Marek (Cold Fury Hockey 11)

Before Gracen can answer, my phone starts ringing. I pull it out of my pocket to check who's calling, realizing I need to answer.

I look back up to Gracen. "I've got to take this. Are you in?"

She gives me a tentative smile. "Sure. Sounds like fun."

"Cool." I grin at her, and nod toward the pan. "Can you finish that up?"

"On it," she says cheerily.

I turn my back on her and start walking toward my bedroom for some privacy. I'm able to answer by the third ring. "Jimmy...you got something to report?"

Jimmy Schaeffer is my local attorney. He's helped me close the loan paperwork on my house when I bought it, as well as reviewed any number of contracts and endorsement deals that I've been offered over the last few years. He was the first person I called when I got back to North Carolina after finding out I had a daughter, as I needed to know what my rights were.

"I just got off the phone with Mr. Waller," he says.

"And?"

"He understands your concerns and assured me he'd have a talk with his son," Jimmy reports smugly.

I had Jimmy reach out to Owen's father to pass on my concerns that his behavior was turning stalkerish. I also wanted to share the information that the Moores would not be selling their property to Owen, so he needed to quit bothering them about it as well as bothering their daughter. He also made some veiled threats about restraining orders or going to the press about Owen's creepy ways, but apparently his father understood the urgency.

"The senior Mr. Waller assured me that Owen would not be a problem for the Moore family again and wanted to offer apologies to Miss Moore and her parents."

I snicker as I walk into my bedroom. I've got to get my workout gear and practice bag together. "And about their loan," I prompt him.

"As per your request, I asked Mr. Waller to consider extending the loan until the sale of their property went through, or alternatively, I told him you'd gladly pay off the note to remove the pressure from the Moores. Again, Mr. Waller assured us that there was no problem in getting an extension on the note and that he would work personally with the Moores."

"I assume you're confirming this all in writing?"

"But of course," Jimmy answers with a laugh. "It will go out today."

"Okay, buddy. Thanks for jumping on that for me. Send me your bill."

"Oh, I will," he says almost ominously, but whatever he charges me is well worth the peace of mind knowing that I don't have to worry about Owen anymore. Once I realized that he was really just after the Moore's property and using Gracen as a pawn, I was pretty confident he wouldn't be coming around her again after he learned the property was out of play for him. Still, it was just added insurance bringing his father into it, figuring the elder Mr. Waller would be more concerned about propriety than anything and that definitely paid off well, so I'd gladly pay Jimmy's attorney fee for that call and letter.

I say goodbye to Jimmy and throw my shit into a duffel bag. I've got just enough time to sit down with Lilly and Gracen for breakfast, and then it's off to work I go.

Chapter 22

Gracen

I've been to hundreds and hundreds of hockey games. Whether it was watching Marek play travel hockey in the summer, or pond hockey in the winter, watching my man out there was always special. I went to every game I could manage when he played at Boston College. I've even been to professional hockey games with Marek before he became a professional player himself. But this is the first time I've ever sat in an arena and watched Marek as an NHL player. There's no way to truly describe how it makes me feel. My nerves seem to be popping and I can barely sit still in my seat.

"Girl, I think you are more nervous than I am," Josie says from my left.

I peel my eyes off the ice where I'd been watching the Cold Fury--correction, watching Marek--warm up before the game starts. Josie is wearing an Olson jersey and her cheeks were flushed when she told me earlier that Reed had given it to her just this morning.

"I feel like I was just asked to go steady and he gave me his varsity letter jacket," she had said, giggling.

I'd be lying if I didn't say I wish I were wearing a Fabritis jersey right now. But Marek didn't think to get me one, nor did I expect him to. I certainly can't afford to splurge on something like that for myself.

"So how are things going?" Josie asks. We've both been so busy at work, sometimes working different shifts, that we've not had real "girl" time to talk.

