Overtime(37)

“Awesome, it’s good to have you back. Despite looking like a bird is making a home in your beard, you look good. Healthy.”

Jordie smiled as his cheeks grew a little darker. He wasn’t sure what Elli had told him about the night before, and it was hard to look into Shea’s eyes. But Jordie did it, nodding his head as he said, “Yeah. I feel that way.”

“Awesome, Elli said you’re joining us at church on Sunday? The boys are excited for Uncle Jordie to show up,” he said with a proud grin. Shea loved his kids, probably more than life itself. For sure, hockey, because rumor was that this was Shea’s last year. It was really a bummer, but at the same time, Shea wanted to be home with his kids. Elli was busy with the team and raising the whole Adler clan, and she was doing a stellar job at both, but it had to be nice to have some help. As much as no one wanted to see Shea go, they knew where his priorities were.

“Yeah, me too.” Jordie beamed.

“Jordie? What, you found Jesus, bro?” Phillip teased and everyone chuckled but Shea and Karson. They both just smiled as Jordie nodded.

“You can say that.”

Phillip laughed along with the guys. It wasn’t a secret that Jordie wasn’t too keen on praising the Lord. All of them had invited him to church on previous occasions and Jordie had quickly declined, so it didn’t bother him that they teased him. For the longest time, he was convinced the church would burn down and the roof would open to the good Lord above shaking his finger at him if he ever stepped foot inside. But he soon learned that wasn’t the case.

“Crazy,” Erik joked as Lucas laughed.

“Busting your leg apparently did you some good, eh?” Phillip asked and Jordie shrugged.

“Guess so.”

“Shit, next thing you know, you’ll tell me you’re sober or something,” Lucas said. And the guys all laughed since that was comical; who would ever expect Jordie to stop drinking? Jordie noticed that Karson and Shea had gone mute, both of them looking at Jordie with sympathy in their eyes. Probably waiting for his next move.

“Yeah. I am.”

The laughter stopped as they all gaped at him. Again, it was a shocking statement. He was pretty sure he’d been drunk seventy percent of the time he was with the guys. He was the life of the party, they had a good time, but he would have to learn to do that without alcohol.

He could do it.

“Hundred and eight days sober,” Jordie said slowly with a nod of his head.

He was proud of that number. It wasn’t a year, but he would get there and he would ignore that he had almost ruined it all last night.

“And we are f*cking proud, Thomas,” Shea said, cupping his shoulder. “Everything in the past is the past. We are looking forward now. Strive to be better than you were yesterday and you’ll succeed. Especially with all us busting your chops to be the man we know you can be.”

With that statement, he knew that Elli had told Shea about the night before. Instantly, Jordie felt two inches tall, but then, his words were very uplifting too. Shea was the kind of man every man strived to be. No one wanted to be looked down on by Shea, and he hardly ever did it, but when he did, you felt like shit for a day. To know that he was behind Jordie though, it really meant a lot. It told him he wasn’t as alone as he’d thought when he first embarked on this journey.

Reaching out, Lucas grasped Jordie’s shoulder, shaking it hard. “Way to go, bro. Keep it up.”

Soon all the guys were saying the same thing, hugging it out and shaking hands hard. It felt good to know that they knew. He had been wanting to tell them, but first he’d wanted to get out of rehab, get healthy, and he had. Now he was ready to live the life he wanted. For that to happen, he needed Kacey in it.

Where was she anyway?

“Good, come on then, boys,” Shea said, smacking his hands together. “Let’s get in there. Oh, but first! Let’s welcome the rookies,” he added, and everyone turned to see where nine guys and a girl stood.

Whoa, wait, a girl?

Shea rambled off names, not that Jordie was listening until he got to her. Baylor Moore. The girl Elli drafted this past summer. Usually, they sent the newbies down to the farm team, so that said something about Baylor. That Elli believed she could hang with the big boys. Jordie was actually excited to see this go down. A lot of the guys looked at her sideways, but that didn’t keep Baylor from standing proudly under all the scrutinizing gazes. At that moment, Jordie decided he liked her.

“Everyone ready?” he heard Kacey call, but he couldn’t see her through the sea of big hockey players. Even the chick was tall and strong.

“Okay, let’s get in the training room. Kacey has some torture to inflict,” Shea called, and everyone nervously chuckled as they started for the training room while Kacey laughed.

“Only enough to make you puke,” she said as everyone gathered around her, and she was all smiles. Well, that was, until she looked at him. Her eyes held something between disgust and hatred and maybe a little desire, but he didn’t care. He drank her in with no reservations at all. Karson was used to him checking out his sister; he may not like it, but Jordie did it anyway. She was wearing those naughty shorts and, man, they did something to Jordie’s equilibrium.

When she bent over to demonstrate a station of dead lifts, he took notice that she was lifting over a hundred pounds…and then the fact that she really did have a great ass. Watching her, he let out a long breath, trying to rein back in his desire, but then noticed that a lot of the guys were staring at her the way he did. Soon his chest was puffed out and his scowl was deep as he glared at each of the single guys. A few of them noticed and quickly looked away, but one, Liam Kelly, who Jordie was sure was gay, was staring extra hard.