Chapter 7
“Are you going to be a good boy for me?” I’m sitting on the floor, playing with Puck. Piper is supposed to be here in a few minutes.
It seems weird that she’s coming with me to the hospital, but who am I to argue with Cassie?
The doorbell rings and Puck goes running toward his bed.
“It’s okay, bud. I promise.”
Puck doesn’t like people. I adopted him from a local Lab rescue when he was a few months old. It took him a while to warm up to me, but now? I’m one of the only people he likes.
Swinging open the front door, I’m met by the sight of Piper, standing there looking way too gorgeous for her own good. Tight jeans. Black, silky top and a simple jacket. Her blonde hair hangs loosely around her shoulders. Her makeup isn’t overly done.
It makes her even sexier.
Which I have no right to be thinking.
“Princess.”
“Cash.” She brushes by me as I wave her in. “Nice place you have here.”
“Thanks. It’s not much.”
“Better than my brother’s place. If it weren’t for my mom, he’d have a card table for a kitchen table.”
My house isn’t big. It was hard to fight the idea that my entire hockey career could be taken from me in one hit.
It didn’t mean that I didn’t want a warm place to come home to. The first thing I did was hire a designer to make it a place where I wanted to spend time.
Dark, hardwood floors cover the entire first floor. Brown leather sofas fill the living room, facing a brick fireplace where a TV hangs. All the walls are a dark blue. I thought it would be too much, but I like it.
Various trophies I’ve gotten through the years sit on the shelves that line the walls from the living room to the kitchen. The puck from my first score in an NHL game. Small things that I wanted to keep instead of pictures of family.
“Who’s this?” Piper asks, walking into the living room.
Puck’s tail, where it’s normally tucked between his legs when he meets new people, is wagging.
“My dog, Puck.”
“Puck? That’s adorable.”
“I wanted to name him Gretzky, but the day I brought him home, he went straight for one of my pucks and wouldn’t stop chewing on it.”
“Then I guess it’s a good thing he got a puck and not something like toilet paper,” Piper laughs.
God, she’s cute.
“Careful. He’s not big on people.”
“Hi, sweet boy.” Piper squats close to him, holding her hand out so he can sniff her. Big brown eyes look at her hand before he leans toward her. A few sniffs and he’s up and attacking her face with kisses.
Piper falls on her ass as he licks every inch of her he can get to.
“Easy, boy.”
Of course my dog likes her. I’ve never seen him take to anyone like that. Not even me.
“What a good boy. Yes, you are,” Piper coos. Puck drops into her lap and leans into her pats.
“He likes you.”
“Makes one person in this house.”
“Aren’t you funny.”
Piper gives him a pat on the stomach before pointing him back to his bed. “Your dad and I are going out today, but I’ll have him home in one piece.”
Puck lies down like he understands her.
“We better get going.”
I don’t need my dog to fall in love with her any more than he already has.
“Are you nervous about going to the hospital?” Piper asks as I lead her into the garage to head out.
“Not really.” I open the door to my truck and help her in. “Kids don’t criticize nearly as much as adults.”
Piper’s laughter follows me around as I get in and head toward the hospital. “So the way to befriend you is to not criticize?”
“Well,”—I turn my blinker on and merge onto the main road through the city— “would you want to be friends with someone that criticizes you?”
“I kicked that person out. Not that she was critical, but just a terrible person.”
“Who did you kick out?” I can’t imagine anyone being a terrible person to Piper.
“Ava.”
“Wait. Ava was your roommate?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Jesus, Piper.”
“I’m glad to be done with those two.”
“Even if we keep running into them?”
Piper groans, covering her face with her hands. “Could that have been any more embarrassing?”
“I don’t know.” I come to a stop at a light. “You looked pretty cute covered in towels.”
She fixes her eyes to me. “You do realize how bad those smelled, right? I blame you.”
“What? Because I used a towel that day?”
“Hockey players in general. Sweat less, will you?” Piper laughs.
Even though her roommate and boyfriend screwed her over, there isn’t much bitterness that I can detect in Piper.
“Sorry, Princess. I don’t know if that will happen.”
