When Mama Met Papa

Ok I'll admit it; I love Goalies. I never expected to fall for one though. Especially not one who was in the middle of a divorce and had 3 kids, but I did. You might wonder how I met him, well that's easy. I'm a part-time skating instructor and a full-time author.

I was coming in at my normal time but not a normal day. Normally I didn't have to be at the rink on a Saturday morning, but one of the other instructors had fallen ill and I was on the shortlist for replacements. That's when I was a dad trying to wrestle 3 kids and 2 hockey bags into the building. "Here, let me get the door for you guys." I said, moving for the door. That's when I saw who I was holding the door for.

I knew he had taken the year off, there were rumors of a nasty divorce circling in town, and I even knew that he had been traded by the Bruins. What I didn't know was what he was doing at the rink. They got by me with a whispered thank you and hurried steps.

I didn't think anything about it until I was strapping my own skates on in preparation for the class I was about to teach. "Thank you so much for that." I looked up from my skaters to see him sitting next to me.

"It's no big deal. You looked like you needed another hand." I was trying to play it cool, like it was truly no big deal that a winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy was sitting next to me. Yeah I was _that_ big of a hockey fan. "Besides T3Ks are good kids."

He looked at me oddly. "T3Ks?" The confusion was plain in his voice. He looked out over the ice at the current kids out there.

I laughed a loud. "Yeah, The Three Ks. Coach Dan started calling them that last year. It helped when multi team practices were held. I mean calling out the last name got 3 heads turning, the numbers told them which one was needed." I heard him chuckle warmly. "You should be _really_ proud of Kiley, she's incredible. Kelsey and Keegan are still in the ‘let's have fun' stage but K1, she takes it seriously."

"Sounds like you know a little bit about the position." I looked over and saw him smiling.

"You could say that. I like studying tendys on all levels. I tend to focus on the pros more than the kids though. This year I'm watching the Euro leagues and the KHL more than I have in the past." I looked out over the ice and saw some kids learning how to fall.

"It's been a bad year for the NHL so far. I hope they finally get rid of Bettman." He said in response. "How do you have so much time to watch so much hockey?"

I smiled. "Ever heard of the Puget Sound Pumas books?" I saw his eyebrows go up, which I took as a yes. "I'm Stephanie Medved, the author. For me, watching NHL games is technically research. I haven't actually played but I do skate and enjoy watching the technical aspects of the game." My brain was shouting at me to shut up. He did _not_ need to know how much of a Hockey Geek I truly was!

"I've seen your books being passed around in various arenas. They are a underground thing, you don't admit to reading until you get caught. I mean come on how often do hockey players find love with someone who either doesn't know who they are, or doesn't care who people think they are?" I worked hard not to bristle at the way he was dismissing my hard work. Most of the stories I wrote were based in reality with things changed to protect who actually had it happen.

He must have realized how what he was saying sounded because I heard him stop mid-thought. "I am _so_ sorry. I'll admit I've never read any of them and I'm sure it's more difficult to write than most people think."

I relaxed as he acknowledged the difficulty of my job. "There's a lot more to it then sitting in front of a computer and writing for a few days. It takes planning every major twist and turn. My stories are all based in fact. I have lots of contacts through out the league that let me know about odd ways that couples get together. I normally end up talking to the couple and finding out more information. If I think I could use any of it in a book, I get details and record them talking about it. Then comes the legal CYAs and then I give credit discreetly when it does make it into a book. You wouldn't believe how many files I have on the odd ways couples get together. I think the hardest part is making it work with what went before."

Tim chuckled wryly. "Have you written one about a guy in the middle of a divorce yet?"

I smiled. "Not yet, my last was someone becoming a surprise parent and falling for the nanny. I'm always looking for ideas though." I noticed my co-teacher waving to grab my attention. "I'd love to talk more, but my class is up. If the kids want to stay around after they're, maybe we'll have time to exchange phone numbers." I walked steadily down the bleachers and, taking my skate guards off at the boards, went to teach my class.

After the kids were back with their folks Lisa and I were making small talk. The errand kid came up to us. "Ms. Medved? This was dropped off at the office for you." He handed me a sealed envelope. I was confused until I opened it and read the note inside.

