14. Chapter Fourteen
A nnie texted me as she was leaving Meredith’s. She warned me that she was coming home covered in hair dye and was afraid to walk through the house because our carpets were light and she had dye everywhere. Her plan was to enter the house from the garage because that led into the laundry room, where she would strip out of her clothes and head to the shower. The gentleman brought up to respect women did not mentally picture every step of that plan. The husband with a smokin’ hot wife did.
And since I knew one of the selling points of this house over the others we’d looked at was the large soaking tub, I had it ready for her when she scurried into the primary bedroom en suite. Neither of us was using the bedroom yet, but she’d been getting ready in this bathroom since the second day in the house.
I’d just turned off the water when I heard her footsteps against the tile floor. “Oh, hi. I didn’t realize you were in here. I’ll go shower in the other one.”
I rose to my feet and spun to face her. “I got it ready for you, sweetheart.” Keep your eyes on her face. She hasn’t let you see her naked in months. Now is not the time. Behave.
Behaving proved difficult when her naked body pressed against me. “Thank you. I didn’t expect this. It’s very sweet.”
My index finger raised her chin until her eyes met mine. “You’re welcome. Enjoy. I’m going to start dinner. By the time you’re out of the tub, I’ll have everything ready for date night.” I lowered my face to hers and kissed her briefly. It took every ounce of my self-control to walk out of that bathroom.
As soon as I placed our pizza in the oven, my phone vibrated on the counter. My father’s number flashed on the screen. I quickly answered. “Hey, Dad. You’re on speaker. I’m working on dinner prep.”
He’d taught me from an early age to never put someone on speaker, even in an empty room, without telling them. It was one of the things he drilled into my brothers and me about how to be respectful in business. “As are you. I’m in the home office. Only your mother is home, and she’s tending to her roses. I saw your text earlier this afternoon and haven’t had a chance to call until now. Or, more accurately, I haven’t had more than a few moments available to call. And something told me this was more than a two-minute conversation.”
Around the twelfth hole on the course, the solution to my dilemma hit me. I knew how to keep my retirement promise to Annie and how to meet my obligations to my family. I just needed their buy-in. Technically, I should have talked to Annie first, but if my father had declined, then he would have gotten my resignation from both the Caribou and the foundation. I didn’t need the entire summer to know I’d always choose life with Annie by my side over anything else, no matter what. “I need my temporary move out of the GM role with the team to be permanent and I need to pass that obligation to someone immediately. PJ’s not ready. He’s loving his current role and will eventually take on bigger roles with the coaching staff. We’ve never had someone other than a Kennedy running things. But everyone agreed Curtis was the ideal person to take my spot for the year while I got the foundation off the ground. When I first approached him about it, I asked if he’d be willing to do more than a year. He said he was available for three to five years, then he would retire. He’s turned down opportunities to interview for positions with other teams because he wants to retire as ‘Once a Caribou, Always a Caribou,’ for both player and coaching career. What do you think about Curtis taking the GM position while we put PJ through a three- to five-year training to take over? Maybe in the final two years, he steps into the role and Curtis stays on as advisor?”
The sound of his pen tapping against his wooden desk told me he was thinking through the pros and cons. He was always silent while he made a mental list of why something would or wouldn’t work. “My rule has always been family in the GM roles because, at the end of the day, this is a family business. But sometimes, for the good of the business, you make an exception. Bennett was our ace in front of the net for years. He’s developed an incredible goaltending program throughout our organization. Over the years, he’s become like a son to your mother and me. The position is his if he wants it. Have him call me. I’ll get the paperwork drafted. What will you be doing with your free time?”
My knife scraped against the cutting board as I chopped the lettuce for our salad. “Enjoying life in Seaside with Annie.”
His grumble was a familiar sound. You didn’t grow up with Patrick Kennedy as your father and then business mentor, without hearing the roar of frustration and disappointment a few times a month. “This is unexpected.”
I knew he was disappointed, but I wasn’t done yet. I had plans for the foundation that still included me coordinating things. “Dad, hear me out. The foundation needs a full-time coordinator and someone to handle the financial aspect. But I don’t have to be in San Francisco for that day-to-day operation. I can do that from here and then come to the city for board meetings and events. Virtual meetings are not only more easily accessible than they were when you started the KSG, but they’re actually preferred by most attendees. It takes less time. They’re more productive without the travel time to and from the meetings. That’s why we allow our employees a flexible schedule to work from home. I can work on it from Seaside and then come into the city.”
