“That message was actually from a guy on Sean’s hockey team,” she stated with as much nonchalance as she could muster. Rob’s eyes widened, and Emma held up a hand. “I found his driver’s licence in a parking lot—I had no idea he was on the Snowballs.”
“Well who is it? We know all those boys.” Sharla watched her eagerly.
Emma swallowed hard. “Tyler Bowen. We met up at a Tim Hortons so I could give it back—”
“You met up with a stranger to give back a driver’s licence?” Lindsey looked horrified. “Emma, do we need to review those commercials from the Concerned Children’s Advertisers?”
Vaughn’s hand flew to his chest. “Umm, no. I kid you not, since you showed me those, those puppets have shown up in my dreams more than once.”
Sharla laughed. “I used to love those songs!”
“Focus!” Lindsey snapped her fingers. “Emma, you could’ve been murdered!”
Emma laughed. “No, that’s why we met at a Tim Hortons. He even brought that up.”
“He brought up the possibility of murder?” Vaughn gaped at her while holding a forkful of mashed potatoes.
Emma held up her hands. “I think we’re forgetting the point. I’m a hero. I returned this poor man’s licence and then found out he was on Sean’s team, so . . .not a murderer.”
Rob grunted. “Isn’t Tyler the pretty one?”
Emma pursed her lips to keep from laughing.Her dad thought Tyler was pretty?Well, he wasn’t wrong.
“Oh, those boys are all handsome, Rob.”
Not as handsome as Tyler.
“Aren’t you going to answer it?” Lindsey asked.
Emma pretended her phone wasn’t burning a hole into the bottom of her thigh. “I didn’t want to be rude.”
Rob pulled out his phone. “I haven’t heard anything about the tournament from Sean. Their game should be over.”
“Fine, if you insist.” Emma tried to avoid looking eager as she pulled her phone out and swiped up.
Game ended on a power play. We lost by one. Second place
Emma groaned. “They lost in the finals.” Sharla sighed, and Rob’s face dropped. Emma pretended to be disappointed, but that was the opposite of what was blooming in her midsection.Tyler had messaged her to tell her about the game.
I should’ve told you at Tim’s, I’m notorious for having bad luck. I probably passed it on when I handed you the licence. Please apologize to the team for me
She didn’t know Tyler well enough to gauge whether he’d be devastated by this loss or if he’d take it in stride. Sean had always been the former. They knew to stay out of his way for at least six hours after a hard loss, though his being with Kelty had shortened the time span significantly.
“At least they get to play them again Tuesday,” Rob muttered.
“Who?” Lindsey asked.
“Pucks Deep. The rival team in town.”
Emma put a hand on Lindsey’s arm. “There are three teams in Calgary, but C-Biscuit hasn’t been as competitive the past few years.” Though they’d been friends for years now, Lindsey and Vaughn still had very little interest in the hockey part of Emma’s life. They’d come to a few games here and there but would rather be at a theatre production or art show.
It was kind of a miracle they’d become friends in the first place, considering how different their post-work interests were. Emma loved creating beautiful and compelling photos, but for her it was mathematical. Scientific. She didn’t feel the composition of it in her gut like they did.
Her phone buzzed.
Does that mean we need to hold some kind of seance?
Tyler, I know you’re from out of town, but people here don’t typically meet with mediums until at least the third date
