Remy
The fire hadn’t been too bad, and the only thing that wasn’t fixable or cleanable was the Zamboni, but while insurance would cover it, we wouldn’t be able to use either of the rinks until it was replaced. The new one I’d ordered, which was arriving today, would get them running again but I wasn’t sure what to do next. The whole reason I’d come here was to see what kind of shape the arena was in so I could sell it. The fire was an unexpected issue and I couldn’t just hire a realtor and get rid of it. Well, I could, but somehow it didn’t feel quite so black and white now that I was here.
I’d also been annoyed to see that there was no management team in place and no one that was truly in charge. I had wonderful memories of the outdoor rink as a child, but now everything about the place seemed old and outdated. And while it didn’t have to be my problem, it kind of was. Not just because I technically owned it now, but because being back in Garland Grove suddenly brought back so many memories. Memories of a time when my parents had been happy, when my life had been innocent and carefree. Before heart defects and stressful careers and affairs. My father had the affairs, not me, but they had impacted me in more ways than one. Hell, Kingston and I were both extremely gun-shy when it came to relationships because of our father’s infidelities.
It was less so for Ashton since he was still so young and didn’t remember a time when our parents had been happy together. Kingston and I did, though, so when news of our father’s affairs had come out, it had made us both reluctant about serious relationships. Kingston was the lead singer of one of the biggest rock bands in the world right now, touring the globe, sleeping with everything that moved, and living his best life, so I didn’t blame him for wanting to be single. Especially since he was just shy of twenty-eight.
It was a little different for me. At thirty-five, most of my friends were settled and had a house full of kids. I’d had neither the time nor the inclination for that with all my different business ventures, and frankly, most of the women I met were interested in my bank accounts, not me. I also had no intention of being like my father, where I kept a wife and family at home while I traveled the world having fun and enjoying everything life had to offer without them. So I kept my eye on the ball, letting business take precedence over everything else, with the exception of my mother and brothers.
Being back in Garland Grove made me a little wistful, though. I remembered watching my parents skate around that outdoor rink, laughing and kissing, as if there was no place else they wanted to be. Mom said everything changed when I left to go play in the juniors and Dad started traveling for weeks at a time. She was home alone with Kingston and started to resent her husband for leaving her so much. The more she resented him, the less often he came home, until there wasn’t anything left between them. Not even after Ashton was born.
Thinking about my own lifestyle, I was determined not to repeat those mistakes. I did want to be a dad someday, though, so that made everything complicated. There wasn’t anyone special in my life and with how busy I was in general, there probably wouldn’t be. I shouldn’t have even come to Garland Grove. Fiona had been sending me reminder after reminder of things I had to do, yet here I was about to tour an arena I didn’t even want.
If I was honest with myself, there was no reason to have this meeting. I could put a few thousand into upgrading the arena and then put the damn place on the market. Instead, I wanted to know everything about it. It made no sense, but being in Garland Grove reminded me of a time I thought I’d forgotten. Of love and family and—oh, what the fuck was wrong with me?
I shook my head to clear it, reminding myself I wasn’t going to stay. There was no reason to get caught up in whatever was going on here in Garland Grove when I was just going to leave.
Except I was already involved. I owned this arena and the fire the night before last had been jarring. The idea of it burning to the ground had bothered me, and then once I got here, there had been something about Noelle that had given me pause. I couldn’t put my finger on it because at the time she’d looked cold, wet, and terrified. As if there was something beyond the fire that scared her. I’d built my entire career by trusting my gut, from ice hockey to business deals, and my gut told me she needed help. I just didn’t know what kind or if I could be the one to provide it.
Tall blonds with green eyes were a bit of a weakness of mine, and green-eyed blonds that were in trouble got me every time. I was a caretaker at my core, whether it was protecting my teammates on the ice, making sure my employees had good benefits, or spending a fuck-ton of money ordering a Zamboni for an ice rink I’d only owned for five minutes. I didn’t know if this was a good thing or not, but it made my mom proud and I’d gotten rich along the way, so it couldn’t be all bad either.
I spotted Noelle the moment she came down the hall, a duffel bag in her hand. She smiled and waved, approaching me casually. It occurred to me she and everyone else who worked here probably needed their jobs, so they all had to be wondering if I was going to sell the place.
And I was.
Wasn’t I?
“Good morning. I brought coffee and bagels. Is there somewhere we can put it?”
“Sure. The family lounge is comfortable and there are tables in there.” She started walking back in the direction she’d come from and I took a moment to appreciate her very shapely jean-clad backside.
Stop it, I admonished myself.
“What’s the family lounge?” I asked her, picking up the coffee tray and the bags of bagels and spreads.
“It’s a heated room with couches, tables, and Wi-Fi, where parents can sit while their kids play or have practice.”
“Does the arena stay busy with hockey leagues?”
She nodded. “Oh, yeah. That’s our main source of income, as far as I know. I mean, open skating does well on Saturday afternoons, and the outdoor rink is busy seven days a week in December and January, but that’s about it.”
“Can you give me a basic rundown of how many people work here?” I asked, setting the coffee tray and bags down on a coffee table that had seen better days.
