Chapter 9
nine
Imiss him.
Groaning, I drop my books next to me on my bed and stare up at the ceiling, giving up on studying for now.
Goddamn Brett Woods for taking up every inch of my brain.
I miss him and I want to talk about what happened, but we haven’t had a chance.
I saw him for a moment this morning before going into class.
He gave me my tea and kissed my forehead before taking off.
It wasn’t the time or the place to talk about what all he said or for me to tell him what I wanted to.
I look at my phone lying next to me and contemplate texting him. I don’t want to bother him, though.
My stomach rumbles, reminding me that it’s dinner time. I know I should get up and find something to eat, but I don’t want to.
Jesus, he’s really spoiled me by bringing me food and tea every chance he gets.
A knock at the front door makes my heart race.
Is he here?
Grunting, I drag myself off of my bed and head to the front door. When I open it though, my heart drops.
“Hey, is everything okay?” I ask suddenly.
Wyatt holds up a bag of food. “I brought you dinner.”
I step to the side so he can enter and shut the door behind him. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“We’re family, Emery. We take care of one another.” He says it so matter-of-factly that it leaves no room for argument.
So he told them. It should probably annoy me that he told his friends without asking me first, but it doesn’t. I’m actually happy about it. I knew he was excited, and I’m glad he doesn’t have to keep it between us anymore.
“Thank you,” I tell him softly.
“You’re welcome.” He gives me a small smile. “I was hoping you would be cool with me joining you.”
“Sure,” I answer without hesitation.
I lead him into our living room area and take one corner of the couch. He takes the other as he sets the food on the coffee table in front of him.
“Brett ordered for you, so hopefully it’s something you’ll like,” he tells me as he hands me a container.
“I’m sure it’s great.”
A door opens from down the hall, and Ashley comes out. When she sees us, she frowns but doesn’t say anything. Then she turns around and walks back to her room.
“She’s friendly,” Wyatt says quietly, making me smile.
“If only you knew,” I tease, making him smirk.
We fall silent as we begin to eat. Unlike when I sit in silence with Brett, this feels weird. Awkward. I know Wyatt doesn’t talk much and that he’s a quiet guy in general, but I get the sense that he wants to say something, only he doesn’t know how.
“Is it just me, or does this feel weird?” I blurt out.
The corner of his mouth kicks up. “The only reason it’s awkward is because you haven’t really spent time with any of us. We know each other and get along, but we don’t know each other. You used to sneak into the house in the middle of the night to avoid us.”
I wince. He’s not wrong. I always waited to go over until the guys were all in bed or out. I didn’t care if they saw me the morning after, for some reason that always felt different to me.
“I guess you’re right,” I admit.
“Can I say something?”
I swallow hard. “Sure.”
He sets down his food container on the table and turns toward me.
Nerves roll through me.
He braces his elbows on his knees and folds his hands together.
“The guys and I have always known that you and Brett have been together. Maybe not officially, but we all knew. The man has been downright obsessed with you since I met him. Even with you sneaking into our house, you’ve been one of us even if you didn’t know it.
To us, you’ve been family long before you became pregnant.
We were just waiting on the two of you to admit it to each other. ”
Out of all the things he could have said, I wasn’t expecting that.
Does he really consider me family? Do the other guys? When Beckett and Clay went here, they always went out of their way to say hi when they saw me, but I never thought anything of it. Did they do it because they saw me as their best friend’s girl?
“I had no idea,” I say softly.
“Sometimes it’s hard to see what’s right in front of you.”
He’s not wrong. For crying out loud, I had no idea Brett was in love with me. Not until he mentioned it, at least, and now that I know, I can’t help but look back on everything and see it.
“You’re not wrong,” I sigh, running a hand through my hair.
“Now that we have that out of the way, I have a favor to ask,” he says, catching me off guard.
“Okay…”
He takes a deep breath. “I need you to help us get Brett back on the ice. Kellan and I thought we were making some progress on him, but ever since he found out you’re expecting, he’s dug his heels in deeper. He needs to get back out there.”
“So this is why you really came over here and brought me dinner,” I tease.
“One of the reasons, yes,” he says with no shame.
At least he’s honest, I’ll give him that.
“I would love to help, but I don’t know if I can. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Brett, it’s that you can’t make him do anything he doesn’t want to do. Besides, didn’t he say it doesn’t feel right yet?” I ask, referring to his knee.
Wyatt shakes his head. “He’s been cleared by all the doctors.
He’s just scared, and now with the baby, he doesn’t see a reason to take the risk, but we do.
Look, I wouldn’t be pushing this if I didn’t think it was important.
If he were giving it up on his own terms, that would be one thing, but I think we both know it’s not that.
It’s fear. He’s scared to get back out there. ”
Is that what it is?
I’ve never been injured the way he was. I can only imagine the ways that would mess with your brain, but is that really what’s going on? If it is, then he needs to get back out there.
We can’t let fear overrule us.
I also don’t like hearing that the pregnancy has anything to do with it. I don’t want him to give up his goals for this pregnancy, especially since he won’t let me give up mine.
I need to help, but…
“I don’t know how I can help,” I mutter.
“All I need you to do is convince him that if he gets on the ice, nothing bad will happen. That everything will be okay. Leave the rest up to us,” he says.
“Okay, I’ll try,” I tell him, and I mean it.
I want to give Brett everything that he is giving me. If that means getting him back out onto the ice with his friends, then that’s it. He might not want hockey forever, but I don’t want him to look back with regrets.
Wyatt leans back and smiles. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. I make no promises. He is a stubborn man,” I warn him.
“It will work, trust me.”
For some reason, I have no issues trusting Wyatt.
Emery
Meet me at the rink at 8pm.
I look at the text again and shake my head. Why in the hell does she want me to meet her at the rink after hours?
