Her Family's Defender

CHAPTER THREE

TROY KNOCKED ON their door the next day and was almost bowled over by Angie. She had on a Team Canada shirt.

“I’d have worn my jersey but it’s from the Winnipeg Whiteout so Mom said that might not be polite,” she blurted.

Troy saw that Tommy had a similar T-shirt. He should have gotten some Blaze jerseys for the kids, he realized. That was stupid of him. Michelle was wearing a red sweater with jeans.

“Best I could do,” she said. “At least it’s the right color, isn’t it?”

It was. The Blaze colors were red, yellow and black. Red was definitely her color. It brought her face to life.

The sweater also hugged her figure much more closely than a jersey. And it was a pretty nice figure. With her hair flowing loose down around her shoulders, and without that stressed expression on her face, she looked good. Troy reminded himself that she wasn’t his type—he preferred blondes—and that she was a mother, and he wasn’t big on responsibility.

Troy took them over in his big black pickup. Michelle was in the front seat with him, but Angie was as close to a front seat passenger as was possible while being restrained by a seat belt in the backseat. Tommy was quiet, but appeared to be happy to be there.

Troy was able to park in the players’ lot, and took Michelle and her family in through the players’ entrance. Michelle tried to remain unimpressed, but Tommy’s eyes were wide and Angie couldn’t be still. Or quiet. She asked questions as if she’d been called up from the minors and was going to be playing here next week and needed to know every detail.

Troy had gotten them seats in the lower bowl so they could be close to the action, and so they’d be close to Bridget. But before they could get to their seats, he was stopped by fans, so he waved the family on. Angie looked disappointed, but Michelle shoved her forward. Troy felt oddly bereft as they left.

* * *

MICHELLE LET THE kids each hold their tickets so they could find their own seats. She was sure Troy had been getting a little overwhelmed by Angie’s questions. But Michelle hadn’t seen her daughter this happy since they moved to Toronto, so she had been hesitant to play the heavy again. Angie would be quiet when the game started and she was absorbed by the play on the ice.

Michelle was impressed with the seats: they were quite close to the ice. Angie was thrilled, and even Tommy was looking more interested than he had been in anything but Tae Kwon Do for a while. She was grateful to Troy for this break. It had been easier than expected to get the kids to do their chores yesterday when they had this treat to look forward to today. They’d even had a dance party last night, the first since they’d moved. She smiled as she saw Angie taking photos with her phone. She’d have something to show her friends at school Monday.

Michelle was surprised when the redheaded woman behind her said hello. She judged the woman to be just a bit younger than she was, and was with a boy about Tommy’s age.

“Are you here with Troy?” the other woman asked.

Michelle nodded, cautiously. She had no idea if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

“I’m Bridget,” she said, holding out a hand. “My husband is one of the goalies. Troy said he’d invited his new neighbors to the game today, so I guessed it was you.”

Michelle took the proffered hand. “I’m Michelle, and these two are Angie and Tommy.”

Bridget shook each of their hands. “This is my nephew, Bradley. Did I hear that someone here was a hockey player?”

Michelle wondered what Troy had been saying about them. But Angie thought it perfectly natural for people to be interested in her, and answered promptly.

“I’m going to be the first girl playing in this league—the first one not a goalie, that is.” She said it pugnaciously, ready to do battle since people tended not to believe her.

Bridget nodded. “I was going to beat you to it.”

“What happened?” Angie asked. Michelle moved to stop this line of talk, which might be too personal, but Bridget merely pointed to her glasses. “I don’t have proper depth perception, so I couldn’t play professionally.”

Angie cocked her head. “So you don’t think it’s crazy for a girl to want to play? Most people tell me I won’t because girls can’t play against guys.”

“That is so not true. I play with my brothers all the time,” Bridget assured her.

Angie looked at her with respect. “Real hockey? On the ice? And you don’t play goalie?”

“Nope. Real hockey. I play defense, like Troy.”

Angie’s eyes widened. “I’m a forward,” Angie announced.

“Winger?” Bridget asked.

“Center.”

