Practice was as long and infuriating as she’d been expecting but Laurel saw a shift in cohesiveness on the team. By the end of the game, most of them were working together, even if they were pissed about it. The ladies made sure to do every annoying trick in the book, which was exactly what she’d told Dani she wanted. Dani had been a rock star pulling this together last night, and it was going exactly as planned. The team would hate her today, but hopefully it would mean a win tomorrow. If not, at least she’d tried. Time wasn’t on her side so she’d pulled a rabbit out of the hat and now all she could do was wait.
“What do you think?” Dani asked under her breath as the guys made their way back to the showers. She and Hailey had stayed behind to talk to Laurel.
“I don’t know. I saw a lot of progress toward the end, but they’re pissed, so I’m not sure if I did a good thing or a bad thing.”
“I’ll see what Sergei says later,” Dani said.
Hailey nodded. “Yeah, I’ll check with Kane too. I think it was eye-opening for them. Forcing them to become in tune to each other, instead of just the game. I’ve told Kane this before, that I think there’s a disconnect on this team. I can’t put my finger on it, but something is off.”
“There are a couple of guys that are poison,” Laurel said quietly. “I don’t know if it had something to do with whatever was going on with Coach Sylvester, or something else, but I saw it on the ice as an observer and I’m acutely aware of it now that I’m coaching.” She couldn’t tell them about the drugs and she had no way of knowing how much they knew, but Gage had sworn her to secrecy and she wouldn’t betray that, not even to two women she trusted implicitly.
“Matt Forbes,” Dani murmured. “He was a royal pain in the ass when he was in Vegas and he’s escalated since he’s been here. No one liked him in Vegas and I don’t think anyone does here either. I really hope they trade him. He’s probably the only guy on the team I’d be a little nervous to be alone with.”
Hailey wrinkled her nose. “I concur. He’s creepy. I’m fine with flirting, and after so many years in locker rooms, I’m oblivious to crude comments…but Matt takes things to another level. I can’t stand him either.”
“Well, nothing we can do about that short-term, but you guys keep your ears peeled for anything he might say or do, okay?”
“Sure thing.” Dani nodded.
“Okay, I need to shower and get upstairs. My boss wasn’t amused when I said I was practicing with the team.” Hailey laughed.
Laurel grimaced. “Do I need to talk to him? I can have Gage—”
Hailey waved her off. “No worries. I got this. What are they going to do? Fire me? I sell more season tickets than all the rest of the sales team put together.” She headed down the tunnel.
“I’m going to make sure the girls get out of here and head home if you’re done with me?” Dani said. “I promised Niko I’d take him skating this afternoon.” Niko was Sergei’s son from his first marriage and Dani was in the process of legally adopting him.
“See you tomorrow.” Laurel sat down to unlace her skates.
“Hey.” Gage sank down beside her and she jumped.
“Jesus,” she muttered. “You scared the crap out of me.”
“Sorry.” He gave her an apologetic smile. “How’d it go?”
“Who knows? They’re pissed, but sometimes that’s what it takes.”
He nodded. “All three coaches cleaned out their offices, so you can get settled in one.”
“I’m probably only going to be here another two weeks or so,” she said. “I’m happy where I am now.”
“Two weeks or two months, the guys need to know you’re one of them, even if they don’t act like it. You need to bond. What if we do, by some stroke of luck, make it to the playoffs? You sitting up in some ivory tower won’t help.”
She sighed. “You’re right. I’ll settle in as soon as I finish changing.”
“How late will you stay today? If the team is going home, you can work from home, no?”
“Yes, I can work from home if you want to get out of here.”
“I have to go pick up Taz.”
“Taz?” She blinked.
“Jake and his girlfriend’s dog, Taz. I’m sort of an uncle—it’s a long story. She’s a model and travels a lot, and they’re renovating the kitchen, so with Whitney leaving in the morning, it’s easier for Taz to stay with me for a few days. Wenda loves him, so it works out well. Sometimes Sarah takes him but she’s got a crazy schedule this week and I don’t mind. You don’t, do you?”
“It’s your house,” she responded automatically. “But I seem to remember you saying dogs were messy and required too much attention.”
He gave her a lopsided smile. “What can I say? I’ve mellowed a little with age. Plus, like I said, there’s a story involved so I kind of owe them. At this point, Taz is part of the family.”
“What is he?”
“A black Lab. He’s insane. You’ll love him.”
