Free More Than a Game by Kate Goldman Page B

legal troubles, it seemed.
     
    The day passed slowly as Leslie forced herself to work on the game. Shane was never far from her thoughts, but she was afraid. She had already let herself feel too much for him and that wasn’t a good thing in her book. It made her vulnerable and prevented her from thinking objectively. More than her fears regarding her own feelings, she was concerned about him. She hated that he insisted on being alone when he so obviously could use a friend.
     
    Several days passed during which Shane didn’t call. The first day, she had sent him a couple of texts just letting him know that she was still thinking about him and hoped he was okay. The second she had done the same, but all of them went unanswered. Had this all gotten to be too much for him and he was shutting her out? On the third day, it only got worse.
     
    “In tonight’s news, the latest in the ongoing story for hockey player Shane O’Hannon. We have learned tonight that in addition to prosecution for the injury of player Harrison Clarke, a ban from the NHL and release from his contract, he is now being reviewed by federal authorities regarding his legal status in the United States. We’ll have more for you tonight at ten,” said a sleek young sports anchor on the local station.
     
    Leslie’s heart sank in her chest. How could everything be going so wrong for him and why hadn’t he contacted her? After all of the things he had said that made her feel so warm and fuzzy inside, why was he now just cutting her off? A part of her wanted to believe it was just that he had too much to deal with and was retreating to what must be a safe place for him. Another part couldn’t help but believe he would have reached out to her if she mattered in some way. She was torn as to whether she should contact him again or just let him be. If he wouldn’t respond to something as simple as a text message, then why should she keep trying?
     
    By the fourth day, Leslie felt completely dejected. Though she had told herself all along not to let herself get too close to Shane, the fact was that she had done it anyway. Now, she found herself missing him and unsure of what she should do about that. A part of her told her that she should make the first move and try to break the silence between them. Then, her stubbornness kicked in and told her it wasn’t her place. He would let her know if he truly wanted to see her.
     
    A week passed and she had given up on ever seeing Shane again outside of the ongoing news reports revealing more and more of his personal woes. He must be in such pain. She certainly was in pain for him and from being without him. While she couldn’t be sure that she was in love with him, she knew that he had become very significant in her life and she missed what she had thought they had been building together.
     
    “Leslie, there’s a man here to see you,” the receptionist told her the Monday after what had seemed like the longest weekend of her life. She had spent it at home alone, trying to make sense of what was going on in her life and agonizing over the fact that her phone didn’t ring a single time. By the time her alarm had gone off to get up for work that morning, she had decided that Shane was a thing of the past. Obviously, what had been happening between them was something she had thought was more than it actually was for him.
     
    “Who is it?” she asked.
     
    “I don’t know. He wouldn’t give me his name,” she said in a low voice that told Leslie she was trying not to let him hear her.
     
    “What does he look like?”
     
    “He looks like that hockey player that’s been on the news,” the receptionist said in an almost inaudible whisper.
     
    Leslie’s heart felt like it might thud completely out of her chest. She barely registered that the receptionist was speaking again, asking her if she was coming down.
     
    “Yes. I’ll be down in just a moment,” Leslie said slowly.
     
    She sat for a moment,