Bridget raised her eyebrows. “You’re going to have to be really good.”

“I am,” said Angie confidently.

Michelle marveled at her daughter’s self-assurance. She couldn’t remember a time when she’d felt that way. But her daughter had no doubts about her own abilities. Michelle was proud, but also afraid of what knocks life might have for her daughter.

Meanwhile, Bradley had started a conversation with Tommy. Bradley was taking on the biggest part of it, but Tommy was answering. Bradley was bragging about his uncle, and when Angie learned that Bridget was married to the team’s starting goalie, Mike Reimer, Michelle could see that Bridget had become a very important person in Angie’s eyes.

The kids went down to the glass, after Bridget assured Michelle that it was fine, and watched the players come out to start warming up. Michelle sat back in her seat and was pleasantly surprised when Bridget sat down beside her.

“Troy said you were a widow, and new in town.” Michelle tensed, wondering what else he’d said. He had mentioned that she was a widow, and that Angie played hockey? She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She hadn’t told him their story, but she also didn’t want to be so reticent that it would arouse anyone’s curiosity. She wanted to shut that part of their lives behind a firmly closed door.

“That’s got to be tough,” Bridget continued. “Mike and I have put off having a family till he retires because we didn’t want one person to have to carry all of the load.”

Michelle just nodded. It was difficult, but she wasn’t used to sharing personal information with strangers.

“Are you okay with Angie playing hockey? Some people don’t think it’s a game for girls,” Bridget asked with concern in her voice.

Michelle smiled. “Don’t let Angie hear you say that. She believes she can do anything the guys can.”

Bridget laughed. “I agree with her on that.” She turned to Michelle. “Can I be blunt? I’m not really good at being tactful. Troy said Angie isn’t playing with a team this year—” Michelle stiffened. “But next weekend Mike and I have rented out a rink for a family hockey game, and it would be great if you could come along. Angie would get a chance to play, and Tommy would, too, if he wanted. Do you play?”

Michelle shook her head. Things were moving too fast here.

“We wouldn’t want to impose, and we don’t have skates—”

Bridget interrupted. “It’s not an imposition, I promise. There will be a ton of people, so a few more is not a problem. And we have lots of extra skates and gear.”

At the mention of spare gear, Michelle sat up straight and looked directly at Bridget. “Why would you invite strangers to join you? What did Troy tell you?”

“Not much. Just that you were new here, and a widow and couldn’t swing hockey this year. But I can give you three good reasons to have you come join us.”

Bridget held up her hand and started counting off fingers. “First, that’s just how our family is. We love having company, and the more, the merrier.” Bridget nodded at the three kids at the glass. “The kids are getting along, and there’s more where Bradley came from. Second, I’d love to help Angie achieve her goal. I have five older brothers, so I’m all about girl power. Thanks to Mike, we have some pull in hockey circles, so maybe we could find a way. And finally, Troy. He and I don’t always get along, and inviting you to the game is probably the nicest thing I’ve known him to do. I’m happy to encourage that.”

Michelle wondered why Troy was being this nice. It apparently wasn’t his normal behavior, though she had to admit that he’d been more than kind to her kids so far. The kids came rushing to their seats as the players left the ice, so Michelle didn’t get a chance to ask Bridget.

“Mom!” said Angie. “Bradley asked if we could go play hockey with him next weekend! Can we?”

Bridget raised her hands, indicating that she hadn’t arranged this. Michelle looked at Angie, happy, her normal daughter, not the sullen creature she’d been living with recently. And even Tommy, behind her, seemed pleased at the prospect. Michelle didn’t want pity, and had learned to be very touchy with people who only viewed her family as a charity. But it was one party, one game—she didn’t have to agree to anything more. So she nodded, and was rewarded by a hug from her daughter. It felt good.

* * *

TROY CAME DOWN the aisle. He’d made a detour to pick up a gift for the kids, so he’d been gone longer than he’d expected and missed the warm-up. He saw Michelle and Bridget sitting together and talking to the kids, apparently getting along well. He should have been prepared for that. Neither woman seemed to like him much, so that gave them something in common.

