9. Nat
Nat
When Chase came back inside, he seemed more centered. Less freaked out and calmer than when he came barreling down the stairs after waking up.
He didn’t eat, instead took over bedtime with the girls and I made a quick exit to the lower level.
Cassidy and Crystal don’t need tucking in but I’m sure since their parents died, Chase has been more attentive and supportive. He mentioned the three of them reading to Candace in her room before the twins slipped into their own beds.
While Chase deals with his sisters I take a few minutes to message Oakley, Blake, and Cami.
I’ll be gone more than the few days we planned for.
Oakley
Is he proving a hard sell? We can come up there and Walker can talk to him.
Not necessary.
Blake
Give him my number. Tell him to call if he’s got questions.
Cami
What do you need from me?
I smile at Cami’s reply. She isn’t involved with the day-to-day running of the team and insists she shouldn’t be because it’s not her area of expertise.
In some ways, I agree with her, but others, like planning our media coverage and press releases, I think she’d be the perfect person for it.
Unfortunately, it’s not what she wants. And I’m not about to force it on her.
The four of us are KAW, but Blake and I are the only two who are employed by the Rogues organization. Oakley doesn’t actually have a job with the franchise—she’s the face of the owners, and she’s excellent at it. Takes the pressure off me and Blake, and of course Cami.
I’ll keep you updated. Just wanted to let you know I’ll be working remotely for the rest of the week.
Putting my phone on silent, I tuck it into the side pocket of my laptop bag and pull out the contract I came prepared with. I also pull out a set of highlighters and a small pad of sticky notes.
Chase can mark anything he’s concerned about or make note of any questions he might have to run by his agent or a lawyer.
Which reminds me. Fishing around in the inside pocket of my bag I pull out a business card.
Drake Morgan
Sports Agent
I have no idea who has been guiding Chase in the last few years. It might have been just his father or former coach, but if he’s going to seriously consider a place in the league—with the Rogues or any other team—he’ll need an agent.
And Drake is a cut-throat agent. One I’ve gone up against several times. I’m currently dealing with him over our backup goalie.
The reason I put up with the man’s shark-like tendencies is because he’s good—fair—and I want my players to be happy. I’m willing to negotiate most things and Drake isn’t one to ask for the ridiculous.
Setting everything up on the dining room table, I head back to the kitchen for a couple of waters. It’s too late in the day for coffee. Although I’m down at least three cups on my normal daily intake, I never drink it after five.
While I’m in the kitchen I get Chase some dinner. The chicken has gone cold, but I can slice it up and make him a bowl of chicken salad instead of a plate of hot chicken and salad.
There hasn’t been any noise for upstairs in a while and I can only assume Candace went straight to sleep. She was tired before I took her upstairs to change her diaper. And the twins might have said they weren’t tired, but I saw the yawns they tried to hide behind their hands.
I smile thinking about the three girls. Much to my surprise, I had a good time hanging out with them today. Candace is cute and seeing her eyes widen when she focuses on something is a joy to watch.
The twins are mature for their age, and I have to wonder if that’s a result of seeing their mom slowly slip away over the last few months.
Being told a parent is sick and going to die, on the heels of finding out you’re going to have another sibling has to have affected each of the three older Hawkins children in different ways.
I can see the influence from Chase on the twins, but I can also see—and heard in the things the girls told me—that their parents did a good job of preparing them for Sienna’s death.
Of course, no one was prepared or expecting Mitch’s.
Which is why I plan to get all the Hawkins siblings into counseling as soon as possible.
The creak of a floorboard above my head tells me Chase is on the move, and I quickly put his dinner together.
I’m not one to wait on people. Sure, I do my bit when we all get together, and now that our group of four has grown to add a couple of husbands and children, I do my best to be involved.
Even when the sight of Oakley and Walker, and Blake and Branton, has me envious in a way I’ve never been.
I have— had —a husband. I could be a mother. Except the thought of having a child with Johnathon Whitman turns my stomach in a way I’ve only ever felt when being down with stomach flu.
