“I would have come to get you,” she says. “As soon as I realized what happened.”
“Youhave an airboat, hip waders, and great knowledge of the bayou?” I ask.
“I do,” she says with a grin. “At least, I know where to get an airboat. But I have the other things.”
I want to see her in hip waders. I really do. What the fuck is happening to me?
“Anyway,” Astrid says. “We need to figure out a way to help the town get over their grudge against you.”
“Give me a minute. I just got here,” I say.
“As charming as you are, I think it might take more than a minute,” she says. “And we don’t have a lot of time. We can’t keep losing ticket sales. We need to begainingevery day. I could just fire you, I suppose. That would probably get me huge points and would solve the problem.”
I frown. “That’s not an option.” Jesus, what would I do then? Even if this is small-town, minor-league hockey, at least it’shockey.
“That’s not good,” Nora says. “We need him.”
Fuck, I like having Nora on my side. Even if it’s just because of hockey, I like the idea that she’s choosing having me hereover…not. Or leaving me in a dark, critter-infested cabin. I shudder.
“The people in town are mad at him, but there’s a lot of potential for him to pull in hockey fans from a much bigger radius,” Nora says.
Astrid waves her hand. “I know. And I knew about the town’s feelings toward you before today. If I was going to fire you, I would have done it before you got on a plane.”
I’m relieved to hear that she’s already thought about and discarded the idea of me leaving.
“So, should we let everyone know he’s only here temporarily?” she asks Nora. “Would that help?”
But Nora shakes her head quickly. “No. Finding out that he’s not fully committed won’t be good.”
“I am fully committed. While I’m here,” I say firmly.
She looks at me. “Good. I believe you. But this town is very…loyal. We have deep roots. We commitlong term, here. They’ll see that as another mark against you, trust me.”
I sigh. It’s a full season. That’s not short-term. Not in my mind. But in a town that elects mayors for twenty-two years straight, I guess they don’t think quite the same way.
“This is exactly why we need Nora’s help,” Astrid says with a huge smile at Nora. “She knows this town and everyone in RebellovesNora.” She glances at me. “Once people get over not liking him, they’ll realize he’s a great guy. We just need to give them a reason to give him a second chance.”
Nora nods. “Exactly. A way to get them over their preconceived notion.”
“Right,” Astrid agrees.
“So…how do we do that?” Nora asks.
“I was hoping you’d have an idea,” Astrid says. “Since you know them all so well.”
Nora and Astrid both turn to look at me. Tostudyme. As if trying to figure out a complicated equation.
“Maybe we can play up the idea of coming to games to cheeragainsthim,” Nora suggests. “They’ll at least buy tickets then?”
Astrid laughs. “Okay, that’s one idea.”
“No,” I say firmly. “I don’t want to play in front of a crowd that’s rooting for me tolose.”
“You play in front of crowds like that all the time,” Nora points out. “The opposing teams always want you to lose.”
“They want myteamto lose. They want their team to win. But it’s not personal. Not really. And at leastsomeof the crowd is on my side any given night.” I shift on my seat uncomfortably. “I can’t have the whole town where I live hating me. I can’t do that for seven months.”
What can I say? I’m used to being adored. That’s not a bad thing. Why would someonenotwant that? I like being admired and being someone people want to be around.
