The Enforcer (41 page)

Lacey made a quick stop at Zoe’s to pick up her Christmas gifts for Jody and Izzy. Aidan and Gary were sleeping in her room. They were spending Christmas Day with Gary’s family, and Zoe was spending it with Lacey and Jody. She would head over to Jody’s after she had breakfast with the guys. Christmas breakfast was a tradition for them that Aidan and Zoe began long ago. Their breakfast was almost as big as most people’s Christmas dinner.

Lacey quickly checked her e-mail before she took off. As Murphy’s Law would have it, there was an e-mail from Steven. She was still on cloud nine, though, and nothing was going to change that, not even Steven.

Lacey,

It’s almost Christmas Day, and I want to set things right. I’m so sorry for all the wrongs that I’ve done to you, both before we were supposed to be married and after.

I’ve met someone here in London who convinced me to go see a doctor. They ran a lot of tests and have found that I do, indeed, have a chemical imbalance in my brain that leads to me being manic. I am labeled as bipolar. I have been going to therapy, along with taking my meds and am doing much better.

I hope you understand, Lacey, that I’m not making excuses for my behavior, but I want you to know that it was always me. You weren’t lacking in anything. I have come to understand that my not caring about having sex with other women was also a part of this disorder and nothing to do with you. You never made me anything but happy (well, except when I was having a manic episode). My point is, Lacey, that I want you to know that you did everything right. Don’t ever think you were inadequate in any way.

This e-mail is part of my therapy, but I also wanted to send it. I am truly sorry for any pain I’ve caused you, and since I know you, I know you’ll want to know that I am happy. I know you’ll be happy, too. As much as it pained me to see the way Jody protected you, now that I can think clearly, I’m glad you found him. I could tell that he loves you very much, and you deserve that.

Lastly, I want to thank you for putting me in my place. I never would have even considered going to a doctor if you hadn’t rejected me like you did. Melinda has been pushing me, also, and I think that’s what I need right now. Please be happy, and I hope that someday you can find it in your heart to forgive me.

Steven

Holy Mother of God!
Not in a million years would Lacey have ever thought she’d get an e-mail like that. Since she and Steven did have many good years together, she responded to him.

Steven,

I’m glad to hear that you are being treated. Thank you for sending me this e-mail. I can honestly say that I forgive you. It takes a big man to admit any wrongdoing.

We had many good times, and I wish you nothing but the best. Keep taking those meds! :)

Lacey

Six months later …

Zoe pounded on Lacey’s bathroom door. “Lacey, you okay in there? We’re going to be late. Come on! It’s the biggest game of the year.”

The Scorpions had made it to the last game in the Stanley Cup Finals. They were playing Pittsburgh, and each team had won three games in the series of seven. There could be no bigger game. Winner took all!

Lacey flushed the toilet and opened the door. When Zoe saw her face, her eyes widened.

“You look awful, are you okay?”

“I’m not feeling great. I’ve been fighting a bug for the past couple of days.” Lacey assumed it was the flu or something because she was tired, too.

“It’s weird, though; I’m kind of hungry, too.”

Zoe looked at her closely and lifted up Lacey’s shirt to look at her belly. Wow, could it be? “Lace, you couldn’t be pregnant, could you?”

“Jody can’t have kids, remember?”

“Doctors have been wrong before. Maybe it’s just harder for Jody to have kids. When was the last time you got your period?”

Lacey wasn’t sure. She hadn’t thought about it, but yes, she might have skipped a month. “Oh my God, do you think I could be? Oh my God, Zoe.” Lacey never thought she truly wanted kids, but with the possibility looming, she realized that she would absolutely love to have Jody’s child.

One way to find out. Zoe disappeared into her room and came back with a pregnancy test.

“Whoa, Zoe. Why do you have a pregnancy test in your room?”

“Well, a while back, before you moved out here, I had an incredibly stupid night. Incredibly stupid. I can’t even blame it on drinking. I took about ten of these bad boys, praying they’d all come out negative and feeling a little disappointed when they did.” Zoe sniffled. “Stupid, huh?”

“No, not stupid at all.” Lacey gave her a quick smooch on the cheek and took the test from her. Closing the bathroom door, she yelled, “Fingers crossed!”

Lacey came out of the bathroom, and they both stared at the stick. It was the longest two minutes of Lacey’s life. When the plus symbol came up in the window, Zoe let out a whoop. “Holy shit! I’m gonna be an aunt!”

“Language, Zoe; don’t influence my baby already.” Realizing what she just said, Lacey stopped and stared at Zoe. “This is unreal. I can’t believe I’m going to have a baby. Oh my God, Zoe! I’m gonna be a mom!” They grabbed each other and did a happy dance. “I can’t wait to tell Jody. Should I wait until after the game?”

