.

That smile served to engrave those same words in Scott’s heart.
The four of us. Always.
He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from showing more emotion than he cared to let the cameras catch. The words came as close to everything Scott wanted to say as anything could. Zach was in a position to have Becky and Casey for his own. But he wouldn’t leave Scott out. And, for the first time ever, Scott truly felt like he belonged.

He let out a laugh as the screen showed Casey and Erin Bower—who hadn’t left for Gaspe as “planned.” Then Landon, standing with them in the space just past the benches. He was holding his baby and his smile was just as big as anyone’s. He was happy for his sister. He’d seen the ring before the game and knew exactly what those words meant. And he’d hugged Scott just as hard as he’d hugged Zach, calling him his brother. He didn’t doubt that Becky would say yes.

But Zach, Zach had his doubts. And he’d shared them with Scott.

“What am I doing?” Zach had paced the locker room for fifteen minutes, not half as long as he’d paced after picking up the ring they’d gone to customize the week before, but long enough to get Scott’s heart pounding. What if Zach chickened out? Scott couldn’t see himself being a good husband, but Zach had made it clear that’s what he was agreeing to when the words were set in gold. Not legally, but in every way that counted. If Zach was uncertain, where did that leave Scott? Scott was the
last
man any woman should want to spend forever with. And Zach hadn’t made it any easier when he’d kept talking. “I’ve done this before. The woman said yes. But neither of us followed through.”

“She wasn’t Becky.” Scott cut Zach off, stopping his pacing because he couldn’t stand it anymore. “And you didn’t have me.”

“True.” Zach scraped his nails over his freshly shaved head. He held up the ring. “Do you really think she’ll like it?”

“I know she will.” Scott smirked, well aware that it would get Zach’s balls in a knot. His nice, heavy, tasty balls. Scott was looking forward to having them in his mouth before the night was over. Much easier to deal with than all this uncertainty. He snatched the ring to admire it. “Hell, I chose it. You’ve been with too many men since that ‘one’ you thought was the end all. If you’re still hung up on her, I’m gonna take this ring back to the jeweler’s and switch the words to ‘The three of us.’ This ring is so Becky. Not too showy. More meaning than flash. I’m so taking all the credit.”

“Scott, those words, do you really get it?” Zach had faced him, shiny beads of sweat on his temples. “Always. Forever. Long-term.”

“Yeah, I graduated, Zach, I know what those words mean.”

“Do you? I mean really. Seriously. Because when I stand in front of the judge, I’ll be speaking for us both. This includes you.” Zach gave him a long, passionate kiss, and every man in the locker room saw it. There was no mistaking the implications. “Forever.”

“Zach, I’m here.” Scott pressed his hands to the sides of Zach’s face, wondering if the man wasn’t a little damaged himself. He repeated those same words, not sure he could say it any better. “I’m here.”

The sound of Zach clearing his throat quieted the crowd in the stands. Overhead, the screen was split in half to show Zach and Becky, side by side. Becky had tears in her eyes. Scott ran his finger under the collar of his jersey, sure it had gotten a bit snugger.

“Rebecca Bower, I love you more than I ever thought myself capable. We didn’t make it easy for one another, but all that trial and error showed me one very important thing. Nothing feels right without knowing I’ll be coming home to you.”

Zach paused, his cheeks reddening slightly as the crowd let out a unified “Awww.” He stole a look at Scott, and Scott gave him an encouraging smile. Zach squared his shoulders. “I rehearsed a much longer speech, but Scott told me getting straight to the point would be best.” The edges of Zach’s lips quirked into a half-smile as the screen showed Casey again, bouncing up and down, waving. “I see you, baby girl. You think I should ask your mommy to marry me?”

Casey let out a scream that could be heard across the forum without a mic. She tugged away from her grandmother and ran on to the ice. Scott sped across the ice, swooping her up into his arms even as he skidded to a stop with a showy spray of snow. He held Casey against his hip, motioning for her to wave at their audience.

He skated up to stand beside Zach, and the huge image of them overhead was almost perfect. Zach, Scott, and Casey. All that was missing was Becky. The screen switched to her, frozen in place in the press box, tears flowing freely now, her smile making her whole face glow.

“So how about it, Becky?” Zach held up the ring a little higher, the gold flashing in the bright forum lights. “Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

Becky’s lips were moving, but it was impossible to tell what she was saying. She held up a finger, then disappeared. She reappeared at the player’s bench and Carter gave her his arm to help her make her way across the ice to them.

“Yes.” Becky bit her lip as Zach slid the ring on her finger. She ran her finger over the four diamonds, more tears spilling as she looked at Scott. She whispered yes again before Zach lifted her up in his arms and kissed her.

Casey looped her arms around Scott’s neck, speaking quietly in his ear. “We’re gonna be a family. Isn’t that awesome?”

Scott grinned and kissed Casey’s cheek, hugging her tight. “It is.”

He had a feeling the little girl was including him, which was pretty damn awesome in itself. How she knew was anyone’s guess, but that didn’t matter now. Carter had retreated back to the benches, so it was just the four of them on the ice. Becky and Zach turned, still holding on to each other, and drew Scott and Casey into a firm embrace.