Rushing the Goal
Page 124

It was heartbreaking, but she had to follow what her dad had said.
And jeez, he was a whole other issue.
He was great at the game, and Angie just ate it up that he was there. He was extremely sweet to her and actually very nice to River and her mom. She didn’t know what he was up to and hated that she assumed he was up to something since he had been so helpful, but it wasn’t like him. The last three years had been hell. He had manipulated all of them and burned his relationships with his sons, so she was sure she was next.
Leaning on her hand, she dreaded every hour that passed. The closer to meetup time, the more her belly hurt. Her mom and River were meeting her at the rink where Angie would only have an hour practice since Rick said he wouldn’t meet her there. It was frustrating because Angie wanted to practice, but what could she do? It was his time, and he was following the parenting plan like he had told her many times.
When her office door opened, she looked up as Rayne came in, her brows pressed together. “Hey, Lucy.”
“Yeah?”
“So, I know it’s none of my business,” she said, falling into the seat in front of her desk. “And usually, I would ignore it, but—”
“What’s going on?” Lucy asked, her heart kicking into high speed at Rayne’s worried expression. She was usually so happy-go-lucky, but she looked troubled.
“Well…” She paused, handing Lucy a piece of paper. But when she looked down, she wasn’t sure what she was looking at. “I follow Nikky Jiggler’s Blog of Puck Bunnies. I know, it’s trashy and just something I find hilarious. This chick goes around and sleeps with all these hockey players and then writes up these insane blog posts about them. It’s very funny, but also pretty scandalous.”
Her stomach dropped. Please don’t say what I think you’re about to say.
Swallowing hard, Lucy looked down, and there it was, Benji’s name.
“She doesn’t have a blog post yet, but it’s just his name and the words ‘To Come,’ so I don’t know. I don’t believe it, but I thought you should know.”
Letting out a long breath, Lucy shook her head. “Fucking figures. I have the worst luck in my life. I don’t need this.” Rayne nodded as Lucy got up, her heart pounding. “Thanks for showing me this. I gotta go get Angie.”
“Are you okay? I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t be. And I’ve been better, but it’s nothing I can’t handle,” she said as Rayne stopped her.
“I don’t believe it, though. Benji isn’t that guy.”
Lucy only nodded, patting Rayne’s hand before heading out of her office and out the door. She couldn’t believe this. Getting in her car, she put her phone in its holder and FaceTimed Benji.
“Hey, baby,” he answered as she backed out of the driveway. “Off to get Angie?”
“Yeah,” she said sharply as she put the car in drive to pull away. “Do me a favor. Go to NikkyJiggler.com.”
He made a face. “Why in the hell would I go on that filth’s website?”
“So you’ve heard of her?”
“Everyone has heard of her. She’s trash,” he said simply. “Why?”
“Go look.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment, and when she looked over at him, he was staring at his computer. Making a face, he looked back at her. “Okay, do I need to defend myself here, or are we good and you know this is complete bullshit?”
Her brow furrowed. “I mean, what do you think?”
“I think it’s a pile of bullshit. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is what you think.”
“I don’t believe it, if that is what you’re asking. But it would make sense.”
“Excuse me? Make sense how?”
“I’m the queen of bad fucking luck. Finally find this guy I’m really digging and he cheats on me with some whore. Figures.”
“Well, you’re actually in luck, my love, ’cause my heart only wants you and that’s it. This is bullshit, and I’ll be calling my lawyer as soon as we get off the phone.”
She nodded, shaking her head. She already knew that. Benji wouldn’t cheat on her. He wasn’t that kind of guy. Still, it was nice for him to reiterate that, though. “Okay.”
“I’m sorry this came up now.”
She shrugged. “My luck. But like you said, it’s bullshit. I’m not worried about it.”
“Are you sure? Are you okay?” he asked, and she shook her head again.
“No, I’m not.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No, ’cause it won’t do anything,” she said sharply, feeling bad for it, but she was just pissed. Stupid Nikky Jiggler. Stupid Rick.
“Okay,” he said slowly as she pulled into the school parking lot. “You look beautiful today. At least when that douche is being an asshole, he’ll have regret for ever treating you wrong.”
Her lip quirked as she put the car in park. “Just what I want.”
“I know, baby, I’m sorry,” he said as her eyes met his. “I wish I was there.”
“Me too. I haven’t even really talked to her about it. I told her that we had to meet him, and she had to tell him she didn’t want to go. She didn’t like that, told me she’s scared of him, Benji. How can you be okay with your daughter being scared of you?”