Tommy noticed him first and prodded his sister. Angie turned with a big smile on her face. “Guess what, Troy? I get to play hockey next weekend!”

Bridget glanced at him. “I invited them to a birthday party. The family’s rented the rink and will be having a big multigenerational hockey game. I want to see the league’s first female skater-to-be in action.” She gave Angie a nudge with her elbow.

Troy was glad that Bridget was working on a plan, but after her invite, his gift might seem anticlimactic. He pulled out a couple of jerseys he’d picked up in the team store. He looked at Michelle, hoping this wouldn’t upset her.

She frowned.

“I couldn’t have kids here without proper jerseys,” he joked. “Not when they’re sitting with me.”

The kids didn’t wait for their mom’s permission. They pulled the jerseys on and looked for their mother’s admiration.

She told them they looked great, but her furrowed brow gave him reason to believe she might not be completely happy with him. Too bad. It wasn’t going to hurt anyone, and it made them happy.

The Blaze lost the game, which frustrated the kids more than the adults. It was just a preseason game, and very few of the men on the ice would be there for the regular season. Mike Reimer had joined Bridget, and Angie assured them that when Mike and Troy were back on the ice the team would start winning. Troy could see that Angie admired Bridget. He tried not to be bothered by that. He’d asked Bridget for help, and Bridget and Angie had a lot in common.

Mike had drawn Michelle into a conversation about prairie weather, since he had grown up in Saskatchewan, neighboring province to Michelle’s home in Manitoba. The three kids were talking about the game, and Bridget took the opportunity to update Troy on what she’d worked out.

“They’re coming to Brian’s party next weekend. I’ll see how good Angie is and then we can try to figure out the right place to get her to play and how to work that out.”

This was exactly what Troy wanted, but he wanted to be a bit more involved, somehow.

“Why don’t I bring them? I want to see Angie play myself. Plus, they don’t have a car.”

Bridget stared at him for a minute.

“What? I’m not invited?”

She smiled. “No, you’re welcome to come. We can put you in goal.”

Troy didn’t trust that smile, but he’d gotten what he wanted, so he let it slide.

* * *

THE FOLLOWING WEEKEND Michelle tentatively walked into the local hockey arena for the party. Tommy was sticking close to her, while Angie ran ahead toward the change room. Michelle entered it behind her and was immediately bombarded by a chaos of voices and bodies, all of them strangers.

Troy soon followed her. He’d dropped them off at the door while he parked the truck. For once, Michelle was happy for his swagger. He hollered “Bridget” and one of the redheads popped up and came over.

“Michelle, Angie, Tommy, so glad you could make it!”

“And me?” Troy asked.

“Troy, I’m so glad you brought them,” she answered him with a grin.

Michelle decided she had been right last week. She liked this woman.

Bridget yelled for some other people, and Angie and Tommy were led over to be sized for skates. Michelle politely refused the invitation. She was a mediocre skater, and had brought along her textbooks, hoping to get a chance to study while the kids had fun. Angie was soon rushing out to the ice, and when Michelle saw that Tommy was being taken care of by Bradley, she relaxed, waved them off and headed out to find a quiet place to review her notes.

She found a seat halfway up the stands, and watched for a few minutes to make sure the kids were all right. Angie was showing off for Troy.

Apparently, before the hockey game started, there was some other game that involved hopping on ice, skating backward and squatting down. She was a little concerned about Tommy, but the other Blaze player, Bridget’s husband, was keeping close by him and helping him. She appreciated that she’d had one bit of luck, at last. She’d met some seriously nice people.

She pulled out her notebook and read over the test again. She hadn’t had a chance to go through it after last week, and she was still struggling with the amortization and allowance accounts. The teacher had given the class another assignment and more materials to read this week. It honestly seemed that the answer to every question that came up was “create a new account” and Michelle was losing track of them.

She sighed when she read her dismal grade again, and tried to follow the red X’s to trace where she’d gone wrong. She was so absorbed she didn’t notice someone had joined her till she was right beside her.

