Chapter 10
CONNOR
Coach Forrest-Hammer stops me on the way to the locker room after practice. “You and Romero were in sync on the ice today.”
“We played together at the Hockey Academy.” Quinn Romero and I go back as far as I do with Dallas Bright, Tristan Stiles, and unfortunately, Flip Madden.
Lexi shakes her head. “It’s about more than history, Grace. You can predict each other’s moves. It’ll be good for the team this season, and for Ryker.”
I don’t know what to do with the uncomfortable feeling in my chest. “We have similar playing styles.”
“Maybe just accept the compliment,” she suggests with a small smile.
“Right.” I nod. “Thanks, Coach.”
“You seem more settled these days.” She walks away before I can respond.
She’s Mildred’s closest friend in their group, so Lexi has to know this thing between us isn’t made of love and promises of forever. But she’s not wrong about me being less…on edge. Meems’s happiness is the reason for that, though.
I continue down the hall to join the rest of my teammates in the locker room.
So far it seems to be louder and slightly less civilized without Roman and Hollis to balance things out.
The rookies look up to Madden, Stiles, Palaniappa, and Bright now.
Roman basically functioned as the team dad, and I think they’re trying to find their footing around the huge hole his absence has created.
Even I feel the loss. Hammerstein was good at creating team cohesion on the ice, and he made me feel like I wasn’t a waste of roster space.
Romero’s cubby is next to mine—probably Coach Forrest-Hammer’s suggestion. He nods at me as I strip off my jersey and sit next to him so I can remove my pads.
“Everything okay?” he asks.
“Yeah. You?”
“S’all right. Big shift from where I was last year,” he admits.
Romero coached for the Hockey Academy and played out in Pearl Lake last year.
“There’s a lot of pressure coming in all directions. Can’t imagine it’s easy to block out all the noise.” I can relate, even if our situations are vastly different.
“I’m staying off social media for the foreseeable future for sure,” he grumbles.
Romero’s dad was a legend in the game, but he had a reputation for being a fighter early in his career.
Quinn followed in his footsteps, which contributed to him not being picked up sooner.
There’s some irony that the Terror management added two of the chippiest players in the league to their team in as many seasons.
“It helps for sure. But you have someone to manage that for you?”
“My friend Lovey deals with most of it.” The tips of his ears turn red.
Makes me wonder what the deal is with this friend of his. “That’s good. Definitely makes it easier to stay focused when you can avoid the shit talk.”
“And all the women in my messages looking for hookups,” he mutters.
“Ah, yes, that gets old after a while.”
We shower and change into street clothes. Dallas and a few of the other guys invite us to the Watering Hole. I’m pretty sure the invitation is for Romero, not me, but I’m standing right beside him.
“Yeah, I’d love to.” Romero’s all smiles as he turns to me. “You in?”
“Let me check with Mildred.”
“She’s at work,” Flip offers, then adds, “But you probably already know that.”
He’s been oddly civil with me, and I don’t know how to take it.
“Yeah, we have a date tonight.” It’s not a complete lie. And anyway, going to the Watering Hole might also give Flip the opportunity to grill me.
Connor
What time are you coming with books?
Mildred
As soon as my shift is over.
Connor
Which is when?
Mildred
I’m sharing my calendar with you. But I’m off in two hours.
That gives me time to check on Meems and make sure she’s ready for a visitor.
An email alert pops up with the subject: Dred Reformer has shared her calendar with you.
“I have a few things to take care of before I see Mildred, but maybe next time.” Probably not, though. Unless my fiancée is going.
“Sure thing.” Dallas and Quinn give me props as I leave the locker room.
Half an hour later I arrive at Meems’s house. Cedrick greets me at the door.
“How’s she been today?” I hang my keys in the entry and trade my outdoor shoes for my indoor ones.
His expression is pinched with worry. “Tired, sir. She’s been busy.”
“Busy with what?”
“Moving her things into the guest quarters.”
I frown. “Why would she do that?”
He stares at me. I stare back.
He arches a brow. I arch one back.
“She would like you to move in here with your fiancée.”
I poke at my cheek with my tongue. “This is a twenty-two-thousand-square-foot mansion. She doesn’t need to move anywhere.”
“You try telling her that, sir.”
“Fuck, she’s stubborn.”
“Seems to be a family trait.” He clears his throat. “Madame Grace intimated that Ms. Reformer would be visiting this evening.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Will she be taking public transit again, sir?”
