Chapter 14 #2
“Oh.” And just like that, the excitement is gone. It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her to go ahead and let him in there, but I don’t. “All right, then. No problem. Um…guess I’ll see you tomorrow to give you your key back?”
Keep it. It should be your place too, I want to say.
I don’t.
“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Good luck at your game tonight, Callum.”
“Thanks, Clover.”
We hang up, and we’re only off the phone for a minute when I remember I forgot to tell her something.
Me: You’re going to nail your interview. I’m proud of you.
She never responds, but she does read it, and I tell myself that’s enough for me.
“So, how’s it going with the wife?”
I glower over at Hayes, who has dropped down in the seat next to mine. While a lot of teams tend to have a certain spot they’ll sit in or try to keep lines together to promote team bonding, the Seattle Serpents plane is a free-for-all more often than not.
I guess tonight it’s Hayes I’m stuck beside. Could be worse. It could be Lawson.
“Fine,” I tell him, just to get him to stop staring at me expectantly, and I close my eyes as I pull my eye mask down.
I’m not typically so pretentious, but there’s just something about sleeping on a plane with one that feels right.
“Quinn is super bummed she hasn’t gotten the chance to meet her yet, but she’s looking forward to it at the wedding.”
Right. The wedding. Hutch has asked about it only once more since the first time, but I haven’t given him an answer yet.
Mostly because I haven’t asked Chloe to go with me.
At first, I told myself it was because I wasn’t sure she’d be staying in Seattle, but she’s making plans to.
I mean, she wouldn’t be applying for jobs if that weren’t the case, right? That has to be the case…doesn’t it?
The uncertainty isn’t the only reason I’m stalling. I’m scared she’ll say no, worried it’ll be too much, too soon. I don’t want to lose my wife again, not when I just got her back.
I don’t feel like spilling my guts to Hayes about it, so I say, “It’ll be a hoot.”
He reaches over, lifting up the sleep mask, but when I open my eyes, it’s not Hayes. It’s Lawson. He’s turned around in the seat in front of us, practically hanging over the back as he holds my eye mask off my face.
“Hi.”
I swat at him, but unfortunately for me, he’s quicker than I am and moves out of the way before I can make contact.
“Can I help you, Lawson.” It doesn’t come out as a question, not really, but that doesn’t bother him at all.
“I don’t know. I was missing you.”
Even Hayes sighs at him. “You literally just saw him on the ice. You know, where we beat your half brother 3–2 in overtime?”
“It was a beauty of a goal I had on him, no?” Lawson grins proudly. “And yes, of course I miss you, Kells. We didn’t share any minutes together.”
“Thank fuck too,” I mutter, yanking my mask back down.
He pulls it up again.
“What the fuck?” I yell, and to absolutely nobody’s surprise, it doesn’t scare him off one bit. “Can I get some damn shut-eye?”
“No. Not until you tell me why you just lied to Hayes.”
I glance over at the man in question. His brows are raised, a very dad-like look on his face, and it’s wild to me to see his transformation over the last year and a half or so.
He went from being a rowdy young guy who destroyed a hotel room to being a father to his niece and settling down with Quinn.
Sure, she used to be his nanny, which isn’t the best example to set, but who cares?
It doesn’t make his accomplishments any less impressive.
“Did you, Kells? Did you lie to me just now?”
“What? No.” But even I hear the uncertainty in my voice.
“Is Chloe not coming to the wedding?”
It’s still so strange to hear them say her name, especially when Lawson says it like he’s an old friend of hers.
Part of me loves that they’ve accepted her so damn easily, but also…
well, I’m still cautious of what her being back could mean, and I don’t want them to get their hopes up that she’ll stick around.
I don’t want to get mine up either.
“I never said that.”
“You didn’t have to. Hutchy told me.”
“I didn’t tell you shit,” the captain says from the seat behind me.
Goddamn, is the whole plane listening in on our conversation right now?
“Did too,” Lawson argues. “You said you asked him twice, but he didn’t give you an answer. That means she’s not coming.”
“Or it could mean he didn’t ask her,” Fox pipes up, joining the discussion.
I sit forward and look around Hayes to the seats next to ours. “Anything to add, Locke? Seems everyone else has an opinion on this.”
“Oooh, this would be perfect for the group chat. Quick—someone type exactly what we’re saying.”
“Please shut up, Lawson,” Hayes says.
“Yeah, what he said,” I agree. “Locke?”
“Nope. I got nothing.” He holds his hands out, the cards he and Fox are playing something with—probably poker—gripped tightly. “Just waiting to see how this plays out is all.”
