Taking Charge (30 page)

Cole laughed and opened the closet door to get out a
shirt.

“Have you done any planning for the wedding?” Robyn
asked him.

He turned to face her.

“What’s that look for?” Robyn asked.

“Do you really want me to tell you or do you want a
surprise?”

“You’ve arranged something?”

“Maybe,” Cole said with a smile.

“Do you have a preacher?”

“Maybe.”

“Can we write our own vows?”

“Is that what you want?”

“Don’t you think it would be cool? It’d be better
than all that for better or for worse stuff that I don’t really
get. We could say something that actually wasn’t written circa the
beginning of time—something more relevant,” Robyn suggested.

“I’d like that,” Cole agreed.

“Have you booked Special Guest yet?” Robyn asked
excitedly.

“I’m not telling you any more. Go and make coffee,”
Cole ordered, throwing a t-shirt at her.

“Is there any more of that gin going?” Ada Dill
questioned later at the roadhouse.

“I’ll get you some,” Milo said, taking her glass and
heading to the bar to refill it.

“Better make this your last one, Ada, or you’ll be
asleep before lunchtime,” Robyn said, smiling at the old lady as
she folded menus.

“I hear that Sarah girl from the estate agents and
that mechanic have split up,” Ada said, snatching the glass from
Milo’s hand and slurping the gin down.

“Who told you that?” Robyn inquired.

“I never reveal my sources,” Ada said with another
raspy laugh.

“Well, I wouldn’t listen to gossip, Ada, not all of
it’s true,” Robyn told her.

“So they haven’t split up?” Ada asked, leaning
forward, intrigued.

“They’re working through some stuff at the moment,
that’s all,” Robyn said.

“That means they’ve split up,” Ada said with a
sniff.

“Okay, what else have you heard?” Robyn asked
her.

“Heard they were reopening your case. What that boy
did to you, well, castration would be too good for the likes of
him,” Ada said.

“How do you know all this? I only found out
yesterday,” Robyn stated.

“When you’ve lived as long as me, you get to know a
lot of people,” Ada replied.

“So it seems,” Robyn answered.

“You got to see the police again?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Fancy making you go over it all again after all this
time…it isn’t right,” Ada said, shaking her head.

The telephone rang and Milo hurried to answer it.

“Eddie’s Roadhouse. Oh hi…yeah, she is…Robyn, it’s
Nancy,” Milo said, holding out the phone to her.

Robyn took the phone and put it to her ear.

“Hello.”

“Robyn, you need to get yourself to the hospital,
honey,” Nancy said in a rush of words.

“Is it Dad?” Robyn asked as her knees went weak, her
heart flying up to her throat.

“He’s not good.”

“I’m on my way.”

He had a list of things to organize, and he was
trying to sort through them while keeping an eye on what was going
on in his Petri dish. Special Guest was booked, the preacher was
booked, and he was being measured for a suit later in the week.
What else needed to be done for a wedding no one knew about?
Flowers? He didn’t think Robyn did flowers. Leonora. He could
decorate Leonora and maybe get some equipment for a turkey shoot
for the reception. Hell, maybe they could eat turkey at the
reception. They needed to move the carcass out of the freezer soon
because it was taking up a third of the ice cream drawer.

“Do you need any help with anything, Cole?” Maggie
asked, appearing at his shoulder and looking down at the list in
his hands.

“Maggie, hi. No, not right now, I’m good,” he
answered, putting the list face down on the worktop.

“Are you organizing some sort of party?” she
asked.

“Yeah, kind of.”

“Well, if you need any help, my brother works at the
party store in town. He could give you a good discount on streamers
and balloons and stuff,” she offered.

“I’m good, thanks.”

She nodded and headed toward her workstation.

“Hey, Maggie, hold up,” Cole called.

She turned around.

“So, it isn’t a party. It’s a wedding. It’s my
wedding, actually. Have you any idea where I can get a great cake
from around here?”

“Eddie? Can you hear me, sugar? It’s me, it’s
Nancy.”

“Do you think he can hear us?” Robyn asked, peering
at his face as if hoping to find the answer.

“They say so, don’t they, when people are in comas
and stuff,” Nancy answered, holding tightly to Eddie’s hand.

“Shall I sing?” Robyn suggested.