“You’re going to have to now. You won’t have time to see him before the game, and you certainly can’t send him a text.” Zoe wanted to see his face when she told him, anyway.

It was a hard fought game. With five minutes left to go on the clock, the game was tied at two a piece, and Brandon was going to the box for a high stick. That gave Pittsburgh a two-minute power play late in the game. Lacey thought Coach DeLeon was going to have a stroke right there on the bench.

The Scorpions killed the power play, and the clock continued to wind down. The buzzer went off, and the game went into overtime. Sudden death hockey: first to score wins.

The coach wanted to make Brandon sit on the bench for a while to teach him a lesson about taking stupid penalties in such an important game, but he knew he needed him on the ice. “Listen up, Marcoux. You go out there and give me one hundred and fifty percent, you hear me? I want you to lay it all out there. You and Keith are going to tag team it and get that puck in the net. Am I clear?”

“Yeah Coach, we got this.”

The Scorpions won the first faceoff, and Brandon took off toward the net with the puck. He passed it to Keith and took up his spot in front of the net. Keith took a slap shot that hit the post. “Fuck!” Brandon tried to get the rebound, but Pittsburgh took it away.

With eight minutes gone in the first period of overtime, Vlad was getting pummeled by shots in the net.
Where the fuck is the defense? Christ!
He felt good, he was in the zone, but he needed a little more teamwork out of the guys. The puck deflected off of the net and play was stopped. Coach DeLeon used his time out.

“You guys are hanging Vlad out to dry! Defense needs to get tighter and offense – you need to get going. Take that goddamn puck and get it in the goal. I want ONE goal. Don’t think about anything other than putting the puck in the net. Just get me ONE goal. Go!”

Pittsburgh won the faceoff, but Chase ‘Gunner’ Gunderson stole the puck and broke away with it. Gunner was screaming down the ice with no one but Pittsburgh’s goalie in front of him. It was one-on-one time.

Just as he drew back to release his shot, Geno put his stick under Gunner’s skate, taking him down. The refs called for a penalty shot, and the crowd went wild. If Gunner could score on that shot, the Scorpions would win their first ever Stanley Cup.

The entire arena was on their feet. Gunner skated around for a second and grabbed the puck when the ref blew the whistle. He started out slow and moved from side to side trying to get into the goalie’s head. He lifted his stick back like he was going for a slap shot through the five hole, but at the last second, he gently eased the puck onto the back side of his stick and flipped it into the net right over Price’s shoulder.

There was no sweeter sound than hearing that goal horn blow. The entire team rushed off the bench toward him, and the coaches were high fiving and hugging each other in the team box. Balloons fell from the ceiling and the crowd was screaming louder than they’d ever done before. It was a hell of a night.

When the celebrations in the arena ended, a big group of players, coaches, friends, families, wives and girlfriends went to the pub. Jody kept picking Lacey up and spinning her around. He was like a kid who just got his first bike.

“God, can you believe it, Lace? The Cup. The Stanley friggin’ Cup!” Lacey wanted to tell him her news, but didn’t know if it was the right time. She didn’t want anything to take away from his night.

Zoe ran over to her. “Lace, you have to tell him, or I might. I can’t help it, I’m just so excited!” Zoe was great at keeping her mouth shut when it involved a client, but she was having trouble now?

“I want him to enjoy tonight. I don’t want it to seem like I’m trying to trump winning The Cup, you know?”

“Are you crazy? He’s going to go insane with joy! Tell him.”

Lacey smiled big. “Okay, good idea. I might burst if I don’t tell him soon. I’m so excited!”

Lacey tugged on Jody’s sleeve to get his attention. He immediately put his arm around her and drew her into his side. “Hey babe, what’s up?”

“Do you think I could talk to you for a minute?” She couldn’t keep her grin off her face. Who would have thought that one person could enjoy so much happiness?

“Of course.” He pulled her back into a relatively quiet corner and handed her a vodka and cranberry that he’d gotten her from the bar. She took it, but told him she couldn’t drink that anymore.

“Why? You want something else?”

“No. It’s about a doctor.” Jody lost his smile at the word doctor.

“What’s wrong, Lace? Are you sick, sweetheart?”
Please don’t let anything be wrong with my girl.

If possible, Lacey’s smile got bigger. “No, it’s about
your
doctor. See, he was wrong.”

“What doctor? Wrong about what? What are you talking about?”

Lacey put her hand on her stomach. “He was wrong about you not being able to have children.”

Jody let that sink in and looked down at Lacey’s hand on her stomach. “You’re … I mean … Really? Holy shit, Lace, you’re pregnant?” He wrapped her in his arms and buried his face in the crook of her neck. She felt wetness there.