UNCLE RONNY WAS the exact opposite of what I expected. I expected a big strong man that resembled an older version of Max. Instead, he was short and slight in stature, with a handlebar mustache and a military crew cut. He shared Max’s blue eyes. They twinkled when he smiled, and he smiled often.
We enjoyed dinner at the restaurant in the arena, and then we made our way down to our seats, which were right behind our bench.
Ronny was an avid hockey fan. He stood up and screamed when Max had a breakaway and scored a goal. It sounded like he was the only one in the entire stadium cheering.
He turned towards me, his eyes baffled.
“What the fuck is going on?”
I chewed on my lip. “It’s a long story.”
He sat down heavily beside me. “They don’t like him here.”
“They are warming up to him.”
“Come on, little lady, that’s bullshit and you know it.”
I rubbed my eye. “The fans are skeptical about Max because of his past including his fight with Flanynk.”
Ronny scratched the side of his face. “Well, that sucks.”
“I know.”
“Did he ever tell you what happened there?”
I shook my head. “No, you?”
“Nope, but Max has his reasons. Just because he doesn’t talk about them doesn’t make them wrong.”
“I know.”
The game continued. We cheered, ate popcorn, drank beer and made it our mission to scream for Max.
When the second intermission started, we sat back in our chairs and watched as the Zamboni circled the ice.
Ronny turned. “So how does someone as young and pretty as you get to be in a role that is so important?”
“Who says I’m important?”
“Everyone in that restaurant treated us like royalty. People were either nervous around you or desperate to impress you.”
“It’s not me they want to impress, it’s my dad.”
“He a big man around here?”
“He owns the team. And this building.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Your father is Mark Ashford?”
“The one and only.”
His whistle was low and long. “You ever dated a hockey player before?”
My eyes widened. “I… we’re… my dad.”
He nodded. “It’s a secret.”
“Kinda. I don’t know what’s going on.”
He nodded and stared out over the ice. “How much has Max told you about his past?”
“Not much.”
‘Did you know his mom, my sister, used to live in Vancouver?”
“No.”
He sighed and rubbed his chest. “Sharon moved to Vancouver, bright and fresh, so full of life. My parents were dead set against her coming out here.”
I did but didn’t want to hear what he was about to tell me. I knew it would be bad. “What happened?”
“Max happened. My parents wanted her to give up the baby. And when she refused, they disowned her.”
“Oh no.”
“She was unprepared for motherhood. I moved her to Ontario so that I could help her. She worked her fingers to the bone as a waitress. I helped where I could, but I was still in school.”
Our eyes met.
He gave a sad smile. “Damn, Max was one cute kid. I loved him more than life itself, but his mom didn’t bond with him. She gave him the basics, but she didn’t fall in love with him like I did.”
My heart cracked for Max. I couldn’t imagine having a baby and not loving it.
He continued. “When Max was five, he came apart. Big temper tantrums. Acting out. No one could handle him. One day Sharon showed up with Max and his stuff. She disappeared for seven years.”
Holy shit.
“Where did she go?”
He squinted. “Not sure. Max was beside himself. So, I stuck him in every sport I could think of. I figured he needed to channel his emotions somewhere.”
Poor Max. I sat in silence, trying to imagine a cute blue-eyed boy whose mom had abandoned him. The thought broke my heart.
Ronny stared at me with familiar eyes. “The sport that stuck was hockey. Kid looked like he was born on skates. We never looked back. Only problem was Sharon hates hockey.”
“Why?”
He turned to study me as if to see if I could handle the truth. “That’s Max’s story to tell you.”
Which meant it was bad.
“Okay.”
“Sharon despised hockey, and she fought against him playing every step of the way. She never forgave Max when he pursued hockey.”
I tried to process this. I couldn’t even imagine what Max’s life had been like. I always thought Max was averse to commitment because he wanted to play the field. It never crossed my mind he might not know how to commit.
“I don’t know what to say.” I didn’t. This conversation was leaving me speechless.
“Max has come a long way.”
I felt like this was too personal, too intimate to be sharing with me.
I cleared my throat. “Why are you telling me this?”
“You’re the first girl he’s ever introduced me to.”
“I don’t know if you’d qualify this as him introducing us.”
“He’s been in front of the media acting like a total jackass for the entire world to see, but I’ve never met a single girlfriend. When I’d get tickets for his games I’d pick them up at the front gate. Tonight, he warned me no less than six times to be on my best behavior.”
I could feel myself blush. “I care about him.”
“I can see that.” He cleared his throat. “Max is bad at talking about himself, but I think this is stuff you should know.”
The words blurted out of me. “I don’t know what is going on with us.”
He turned and studied my expression. “Max is crazy about you.”
My mouth dropped open. “What? Did he tell you that?”
He winked at me. “He didn’t have to.”
I stared at the ice. The third period was about to start and the players were streaming back onto the ice. Max, as if he could sense my gaze, looked up at me. His smile was beautiful.
I smiled back, losing myself in his gaze. Was he crazy about me? Was that even possible? That seemed like leaps and bounds from where I thought we were.
Ronny nudged me with his shoulder. “One request.”
“Anything.”
“Please be gentle with his heart. His mom was the first and last woman he ever loved and she broke his heart. He’s kept that thing tucked away so long, I’m not sure he knows how to use it, but I see a shift in him. He feels things. And it scares him.”
I put my hand on my chest. “I can’t even express how I feel about Max. But there’s something you should know. My father would not approve.”
“You’re worried about his career.”
“Hockey is his life.”
He smiled, his blue eyes crinkling. “That’s where you are wrong. Hockey is his job and there are far more important things in this world than our jobs.”
My eyes blurred with emotions. “I don’t want him to have to choose.”
He patted my hand. “Let Max make that decision. The only thing you need to decide is how you really feel about him.”
“Is it that easy?”
“It is if you let it be.”
