Love on Ice
Chapter 33
Rick had won his game 5-3. Kate had had her interview and would be notified of the results later and what came next. They had indeed celebrated. Kate had watched him tie her to their bed and had opened her mouth wide so Rick could insert her 6-inch dildo gag.
She in turn had screamed out a number of orgasms as her husband did wicked things to her body. It wasn't a record number but she had enjoyed it none the less.
This morning she was up early and was looking herself over in all the mirrors she could find. As usual, Rick had marked her body. It told anyone that got past her clothes that she was indeed married and that her husband didn't share.
Then she saw Rick come up behind her. He slipped his hands around her waist and kissed her neck. "Too much?" She had marks that would fade soon though her hickeys would take a little longer.
"No, I love them." Then suddenly it just hit her. She was married, had a daughter, almost had a new job. She loved her life.
"Then what's with the tears?" Rick was able to see them starting to form in the mirror.
Kate wiped them away. "Nothing, I just love you." She might have one wall left but it was so small that it didn't matter.
"How much do you love me?" Rick asked her as he stood behind her, bent her at the waist, and rubbed his cock up and down her outer lips.
"Stop teasing me and fuck me!" Kate yelled at him and felt him bury himself deep inside her.
The rest of the day was spent as a family inside their own home before Rick's next game the following day. "Any ideas what we do during my off season? We have an RV," Rick asked Kate as they watched Alexis sitting on the floor playing.
"I won't have any vacation time after I get hired. Maybe two days at best. I don't know what we can do with that." Kate didn't think she could go anywhere in their RV.
Then Maria walked in carrying her ringing cell phone and handed it to Kate. It was only then that it hit her she had left it somewhere plugged in to charge and forgot it.
"Thanks, Maria. …Rodgers." Kate listened. "I can do that. Where and when do you want me?" she inquired then scrambled to find pen and paper. "6070 East Boulevard. I'll be there. Thank you." Kate hung up.
"I made it to the next level of interview. If they like me I get hired!" Kate was almost there.
Alexis didn't understand. "What means hired, Mommy?"
"Mommy almost has a job again. A job that she wants so much." Being home and spending time with Alexis was nice, but she wanted a job. To find killers and put them in prison where they belonged.
"Oh." Alexis was old enough to understand that that meant her mommy wouldn't be home.
That had Kate down on the floor to hug her. "I need this job, Alexis. Besides, Daddy's hockey games are almost over so he'll be home and you still have Maria."
Alexis liked the idea of her daddy being home again but Mommy was still going away so she was a mix of sad and happy.
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Kate was ready for Rick to come home the next day after his game. They had lost to Calgary 2-1 which tied the series at one game a piece. She had his favorite cup of coffee nice and hot in her hand that had a touch of whiskey in it to help kill the pain.
"I watched, you stopped them from scoring every time. Stupid power play." A last minute power play for Calgary had allowed them to win the game. Now they moved the game to Calgary for two games.
Rick sipped his drink and felt the whiskey go down his throat. "Playing another Canadian team has always been a problem for us." He shook his head. It meant this series was going to be hard for them.
"I have news." She at least had good news. "I was offered a job today. I'll be stationed in the Kerrisdale Oakridge Marpole district. Basically the southwest corner of Vancouver. Vancouver is broken into 11 different districts. This one is just barely the largest of the three." Kate had more information to share but Rick hugged her and began kissing her.
"I got to see my desk and I get my own car. They're going to start me at C$60,126 per year." Kate was so excited and kissed Rick.
"Sixty sounds nice. Is that good?" He knew nothing about what pay for her type of job was.
"It's less than I was making in New York City but living there was very expensive so we were paid more. Now I can start helping to pay for our expenses." Thus far Rick was paying for everything. They were a married couple now and she wanted to help.
"Well, I guess you can have the cable and water bill," Rick offered since those were two of the lower housing bills they had.
"Add the trash and you got a deal," Kate insisted. She was already paying for her own gas and paying for car insurance.
"Does that mean you'll drag the bin out to the driveway so they can pick it up?" Rick was taking out all the trash and dragging the bin out to the street.
"No!" She would pay the bill but she drew the line at dragging that filthy thing out to the street.
Rick caved in. "Since I don't have a choice I guess you have a deal." Kate kissed him for it. She was now an active part of this family and that meant so very much to her.
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It was April 16th. Kate was starting her job today and Rick was leaving their home to fly to Calgary for game six. They were down 3 games to 2 and needed to win this game or it was all over. Maria was left alone with Alexis. Much like it had been before Kate had arrived in their lives.
Kate didn't have time to drive him to the airport so Rick was driving himself and leaving his car in parking for when he flew back home.
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Kate soon found that they did things similarly and yet differently from what she was used to. They used a cork board on a wall to handle cases. She asked if they could switch to a large white board on wheels. She would buy it herself if they would let her.
Her boss gave her permission to experiment with it but if it didn't work out then out the door it went. Kate thanked him and did a search for what she wanted. However, she had to stop when she got her first case.
