Read Offside for Free Online Page B

shrugged, “which one of us he
prefers.” Her brow furled as if she was lost in thought.
    Bobbi inhaled sharply and took a step
forward. For a second Billie thought her sister was going to punch
her, but then a low rumble interrupted them as Gerald Dooley’s
large, expensive, flashy, truck pulled up behind Billie’s modest
Honda.
    Gerald stepped down from the truck, his
expression somewhat cautious, as he approached the girls. Billie
didn’t bother to hide her disgust. The man’s jeans were ironed for
Christ sake. Who did that?
    He nodded toward Billie. “Big game
tonight.”
    “Yep.” Billie moved back up the stairs,
suddenly glad her sister was leaving. Glad the tension would follow
her. Glad she could get out on the ice and forget. “Surprised,
you’re not staying to watch.”
    “Oh,” Gerald mumbled. “I didn’t…well, we
didn’t…”
    “You’ve got to be kidding,” Bobbi snapped.
“Why would we encourage her?”
    Billie’s hand was on the front door when her
sister managed to get underneath her skin one last time.
    “Just make sure you take some time out from
your busy schedule wrecking marriages and playing tonsil hockey
with Shane Gallagher to check on Dad tonight.”
    “Shane?” Gerald piped up. “He’s back in
town?”
    Both girls ignored him and Billie’s chest
tightened as she stared at her sister. The feeling of lightness,
that wonderful anticipation she always felt before a game was long
gone.
    “Don’t worry about Dad,” she said quietly
before disappearing into the house. She ran to the kitchen, grabbed
two bottles of Gatorade and was happy to see Gerald’s truck gone
when she returned to her car.
    “Break a leg, sweets.” Gramps followed her
out and grinned down at her from the porch as she slid into her
Honda.
    She laughed. “I’ll try not to.” She threw the
car into reverse and waved. “I won’t be long. Home right after the
game.”
    Gramps shook his head. “Don’t you worry about
us old men. There’s a [i] Criminal Minds [i] marathon on the
TV. We’ll keep busy. You go out with your team and have fun.”
    Billie’s gaze moved upward and her heart
clutched when her eyes settled on the dim light that fell from her
father’s room. A shadow lingered there, once tall but now bent over
with age and sickness.
    “I don’t think that’s gonna happen,” she
murmured and reversed out of the driveway.
    Less than ten minutes later Billie hauled her
hockey gear down the wide steps that led to the changing rooms
beneath New Waterford’s twin pads. Always a diehard, she’d never
invested in bags with wheels, preferring to carry her equipment and
the only time she’d ever let anyone else lug her gear around was in
Europe.
    She paused at the bottom, aware that a lot of
male eyes followed her progress as well as more than a few
girlfriends and wives. She felt their interest. She felt it sharply
and though she was used to attention, this was different. It was in
the covert whispers behind hands, the pokes and nods and the way
most eyes slid in the other direction when they met Billie’s.
    A quick glance told her that Logan was
nowhere in sight and the nervous tension in her belly dissipated
when she realized he wasn’t around. Which she supposed said
something, but for the moment she didn’t really want to think about
Logan Forest. Or Logan and Sabrina Fairfax for that matter.
    Or the fact that they’d left The Grill
together last Friday and it was obvious they were heading back to
Logan’s to…well, what else would Logan do with someone like
Sabrina? It’s not like they’d settle in for an early evening of
cards and Jeopardy. There’s only one thing Sabrina Fairfax would be
doing with a man like Forest.
    [i] Exactly what I’d be doing [i].
    Her cheeks burned at the thought and she
cleared her throat, yanking her bag a little higher.
    Logan had emailed her Wednesday with their
schedule and she knew their team was called the ‘Angry Pirates’.
The name somehow