Chapter twenty-four
Shane
A slap on the butt means good luck.
We walk out of the house in silence and head to my car. He climbs into the passenger seat as I hop into the driver’s side, revving up the engine and pulling away from the curb. Not even one minute into the drive, a text message shows up on my navigator screen that reads,
Jessie Storm
Should I be worried? Need a cover-up?
I drag my hand down my face, letting out a groan that turns into a chuckle, because I know Ford saw the message. “I knew setting that up would come and bite me in the ass at some point.”
He shakes his head laughing. “It’s fine, Coach.”
I scrunch up my nose. “Maybe you should call me by my first name from now on, at least when it’s outside of hockey.”
“Yeah, right. It does sound weird calling you Coach when you’re… you know, dating my sister.” He makes a face as well as we fall back into silence. It isn’t until three minutes have passed that he speaks up again. “You’re good to her.”
I look over at him quickly, studying his face before refocusing on the road. “I try to be.”
“You are,” he says. “I watched you outside with her. You managed to calm her down easily, and I see the way she softens around you.”
I simply nod, not sure what to say.
“I also noticed how much more confident she is now. She’s changing, and I know that’s because of you.”
“Well, I’m sure the pregnancy is helping with that too.” I smile.
“Yes, kids do change you. I would know.” He laughs, referring to the time he found out he had a six-month-old daughter, and his life changed drastically from one day to the next. “But I know you’re a big part of all these changes happening to Aubrey.”
I pull up to the ice cream parlor as he continues, “She’s braver, stronger, she speaks her mind and is finally becoming her own person instead of living in the shadows. She goes after what she wants, which is not something she would normally do.”
I kill the engine, but don’t make an attempt to get out, and neither does he. I’m still unsure what to say. I appreciate what he’s saying, but I won’t take credit for the way Aubrey is. Because I saw all these beautiful traits in her from the very start.
“Aubrey was always a follower, she did whatever anyone told her to do. A people-pleaser who only wanted other people’s happiness, before her own. She never put herself first, never put her happiness first. Not until you.”
“Look, Greyson.” I stop him there. “I appreciate you saying all of that, but Aubrey was already all those things to me. Maybe you’re just seeing it now, but I always saw that in her.
And maybe I am partly responsible for the way you see her today, but if I did anything, it was only helping her bloom into the woman she truly is.
Because to me, Aubrey was always the amazing person you claim she became. ”
He watches me for a moment, not saying anything until finally he nods. “I’m sorry I didn’t see how much she truly meant to you from the start. But I see it now.”
Suddenly, I feel like a weight of tension is lifted off my shoulder, like we’re finally really moving forward. “It’s in the past. All that matters now is that we can get along for Aubrey’s sake. Her happiness is all I care about.”
“Then we’re on the same page.” He holds out a hand toward me.
I clasp mine against his and give it a firm shake. “We should probably hurry up before they start to question if they should send for help. Plus, I got a pregnant girl back there, who’s probably chewing on her thumb right now with worry.”
“She still does that?” Ford asks as we step out of the car. “She always used to chew on her thumbnail when we were kids.”
I chuckle. “She does, but I try to stop her whenever I can. It’s just a nervous habit.” I shrug with a smile, walking up to the door of the ice cream shop. “I actually find it pretty endearing.”
I give out the full order to the employee, ending with Aubrey’s request, so that her brownies stay warm by the time we get back. I also doubled it, which means we now have four sundaes and eight brownies.
“Well, shit, you really do have a sweet tooth.” Greyson laughs when he hears the end of my order.
“Actually, only one of those is for me. The rest is for Aubrey.” I laugh along with him.
It’s nice to be back to how things used to be. Greyson and I were never the closest, but we still got along well and joked around from time to time. We respected each other and it feels good to have that back.
“God, I do not miss the pregnancy days,” he says with wide eyes.
“I don’t know, I kind of like them. I mean, sometimes I freak out a bit internally when Aubrey gets emotional and has a meltdown. But aside from that, it’s been pretty great.”
He points a finger at me. “That’s because you have it easy. I had a pregnant wife who threatened to remove my balls and keep them as a trophy daily.”
I laugh in disbelief, but that totally sounds like something Emma would say. Maybe even do.
AUbrEY
“Are you sure leaving them alone together is a good idea?” Gabe asks as I sit down on the couch between Morgan and Emma.
“I think so. Greyson wouldn’t have offered to go if he was still not okay with Shane.” I smile at him as he holds Gracie’s hands and makes her twirl slowly.