An attractive, self-assured woman had sat down.

“Hi. You must be Troy’s friend?” she asked.

“Neighbor,” she corrected. “I’m Michelle.”

The woman held out her hand. “I’m Karen. I’m one of Bridget’s sisters-in-law. Not one who plays hockey. She told me you’re studying bookkeeping?”

Michelle shook the other woman’s hand. “Trying to.” Michelle sighed. “I never thought I was an idiot in school, but maybe it’s been so long my brain has dried up. I really don’t get this.”

“Can I have a look? I’m a CPA, so I ought to understand some of it.”

Michelle’s cheeks flushed. She handed over the sheets with embarrassment. “I haven’t been in classes since I graduated high school.”

“Don’t sweat it. I’m happy to help. I get some sloppy work come across my desk, so if I can help you it might be good for me someday.”

She took a moment to read over the questions and Michelle’s answers. “Hmmm. Did you go over T accounts?”

“I missed that class, so I’ve been trying to figure out if they’re on the balance sheet or the income statement.”

Karen nodded her head. “Neither and both. Got some paper?”

Michelle pulled out a pad and forgot where she was as Karen went over what a T account was and how it helped. Either she was an excellent teacher, or Michelle did better studying near ice, because it finally began to make sense. They went over the amortization question Michelle had messed up on, and she was able to locate exactly where she went wrong and how to get to the right answer.

Karen nudged her to look up. There was some cheering on the ice, and Angie was doing her scoring celebration. Michelle stood up and cheered, hoping someone would give her the details on the goal before Angie grilled her on it. Michelle felt bad that she’d missed her daughter’s goal, but she was finally starting to understand bookkeeping, and that lifted a huge weight off her shoulders. Sometimes it seemed she had to pay for anything good with something bad. Some kind of karma scale perhaps?

She turned to the woman who had dropped out of nowhere to help her. “Thanks so much, Karen.”

“No problem. And I see Jee down there taking video on her phone. I’ll ask her to show you your daughter’s goal.”

Michelle would have been content to leave as soon as the game ended, but the group moved en masse to another room where there was a huge spread of food. Michelle was embarrassed that she hadn’t brought anything, and she didn’t even know the person whose party it was. But Troy was her ride, and she couldn’t leave till he did. As well, she’d lost Angie in the crowd, and found Tommy hanging close to Bradley. She was so happy to see Tommy with a friend that she thought she’d find a little corner where she was out of the way.

A pretty, very pregnant woman came over and introduced herself as Jee. She showed Michelle Angie’s goal and promised to email a copy of the video. Michelle thanked her. Jee’s husband, who turned out to be the birthday boy, called over to her, hoisting a toddler and then rubbing his hand on Jee’s protruding belly when she neared him.

Michelle grabbed her necklace. She could remember so well. Mitch, holding a toddler-aged Angie in his arms, listening to her babble away while he caressed a pregnant Michelle’s abdomen. That was when Mitch had still been her Mitch, before he went overseas. He’d been so handsome, so vital, the center of any group he was in.

They’d gotten married when she found out she was pregnant with Angie. It hadn’t been their plan, but Mitch had been thrilled with the baby, and with Tommy, too, when he was born. Michelle had been worried about swollen ankles and how she’d cope with a toddler and a baby, as well, but Mitch had always been a rock, helping out in any way he could. His parents hadn’t been pleased about the rushed wedding, but they’d loved their grandkids.

“You okay?” Troy was standing in front of her, holding a heaped plate of food. Michelle shook off her memories. She couldn’t afford nostalgia now.

“I’m fine. My mind just wandered.”

“If you need to leave...” he continued.

Michelle checked on the kids, still enjoying themselves. But they couldn’t impose any more on Troy than they already had.

“Do you want to go? I’ll get the kids. But I’m fine if you’d like to stay,” she said.

He grinned suddenly. “It’s kind of fun. I was an only child. I never had parties like this.”

Michelle smiled. “I have three siblings. It wasn’t quite this crazy, but pretty close.”

“Are they still in Winnipeg?”