The man was a means to an end, and he’s served his purpose. And in the last few years he’s become a liability. It’s not public knowledge that I’m married. Although it’s not really a secret either.
I’ve gone to great effort to keep him out of my life other than on paper, which he’s been more than okay with. But now that KAW owns the Rogues, the four of us are under more scrutiny from the media, and with Johnathon’s extra-marital activities becoming more and more troublesome, I can no longer remain in the marriage.
Plus, I no longer need it to access my numerous trusts. And with my grandfather dead, the only resistance to my control of the family fortune has vanished.
“Hey.”
I glance up to see Chase enter the kitchen. He’s pulled a t-shirt on and I’m ashamed to admit, a stab of disappointment hits me.
I don’t remember the last time I ogled a man and enjoyed it the way I am with Chase. He’s over a decade my junior, that alone should dampen my attraction.
And yet, it’s no less than it was first thing this morning. If anything, it’s getting stronger. I’ll need to keep it under wraps. I can’t let my libido get in the way of what’s best for him and his sisters.
What’s best for the Rogues.
I’m here to do a job. And that job is getting Chase Hawkins to sign on to play for the Rogues, not wish the man would walk around shirtless.
“Are they asleep?” I ask.
“Candace is. Cass and Stell are reading for another ten minutes.” He walks closer and my gaze is drawn to the thickness of the thighs his sweatpants cling to.
Yeah, going to need to work on my ogling. “Will you need to check on them? Maybe you can eat first then listen to what the Rogues organization is offering.”
“I could eat. And no. They’re good. They’ll keep reading for ten minutes then turn their light out.”
“I noticed they were well behaved, but I wasn’t sure if that was because there was a stranger in their house.”
“No. They’ve always been good.” He grins. “Except to me. They’re your typical younger sisters most of the time.”
“That hasn’t changed now you’re in charge?” I ask as I hand him the bowl of salad.
The frown he directs at his food is ripe with confusion. “I haven’t noticed. But now you point it out, they are different.”
“How?”
“They don’t tease me or pull pranks like they used to.” He stares at the bowl in my hand. “Actually, I think the change started before…”
I nod. I know what he’s referring to and I have no desire to make him elaborate. “That’s understandable.”
“Yeah. I guess. We’re all different now. Well, except Candace.”
I offer him a smile. “Want to eat while I tell you about the Rogues’ offer?”
He leans his hip against the counter and finally takes the bowl from me. “Sure.”
“I’ve set us up in the dining room.” I don’t miss the color change in his eyes; they go from warm blue to a gloomy blue gray. “Is that okay? I can move everything in here.”
He shakes his head. “No. It’s okay. We just haven’t eaten in there since Mom and Dad.”
I should have waited. Should have asked where he wanted?—
“We always ate at the table.” His gaze moves in the direction of the dining room and the table neither of us can see through the wall. “Always. No matter who was here. Or who wasn’t. Mom never served a meal anywhere else.”
“You haven’t…”
“No. I’ve fed us here. In the kitchen. At the island.”
His gaze is unfocused, and I wonder if he’s remembering those meals or the ones his mother set out in the other room.
“We should eat in there again.” His words are strong, confident, as he pushes off the counter and walks away. When he reaches the doorway, he glances back. “All right, GM, let’s see what you’ve got.”
He’s got an almost cheeky tilt to his mouth and his eyes are alive with a light I haven’t seen in the hours since he opened the door to me. He might not have woken in the right frame of mind, but it looks like he’s found it now.
I follow, because there’s nothing else I can do. I normally lead meetings, especially in the male-dominated industry of professional hockey, but with a few words and a smirk, Chase Hawkins has snatched control.
And I can’t say I’m pissed about it.
He needs to feel in control of something. His life has been a runaway train for months now, and I’m okay with letting him lead this.
When we’ve taken a seat next to each other he glances at me with an arched brow, and I laugh. He’s so different when he’s confident. I don’t know what triggered the change from the struggling man I’ve spent the day helping, but I like it.
