“I saw the headlines,” another voice said.
What headlines?
A third voice. “He can park his skates under my bed anytime.”
What bloody headlines?
“Did you see the piece of trash he fought over?” The first woman again. “A model? Who for? Trailer Park Monthly?”
Shrill laughter, like witches’ cackles, set Maggie’s teeth on edge.
Woman? Fight? Two words that sounded like history repeating itself.
A chill ran through her.
“I almost got a goal.” Emily came off the ice bubbling, unaware of her mother’s shock.
“Well done, Em.” Dazed, she helped her daughter with her skates.
“I’m starving. Is it lunchtime? Can we go to McDonald’s?”
“Okay,” she mumbled, desperate to get away from the rink.
“You’re the best mum ever.”
Lunch passed in a blur. Thankfully, Emily didn’t seem to notice anything amiss. Still, Maggie was relieved to pull into the driveway of Tracy’s Victorian, so she could get some space to think.
“Is that Jenny’s car?” Emily pointed at the red convertible.
“Yes.” Jenny must have heard the news, too.
“It’s really cool. When I’m a famous hockey player, like Mr. Jake, I want a car like that.”
What if the story was true? Emily was already attached to Jake. What would it do to her daughter to discover he wasn’t the hero she’d thought?
What it would do to Maggie didn’t bear thinking about.
“Don’t forget to spray Lysol in your gloves,” she called as Emily rushed inside.
Maggie followed slowly, her bones aching with a familiar gloomy weariness, and headed for the kitchen.
Jenny and Tracy sat at the table, their heads bent over a laptop. Her friend’s calm contrasted with her sister’s disgusted expression.
“Is the story about Jake that bad?” Maggie leaned against the door frame.
Tracy stood and put the kettle on. “I think so.”
“We should hear Jake’s side. There’s more to this than what’s on a gossip site.” Jenny turned the laptop toward Maggie. “You know him. Do you believe a word of this?”
“What’s not to believe?” Tracy sniffed. “The woman? The nightclub? The fight?”
Common sense began to replace the panicked fog in Maggie’s brain.
Jenny was right—she did know Jake. “We can’t condemn him because of his past.” She slipped into a seat. “Let’s see what this says.”
“Fine. But you’ll be disappointed.”
Her sister’s vehemence surprised her. “Why the about-face? You were his biggest fan.”
“I thought he’d changed. That he’d be good for you. I didn’t realize he’s as bad as your jerk ex-husband.”
Tracy’s comment chased away the last of the fuzziness. “Whatever that story says, Jake’s nothing like Lee. Not even close.”
If she hadn’t been sure of that, she’d never have agreed to take their relationship to the next stage. She certainly wouldn’t have trusted him to be around Emily. Jake wasn’t violent or obsessively controlling. He accepted when he was wrong and he apologized. Not because it was expected, but because he meant it. More importantly, he treated her with respect.
True, he could be stubborn and overbearing when he believed he was right. He wasn’t perfect, but who was?
Jake deserved a fair hearing.
Her heart thumped heavily as she read the on-screen article and saw the grainy cell-phone pictures. “It looks pretty damning.”
“You don’t believe that trash, do you?” Jenny looked disappointed. “It’s a slow news week with Lindsay Lohan in rehab again and Jennifer Aniston finally married, so they’ve latched onto something that’s nothing.”
“I know how the media can take a hint of a story and turn it into a full-length novel.” Maggie shook her head. “The whole thing just doesn’t add up. What has Jake said?”
“Neither he nor the team have made a public statement. They won’t want to give the media more fuel for their fire.”
Tracy threw up her hands. “There’d be no story at all unless something happened.”
“No one’s denying something happened,” Jenny shot back. “Just not what the media are making out. Even if Jake was interested, which he isn’t—” she gave Maggie a pointed look “—he could have any woman he wanted. He sure as hell wouldn’t go after one like that, especially as she’s married.”
“And the fight?” Tracy arched an eyebrow.
Maggie thought for a minute. Then it struck her. The Code. Jake was a “white hat.” “If there was an altercation, Jake was defending or protecting someone. A friend. A teammate.”