Vancouver BC didn't have the murder rate that New York City did, but that didn't mean it didn't happen. She wasn't on her own yet. She was assigned to a team and was now a junior investigator. She didn't mind. They would soon learn just what she could do.
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Gordon Sinclair and Joseph Reilly were now part of her team. Though it was more her being added to theirs since they had seniority, but Kate would soon change that, she was sure.
"Hockey?" Gordon caught her using her computer to keep track of the game in Calgary.
"My husband is a defenseman for the Canucks. I just wanted to see what the score was," Kate informed him and took it off her computer screen.
"The Canucks came really close last year. Calgary's really good, though and they're ahead by one game." Gordon saw the look on her face. "We're Canadians. All of us follow hockey. Everyone in this building is a Canuck fan. Win or lose, you can tell the rest of us." Gordon left her and went back to his desk. They had a murder to solve.
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"They are still tied 4-4 at the end of the first overtime," Kate called out and got, "GO CANUCKS," back. These guys were worse than the guys at the 12th.
"Still tied 4-4 after second overtime," Kate said then took a call about her case.
Kate didn't like their cork board but she was using it. She needed to make a call so back to her desk she went. She ended up staying late like she used to. Alexis would be asleep by the time she got home.
"THEY WON! 5-4 in three overtimes!" Kate yelled and heard a cheer go up. It meant the series was tied 3-3 and the next game was a home game on April 19th.
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"You won!" Kate greeted him at the garage door and kissed him enthusiastically.
Rick gave his head a shake. "Just barely. I can't remember ever having a game like it. It was so close. Calgary is really good."
"You'll beat them, babe." He had to. "Are you hungry? Maria has something for you in the warmer."
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"How was your first day?" Rick asked her while he ate something even if he wasn't all that hungry. Mostly he was just tired.
"Not too bad. I caught a case and was teamed with a couple of other investigators. They use a cork board on a wall. I ordered a large white board to use instead. It and the markers should arrive in a few days hopefully." Kate really wanted what she was used to using, plus in her head it was a better way.
"So do you like it?" he asked after finishing a bite. It was her chosen profession so she needed to like it.
"I would love to never have to solve another murder case because people stopped killing each other, but yeah, I like it. Our building is almost as old as the 12th precinct was." It wasn't an old brick building like the 12th was. It was more a 1960s building with a flat roof. It only had three floors and lots of windows.
"How did Alexis take your going to work instead of staying home?" Rick was curious.
"I don't know. She was asleep when I left and asleep when I got home. I need to figure out how to get home before bedtime. Maria didn't mention anything." It must have gone well enough.
"I have tomorrow off so I can stay with her. Hopefully that won't last. We don't win and we won't do as well as last year." Rick wanted to win and keep winning until they reached the Stanley Cup. Alexis would survive.
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Unfortunately Rick was proven wrong. They lost 3-2 in the first overtime. They had played really hard but they'd lost and their season was over.
Kate and the others were still working on their case. "They lost!" Kate sat back in her chair, threw her pen at her desktop, and watched it bounce away. The news didn't go over well in the office. The Canucks were supposed to win. They had done better last year.
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Kate and the team had solved their case; she finally got her white board and explained how it worked to everyone. It had a magnetic base so they needed little magnets to hold up pictures and other things. They could write on it then erase it away when the case was solved.
Paperwork here was the same as at the 12th. A paper trail was necessary for the future. It was March 9th and Kate was headed home a little earlier than usual. Alexis would still be awake and she could actually eat dinner with her family.
They were all seated at the dining room table eating what Maria had made for them. She was as ever a really good cook. Better than her mother. Not that she was ever going to admit that to anyone except herself.
"What's wrong, babe?" He was playing with his food instead of eating it and it was really good.
Rick didn't look at her. "I got word today. I've been traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets. My contract with them is over and they decided to trade me before they lost me."
"WHAT!?" Kate dropped her fork and instantly lost her appetite. "They can't do that!" Actually she knew that they could, but that wasn't the point. They had a house here. They had a life here. She had finally gotten her job and was beginning to settle in.
"They can and they did."
Kate wasn't interested in eating any longer and wanted something to drink instead. So she was up and went looking for something. She found a bottle of wine first, filled a glass to almost overflowing, and started drinking.
"What do we do? Just where is Columbus anyway?" Some teams she knew something about, but the Blue Jackets wasn't one of them.
"It's somewhere in Ohio." Rick was so depressed he hadn't bothered to look just exactly where.
"Back to the States. …What if I don't want to move? We'd have to take Alexis out of school. She'll lose all her friends again." It didn't even occur to Kate that she was thinking like a mother. Her first concern was Alexis.
"I only have two options." Kate waited for him to explain. "First we sell our home, pack up, and move. OR…I retire and stop playing hockey." His contract was basically over and it still didn't have a no trade clause. So he either moved or he quit.
"Some choice!" Kate drank her glass of wine and partially refilled it before coming back to the table to sit down.