She wanted to dance and, of course, she asked for her favorite uncle to be her partner. I’m not sure where she’s been getting these ideas, but this is the third dance today they have had. And yes, we’ve all admitted it by now that Gabriel is her favorite. She seems to have a soft spot for him.
Parker begins to fuss in his little rocker in front of Emma while she feeds Maddox. “Do you want me to take him?” I offer.
“Please? Cece, could you warm up Parker’s bottle for me? It’s on the top shelf in the fridge,” Em asks Cecilia who gets up right away and heads to the kitchen.
I slowly pick up Parker from his seat and cradle him in my arms with his blanky. “Hi, Little Duck. It’s okay, baby, your food is coming.” I bounce him gently in my arms. “I get it, I get fussy too when I’m hungry.”
Emma watches me with a soft smile. “You’re a natural at this,” she says as Parker begins to settle in my arms. “And by the way, the boys will be fine. Greyson has been asking me a lot of questions about you two.”
My eyebrows rise. “He has?” Despite my brother’s daily calls, I still wasn’t certain of how he truly felt about me and Shane.
“Mhm.” She nods. “I think he’s trying to put all the pieces together in his head, understand all the signs he missed.”
Cecilia returns with Parker’s bottle, and all it takes is a quick pass over his tiny lips for him to open up and latch onto it. “Well, I’m just happy they are finally moving passed this.”
“Trust me, we all are,” Clay grumbles as he walks around the room with Trinity in his arms, soothing her to sleep while Morgan holds Theo. “I’ve broken down more fights than I’d like in the last few years.”
“Thank you, milady, for this wonderful dance,” Gabe says as he bows in front of Gracie. She picks up the ends of her dress and does the same. It’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.
“She’s been watching Cinderella on repeat.” Emma giggles. “I guess she chose Gabe as her prince charming. Ronnie, I think you have competition here, better lock him up quick.”
When I look over at Ronnie, she’s nestled in Noah’s arms on the armchair, watching Gabe with hearts in her eyes.
“So, Ronnie, when are you giving us some nieces or nephews? You’re the only one left.” Cecilia snickers, knowing Ronnie does not like us bringing up the subject.
Ronnie gives her the stink eye. “What have I said about baby talk in front of these two?”—she points to her two men—“Once they get that idea in their head, they’re all over me for weeks.”
“And you’re complaining?” Emma cocks a brow at her.
A grin spreads over Ronnie’s lips. “No, I’m not. But my implant is going nowhere. I’m not ready for a baby, and they know it.”
“We’re still working on convincing her.” Gabe winks with a blinding smile, to which Ronnie rolls her eyes.
The boys return shortly after carrying an ungodly amount of ice cream for half past eleven in the morning. I guess we’re having dessert before lunch. Trinity and Theo are both asleep in two identical baby swings, while Maddox and Parker have just been put down in two baby rockers.
“Here, Angel.” Shane brings me my sundae and brownies. “I got you two extra ones when you’re ready for them. I’ll put the sundaes in the freezer for now.” He kisses my cheek.
“You’re perfect,” I say as he walks away with a smirk.
When he returns, Dante comes running up to him just as he’s about to sit down beside me now that Emma has vacated the spot.
“Coach! Coach! Play hockey wit me?” He holds up a spare plastic hockey stick to Shane.
Shane crouches down in front of Dante and takes the stick from him. “You want me to play hockey with you, little man?”
“He was watching reruns with his dad last week and it was one of your games. He recognized you and got all excited. We told him he could ask you to play the next time we saw you,” Cecilia clarifies.
The look on Shane’s face shows just how touched he is by her statement. “Yeah, I’ll play with you, little buddy.” He stands and looks over his shoulder at me. “Is it okay?”
“Of course, go have fun.” I smile. “But be careful, I heard little Dante here is a really good player. He might kick you in the butt.”
Dante gets all excited when he hears my praise. “Yeah! Kick butt!” he exclaims, and for good measure, hits Shane in the butt with the small hockey stick.
I snort as Shane’s eyes widen. Cecilia shakes her head and sighs with a smile. “He learned that from his father.”
“Damn right, he did.” Silas stands proudly, puffing his chest. “A slap on the butt means good luck, right, buddy?”
“Mhm!” Dante nods enthusiastically. “An when Daddy play notty wit Mommy.”
Silas’s eyes widen as Cecilia gasps. The rest of us just start laughing at the little boy’s honesty.
“Silas! What have you been telling our son!?”