Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 80035 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80035 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
I smiled, loving his unrestrained enthusiasm. “I’ll give your dad my number, and we’ll figure something out.”
“Woohoo!” He jumped, punching his fists in the air before darting away.
Vinnie snort-laughed. “That’s what we call the Alec avalanche. Congrats. You just won a friend for life.”
“Lucky you,” JC drawled, joining the conversation. “I have to rely on food to make friends.”
“How’s that going for you?” Vinnie teased.
“Terrible. Kids are bad for my waistline. They like zee shakes and pomme frittes and gateau au chocolat. I should get a horse like Hank. No calories, eh?”
Vinnie shook his head mournfully. “Meh, Riley will never go for it.”
“Go for what?” Riley asked, snaking an arm around JC.
Yep, another hockey idol. Apart from the occasional up-nods in town, I hadn’t had a real conversation with Elmwood’s elite hockey crew. Not only was Riley Thoreau a great player, but coming out publicly when he was still in the league had elevated him to rock-star status in my mind.
“We’re getting a horse, mon cher.”
Riley rolled his eyes. “It would probably decimate the veggie garden, and that would just piss you off.”
“True. Well, it was a nice fantasy while it lasted.” JC sighed.
We all laughed. Our circle grew as conversation shifted to camp news and the higher than anticipated influx of newbies.
“It sounds like a six-week party,” I observed.
“Oh, hell yeah!” Vinnie launched into funny camp exploits from the past.
I chuckled along with everyone else as my gaze drifted across the yard to Denny and his friends, which now included Jake and a couple of guys I recognized from the mill…Niall and Micah, who definitely didn’t like me.
This was a perfect opportunity to charm them. This was why I was here in the first place—to make friends and spread goodwill, on behalf of Bruce Cunningham and RM Mill. I wasn’t Denny’s date. This was a job.
But now Denny was making his way to me…and fuck, I needed to control my smile. I was too obvious.
“The prank war needs to stop,” Riley was saying. “It was out of control last year.”
“Say what?” Smitty bounded forward, his arms raised like goal posts. “You’re just jealous ’cause my team out-pranked yours.”
“No snakes in my rink, Smitty,” Vinnie growled while everyone guffawed.
Smitty turned to me and winked. “They were fake. My kid loves critters and for some reason, Bryson was against getting a real amphibian, so Nathan has a collection of rubber snakes. I took a few on the first week of camp, spread ’em around the rink, and lowered the lights. Those idiots wouldn’t get on the ice.”
“The snakes were moving, Coach,” Denny deadpanned.
“One or two might have been battery operated,” Smitty admitted with a shrug. The group chuckled. “I was thinking of trying out Nathan’s plastic cockroaches this year.”
Vinnie almost choked on a potato chip. “Don’t you dare. Our camper-to-volunteer ratio is too low to withstand any fallout. Behave, Paluchek.”
Smitty lowered his sunglasses and waggled his brows. “I always behave.”
Another howl of laughter. I joined in, sneaking a sideways glance at Denny when his arm brushed mine.
“I’m happy to volunteer if you need any help,” I offered.
Vinnie pointed at me. “Better be sure, new guy, ’cause we’ll take you up on that.”
“I’m sure.”
“Get that man a beer!” Smitty called out, pushing a hand toward me. “Smitty Paluchek. Denny’s old coach. He tells me you’re cool, so you must be. Welcome to Elmwood.”
Someone slapped me on the back, someone took away my warm beer and replaced it with an ice cold one, someone organized a volleyball game at the nearby net and included me on their team.
I wasn’t sure what to think of my newest stamp of approval, but I wasn’t complaining.
Denny and I played volleyball on opposite sides of the net, we talked to other people, we lost sight of each other off and on throughout the afternoon, but I was always aware of him. Always. Those secret looks and clandestine touches tethered me to him like an invisible string.
I noticed that Denny was good with kids, liked spicy mustard on hot dogs, and that he loved JC’s potato salad. I also noticed that Mary-Kate stayed close to him…like a doting girlfriend.
The afternoon gave way to soft evening shadows, and though the party was still going strong, I didn’t want to overstay my welcome. I thanked my hosts, slipped out the side gate, and immediately ran into Denny’s friend Niall.
“Mr. Cunningham.”
“Hi, there. Nice to see you,” I said, offering my hand and a smile that felt a tad plastic. Like I was trying too hard.
He stared at my hand for longer than was polite before shaking it in a loose grip. “You know Coach?”
“We just met tonight. I’m a friend of—”
“Denny’s,” he intercepted. “I know. See you at the mill.”
Niall stepped around me and headed for the gate.
Okay, so that was odd. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think I’d just received my first face-to-face “Fuck off and get out of town” warning. And yet, he hadn’t said a word. It was all vibes.