“Okay, so you know the basics. I’m the general manager of the Rogues and I would normally do this with an agent present, but in light of recent events, I didn’t want to involve a third party before you had time to process what’s on offer.”
“Appreciate it.” He forks a mouthful of salad from his bowl. He waits for me to speak again before eating.
“We’re offering you starting goalie. We can talk money and other compensations if you want to consider the contract. Right now, I just want you to think about considering it.”
He chews slowly, his eyes on me until he swallows. He doesn’t break the connection even when he grabs his bottle of water and cracks it open.
“Do you have an agent?” I ask to break the unnerving silence.
“No.”
“You had to have been looking at one in the last few years.”
“They were looking at me. I wasn’t interested. I’ve got another year of college left and I promised my parents I wouldn’t go pro before I finished my degree.”
“And now?”
“Now I can’t finish my degree. Not full-time and I’m not interested in doing it part-time. Dragging it out doesn’t appeal at all.”
“Okay. So how do you feel about going professional without a degree behind you?”
“All I ever wanted was to play in the NHL. Didn’t care what team, although one close to my family would have been preferable.” He lowers his fork and presses his hands, palms down, on the table. “I need to forget what the dream was before. I need to think about what the dream is now.”
“Is playing professionally still the dream? If you could make it happen.”
“I have three young girls to raise and enough money to do it.”
I wait for him to continue but he keeps his gaze locked on mine, not saying a word. We’re quiet for so long I’m feeling fidgety, and I’m never fidgety.
It doesn’t feel as though he’s looking for my approval or my encouragement. But I can’t decipher the emotions in his eyes and as I don’t know him well, I can only assume he’s thinking about the situation, the offer I’ve made, not analyzing me . Even if that’s the way his stare makes me feel.
“What do you see happening if I accept a contract with the Rogues?”
His question surprises me because I had a similar one for him.
“Not just on the ice,” he adds. “What does it look like if I sign the deal and move to Baton Rouge?”
“We’ve built our sportswear company around family values, we’re doing the same with the hockey team. We support our employees, their families, in any way they need.”
“So, someone would help me take care of my sisters?”
“Not someone. Me. I wouldn’t expect you to leave them with someone you don’t know or trust.”
“I don’t really know you.”
“You didn’t say you didn’t trust me.”
“I’ve spent my life honing my instincts, I know where a guy is going to shoot the puck before he does, and up until the last few months I’ve applied that instinct to my life.” He holds up a hand to stop me from talking. “But I had Mom and Dad behind me.”
“And now you don’t.”
“No. But what is more important than that is the girls don’t have them. I’m already an adult, you could argue I don’t need my parents to make decisions about my life.”
“The girls have you.”
“I don’t know if that will be enough if I’m away all the time. Who do I leave them with? How do I parent them if I’m not there?”
“You have a partner.”
“I don’t and I’m not looking for one. I have plenty of things to balance without having to deal with another person.”
“Before you say anything, let me finish what I’m about to ask. Don’t interrupt.”
“Okay.”
“If you had a partner to help you raise the girls, to be there for them when you aren’t, or make it so they can be with you when you travel, would you sign?”
“If that person was supportive of me playing and raising the girls, yes.”
“I can give you that.”
“Give me what? A partner? Do you have them ready to roll out?” He cocks an eyebrow as he speaks.
“No. It would be me.”
“You what?”
“I’d be the other parental figure in the girls’ lives; I’d be your partner, pick up the slack when you’re training or playing or away.”
“How does that work with your job as GM?”
“I’d work around their needs. And yours.”
He cocks his head along with that eyebrow and asks, “What exactly are you offering me?”
This is the part that gets tricky, but I’ve done it before. I can do it again so both of us can have what we want, and in Chase’s case, what he deserves.
“A business agreement.”
“You’ll be the girls nanny?” His voice is filled with disbelief and confusion.
“No. I’d be your wife.”