“H…hell…no,” Eddie croaked and he blinked opened his
eyes.

“He spoke. Did you hear that? He spoke! Eddie, honey,
Robyn and me are here,” Nancy said, squeezing his hand tighter.

“Yeah, I heard. He told me not to sing,” Robyn said
happily, looking at her dad.

“How d’you feel? Do you want some water?” Nancy
fussed.

“No, you know I hate the stuff. What time is it?”
Eddie asked, coughing and trying to get his voice back.

“Just after six. Do you feel any better? You gave us
a bit of a scare earlier, Nancy almost asked me to be her
bridesmaid,” Robyn joked.

“Just after six? What you doing here, Buttercup?”
Eddie questioned, trying to sit up but just managing to flail.

“Making sure you’re not going to try and get another
slot in the operating room.”

“But you have a game, against Grand Rapids,” Eddie
stated, trying to adjust one of the monitors on his chest.

“The team do, I’m staying right here. I’ve given Cole
my instructions,” Robyn informed him.

“Are you insane? You’re the manager! You need to be
there, ice side. You need to make sure they capitalize on that
victory last weekend. Get out of here! Nancy, tell her!” Eddie
said, raising his voice and looking uncomfortable.

“Eddie, stop wriggling about. You’ve just had a long
and difficult operation,” Nancy ordered him.

“She shouldn’t be here fawning over me—she should be
with the team. I don’t want you here,” Eddie yelled at her.

“Eddie, will you lower your voice. Robyn, he doesn’t
mean it,” Nancy assured her.

“Yes, he does,” Robyn said.

“Yes, I do, so get out of here! Get down to the arena
and sort out the team. I’ve got one woman who isn’t going to leave
my side, I don’t need two—particularly when one should be filling
my shoes at the rink,” Eddie blasted.

“I’m going,” Robyn said, standing up.

“I’ll call you, sugar, let you know how he’s doing,”
Nancy promised.

“I’ll be back after the game,” Robyn said, opening
the door to leave.

“You will not, you’ll celebrate the victory, like we
always do. Get going!” Eddie barked and then he started to
cough.

She did the drive in under ten minutes. The arena car
lot was filling up, but she managed to get her usual spot. Looking
at her watch, she saw it was a little more than thirty minutes
until the face off.

Reaching the locker rooms, she could hear raised
voices from her team.

“What the Hell’s going on?” she demanded to know as
she flung open the door and entered.

No one said a word.

“I said what’s going on? Man, what’s that smell? Have
you been drinking in here? It smells like someone fell into a vat
of Jack Daniels,” Robyn announced, trying to sniff out the
offending area of the room.

“It’s Brad,” Cole informed her.

“I had you down as someone who couldn’t be trusted
from day one, didn’t I? Didn’t I! Did you know they’re dating? Him
and Robyn! Yeah, all this platonic bullshit was just
that—bullshit,” Brad yelled to the room.

“You’re drunk,” Robyn stated, looking at him with
disappointment in her eyes.

“Oh so what? You’re not my freaking mother! I don’t
have to answer to you,” Brad retorted like a child.

“You do when it’s team business. You can’t play out
there like that. You’d be useless to us and a danger to yourself.
Take the pads off,” Robyn ordered.

“Listen, I’m just fine. I’ve been skating since I was
two, I could probably play blindfolded. Besides, you need me, you
only have six,” Brad told her with a laugh as he banged into Wes’
locker and hit his elbow.

“Is that true?” Robyn asked, looking to Cole for
confirmation.

“Yeah.”

“You’re kidding me! Where are the others?”

Nobody answered.

“I don’t need this right now,” she said with a
sigh.

Why was nothing straightforward? Her dad was
recovering from a major operation and she had to manage five
players and a drunk, angry ex-boyfriend.

“Get your pads off now,” Robyn ordered Brad.

“You can’t play this game without me,” Brad said, a
grin forming on his reddened, drunk face.

“Is that right? So, you’re pissed with me and Cole
and you’re going to hold the Panthers to ransom, are you? Mess up
any chance we have of not being relegated this season,” Robyn said,
narrowing her eyes at him.

“I’m the captain,” Brad reminded her.

