Page 110 of Edging Coach
I tried to brush off the worst of the wet, but my wool coat was in no way waterproof. Finally giving up, I yanked the coat off and tossed it on the nearest empty seat. Then I grabbed the hem of my sweatshirt and tried to dry my hair.
My phone, in my back pocket, buzzed again. I’d completely forgotten about it. I yanked it out. I frowned. Then turned to Jack. “Why is Emil texting me?”
He frowned. “I don’t know. He texted me as well. He wants me in his office at five.” He glanced at hiswatch. “It’s going to be tight, but as long as rush hour traffic from Vancouver to Abbotsford isn’t too heavy, I should make it.”
“He wants to see me at five-thirty.”
Our gazes clashed.
“Fuck.”
We said the word at the exact same time.
CHAPTER 31
JACK
The summons from Emil had me wound up the entire rest of the ferry ride and the drive back to Abbotsford.
I had a feeling I knew what it was about. If he wanted to see me, then Devon… it didn’t take a rocket scientist to put the pieces together.
No, we hadn’t been busted. Devon was getting called up to Vancouver.
I hadn’t told Devon. There was a chance I was wrong, and I didn’t want him to get his hopes up. He had his heart set on playing in the big leagues, and I knew from experience how crushing it could be to think he was getting called up, only to find out he wasn’t. As it was, he could get to Vancouver and not even dress for a game. That was just how it worked sometimes.
So I’d kept my mouth shut even though I knew Devon would probably be anxious about it the entire trip back to Abbotsford. I preferred to let him be nervous about it now and then get great news, versus letting him taste the high only to be disappointed when it was just some administrative bullshit or whatever. Been there.
Under normal circumstances, Emil would’ve called him and told him, “Pack your shit and get your ass to Vancouver.” But with Vancouver so close to Abbotsford, it wasn’t like Devon would have to scramble to get on a plane. The summons to his office was probably just to touch base with him and maybe—knowing how hockey players could be when they had time off—confirm that Devon hadn’t spent the whole break drinking or slacking off.
Emil would not be disappointed. Though Devon hadn’t skated in a few days, which wasn’t ideal midseason, he had religiously kept up his workouts in between driving me wild. He might need a day or two to get his timing back, but he’d be fine.
And hopefully this would be his opportunity to shine in the big leagues where he belonged.
At five minutes to five, with my heart in my throat, I knocked on Emil’s door. He let me in and invited me to sit in one of his guest chairs.
“Sorry to pull you away from your time off,” he said dryly.
“Comes with the territory of coaching.” I smiled. “What’s this about?”
He glanced down at some papers in front of him. “One of Vancouver’s D-men is down with an injury.”
I cocked a brow. “They haven’t played since before the break.”
“Their All-Star break is staggered from ours, remember? Practice started up yesterday.”
“Right. Right.” I chuckled. “I’m not used to this schedule.”
He waved that away. “Anyhow. They’ve got a blue liner who’s week to week, and Coach Aberg wants someone ready to fill that slot for the duration.”
I cocked a brow. “They don’t have a spare on the roster?” I’d fully expected them to rotate in their extra D and have Devon there in case another went down.
Emil shook his head. “He’s been a healthy scratch the last few games, and I’ve instructed Coach Aberg to keep him that way.” That could’ve been for any number of reasons. Disciplinary issues. Poor play. A trade in the works. I didn’t ask.
“So I’m assuming this meeting is to discuss who’s going up.”
The GM nodded. “Yes. I’m considering two players, but I want your input. Especially since we need to fill in the gap in Vancouver but not hamstring Abbotsford.”
“Okay. Who did you have in mind?”