“We have six teenagers who work as ice guards during open skating, and one of them is also a ref for the kids’ games, but the other refs just donate their time. They aren’t employees. So that’s six. Then there’s Dwayne, the maintenance guy you met the other night. Tandy is Dwayne’s wife and she works the front desk on the weekends, answering phones and stuff. And there’s a guy who does upkeep on the ice, Clarence, but he just comes and goes as necessary, checking the ice.”
“What about concession stand employees?”
She shook her head. “Just me. During Christmas break, spring break, whenever we’re super busy, some of the ice guards come in for extra shifts to help out but mostly it’s just me.” Noelle met my gaze hesitantly, as if worried about my response.
“Oh. Okay.” The staffing sounded like a clusterfuck, but I didn’t want to get off on the wrong foot, so I didn’t say anything else for a minute.
“Are you firing us?” she asked after a moment.
“Not at all,” I replied smoothly. “I just want to get a feel for how you guys do things, meet all of you, and see if there’s anything I can do to make the rink better.”
“Give us a Zamboni that doesn’t catch fire,” she quipped, chuckling.
I laughed. “It’ll be here later today.”
“How did you get one so fast?” she asked.
“Being a former pro doesn’t hurt,” I said. “Paying a fuck-ton for expedited shipping helped too.”
“I appreciate it,” Noelle said, looking right at me, her green eyes filled with sincerity. “Some of us depend on our jobs to survive, so if the rink had been shut down for even a short period of time, it would’ve been problematic in more ways than one.”
“That’s why I expedited the shipping,” I said quietly.
“So you’re not going to sell it?” Noelle asked, her eyes meeting mine in what I could only describe as a silent plea.
I hesitated because I didn’t want to lie to her, but I also didn’t know what I was going to do yet. “I’d like to hear about the hockey program, the open skating schedule, and anything else of importance before I make the final decision. I looked on the website but didn’t see any info.”
“None of us know how to access the website,” Noelle admitted. “I tried but whoever set it up didn’t leave us passwords.”
“I can hire some tech people to handle that,” I said. “Seriously, what else needs fixing, updating, whatever? I want to help. Even if I do decide to sell it, I’ll get more money for it if it’s in good shape and making a profit.”
“We need a skate sharpening machine,” she said hesitantly. “Ours is broken and a lot of the kids don’t know where else to go to get their skates sharpened.”
I made a note on my phone to go with the other dozen or so notes that I’d already sent to Fiona.
“Why don’t you tell me why you’re here,” she said as we settled in two chairs across from each other. “The real reason. I’m an adult, Mr. Knight. I can handle the truth and I would appreciate honesty because there aren’t a lot of job prospects here in Garland Grove. If I lose this one, I’ll probably have to move.”
I grimaced. “Please call me Remy. And everything I’ve told you has been true. The backstory is pretty simple. I played ten seasons in the NHL before finding out I have a heart defect that forced me to retire. I built a sporting goods empire because I didn’t know what else to do with my time, and now I’ve officially bought an NHL expansion team, so I’m busy as fuck. When I found out I’d inherited this arena after my father’s will was read, I figured I’d sell it, but I wanted to come check it out first. Now that I’m here, I realize there’s a bit of nostalgia involved. I learned to skate here at this arena when I was a kid. My family used to come here for the holidays every year, so I do have a few sentimental reasons for wanting to see it succeed. I’d been here a couple of hours when I heard about the fire so now I guess I’m invested. It doesn’t make a lot of sense, not even to me, but that’s the truth.”
“Sorry I’m late!” Dwayne came running in. “Had to take my kid to school and got a flat on the way back.”
“No problem. Have some coffee.” I motioned to the coffee and bagels on the table.
“Thanks.” He sat down, poured himself a cup and started digging through the bagels.
“Remy was just telling me about how he used to come here as a kid,” Noelle told him.
“I remember,” Dwayne said, smiling. “It was a big deal when you got drafted and mentioned learning to skate in Garland Grove.”
I smiled. “I have good memories here.”
“But now you want to sell it.”
“Wow, the rumor mill is busy here.” I met his gaze. “But I honestly haven’t decided anything yet.
“I work two jobs, Mr. Knight, and I need both of them to support my family.” Dwayne didn’t blink.
I nodded. “I get it, and I’m serious when I say I don’t want to hurt anyone no matter what I decide. The truth of the matter is that I don’t have time to run a hockey arena in Garland Grove, so if I don’t sell it, I need a trusted staff in place. And I don’t see much staff at all.”
“I don’t know much about the finances,” Dwayne said, scratching his salt-and-pepper goatee. “But my understanding is that this place doesn’t turn enough of a profit to pay anyone else full-time, like a manager or whatever.”
I frowned. “But who does the money go to now?”
Dwayne shrugged. “I couldn’t tell you.”
“I’ll get in touch with my attorney,” I said. “This is information I need. In the meantime, tell me what you need to make your lives easier here.”
The suggestions and ideas started coming and kept coming, and I felt bad that they’d operated with the bare minimum of supplies, staff, and amenities for so long. It was amazing the arena was able to continue offering hockey programs and open skating with this level of disorganization. Somehow, whether I sold it or kept it, I needed to find a way to help these people. Not because I had to, but because I suddenly really wanted to.