“I’ll bet.”
“All right. Let me know when you’re ready to go.”
“It’ll probably be an hour. Is that okay?”
“Perfect.”
Gage had known Laurel would love Taz and he watched with delight as the puppy licked her, jumping up and down in excitement. Laurel’s head was thrown back with laughter, trying to keep the squirming puppy from bouncing all over the place. He hadn’t seen that much joy on her face in years and for a moment he was thrown back in time, to when they’d first moved in together, their love as exciting and exuberant as Taz was right now. How had they lost that?
“It’s a good thing we’re divorced,” he quipped. “I’d be jealous as hell right now.”
She laughed. “No offense, but he’s way cuter than you.”
Gage laughed too. “Thanks a lot.”
“Please tell me he doesn’t do this all day long.”
“He’ll settle down after a while. He likes to sleep at my feet when I’m working.”
“Okay.” Laurel kissed the top of the puppy’s head and got to her feet. “I keep saying I want to get a dog, but I work too many hours. It wouldn’t be fair.”
“Yeah, I feel the same way. Jake and Whitney were worried about it too, but between me and Sarah, Taz always has coverage.”
“Sounds like you’ve really made yourself at home here in Alaska,” Laurel mused, cocking her head slightly as she looked at him.
“Well, this is my home now,” he responded. “I don’t do much other than work, but I have a handful of friends, a hockey team I love, and this big, empty house that’s perfect for entertaining.”
“Do you entertain a lot?”
“I try to have as many events as I can. Christmas parties, team parties… I hosted Kane and Hailey’s engagement party, which was a hoot.”
“I was invited but couldn’t afford to fly all the way to Alaska for the weekend.”
Gage narrowed his eyes slightly. “Unless you’ve developed a gambling habit I’m unaware of, that can’t possibly be true.”
Laurel had the grace to flush but gave a little shrug. “It’s not how I live my life, Gage. I give a good chunk away to charity every year and I invest the rest so I can retire comfortably.”
“You don’t spend anything on yourself?” he asked curiously.
“I do, but not on anything frivolous. I own my condo outright, as well as my car. I have a cushion in my savings account so I don’t have to stress about unplanned car repairs or whatever, but for the most part, no, I don’t use your money frivolously.”
“It’s not my money, dammit,” he spat out, though his voice was low. “It’s our money. We were together when I made that first million, a couple, and we had no prenup when we got married. You have the right to half of everything—including all of this.” He motioned with his hand.
“Not my thing,” she shot back. “I don’t need to live in a house like this to feel important.”
“You think I live here to feel important?” he demanded incredulously. “I inherited this from Uncle Malcolm and it’s a great house. Why would I get rid of it? To buy some other big house that a man I loved and respected never lived in?”
“You’re a single man, for heaven’s sake! Why would you need any house this size?”
“I suppose I should live in a one-bedroom apartment like we used to?” he ground out. This was an old argument, one they’d had many times when they were together. “Being poor isn’t a badge of honor and enjoying life isn’t a crime.”
“Why is everything so black and white with you?” she cried in frustration. “You were determined to prove to your family that you could survive without them, so you joined ROTC to pay your way through college. Yet even then, you drove your fancy car and bought me lavish presents and—”
“And you fucking loved it.” He glared at her. “Don’t be a hypocrite, Laurie. Back when things were good you loved being spoiled. You only became holier than thou when things started to fall apart.”
“That’s not true.” Her eyes gleamed with intensity, her chest heaving as she tried to control her temper.
In another time and place, she would’ve been over his shoulder or tied to his bed by now. But this was here and now, where she was no longer his wife and that sort of thing might be over-the-top. Once upon a time nothing turned her on more than being manhandled, but his gut told him that wouldn’t fly with the way things were between them now. No matter how sexy she looked when she was mad. How her perfect, round breasts jutted out from her chest indignantly as she stared him down. His beautiful, sweet Laurel was still a spitfire, still the woman he’d always love.
“Do you remember what used to happen when we fought like this?” he asked quietly, his eyes never leaving hers. Her cheeks turned pink but she lifted her chin just a notch.
“I remember everything,” she whispered. “But mostly, I remember how much you hurt me.” With that, she turned her back, stepped over Taz, and started to walk out of the room.
Fuck. That hadn’t gone the way he wanted it to at all.
“Sure, walk away, Laurel,” he called after her. “That’s what you do, right? You never stay and fight, you just walk away.”