Page 37 of Broken As Puck

“That was rude,” Dad said, promptly getting up and following the cat. He loved animals, so I wasn’t surprised. He wouldn’t accept Wasabi’s dismissal. He’d feel the need to try to make the cat like him.

Wasabi jumped up onto the coffee table, swishing his tail. Dad kneeled in front of him, giving the cat time to adjust to his presence. Wasabi turned around, presenting Dad with his back.

Dad gave him scritches and Wasabi’s head rotated as quickly as that girl’s on The Exorcist. He bit Dad’s hand, and when Dad cried out and tried to break free, he used his feet to bunny kick, scratching up Dad’s wrist and forearm.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” I raced over and scooped Wasabi up, cradling him like a baby. “Are you okay?”

Dad looked blankly down at the angry red lines on his arm. “Why doesn’t he like me?”

“Because he’s a grump. I should have warned you: He’s very choosy about who touches him.”

Honestly, it was surprising he’d even been at the event yesterday, considering the shelter staff had assured us they’d brought their most socialized animals. My best guess was that Wasabi had become so used to the people there that he no longer reacted to them violently, and so they considered him “socialized,” when in reality they’d just made it inside his small circle of acceptable people.

“Animals always like me.” Dad flopped onto the sofa, frowning. “I don’t think I approve of this grand-cat. Can you trade him in for a different one?”

I laughed. “I’m not sending him back to the shelter. He already loves his new home.”

Okay, so “loves” might be a strong word, but he’d deigned to sleep at the foot of my bed, so I assumed he wasn’t unhappy with it.

Wasabi started purring and I rubbed his fluffy belly and chuckled at the way his purrs grew louder even though he looked just as grumpy as before. His poor face was stuck that way.

“What’s his name?” Mom asked, her shoulders trembling slightly as if she were repressing her laughter.

“His name is Wasabi.”

“It should be Satan’s spawn,” Dad muttered.

Mom grinned. “Wasabi. I like it.”

I put the cat down, first checking that Dad wouldn’t make any sudden moves toward him, and watched as Wasabi slunk toward Mum and wove between her legs. She didn’t try to pet him, and he flopped on top of one of her feet and rumbled happily.

“Huh.” Mom cocked her head. “I’ve never been much of a cat person, but he’s all right.”

“All right?” Dad sputtered. “He tried to deglove me.”

Mom shrugged. “It was a misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding, my ass.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “So dramatic. Anyway, Matt, I was about to make lunch. Will you be joining us?”

I hesitated because I didn’t want to create extra work for her. “I can order in since I arrived unannounced.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I wasn’t going to make anything fancy. Just a quiche.”

“Okay, that would be great, thank you.” There was no point in arguing with her. Ever since I’d bought them this house after signing with the NHL, she’d insisted on cooking for me every chance she got.

I’d told her over and over that she didn’t owe me anything. We’d been poor when I was young, but she and Dad had done all they could to help make my dream come true. Now that I was in a better position, I wanted to spoil them, if only they’d let me.

Mom gently displaced Wasabi and headed for the kitchen through the wide doorway that connected it to the living room. I trailed behind, and so did Dad. Mom started pulling things from the fridge and cupboards, and while she was doing so, I got out a chopping board, determined to at least help if she wouldn’t let me order takeout.

By the time we were done, Dad had made coffee and three steaming mugs stood on the kitchen counter. We took them back to the living room where they sat on the sofa while I claimed an armchair. Wasabi immediately jumped onto my lap and tried to bury his face in my cup of coffee.

“How is training going?” Dad asked, staring at Wasabi as if he expected the cat to assault me at any moment.

“It’s good,” I replied. “It’s hard, like always, but my muscles and joints are all holding up, and I think we’re in better shape going into this season than we were last year.”

He nodded. “I saw your first game against Seattle. You played well. Is Coach Dunn working on cohesion between attack and defense?”