Page 131 of Game Misconduct

“No,” Ian said with a sigh. “I supposed not. I always feel kinda guilty though.”

“Why?”

Renner and Palmer walked by, talking loudly about something stupid, and Ian frowned, leaning forward. “How would you feel about coming over?”

“Coming over?” Leif asked, confused.

“To my house. It’s about ten minutes from here. You could meet my dog, and we could talk more without, uh, being overheard.”

“Sure,” Leif said slowly, slightly confused by the invitation.

Salty had never invited him over before. Sure, they sat beside each other on the plane on road trips usually, but that was because they both preferred quiet activities. Leif usually listened to audiobooks or podcasts, while Ian read thick hardcovers.

Which always seemed wildly impractical to haul around on flights, but Leif had learned a long time ago that people were weirdly defensive about things and he’d stopped offering his thoughts and opinions on them.

“I know, random, right?” Ian said with a grimace. “I just thought …”

“No, I like dogs,” Leif said. “That sounds good.”

“I’ll text you my address and you can meet me there whenever you’re ready.”

“Sure, sounds good,” Leif said, standing. He piled up his empty dishes and cleared the table. “See you shortly.”

He found Ian’s place without any trouble. He was slightly confused when he pulled up. It wasn’t a bad-looking house, but it was small by NHL standards. Quaint and old-fashioned looking with white siding, two dormers, and a black front door with stone on either side.

Ian had pulled in just ahead of him and they met in the driveway. “We can go in through the side door. I’m going to have to let Emmie out. She won’t jump on you, but she will get excited, so be warned.”

Leif understood the warning when a very large black dog came bounding out into the yard. He wasn’t really sure what breed she was—maybe a mutt with some Great Dane—but she wasbigand she was excited. Her tongue lolled out of her mouth as she raced around Ian, yipping joyfully.

“Well,someone’sexcited to see you,” Leif said.

Ian shot him a small smile.

Emmie came over to investigate Leif now, and he held out a hand, letting her sniff it.

He’d never had pets growing up but a friend of his had.

“Okay, I think we can go in now,” Ian said. “She’s gotten the wiggles out.”

“How old is she?” Leif asked, grateful for the easy conversation starter. He’d never been very good at small talk. At modeling events and parties, he usually asked about people’s work, and they were off and running without a lot of help from him.

When they asked about hockey, he had no trouble talking about it. It was only when their eyes started to glaze over that he knew he needed to stop and turn it around to them again.

“Emmie is three,” Ian said, leading him through a door that led into a laundry area. “It was a really stupid, impulsive decision for me to make when I was still playing for the Missiles but I found her shivering in a parking lot and well …”

He gestured helplessly.

Leif nodded, although he’d probably have taken the dog to a shelter. No-kill, of course. He wasn’t a monster. But the thought of that enormous dog in his Tribeca apartment was laughable.

“I see why you live out here in Westchester,” he said.

“Yeah. Way more affordable and I have a backyard for her to romp around in. I’m kind of a homebody anyway. I don’t go out a ton so what’s the point of living in the city anyway?”

“Westchester’s convenient for practices too,” Leif pointed out.

“It is.”

Ian offered him a drink, and they eventually ended up seated in a cozy living room.