least he could do for a man who’d set him on a path that had changed his life.
Coach mumbled something, and Jackson only caught the end of it. “Glad I didn’t have to cut off your pecker, Jack.”
Jackson was still wondering about Coach’s last remark when he stood back to survey his progress. He continued to ignore the sensation that someone was watching him, as he had for the last few hours. But after the second time in ten minutes of feeling someone in the doorway, he caved and turned around. Not surprisingly, no one was there. Still, he set aside the drill and walked down the hall of Coach’s place.
The door in the middle of the hall was shut, although he couldn’t remember hearing it slam.
He walked toward it. “Millie?” The moment the name left his lips he laughed at himself, feeling utterly ridiculous. He didn’t believe in ghosts and here he was talking to one. Scratch that, there wasn’t any ghost.
“Mr. Knight?”
Jackson whirled at the sound of his name, holding on to the unexpected yelp that jumped up his throat.
Shit. Those kids really needed to stop sneaking up on him. He glanced at the open front door at Cody and Brent, the same two as before. The younger one with CF was no doubt at the bottom of the steps out front.
“Would you be up for a game of road hockey?”
The two teens stared at him expectantly, and he was thankfully saved from answering when Hayley came along behind them.
“Hey guys.” She glanced at Jackson, something passing in her eyes—annoyance?—then fixed her attention on the boys. “Did I promise to run drills for you guys?”
“Nope. We wanted to see if Jackson—”
“Mr. Knight,” Cody corrected.
“If he wanted to play a game of road hockey,” Brent finished. “If your knee is good, I mean.”
This time he had three of them staring at him expectantly. Great.
“If you guys had come along a couple hours ago,” Jackson began, “it wouldn’t have been a problem.” He took a step forward, not having a clue what prompted the fake limp. “I had a little accident stepping off the ladder earlier. I don’t think it would hold up to a game of road hockey.”
He didn’t have to force the wince on his face at least. Going up and down the ladder this afternoon had made his knee ache like a bitch, adding a little credibility to the limp.
“No problem.” Marginally disappointed, the kids turned their attention to Hayley.
“You should have seen the goal Cody landed on Patrick I’m-the-biggest-douchebag Kingston this afternoon. Slipped it right beneath Patrick’s butt.”
“It wasn’t a big deal.” Cody grinned despite the humble response.
Brent rolled his eyes. “But that wasn’t even the best part. Patrick goes flying backward, knocks the net over, and it set off this whole chain reaction that ends with my brother’s motorcycle falling over.”
“I thought he was going to kick all our asses,” Cody put in.
“Except the bike nearly squished Mabel Standish’s miniature poodle. By the time she was done yelling at him, my brother’s face was beet red and he was apologizing to us.” Brent smiled. “I didn’t think there was any other woman in town with balls as big as yours, Hayley.”
Cody elbowed Brent in the gut. “Dude,” he chastised.
Rubbing his side, Brent looked confused. “What? She arrested Jackson. That takes serious—”
“I think she got it,” Jackson cut in.
Brent rocked back on his heels. “But that goal…priceless. So when do you think we can get into the rink next, Hayley? Feels like I haven’t been on my skates in months.”
“It’s only been a few weeks.” That didn’t stop Cody from looking just as eager.
Both their expressions reminded Jackson of his and Coach’s conversation, and he found himself grinning, their enthusiasm increasingly contagious.
It was on the tip of his tongue to change his mind about road hockey, but something about Hayley was off. He needed to deal with that first.
The kids left shortly after confirming hockey drill plans with Hayley.
“Nice limp. Sprained it on a ladder, huh?” She shook her head. “You could have just told them your knee was bothering you. They would have understood.”
Maybe they would have, but Hayley didn’t get that they wanted to play with a pro full of tips and advice and encouragement.
With a bum knee, no career and according to some a drinking problem that brought it all about, he wasn’t exactly the best choice As of right this moment, the only thing he had going for him was two feet