It was at that moment that I heard Annie’s voice as she came into view in front of the counter bar that separated the living space from the kitchen. Her fingers gripped her hips, and her bare foot tapped against the hardwood floor. With narrow eyes and a scrunched face, she screamed out, “Are you kidding me? Are you working? You lied to me! This is our time, Jonas. You promised.”
My father cleared his throat to make his presence on the speaker known. “Jonas, you have things to discuss with Anne Marie. I’m fully on board with this decision. Once you two work it out, draft up how you’ll handle the workload and send it to me. I’ll notify your brothers once I receive your plan. Anne Marie, give him a chance to explain.” Without waiting for either of us to respond, he disconnected the call.
I was already on the other side of the bar, chasing after Annie as she made her way toward the hall. I stepped in front of her, blocking her path. My arm wrapped around her waist, holding her tightly against me. Her hair was still slightly damp, and my fingers cooled as I cradled her head in my hand. “I didn’t lie. I was going to tell you this at dinner. I even wrote a question on one of the blank conversation cards and placed it toward the top of the deck. I wanted to surprise you.”
Her attempt to move out of my embrace didn’t work the way she planned. Instead, I tightened my hold. This just added fuel to my feisty wife’s raging temper. Her hands slammed against my chest. “I’m so angry with you right now all I want to do is slap you, but I refuse. You lied. You’re planning to work from Seaside? Fine do it. But not here. Pack your stuff and get out.” She arched her back in an attempt to break free from my hold. “Let me go.”
“No. Not until you hear me out.” I took advantage of the moment she stopped wiggly to scoop her into my arms and carry her to the couch. “You’re going to sit here and let me explain.”
It didn’t go unnoticed that she didn’t shift to sit next to me instead of on my lap when she folded her arms and huffed as she stared out the window across the living room instead of looking at me. Taking that as her only response, I continued. “You heard a few words at the end of a conversation. If you had been in the rooms a few minutes sooner, you would have heard me tell my father I was stepping down as the Caribou’s GM permanently. Curtis Bennett will take the helm for three years, then PJ will step into the role. Curtis will remain on as PJ’s advisor for two years. That fits his three-to-five-year plan before retirement. And it gives PJ time to develop some skills and train in other positions.”
She turned to look at me with softened eyes, no longer ready to breathe fire or smack me across my face. “So, what did I hear about getting work done and heading home?”
My hand rested against her cheek. “First, you heard me say the city, not home. We’re home, sweetheart. I don’t need the entire summer to know this is the best place for us. And it’s not some magical spell we fall into when we return to Seaside. We’ve always been best when we are together, working side-by-side on a shared goal. We’re no longer chasing a career or raising children. Our goal is to enjoy retirement. It’s time to travel, attend events because we want to be there, not out of obligation, and for our schedule to revolve around what adventure we want to have next, not the hockey season or your performance schedule. What you heard was me telling my father that if you were okay with it, I’d run the financial side of the foundation from here. We’d have virtual meetings as needed. Only when necessary can I travel to the city for our annual or biannual meetings. We’ll have someone else running the day-to-day aspect. I’m purely the numbers guy tracking the money and filing the financials. But if you don’t want me to do that, I’ll pass the responsibility to someone else. I never needed the summer to know I would do anything necessary to have you by my side for the rest of my life. Like I told you almost thirty years ago, while we stood on the beach in front of our friends and family. The only life I want is the one with you. My promise to follow you anywhere wasn’t just to ask for a trade to be closer to you if you went to a different symphony. It was for anything, sweetheart. The only thing I need in my life to be happy is you.”
Her lips found mine, and we instantly melted into each other. Each kiss and touch was more needy than one before. I wanted to throw her over my shoulder and carry her to our bedroom. Not one of the two we’d been sleeping in this past week, but ours . The one I planned on us being in every night for the rest of our lives. Or at least when we weren’t traveling. “Bed, Annie. Can I take you to bed?”
“Please,” she moaned as I nipped her lower lip.
Just as I stood and placed her on my shoulder, the oven timer rang. “Dammit,” I mumbled as I set her on her feet. “Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”
I pulled the pizza from the oven and placed it on the cutting board, then turned off the oven before sprinting into the living room. Annie squealed with delight as I tossed her over my shoulder and ran down the hall.