Chapter 5 #2
“Oh yes! Nico, she’s your mother? She’s beautiful.”
I nod along because, sure, she’s beautiful. Yes, she was one of the biggest models in the 1980s and ’90s and now has a popular skincare line, but she might as well be a stranger to me. Though they don’t need to know that.
“I can’t believe you managed to snag him.” Tonya whacks at Jo’s leg, while gesturing at me with her other hand. “How did you do that?”
And I can’t for the life of me understand all these backhanded comments. “She didn’t do anything, that was part of the problem,” I say, wiggling out of Mamaw’s grasp. “She ignored me for a long time until I begged and pleaded for her to go on a date with me.”
“You did not.” Lizzie scoffs, and I nod seriously at her.
“In front of the whole team, didn’t I, babe? Got on my knees and begged for a date.”
Danny crosses his arms, grumbling something about being pussy-whipped for a loser, and what in the actual fuck?
Before I can respond to him, Tonya flaps her hands, as if it’s all making sense. “No wonder why you didn’t want to tell us about him, Buck. With him being a handsome, famous athlete, and all the other girls probably throwing themselves at him—that must be so hard for you.”
I cut my attention to Josephine, her lip tucked back under her teeth, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she bit it until it bled from all her anxiety.
I brush my hand over her hair, tucking the dark strands behind her ear, but she shies away from me, moving her hair back in place, as if using it for cover.
I hate it.
I hate all of this, and I stand up, putting on my best smile. “It’s really kind of you all to come visit Jo, but I think she should get some rest.” I move toward the group. “What are your plans? Are you staying the night? Do you have a hotel?”
They all start talking at once. Danny complaining about how long the drive took, Mamaw saying her bunions hurt, Tonya talking about how she doesn’t want to stay in the city, but it’s Lizzie’s question that silences everyone.
“Where is Beave’s ring?”
I look around the room. “Who is Beave?”
She points at Josephine. “Where is Beaver’s engagement ring? If you two are really engaged, why doesn’t she have a ring? And since you must have a lot of money, I’d think it’d be pretty big.”
“Elizabeth,” Tonya admonishes, but Lizzie doesn’t stand down, only stares at Jo.
I don’t know where to begin. Beaver? Why do they call her that? And why do her sister’s questions sound like accusations?
What the fuck is going on?
I step back to Jo’s side, unthinkingly removing my pinkie ring to slip it on her slim finger. “It fell off at the rink with all the chaos of what happened.”
“Why didn’t you get her a diamond?” Lizzie asks, and once again, her mother shushes her, although Tonya appears just as interested in knowing about the ring.
“It’s a family heirloom,” I explain, gazing down at the gold signet ring with a cursive T.
It was my father’s and, according to him, his father’s.
Even though we were never particularly close, I wear it, for no other reason than to remind myself that I’m making my own way in life and not relying on my family’s name.
I’ve broken free of the familial ties that kept me depressed and traumatized, and there is nothing I’d like to do more than help Josephine out of whatever the hell is going on here.
Mamaw squeezes my arm. “That’s very sweet. Family is important.”
Yet I’m not too sure about that.
People always say blood is thicker than water, but they’re misconstruing the proverb.
The real quote is “the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb,” meaning the bonds we choose are stronger than the ones we’re born with, and if my few minutes with these people are any indication, Josephine’s natural bonds can fuck right off.
Waylon studies me seriously then asks Jo, “How did you get hurt again?”
“At work,” she mumbles.
“At the hockey rink,” Tonya supplies. “Some kind of accident, you said, right?”
Jo nods, and since we’re walking on a tightrope, I don’t offer up the details about the incident, though I do start to usher them out of the room again. “I’d be happy to find hotel rooms for you all, if you’re planning on staying over.”
“Oh no, that’s all right,” Tonya says, waving her hands. “We don’t want to be a bother.”
“It’s not at all.” I already have my cell phone out, texting the team’s player relations manager.
The department assists us with support services like finding housing or schools for our families.
A lot of times, they plan events for the players’ families and help with transportation.
They’re kind of like a concierge service for us because we travel so much and can be traded at the drop of a hat.
The manager returns my message almost immediately that she’ll book a few hotel rooms and will send me the reservation information.
I inform Jo’s family that I’ve set it all up, so they can stay the night and then visit with Josephine tomorrow before they leave.
Lizzie and Mamaw appear excited, while Danny and Waylon seem like they’d rather drive back to West Virginia tonight.
Tonya isn’t convinced, so I slip my arm around her shoulders, slathering on the charm.
“I know it’s a long drive back home, and imagine how much better you’ll feel to go to the hotel room, take a nice hot shower, have a good night’s sleep, and then you’ll be refreshed for the drive home tomorrow.
” I don’t want there to be any mistaking me when I say, “You don’t need to worry about your daughter. I’ll take care of her.”
“I know you will.” Tonya exhales a nervous laugh. “But everything has happened so fast.”
“Yeah. You’re telling me.”
She laughs again, this time more carefree. She whacks at my shoulder. “I like you, Nico.” Then she crosses to Jo’s bed and kisses her cheek. “We’ll be back tomorrow.”
Josephine nods, and Mamaw kisses and hugs her too before patting my ass, but Jo’s siblings barely acknowledge her as they walk out the door. I follow the group down the hall to make sure they get on the elevator then scoot back to Jo’s room, throwing myself on the bed next to her.
She glares at me. “What did you get us into?”
I skate my hand down her arm to her left hand, lifting it up so we can both view my ring on her finger. “I think the words you’re looking for, fiancée, are thank you.”