Michelle’s smile faded. “No, scattered around the globe.” She answered his inquiring look. “Military.”

“Family trait?” he asked.

She nodded and then excused herself to find Bridget. She didn’t want to talk about her family, or her past.

* * *

TROY LET MICHELLE ESCAPE. He was pretty sure that was what she was doing. She didn’t like talking about anything very personal, or about her past. He understood, given what he’d found out about her husband’s death. Though he didn’t think she’d be happy to know how much of her past he’d uncovered.

She was prickly, and he wasn’t sure how to handle that. His relationships with women were mostly simple. They knew what he wanted, he knew what they wanted and they made each other happy for a while. His dad had drilled caution into his head—he’d said there would be people who would try to take advantage of him once he made it to the pros, so he was always careful. Of course with Michelle, this wasn’t a romantic kind of thing. He just felt sorry for her and wanted to help a bit.

With that thought, he looked for Bridget. Normally it wasn’t that hard to find a redhead in a crowd, but half the people here had bright red hair. He’d met Bridget’s dad, who also had red hair, and apparently she had five brothers supposedly all here somewhere in the crowd. He’d stopped trying to keep track. If they were anything like Bridget, their family must be bedlam all the time.

He finally tracked her down, standing near Mike. Troy hadn’t been happy when Mike was first traded to Toronto, but after that Cup run, well, you couldn’t go through something like that and not have a bond.

“Bridget, Mike. Nice party,” he said.

Bridget eyed him skeptically. Troy doubted she would ever get past their first meeting.

“So, Bridget, what did you think of Angie?” After all, he’d never been invited to any of Mike and Bridget’s social events. This whole thing was in aid of Angie.

“She’s good,” Bridget said. Mike nodded from behind her, arms wrapped around her waist.

“She’s really good, in fact,” Bridget continued. “But what exactly are you thinking of? Do you have any ideas? Or did you just want to pass it on to us?” Bridget asked.

Troy paused. He wasn’t quite sure. He’d hoped Bridget would have an idea. But he wasn’t going to dump everything on her lap. In fact, he wanted to follow how the girl did. He was responsible now.

“I didn’t expect to leave it all to you. They’re my neighbors. I want to make sure Angie can play the game she loves. It’s not fair that she can’t just because they don’t have the cash. I’ve got more than enough money, and I want to help out.”

Bridget glanced over at Michelle, talking to Bridget’s mother.

“Are you just going to offer it to her?”

Troy sighed. That would be the easiest thing, but...he was pretty sure Michelle wouldn’t take it. And if Angie ever found out her mother had refused it, things would be pretty ugly across the hallway. He wasn’t trying to make things worse for them.

“She won’t just take it. I was in trouble just for buying the kids those jerseys last week. I wondered if I could give them the money and say it was from the club.”

Mike and Bridget stared at him.

“The club?”

“Yeah, the team’s a hockey club. Her husband was in the military, and so was she. I asked if the club had some kind of program to help vets and their families. They don’t, but Michelle doesn’t know that. I can tell her I pulled some strings and got Angie sponsored.”

Bridget looked at him as if he was a little dim. “So you’re going to pay Angie’s fees but tell her mother that the Blaze is paying for it. What about Angie’s gear? Michelle said she didn’t even have skates. Are you going to cover that, too? You can’t give her a check, or transfer money to her from your account. She’d realize it was all from you.”

Troy sighed again. This shouldn’t be so difficult.

“I haven’t worked that all out yet. Maybe I’ll say there’s a credit at the store or something.”

Troy didn’t appreciate the pitying glance Bridget gave him.

He snapped his fingers. “A gift card, that’s what I’ll do. That could come from the club.”

Bridget crossed her arms. “Assuming you can pull this off, and that’s a big if, how are Michelle and Angie going to get to practices and games?”

“What do you mean?”

“You drove them here today because they don’t have a car. It would be pretty hard for the three of them to take public transit to games, and taxis would be expensive. Or are you thinking of another gift card to cover that, ‘from the club.’” Her sarcasm was obvious, but Troy wasn’t giving up.