It was a complete invasion of privacy. He hadn’t given me permission to eavesdrop on a very serious family moment.
I wanted to go around the corner and throat punch Mr. Kelly as hard as possible so he couldn’t say another word. I’d never been a hothead on the ice, avoiding getting into any scuffles and concentrating on performing for my team, but the ways I normally thought and acted were quickly turning toward much darker urges.
“Dad, but I’m here now. I’ll just go in and see her real quick. I haven’t caused any problems for the team,” Cade’s voice wavered slightly.
It wasn’t a lie per se. Neither of us knew the fallout from our rash joint decision to take off in the middle of the night, even if it had been the right thing to do.
“Fuck that. Let’s get this straight, there’s no way in hell you’re going into that room and waking your mom up just because you’re not man enough to do what needs to be done and you want to run to your mommy instead of doing your fucking job.”
“But. . .” Cade tried again.
“Don’t. You’re going to turn your ass around and figure out how to catch the bus back to Belleville this goddamn minute and fix this clusterfuck you’ve caused. Do you think I need this shitfrom you when I’m dealing with all of these fucking doctors and nurses telling me what my own goddamn wife is going to need? As if I don’t know what’s good for her!”
I risked exposing half my face around the corner to catch a glimpse of the sorry excuse for a man that Cade called his father.
I couldn’t see Cade’s face with his back toward me, but Mr. Kelly’s face was a livid shade of reddish-purple. His disgusted anger was evident in his expression as he looked at Cade, despite keeping his volume down.
But what lit the fuse inside me was the—no doubt painful—grip he was inflicting on Cade’s shoulders. Mr. Kelly’s fingers and knuckles were white from how hard he was squeezing Cade. That kind of grip left bruises.
I couldn’t just stand there and let this go on. There was no way I could ignore the fact that Cade was being hurt emotionally and physically right in front of me. I had to dosomethingwithout making it worse.
How could I interrupt and make it sound legit? Cade’s dad seemed like one of those assholes who only had time for their own opinions and thought he knew better than everyone else.
I’d have to play to his overinflated ego.
With a deep breath, I put some momentum behind my steps so that it would appear that I’d come upon them by accident, not that I’d been deliberately listening to every word.
“Hey, Caden!” I infused my tone with false surprise, using his full name to add a sense of formality between us. “Looks like I can’t say much for my sense of direction, ending up on the opposite side of the hospital from where I was headed. My brother always said I couldn’t find my way out of a paper bag if I tried.”
Just a small lie to justify my interruption. I had a feeling I’d be telling several more before my role here was done. Cade joltedat the sound of my voice, attempting to turn around, but was held fast by his father.
“Oh, hello, sir! You must be Caden’s father.” I made eye contact with Mr. Kelly, who was forced to let his bruising grip on Cade go in anticipation of our introduction.
I walked toward them, my hand outstretched for the last few feet, as if I was keen to meet the man who had lost any respect I might have paid him by being an asshole to Cade.
“Jesus Murphy! Call me Frank. Well, Ace Landry! I’ve followed your career since the beginning. I’d heard you were working with the Hammerheads this year. Coach Wilder lucked out bringing you on board.” His tone transformed from angry to enthusiastic in a flash.
He shook my hand with a firm grip, the gaudy ring he wore scraping my skin as he let go.
Cade took the opportunity to slip out of his father’s range, standing a step behind him and out of the line of fire.
My man was smart.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.”
I didn’t tell him to call me Asher, content to keep this interaction as impersonal as possible.
I couldn’t give a fuck if he wanted to call me Ace. The moniker had been given to me by the media, and I’d just rolled with it. It was helpful in moments like these when I met some douchebag who thought too highly of himself. People like Cade’s dad only focused on me as a hockey player who made lots of money, not me as Ash the person.
“I couldn’t help but notice,” I continued, nodding at the ring that had chafed my skin. “You’ve got some real nice hardware there.”
“She’s a beauty, isn’t she?” He held his hand in front of his chest as if to provide me with a better view. “My high school’s football team was the district champion. Woulda been headedfor the CFL if I hadn’t got injured on a job the following summer. Coach had scouts out to see a couple of us and everything. He even got some bigwig or another at one of the mining companies to foot the bill for the rings. The lot of us got a good kick out of it, finally getting something valuable outta the mines for once, rather than the corporations gobbling it all up.” Frank chuckled as if he were the one who pulled off the donation himself.
“Well, I can see that talent runs in the family.” I winked.
Complimenting this guy made me want to vomit, but I had to stay committed, otherwise Cade wouldn’t be able to sneak in to see his mom.
“Wait, Caden.Thisis who you caught a ride with to come up here?” Frank’s eyes widened slightly with his realization, sparing a quick turn of his head toward Cade before meeting my gaze again. “Shit, Ace. Let me apologize for my son, who seems to have lost his senses. There’s no way in hell he should have been putting you out like that. I taught him better.” His tone was laced with disgust.