“Damn.”
“How’d you get the job with the team anyway?”
It’s easy conversation. The least I can ask since she’s doing this with me.
“I’m getting my master’s in physical therapy. Noah helped me get the job.”
“Wow. I’m impressed.”
“You are?”
I nod as I pull into the hospital parking lot. “I couldn’t do that much school. I was never the best student.”
Piper nods, getting out of the car. “I enjoy it. Learning new techniques to help athletes heal? It’s fascinating.”
Placing a hand on Piper’s back, I guide her into the hospital. A few of the guys from the team are already there, along with a few reporters.
“Cash. So happy you could make it today.” Cassie beams at me. “All of the kids are gathered in one of the main rooms, so we’ll be starting there.”
“Sounds great.”
“I’ll hang back and let you do your thing, Cash.” Piper gives me a grin as I follow Cassie to where we need to be.
The hospital walls are painted a basic beige with photos of Denver adding the only color. I wouldn’t want to spend any time in here.
The second we cross into the children’s area, the walls change from beige to a bright blue. Clouds are painted with birds and the sun covering them.
Nurses in colorful scrubs are waiting for us. “You must be Cassie. I’m Lindsey, the charge nurse. We’re all so excited to see you.”
“Thanks for having us.”
“We’re in the reading room. It’s all the kids can talk about today.”
A tug comes on my sleeve. I have no idea how old this kid is, but his arm is in a sling and glasses sit on his face. Blond hair falls over his forehead.
“You’re Cash Williams.” He shoves his glasses higher up on his face.
I squat down to his level. “I am. What’s your name?”
“Mikey.”
“Mikey. What’d you do here?” I ask, pointing to his arm.
“I broke it playing soccer.”
“Is soccer your favorite sport?”
He shrugs the shoulder that isn’t in a sling. “I like all sports. It’s my favorite to play. Mommy won’t let me play hockey until I’m bigger.”
“Well, maybe you should listen to your mom,” I tell him.
“She said when I get better, she’ll take me to a game.”
I turn to Cassie and she is already waiting with what I need. A bright green stuffed turtle.
“Well, maybe this will keep you company until you can come to the game.”
Mikey takes the turtle from me with a happy look on his face. “Can you sign my cast? Please?”
“Sure thing.”
I turn around, asking for a marker, and Piper hands one over. Her phone is in the other hand, snapping pictures.
I know she’s doing this so we can post about our relationship on social media. But her doing it instead of the reporters feels different.
Almost like she’s proud of me. I scrawl my signature on Mikey’s cast and take a picture with him.
“Thanks, Cash!”
“Anytime, Mikey.”
“C’mon, let’s go back so you can meet the rest of the players,” the nurse calls to him.
The rest of the afternoon is just like this. Little kids chattering my ear off. Hearing all about favorite sports, TV shows, and annoying siblings. Passing out the stuffed animals that our fans brought to the game.
All of the guys are loving this. It’s hard not to when the kids are so joyful, even though they’re in the hospital.
Piper gets in on it, answering questions the kids ask her and handing out stuffed animals to any kid that’s there.
By the time the day ends, instead of being exhausted, I’m on a high.
“Who knew you were so good with kids?” Cassie sidles up to me as we leave the hospital. “Everyone was telling me how great you did in there.”
I shrug a shoulder, brushing off her praise. “Kids are easy. They don’t yell at you when you mess up.”
“Sorry, Cash. That’s my job.” Cassie pats me on the shoulder. “Enjoy your night.”
“You too.”
Piper is waiting outside for me in the cool evening.
“You were great today,” Piper tells me as I walk up to her.
It means more to me coming from her. “I told you; kids are easy for me.”
Piper is beaming at me. “Cash, they loved you. It was incredible to see.”
I look around. The city is bustling around us as people are coming and going at the early evening hour.
Something about this day makes me not want it to end. Whether it’s from having a good day, spending time with the kids, or Piper, it has the next words spilling from me before I can stop them.
“Want to grab a drink?”
“Yes,” she answers with no hesitation.
“Good.”
Because spending the night with Piper is how I want to finish this day.