Steph, I'm sorry if anything I said hurt you. I know lots of guys who would be thrilled to meet you. I would love to take you out and make it up to you. Call me and we'll set up a time. -Tim

He'd enclosed both his home and cell numbers as well. I was flabbergasted; he apologized and asked me out. I didn't think I'd made that big of an impression. I must have been silent too long as Lisa nudged me. "Steph, you ok?"

I looked up, still startled. "Huh? Oh, yeah I'm ok. I'm just surprised by this note. I didn't expect him to do this." I smiled happily. Someone I admired had asked me out. Lisa just chuckled and shook her head. She then thanked me for helping out this morning. She only had a co-teacher for her morning class as it was so big. Well that and the other teacher was only available on Saturday mornings.

I went back to my bag and took off my skates. I had a few things to do before I could get home and call Tim. My editor sent my fan mail and it should be here today. I also wanted to check JoAnn's Fabrics for some stuff I wanted for my latest project. Oh, and I needed groceries too.

It took me hours to get back to my place. Hours spent getting my things done and trying hard not to reflect on the conversation I had with Tim. I was now getting my final load out of my car and into the house. Of course the phone started ringing. I abandoned the box of fan mail on the kitchen island and grabbed the phone without looking at the caller id. I was unlisted; the only people that called me had my number already. "Hello?"

"So I heard a rumor this afternoon, about a certain author talking to someone and having a possible date with the same mystery man. Care to clarify?" I stifled a groan and put my head on the counter. Of course Kath would have heard about what happened this morning.

"I _just_ got home after getting things done Kath, could the interrogation wait until _after_ there's something to interrogate me about?" I realized then that I had just given her confirmation and mentally cursed myself. I might as well tell her everything now. "You know T3Ks right? The kids that Dan calls K1,2 and 3? I helped them and their dad into the rink this morning. He came over as I was putting my skates on and we had a conversation. He kinda put his foot in his mouth when I brought up the books and left a note saying he'd like to make it up to me. I'd be talking to him but you called first."

I heard Kath gasp. We both knew who T3Ks dad was. "So, are the rumors true? Are they really divorcing?" I pulled over a chair and sat down. This wasn't going to be a short conversation. I was now glad I had put the groceries away when I first got home.

Once I hung up from talking with Kath, I moved the fan mail box to my coffee table and opened it. It was my assistant's day off so I was on my own to sort and look through things. I sorted by date first, so I could get the oldest stuff looked at first. I put it back in the box with the oldest on top. That was all the "work" I would do today. I always used Saturday as my day off when I was writing and didn't see a reason to change now that I was outlining the next one.

At 7 p.m. I finally got enough courage to call Tim's cell phone. I figured I wouldn't have a possible run in with his soon-to-be ex-wife if I called his cell phone. Being that he had his kids at least for the weekend I didn't expect him to answer the phone. Good thing too as I got his voice mail. When it was time, I found myself tripping over my tongue. "Hi Tim, it's Steph. Um… sorry I didn't call earlier, I was running some errands. Um, anyway I'd love to go out with you. I'm on a half-vacation, which sounds stupid but it's how I do things in between full out writing. Anyway, um, here's my numbers for you." I rattle them off both home and cell. "I'm unlisted for obvious reasons, pretty sure you are to. I look forward to hearing from you." I hung up before any _more_ word vomit could come out of me. You'd think because I'm an author I'd be good with the spoken word. Yeah… not so much, written is easier for me.

Then the waiting began. To make it easier I prepped my groceries, not only did it keep my mind busy, but it meant healthy dinners and lunches were easier to throw together. I scrubbed and washed fruits and veggies, made sure I portioned larger chunks of meat down to more manageable sizes for me and worked out menus online so that I could cook easily and without a lot of effort on my part. I then blogged a little bit and checked up on my Twitter. Yeah a lot of authors I knew now had Twitter; it was a great way to stay in touch with fans.

By the time I was logging off for the night it was 9 p.m. and I was pretty sure Tim wasn't going to be calling tonight. I went back into the kitchen from my office, made sure my coffee maker was ready for the morning and headed upstairs to the master bedroom. Shortly after crawling into bed and making sure my alarm was set, the day ended and dreamland came.