Bennett (On the Line Book 2)(66)
My man was just about perfect.
Bennett
There were a few guys in the locker room when I walked in. Most of us still lifted weights in the off-season.
“Hey, man, where you been?” Shuck asked me.
“Working and taking care of my boy.”
“How’s he doin’?”
I pulled up a photo of Charlie on my phone. “Cutest kid on the planet.”
“He is. Look at that big noggin. So how’s your woman?”
“Charlotte’s great.” I looked through Orion’s office window in the back of the locker room and saw him sitting at his desk. “Hey, I have to go talk to Orion.”
“Cool, see you around.”
I saw Liam on the other side of the room. He nodded and I nodded back. He’d stopped by Charlotte’s a few times since we’d brought Charlie home. Things seemed better between us. I hoped eventually it would be like old times again.
“Bennett,” Orion said as soon as I walked into his office.
“Hey, Coach. Thanks for the flowers you and your wife sent Charlotte.”
“Fortunately, my wife’s good at those things. How’s life with a baby?”
I sat down in the chair in front of his desk. “It’s really good. Tiring, but good.”
“Glad to hear it.”
I took a deep breath, deciding to just dive right in. “So listen, I’m sure you want to know what my plans are since I told you in May that I was probably done.”
“Have you reconsidered?”
I shrugged. “No. I think it’s time to move on. But Charlotte sees it as giving up on my dream, and she doesn’t want me doing that.”
“You don’t see it that way?”
“No. I’m almost twenty-seven years old, and I’ve been playing hockey most of my life. I’ve loved it. It would’ve been nice to make it to the top, but my dream was to play pro hockey, and I did. And thanks to the shitty salary, I got to play purely for love of the game.”
Orion grinned and picked up a puck from his desk, turning it over in his hand. “Yeah, I remember those days. When your practice clothes are held together with duct tape and you can’t always afford a new stick when you need one.”
“I’d love to coach at some point. Maybe youth hockey. This isn’t it for me and hockey for sure.”
“No, it’s definitely not. I didn’t ask you to come in so I could ask about your plans for the season.”
“Oh.” I furrowed my brow, confused.
“I wanted to tell you that Chicago wants you.”
If my bladder had been full, I would’ve pissed myself. I just looked across the desk at my coach, too shocked to even speak.
“No more duct tape for you. You’re in a great spot to get a nice contract. They want you to start training camp with the team.”
“Are you f*cking serious?”
“I f*cking am.” He grinned and stood, coming around the desk to shake my hand.
“I don’t . . .” I shook his hand mechanically, my head spinning. “I don’t know what to say.”
“This is it, Bennett. The chance to play at the highest level of the game.”
I scrubbed my hands over my face. “Yeah, but . . . the timing is really bad.”
“How so?”
“I’ve got a four-week-old.”
“Charlotte and the baby can move with you.”
I shook my head. “She won’t go.”
“What?” Orion practically yelled. “The woman who doesn’t want you to give up your dream won’t go?”
“She doesn’t want to get married or live together.”
“But you live with her now.”
I exhaled deeply. “Not officially. My stuff is still at my apartment.”
“Surely she’ll understand this isn’t a job transfer. It’s a big-ass promotion. And there’s no requirement that you guys get married for you to take it.”
“It’s a huge commitment.”
“Marriage?”
“No,” I said. “Chicago. I couldn’t go there and half-ass it. I’d have to be all in. And I don’t see how I could do that and still be the father and partner I want to be.”
“Bennett.” Orion leaned on the front of his desk and looked down at me. “Pro athletes have families. You can make it work. Hire help.”
“Maybe . . . they’d still want me in six months. If I stayed on as a Flyer.”
Orion’s eyes bulged. “Are you out of your f*cking mind? You don’t say no to this. Or maybe later.”
“Yeah, I do.” I lowered my brows in a serious look. “A year ago I would’ve been on my way to Chicago five minutes after you told me. But I have a family now. Charlotte’s going back to work in four weeks. We both have to make sacrifices to be the parents we want to be, and this is mine.”
“This is insane. You’re going to turn down ten times the amount you make together right now so that she can work for the county and you can work at a lumberyard?”
I scowled. “You don’t want me back?”
“I’m pretty sure I’ll beat your ass on to the injured reserve list if you come back here.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “I know where your head’s at, okay? I had to give up the NHL. You don’t. You’re passing on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”