“She’s not the type of person I want influencing you,” I say tightly as I check my mirror, then over my shoulder before merging into traffic.
“What does that mean?” Janelle exclaims. “What type of person do you think she is?”
“A hustler,” I reply.
“I don’t even know what that means.” She throws her hands up in exasperation.
“Let me ask you something,” I say, throwing it back on her. “What do you see in that woman that makes you want to be around her? She seems completely vapid and shallow.”
Janelle snorts so hard, I have to take my eyes off the road to look at her. She’s staring back at me as if I’ve grown three heads.
“Veronica is the least shallow person I’ve ever met.” She sounds so confident, I wonder if we’re talking about the same person.
“She’s dripping in fancy clothes and diamonds.” I’m snide and unapologetic. “She said she married and divorced rich.”
“She married and divorced an abusive asshole who happens to be rich,” Janelle retorts hotly, and I jerk my head her way. She’s glaring at me. “He made her life hell, and you know nothing about her or what she’s overcome. You’ve been around her for less than five minutes! So what if she happened to get money from her divorce? For what she went through, she deserved it, but for your information, she doesn’t even use it. All her clothes and jewelry are from when she was married, so she wears them rather than spending money on new stuff. She saves up the monthly support payment she gets and wants to use it to launch some type of charity, which is why she’s going back to school to finish her degree. She’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met, and she’s sure as shit a lot nicer than you.”
I don’t know what to say. Clearly, Janelle has had deep conversations with Veronica and knows some intimate details. But regardless of what she does and doesn’t know, I can hear it in my sister’s voice. Whatever Veronica is, she’s someone my sister respects.
And fuck it all to hell, I’m going to have to respect that because she obviously knows more than I do.
I’m filled with curiosity again. What does she mean she was married to an abusive asshole? Was the money she got a payoff? Or did she take him to the cleaners as payback, which sounds like she had every right to?
Moreover, I’ve clearly offended my sister. I can feel the fury vibes rolling off her.
“Perhaps I’ve misjudged the situation,” I admit.
“You’re damn right, you did,” she snaps, but I can hear most of the heat has left her voice. “And she’s the best choice for me to stay with. She’s caring and diligent, and my feelings should matter on this.”
I heave out a relenting sigh, because I can’t argue with anything she’s said. If all this is true—and I’ll have to accept it is—and given Aaron and Clarke’s endorsement of this woman, there’s no reason for me not to accept her offer. Especially given that this is what Janelle wants and most likely needs, and I haven’t been the best in making those sorts of decisions so far.
“Fine,” I say, glancing at her. “I’ll call Veronica after dinner and accept her offer.”
“And apologize,” Janelle says.
“And apologize,” I grumble, although I really don’t want to do that. Veronica might be worthy of my sister, but there’s still something about her that rubs me the wrong way. It can’t be my reservations over her character, which have been relieved, but damn if I know what it is.
If I’m lucky, I won’t have much interaction with her other than some check-in texts. With such minimal contact, I’ll be able to forget that she bothers me at all.
CHAPTER 9
Riggs
Normally, all my troubles melt away when I step on the ice. That is especially true during a game because I am one hundred percent focused not just on my job but on the pure joy hockey brings me.
When I moved away from home at sixteen to live with my uncle in Minnesota, my hockey went to the next level. I’d been playing since I was seven and was fortunate to be in a fairly good league right over the West Virginia border in Pittsburgh. My mom used a distant cousin’s address in Pittsburgh, basically lying to get me into that league.
But that’s about all she did for me. We didn’t have the money for fees, equipment, and travel, but my talent was enough that parents of other players and some sports funds paid my way. I was basically a charity case, but I didn’t give a fuck. It got me out of the house and onto the ice.
When I moved to Minnesota, things changed drastically. I got into an elite school with an elite hockey team, which led to a scholarship to Wisconsin to play at the college level. From there, I was drafted into the league.