Nikki Worrell - The Enforcer (NHL Scorpions)

“That doesn’t give you much time to pack. How will you get it all done if you’re still working? You need to be here for that interview. Kyle’s going out of town the day after you’re supposed to interview with him.” Kyle, the CFO, was nice enough to schedule Lacey’s interview for the following Sunday evening. That gave her time to drive out there and allowed him to fit her interview in before leaving for his business trip.

“I don’t have that much to pack. It’s mostly just my personal items. I rented this cottage furnished. The only big things that are mine are my bed, dresser and the TV. That’s about it. It’s a small truck. Oh, and my soaps of course.”

“You and your smelly soaps. You know they sell them here, too.”

Lacey was passionate about her ‘smelly’ soaps. She rarely wore high heels or skirts. She didn’t wear much makeup and kept her hair long because it was easy. She was definitely not a girly girl, but Lacey loved her soaps. She used a different scent just about every day.

“Again … whatever. When will you be here?”

“That’s why I’m calling, Lace. I hope you can manage this, but I need to be back almost two days earlier than we expected, so we’d have to leave there on Saturday. Do you think that’s possible? If not, maybe I could drive with you part of the way and pick up a flight in the middle somewhere so that I’m back in time.”

Taking in her boxes, lined up against the wall like good little soldiers, Lacey thought, of course I can be ready early . Most of them were already packed, since there wasn’t that much to pack up to begin with. Books and DVDs took up most of the boxes, and there were a couple of suitcases full of her clothes. It was kind of pathetic really. As for her bigger items in storage, surely she could hire someone at the storage place to send that stuff to her when she was ready for it. “Sure, no problem. But why so early?”

“We have a new player coming here from San Jose. His name is Jody LaGrange. He’s their fighter … I mean, enforcer.”

Lacey had always had a soft spot for enforcers and didn’t like it when they were referred to as fighters. Their role on the team was not always understood or respected. People were hard on enforcers, because they didn’t score a lot. But here’s a news flash … they weren’t supposed to! It wasn’t their job. Their job was to protect the star players, and if that meant bashing some skulls now and then, well so be it. As soon as an enforcer lost a couple of fights (which would happen), fans seemed to forget how those same enforcers had saved their star players by taking charge and challenging those who would hurt them. It drove Lacey nuts. “Jody LaGrange, huh? Jody? Sounds a bit soft for an enforcer.”

“Yeah, he’s soft all right. He’s six-foot three-inches and packing two hundred and thirty pounds of muscle. He’s pretty good, too. Great guy in the locker room, and he doesn’t bitch if he’s benched when they don’t need him. He wins more than fifty-percent of his fights, and that’s not too shabby for a thirty-six year old. He’s getting up there for an enforcer.”

Lacey usually knew all about the enforcers but was not as familiar with the West Coast teams. She knew the name, but that was about it. Zoe however, seemed to know quite a bit about him. “Seems like you know quite a bit about this Jody LaGrange.”

“I always do research on my boys before they come see me. I think it’s important that they know I’m truly interested in them. Especially the enforcers. How many fights can they get into before it takes a toll on their brain? I also see a correlation between being a protective person before their hockey career and transferring that into their job as an enforcer. It’s not just fighting to them; they’re out there to protect their teammates.”

“Okay, okay, I get it, but if you truly believe they are protectors, WHY do you insist on calling them fighters?”

“Because it’s fun to screw with you, and I know how you have a thing for enforcers. I know, I know-they can’t be trusted either. Seriously though, I just want to do the best job I can with them. These guys aren’t perfect, but they’re mine, you know?”

“I get it Zoe, I really do. You’re a great psychologist – the best. You help me out all the time, without even knowing it, and I love you for it. Now get your ass out here so I can start having some fun again.”

Picking Zoe up at the airport was the start of their adventure. She was, as usual, as excited as a newborn pup. When she got in the car she bounded over the console to give Lacey a hug. “I’m so excited! This is going to be so much fun driving all the way to California together.” Hmmm … it could be a long drive indeed.

Zoe wanted to drive right from the airport, but that obviously wasn’t going to happen. “Zoe, there’s just too much traffic here; you’ll have to wait until we get somewhere a little more remote.” Every time Zoe asked, Lacey had another excuse. Finally, somewhere in Utah, she finally agreed to let Zoe try to drive Rosie.

“Okay Zoe, you can have one chance to drive my girl without killing her transmission. But you have to promise to do it exactly like I say. Deal?” Her face lit up like the Fourth of July. “Really?” she said. “You’re going to trust me with your baby?”

“Trust you? No. But I’m going to let you try it anyway.”

Lacey found a road that was nice and straight, with nothing around as far as the eye could see, and pulled over. Before they were even fully stopped, Zoe was out of the car. That made Lacey feel like a bitch for not letting her drive earlier. Zoe was so excited, it was kind of cute. It would be interesting to see if that feeling lasted. They switched seats, and Lacey started instructing. “Okay, now you’re going to push the clutch in and before you do anything, I want you to feel the gears.” Lacey demonstrated the pattern of the gears for her. “Okay, you think you’re ready?”

“Yes! Yes, I’m ready.”

“Push in the clutch, put it in first, and slowly let out the clutch while gently giving her some gas.” At that, they proceeded to fly about ten feet before the car jerked to a halt. “Okay, okay … not too bad; you just stalled her. Push the clutch back in, start her and try again. That’s it – now clutch in, gas off, shift to second. Good. Okay … no Zoe … NO ZOE… NO MORE GAS! You have to shift again. You can’t do fifty in second gear. It’s not good for Rosie. STOP!” Zoe didn’t look so cute anymore.

At that she looked at Lacey with puppy dog eyes and said, “I’m done, aren’t I?”

“Why yes, yes you are.” Zoe broke out into a huge smile and told Lacey how much fun it was. Lacey didn’t agree, but she was glad Zoe enjoyed it because it was never going to happen again. Phew … at least that was over with.

When they finally got to the California border on Thursday morning, they were both looking forward to being done with driving for a while. They had driven almost ten hours a day and made good time. Zoe had plenty of time before her Friday meeting with the new enforcer. Lacey was thinking about this Jody. Jody LaGrange. Name’s kinda sexy. Nope, nope, not going there. Wonder what he looks like? I like big guys. Yeah, I really do need a man; but NOT a hockey player.

The last time Lacey visited Zoe, she was still living in an apartment. Since then, Zoe had bought a house at the beach. It was easy to see why Zoe chose that house. Located only a block from the beach, the waves could be heard crashing against the shore. Lacey loved it at first sight.