"It's going well," I say, my eyes cutting between the ice and her. "The nurses in L and D are all really great to work with."

Josie gives me a soft elbow that makes me laugh. "I'm not talking about work. How's it going with Marek?"

"I know what you were talking about," I reply, still chuckling. "But it's going...weirdly. Good, but weird."

"How so?"

"Well, Owen showed up at the house on Saturday."

"What?" Josie exclaims so loudly the people to her left turn to look at her. She ignores them and leans in closer to me. "He showed up at the house?"

I nod, look back briefly to the ice where I take in Marek skating around to loosen his legs, then back to Josie. I decide to just get it all out so she can ask her questions and then we can enjoy the game. "Owen showed up. Threatened me. Marek punched him. Owen left. My reasons for marrying Owen came to light after Marek called my parents. Turns out, my parents didn't need my help, so I made a fool out of myself for nothing."

"Whoa," she drawls out slowly. "Just...whoa. But you've got to give me more info than that."

And she's right. That's a lot to take in. So I slow down and fill in some gaps. Answer a few questions. To Josie's credit and the reason I know we'll always be close friends, she goes overboard to not make me feel stupid, and in fact, validates what I'd done. She said she'd have done the same thing, although I highly doubt it.

Still, it was a really sweet gesture.

When I think I've satisfied her curiosity, I turn back to watch the warm-ups, which are winding down.

Josie, however, is not fully satisfied. She nudges me again. "What's the deal with you and Marek then?"

"What do you mean?" I hedge, not even looking at her.

"Oh, for Pete's sake, Gracen," she growls at me. "Give me the details. I can tell something's different. I mean, he called up Reed wanting to get us really good tickets so you could see him play up close and personal. So I know something's happened."

It's not so hard to tear my gaze away from Marek now. Josie actually has asked me something that I don't mind talking about with her.

I puff out a tiny breath of capitulation, turning in my seat to look her right in the face

. Leaning in so no one can hear our conversation, I lower my voice and tell her, "Marek and I...well, we're sort of together."

"Together?"

"We had sex. Like four times the night before Owen showed up. And then we didn't have sex before he left for the New York and New Jersey games, and it was very confusing."

"Why didn't you have sex then? I mean...sounds like the first four times were amazing, and I don't know many men that will walk away from that."

I snicker. It was really, really good. The best ever, actually. But I don't say that, because that's my personal secret to share just with myself. Instead, I tell her all of it. "I had a placental abruption the week before Lilly was due."

"Oh, Gracen, that's awful," Josie breathes out. She's a doctor. She knows the dangers I faced.

I nod in agreement. "Anyway, I had to have a hysterectomy, which was fine. As long as Lilly was okay, that's all that mattered. But when I told Marek about it, it really bothered him and he just backed off. Actually, seems it sort of ran him off."

"I'm sorry," Josie says softly.

I give her a casual shrug. It had hurt my feelings a lot, but he's more than made up for it. "It didn't run him off for long. When he came back from the road trip, well, he came straight to my bed."

"So it's just sex?" she asks hesitantly.

I shrug again, although there's nothing casual about this one. I truly just don't know. "We've agreed to try out a monogamous sexual relationship while coparenting our daughter."

Josie wrinkles her nose. "That sounds...um...sterile."

My laugh is genuine, because despite how screwed up the situation is, I also have to find humor in it. "I've decided just to take it day by day and see what happens."

Something in my voice causes Josie's eyes to narrow. She shakes her head at me. "No, I don't believe that. I can see it in your eyes. Hear it in the words you're not saying."

I cock an eyebrow at her. "And what's that?"

"That you really have feelings involved and I'm not sure they're reciprocated," she says bluntly. "If that's the case, you're going to get hurt."

There's no helping the fact I have to glance back at Marek when she says that. When I give her my attention again, I admit, "I've never stopped loving him, and yes, it's not reciprocated. But he has forgiven me, so all I can do is try to look at this as a fresh start."