I sigh, then settle back against the seat and pull the mask down again. “Well, since we’re done discussing it…”
Lawson snatches the mask up again, this time removing it completely and stealing it away.
“Hey!”
“Shhh! Some of us are trying to sleep, you know!” someone from up front hollers.
“Well, maybe if he didn’t have ten gremlins running around his house, he’d get a little more sleep, huh?” Lawson says to us with an eye roll. He spins my mask around his finger by the strap. “Anyway, did you ask Chloe yet?”
“No,” I say through gritted teeth. “Are you fucking happy? Is that what you wanted to hear?”
Lawson frowns. “Uh, no, buddy. That is not what I wanted to hear. Why haven’t you asked her?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. I just haven’t.”
“Maybe he’s scared,” Fox says. “And I hope you brought some good bait, because go fish, Lockey Poo.”
Huh. Guess I got that game all wrong.
And how the fuck did Fox know that’s the reason? Am I easier to read than I like to think?
“Guys, come on. Let’s leave him alone. If he asks her and she says yes, great. Auden will find a way to fit her in. If he doesn’t want to ask her, he doesn’t have to. Auden was just being nice and wanted to make sure Chloe felt included.”
“That’s because Auden is, like, the sweetest ever.”
Everyone looks at Lawson.
“What? She is, and you guys know it. Were you expecting me to say that about Rory or something?” He laughs. “She’d tear my balls off if she heard me talking so nicely about her. She’d want me to say she’s a blackhearted evil queen. Mostly because she’d wear that name with pride.”
“Yeah, all right, that’s fair,” Hayes says. He pokes me with his elbow. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think you should be scared to ask her. I mean, shit, she’s your wife, right? I know you guys have had your problems, but there must be a reason she’s still around, yeah?”
It’s the same thought process I’ve had, which makes me feel a little better about hanging on to that very thin thread of faith.
“Yeah, and if she says no, it’s okay. I’ll slow dance with you, Kells.”
This time, Lawson isn’t too quick for me, and I flick him right between the eyes before he ever sees it coming.
“Hey! Ow!”
He tries to smack me like this is some playground fight, but I grab his wrist, practically hauling him over the seat and snatching my eye mask out of his hand in the process.
“Think you boys can maybe keep it down back here?”
We all look up to find Coach Smith hovering at the end of our aisle, one of his dark, bushy brows quirked high, the gray in his beard and the wrinkles around his eyes extra noticeable tonight.
You’d think he’d be happier that we just beat the team he was once a member of before retiring, but he looks exhausted.
We all are at this point in the season. We’ve been playing hard, fighting every night to get as many points as we can to put us at a better advantage to open the playoffs at home.
But I’m also certain a little bit of his tiredness is from us.
“Sorry, Coach,” Fox says, and of course he’s the first to apologize.
Coach Smith doesn’t look his way—his eyes are locked on me, where my hand is still wrapped around Lawson’s wrist.
“Want to let go of my leading goalscorer, Keller?”
I drop his wrist instantly, and Lawson cradles it, even though I wasn’t holding him that tightly. I shoot him a dirty look, and he grins at me in a way that says, Ha-ha. You just got yelled at by Dad and I’m innocent. I give him one back, promising he’ll regret that. He looks scared.
“Keller, you got a minute?” Coach Smith asks.
“Yeah, sure.”
I squeeze past Hayes, flipping Lawson off on my way, and follow Coach back to the front of the plane. We settle into two seats, separate from everyone else.
“What’s up, Coach?” I ask once we’re comfortable.
“I just wanted to check in with you. I’ve heard rumblings that you’re dealing with some stuff at home.”
He doesn’t mention my game or say that’s what he wants me to focus on. He’s genuinely looking out for me, and that’s what sets him apart from all the other coaches I’ve had. He cares. Not just about our play, but about us as people.
So, I decide to be honest with him.
“I am dealing with some…things. My, uh, my wife is in town visiting.” I pause, giving him a chance to ask questions, but he doesn’t. “But I’m handling it. We’re handling it. I’ve been able to compartmentalize and play, so we’re good there.”
“That’s good,” he says with a nod. “But I really wasn’t worried about that. I know you have a good head on your shoulders. I know you’ll do what you need to in order to give this team the best chance they have at the Cup. I was just worried about you.”
I don’t know why, but his words have my throat tightening in a way I’m not expecting, and I have to push down all the emotions threatening to bubble out.
“I’m not okay, Coach, but I will be.”
He studies me for a moment, looking for any inkling of dishonesty in my words, but there is none. When he sees that, he nods once again.
“All right. I’ll take that answer for now.”