“Not tonight. Now, I’m going to ask you one last
time—take off the pads!” Robyn ordered angrily.

“Make me,” Brad spat back.

“Fine. Cole, Mickey, Wes, Henrik, take his pads off,”
Robyn ordered her team.

“Robyn, I don’t think…” Cole started.

“I no like…how you say…fight with team friend,”
Henrik agreed.

“Fine! Forget his pads, I’ll get some more. Have you
submitted the team list yet?” Robyn barked at Cole.

“No.”

“Good, cross Brad’s name out, put yourself as
captain, and put down Art,” Robyn said as she prepared to look for
more kit.

“But Art isn’t here,” Cole reminded her.

“No, but he’s the closest build and coloring to me,”
Robyn replied.

“Are you crazy? You can’t play,” Cole told her as
Robyn began to strap the pads to her body.

“I don’t have any choice. You know we can’t play if
we can’t field a full team, and we’ll get points deducted and a
fine, we can’t afford that. And we have over three thousand people
out there expecting a game of hockey,” Robyn reminded him.

News of the Panthers’ victory against top of the
league Reading had spread, and there were new faces in the crowd,
people who hadn’t shown an interest in the game before. She didn’t
want to lose new spectators.

“But if we get caught fielding an illegible player
then…” Cole started.

“We aren’t going to get caught. As far as everyone’s
concerned, I’m Art. I’m wearing his shirt, his helmet, a mouth
guard. As long as I don’t speak, who’s going to know except us?”
Robyn asked him, pulling up the trousers and looking for something
to use as a belt.

“You think you can stop talking for a whole match?”
Cole asked her.

“I’ll put on my gruff voice.”

“I’m not comfortable with it. It’s physical, Robyn,
it’s brutal out there…you know that,” Cole said.

“And I’m quick, you know that. I can outsprint any of
you on the ice. As long as I don’t get caught, I’ll be fine,” she
insisted.

“And if you do get caught? If their enforcer puts you
in the boards?” Cole questioned, looking at her with concern.

“It’s probably best not to think about that. I might
do a really girlie scream and blow our cover,” Robyn answered,
putting Art’s shirt over her pads.

“I’m not going to let you do this,” Cole told her
seriously.

“You can’t stop me,” Robyn told him with a laugh.

“I don’t want you going out there,” he repeated.

“I don’t have a choice, not now that Brad’s gone all
psycho on us. I can’t have him out there making an idiot of himself
and the team,” Robyn insisted.

“This is crazy. I’m going to find Bob,” Cole said,
heading for the door.

“Don’t you do that! Don’t you dare do that!” Robyn
warned him.

“Then stop this.”

“No.” Robyn sat down on the bench and began lacing up
her skates.

“Robyn, I don’t want you getting hurt,” Cole told
her.

“You’re getting sentimental on me and you’re trying
to look after me. I don’t need looking after, remember,” Robyn
said, frantically lacing up her skates.

“I’m not so sure about that when you do crazy things
like this,” he answered.

“You won’t change me, Cole. I hope you know
that.”

“I don’t want to change you.”

“Then live with the fact that I’m going out there.
How can I not? I love the Panthers, you know I love the Panthers. I
can’t let them down because I’m scared I might get mashed by their
gigantic number twenty-two,” Robyn told him.

“I won’t let you get mashed,” Cole promised.

“I know. And that’s what I’m counting on,” Robyn
said, looking at him and smiling.

He had never been so nervous about a game before.
What Robyn was doing was insane and it was dangerous. He’d seen
strong men really hurt on the ice and he didn’t want that to happen
to Robyn. This was a nightmare. He wasn’t going to be able to
concentrate on the game, his eyes would be on her and anyone who
came near her. Brad was an asshole, and if his attitude cost Robyn,
he’d kill him.

“Now listen to me, the game plan’s the same as we
played against Reading. Henrik, you’re our main man up front. I’m
going to sit just off of you and feed you everything I get. Mickey
and Wes, I want you going in and going in hard the second they’re
in the danger zone. Cole, I want you working in the middle, going
forward when you can, tracking back when you need to,” Robyn
instructed her team as they grouped together in a huddle.

“Let’s do this,” Mickey said encouragingly.

“Go Panthers,” Henrik yelled, punching his fist into
the middle of the group.