Pocketing my phone, I get out of my car and head inside. Emery comes into view immediately, and I can’t help but stop and stare.
She looks gorgeous. She’s leaning against the boards, staring out over the ice. Her hair is down, cascading down her back.
Almost as if she can sense me, she turns around. A smile covers her face when she sees me.
“Are you going to come down here and join me or what?”
Like a moth to a flame, I move toward her. When I get close to her, though, I pause.
“Why do you have skates on?” I ask, panic rising in my chest.
“Because I’m getting on the ice.” She leaves zero room for argument, but fuck if I’m not going to anyway.
I start shaking my head before she can even finish her sentence. “You know you’re not supposed to. It’s not safe.”
Emery rolls her eyes. “I’m not even showing yet, and my balance is fine. I’ll be perfectly fine going out there and skating around the rink. It’s not like I’m going to do tricks or anything.”
Fear rolls through me as she steps back onto the ice.
“Emery…”
“If you’re worried, you should join me.” She nods toward the bench.
I look over and see my skates.
Son of a bitch. This is a setup.
I don’t know if this was her idea or Wyatt’s, but I know he was involved. Emery never would have pushed for this if it wasn’t for him. Besides, who would have given her my skates if not him?
Note to self: Never let him take her dinner when I’m stuck in class. Who the hell knows what they will come up with next.
My heart constricts as I watch her skate further away from me. If she were to slip, there’s no way I would be able to catch her before she hits the ice.
Without giving it a second thought, I kick off my sneakers and sit down. On autopilot, I put on my skates and lace them up. Once I’m ready, I move.
Emery laughs, clapping her hands. “Yay!”
“What has you so excited?” I ask as I pull her into my arms.
Her eyes twinkle under the rink lights. “You didn’t even stutter when you got on the ice. You skated right to me.”
I look down at the ice and smile.
Will you look at that?
I’m on the ice…with Emery. In all the years we’ve been together, we’ve never been on the ice at the same time. Her white skates look so small compared to my black hockey ones.
It’s not just us, though. Our child is here too. Without thinking about it, my hand moves to her stomach. Her stomach is still flat, but we know there’s a baby in there. Hopefully it won’t be too much longer and she’ll start to show.
She places her hand on mine. “Crazy, right?”
“You can say that again,” I mutter.
Emery skates away but grabs my hand as she does. “Come on, skate with me.”
Hand in hand, we skate around the rink. We move slowly and slowly work our way up. Nothing crazy, but at a more natural pace.
“How does it feel?” she asks after several minutes.
“Good. Better than I thought it would,” I confess.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watch her nod.
“I’m glad. Do you know what that means?”
“What?”
“This means that you can start playing again.”
I sigh. “Emery.”
“No, wait. Before you say anything, I need to get this out.” She looks over at me, so I nod, giving her the all-clear.
“I don’t want you to give up hockey. Not for me and our baby.
You are one hell of a player, Brett Woods, and it would be a shame for you not to keep playing.
If you want to quit because you don’t love it, that’s one thing, but I don’t want you to quit for us.
If hockey is your dream, we can make it work.
I know we can. Besides, it would be really fucking shitty of me not to support you and your dreams the way you support me and mine. ”
This woman slays me.
Even when her dreams are on pause, she’s willing to do whatever it takes to make sure I’m happy as well. Even if that means conning me onto the ice.
While her intentions were admirable, they are unnecessary.
“Baby, hockey was never the dream,” I admit.
Her head whips toward me. “Wait, what? But you love hockey and you’re so good. I just assumed…”
I nod. “Don’t get me wrong, I planned on entering the draft, but more as a sure-fire way to hang out with the guys. Or at least try to hang out with at least one of them. Hockey has given me a family, and it was a way to keep that. Now though, it doesn’t hold the same appeal.”
“It doesn’t?” She frowns.
I shake my head and pull her into my arms again. “No.”
“Is it because Clay and Beckett are gone?”
I tip my head from side to side as I contemplate her question. “They play a part for sure, but they aren’t the entire reason.”
She bites her lip, and I can tell she wants to say something.
“Spit it out,” I tell her.
She takes a deep breath. “I know you had all these plans with Beckett and Clay, and none of them panned out, but that doesn’t mean you should just walk away from it all.
The team depends on you, hell, they need you.
I do too. If you just quit now on the team, what’s to say you won’t quit on me later down the line when things get hard? ”
“Em—”
She cuts me off. “And okay, I hear you. You don’t want to go to the draft, that’s cool.
I accept that, but then why not finish out this season?
Enjoy your last few weeks on the ice with the friends that are here while you still can?
You’ll never get this time back, Brett, and the last thing I want you to do is regret this choice.
I never want you to regret choices you made in the name of our family. ”
“I wouldn’t,” I say fiercely.
“You say that now, but who knows how you will feel in five years or maybe ten? I just, I really need you to think about this. For us.”
It’s a low blow that hits me in the gut. Does she really think I would ever regret choosing a life with her and our child? Does she know me at all?
“That’s fucking low, Em,” I growl.
“I know it is, but it’s the truth, and that’s why it hurts,” she whispers.
I stare at her and see the concern all over her face.
She really needs me to do this.
“If I do this, you won’t question my choice to enter the draft?”
“Not if you finish out the season like you’re meant to. On the ice and not on the bench.”
Sighing, I shake my head. “Fine, I’ll talk to Coach and the guys.”
She smiles and leans in, kissing me softly, surprising me. “Thank you. You won’t regret it.”
I want to pull her back in. Kiss her again, but I don’t. I accept the scrap of affection and don’t push for more.
I know I won’t regret my decisions. She doesn’t have to worry. I don’t regret anything where she’s concerned.
I take a deep breath.
Well, it looks like I’m getting back on the ice after all.