"We moving?" Alexis knew that word and she didn't want to move. She had friends, a big house, and a dog. "What about Snow?" Hearing her name had Snow up and looking for a handout.
"We're not moving, pumpkin. Your daddy will think of something."
"If I quit it means my plan for when I did stop playing is going to be full time now. I'll be expected to write one book a year most likely."
"I like Derek Storm and your books are selling. Isn't Black Pawn happy with you?" They were making money off his books, after all.
"Very happy. Gina's been after me to write faster and get books out sooner." He just wasn't sure about the kind of money he could make writing books. The money he had gotten from the other books was nice, but he made much more playing hockey.
"We don't have a mortgage and the cars are paid for. I'm not sure how much we can stretch my money." Living in this house wasn't that cheap. "What do we do?"
Maria chose to stay out of this. It wasn't about her. She either stayed and worked for Mr. Rick and Mrs. Kate or she didn't and moved closer to her family.
"I only see one option, Kate. I'll turn in my retirement papers and void the trade, then become a writer full time. I was planning on starting but not finishing the next book this off season. I guess I'll finish it this time."
"I'm sorry, babe. I know you love playing hockey. It's not fair." It really wasn't fair at all.
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Kate took off her clothes and climbed into their bed where a naked Rick was waiting for her. "Are we really going to do this?" She'd looked up Columbus, Ohio, and it wasn't even close to the size of Vancouver. Sure it would have a police force, but did it need a homicide detective? She had spent a year learning all about Canadian law so she could get this job.
"It's that or we move. You quit your job, Alexis loses her friends. We sell the house and find a new one. That or we get a divorce." He didn't want to but he would do it so Kate could keep her job.
Kate glared at him. "Not funny, babe, really not funny." She wasn't getting a divorce. Not for any reason she could think about. "You can just forget about divorce. I'll shoot you first."
Rick chuckled for a second then he turned to kiss her and felt her pressing the kiss into something more passionate.
"Maybe our first baby will be a boy and I can teach him to play hockey. Continue the Rodgers' tradition. He'll be a Canadian so I don't see where he'll have much choice."
That had Kate grinning. Canada really did love hockey. "He'll be the best hockey player ever." She was sure of it.
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It took half the night for Kate to finally go to sleep. Her mind and her concerns about what was going to happen just wouldn't allow her to go to sleep. She was also aware that Rick wasn't sleeping either. She had begun to run her hand across his chest just so that her hand had something to do. Then suddenly Rick took her hand in his and moved it to his mouth where he kissed it.
"Babe, your contract is over so do they have the right to trade you?" Maybe he had an option.
He sighed. "Doesn't matter. Say my agent works out a new deal with Vancouver. They then still trade me and it's back to moving or quitting. I did have hopes for a three year deal at 7 million a year. Looks like that isn't going to happen." It meant a loss of his salary that was presently at 5 million a year and his future salary at 7 million a year.
"I'm never going to make that kind of money." Kate knew what their bills were now that she was paying some of them. Most of the big ones were insurance and taxes. This house had cost far less than the other house so they had millions in the bank. Plus Rick had been saving money and putting that money into Real Estate Investment Trusts that were making him money. It was just that that money was only available during a sell off each quarter.
"I know we have money but is it enough?" Kate questioned him.
"I guess that depends on what Black Pawn is willing to pay for the books I write." Rick shrugged. "We haven't talked about renewing my contract with them yet. I suppose I can ask for more. I may have to fly to New York City to talk with my agent and talk to Gina."
"So are you retiring?" Kate inquired since it sounded like the only option to her. She really hated that he was quitting hockey. She might not even keep watching hockey because of this. Her dislike of the Vancouver Canucks was rising.
"I really don't think I have a choice, Kate. I can't stop the trade unless I do. I can't even commute to the closest team from here. Seattle is the closest large city but they don't have a hockey team."
Kate pressed her face into him and was getting more and more angry at the Canucks.
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Kate was working on leaving for work early. She kissed a sleeping Alexis goodbye and petted Snow who never left her room unless she needed outside and found Rick and Maria in the kitchen. "Is there a plan for today?"
"I'm going in to file my formal paperwork. This will void the trade. After that I need to talk to my agent in New York City so we can develop a plan on what to present to Black Pawn. It will most likely result in me having to fly there. I just hope I'm ready for this." Being a full time writer was supposed to be in the future. Except the future turned out to be today.
"Call me if you need me." Kate kissed him and headed for her car so she could go into work.
Rick set down his coffee mug. "Maria, you're welcome to stay or you can go where you wish. What you want to do is up to you. I'm only pointing out your options. We'd love for you to stay."
"I will stay as long as you need me, Mr. Rick." The Rodgers were now a part of her family. Mr. Rick paid really well and she had money to fly home to her family when she chose.
Rick left her to do her work while he went to his computer to download his retirement papers and sign them before driving to deliver them. Then he'd call his agent to talk about Black Pawn.