I sigh and rub the back of my neck. “Probably, yeah.” In hindsight, I should have gone to the Watering Hole and stopped to pick her up on the way home.
“If there’s sufficient time, I could retrieve her, sir, if you’d like,” Cedrick offers.
“Yeah, actually that would be good.” I have no idea how long it takes to get here by bus, but a car would be far more comfortable.
“Oh, and there’s a bakery close to the library called Just Desserts.
Meems loves their lemon cake.” I didn’t have time to stop when I went to pick up her books last time.
“Can you make sure Mildred comes in with you and chooses something for herself?” I start down the hall.
“What about you, sir?” Cedrick calls after me.
“Don’t worry about me, but bring back something for the staff.”
I find my grandmother in her reading room with Ethel and Norm, who are filling boxes as she directs them. She’s wearing a blue dress, with her hair and makeup done like she’s ready for Sunday Mass.
I cross my arms and lean against the jamb. “What are you doing?”
“Connor!” Her wide smile drops. “Where’s Dred?”
“Her name is Mildred.”
“She asked me to call her Dred, so that’s what I call her.”
“There’s nothing dreadful about her,” I mutter as I cross the room and fold her into my arms. She feels frailer, smaller. I wish her heart wasn’t struggling to keep up. “Can’t you manage this sitting down?”
She brushes me off. “I’m fine.”
“Your doctor would beg to differ.” She’s been sleeping more lately, fatiguing quickly.
“I’m not lifting anything. I’m just directing Ethel and Norm.”
I arch a brow. “So you’re micromanaging.”
Ethel coughs to hide her laugh.
“I’m overseeing.”
“You’re being an overlord. Sit down, please.” I guide her to her chair.
“Where is Dred?”
“She’s still at work for a little while.”
She frowns. “Well, why are you here, then?”
“To limit your overlording.” I’m sure the last thing Mildred wants is to be stuck in a car with me during rush-hour traffic. Cedrick is much more pleasant company.
Meems looks unimpressed.
“Cedrick is on his way to get her.”
“You will be the one to take her home,” she orders.
“Fine. Now please explain what this is all about.” I motion to the boxes stacked neatly by the door, then open the box of chocolate digestive cookies and arrange them on a plate, setting it on the table next to my grandmother. They’re forever a favorite of hers.
“I don’t need all this space,” she says.
I sit in the chair across from her. “You also don’t need to move out of all this space.”
“It’s too big for me. It’s exhausting just getting to the dining room.”
“We can move you to the main floor,” I suggest.
“The guesthouse is closest to the important rooms I use,” she argues. “Besides, you and Dred will need privacy.”
“Because twenty-plus-thousand square feet of space doesn’t provide enough of that? Besides, you can’t give me this house. It’s willed to my father,” I remind her.
“It’s mine to do with what I want, and I want you and Dred to have it. I’ve already changed the will, so arguing is a moot point.”
I grip the arm of the chair, caught somewhere between shock and validation. “Father will not be happy.”
Meems shrugs, unbothered. “He has his own mansion that he’s perfectly content living in.” She glances away before she continues, “And I won’t have him and Courtney moving in here and painting everything white, so it looks and feels like Antarctica.”
I snort. “Their house has about as much personality as dry toast.”
“That’s generous.” Her expression softens, and she reaches across to take my hand. “I’ve already gifted a house to your father, and to each of your sisters. It’s your turn. Everything you have right now, you’ve earned on your own.”
“My father would argue with that, considering he paid for my degree.”
“Your grandfather and I paid for your degree. Your father just likes to hold it over your head because he wants you to feel indebted. I want you to fill this house with the love it deserves, Connor.”
I feel like a giant piece of shit for lying to Meems, but this is the happiest she’s been in years. Her approval means everything, and I want to preserve it however I can. “If it will make you happy, Mildred and I will move in here.”
Currently I live in a penthouse apartment downtown, close to the arena. Moving here will mean more of a commute, but Meems is worth it. I just need Mildred to agree.
“More than you know.” She beams, and it feels like a kick in the balls and the best damn thing at the same time.
The doorbell chimes, and I check the cameras, expecting that it’s probably a delivery, but Mildred is standing outside the gates, looking less than fresh. “Mildred is here. I’ll be right back,” I tell Meems.
“I thought Cedrick was picking her up.”
“He was. Something must have happened.” I pause at the threshold, anxious. “I’d like to speak to Mildred about moving in.”
“Of course.”