Chapter 33
~Daley~
The drive to Deacon’s house takes me through an unfamiliar part of Sioux Falls, away from the downtown core where River’s apartment is located.
Buildings get shorter and more spread out, large lawns surrounding each one, and when I turn onto Deacon’s street, the difference is even more pronounced.
Large gates block the entrances to what can only be called mansions, and when I reach the specific house number he gave me, I squint up at it to double check.
This kind of extravagance doesn’t feel like him at all, but I press the buzzer at the gate entrance anyway and a moment later, the doors in front of me slowly slide open, confirming that I’m at the right place after all.
At the media day this afternoon, I watched him from a distance, doing my best to see him through an unbiased lens.
Honestly, it might have even been more intimidating that way.
In his natural element, surrounded by people who respect and admire him, he shone.
No matter where he went, he was the focal point of the room, and not just for me. People gravitated towards him.
He seemed so out of reach that I might have wondered if I imagined our entire connection, but then his eyes would find me and no matter how far apart we were or how many people stood between us, something tugged inside me.
It tugs again when I park the car at the top of the driveway and the front door opens, revealing a freshly-shaved Deacon in the same clothes he wore earlier, ones that fit his large body like a glove. God, he’s gorgeous. It hits me more each time I see him.
Or maybe it’s just that getting to know him makes him seem even more attractive?
He opens the door for me from the outside before I can even get my seatbelt undone, and the second my feet hit the ground, he scoops me up into his arms.
“What are you doing?” I laugh with that slightly breathless quality I always seem to have around him. “I can walk.”
“I wanted to touch you all afternoon,” he states plainly. “Since you made me wait, I’m going to make up for it now.”
“My bag…” I try but he cuts me off with a kiss that steals any remaining air left in my lungs.
“I’ll get it later,” he mumbles against my lips before pressing one more firm kiss on my lips, his tongue grazing at their seam. Desire starts to pool in my stomach, deep and aching, right as he pulls back, turning his attention towards getting us inside the house.
For a moment, I wonder if he’s going to carry me all the way to the bedroom, and I have to admit to being slightly disappointed when he deposits me just inside the door instead.
However, that disappointment quickly fades into something close to awe as I look around the huge open space we’ve ended up in.
The combined kitchen, living and dining area could fit my entire house with ceilings twice as high.
Large windows at the rear look out over a huge, landscaped backyard.
It’s bright and airy, the walls and furniture all in light colours that add to the impression of vastness.
Comparing it in my head with my cramped, cluttered house nearly makes me wince in embarrassment.
“The tour doesn’t take long,” he says with a modesty that seems entirely out of place given the scope of what I’m looking at.
“Kitchen on the left, living room on the right. The door past the kitchen leads to the master bedroom and a couple of additional rooms. That one beside the TV leads to guest rooms and bathrooms. The ‘guest wing’, Megan called it.”
The casual mention of his ex-wife lands with a thud between us and it’s his turn to wince. However, if he’s not going to hold my past against me, I’m certainly not going to get weird about his marriage.
“Did you guys find this place, or have it built?”
His shoulders relax at my casual tone. “She found it. I was in an apartment downtown, a lot like River’s place, when we met, and she wanted a house. It made sense if we were going to have a family. My only real requirement was having a home gym. The rest is kind of overkill, in my opinion.”
That’s why it didn’t feel like him when I drove up. Glad to know I’m not off the mark on that, but another thing he just said sticks out to me.
A family.
“Do you want to have kids?”
Hopefully that’s not too intrusive a question, but it’s something we should probably know about each other if he’s serious about this relationship being long-term.
My son is fully grown, and I have no interest in starting over with a baby.
I also have no interest in standing in his way if it’s important to him.
We’re at different stages in our lives, a fact I’m aware of at pretty much all times other than when we’re in bed together.
Deacon doesn’t answer right away, his gaze focused on the space in front of us as he considers his response. The longer he takes to reply, the more convinced I am that he’s trying to find a way to say yes without scaring me off, but when his answer comes, it’s more nuanced than that.
“I always thought I did, mostly because it’s what you do, you know?
You get married, you have kids. That’s the script.
But I’ve never really felt a need for it.
Playing hockey takes so much of my time and focus, and yeah, there are guys who balance that with having kids, but I’m not sure I’d be very good at it.
I think in some ways, that was part of the problem with Megan too.
She needed more attention than I could give her, and if we’d had kids together, I have a feeling it would have been a disaster.
I suppose I should be thankful it never happened. ”
“You might feel differently with a different partner,” I prod as gently as possible.
“If I fell in love with someone who desperately wanted them, I’d certainly consider it. I’d consider anything that my partner needs to feel fulfilled.”
He breezes past that as if it isn’t one of the swooniest things I’ve ever heard.
“But I really don’t feel like I’d be missing anything in my life if it doesn’t happen.
There are a hundred different ways I can be involved with kids without having my own.
Coaching is the most obvious way, but not the only one.
You’re involved with dozens of kids through your work, but I bet you don’t mind sending them home at the end of the day? ”
He’s not wrong, and I have to laugh. “It’s different when they’re your own, but I know what you mean.”
Deacon matches my grin, finally turning to look at me fully. His eyes sparkle with mischief. “River could be having kids soon and I’ll have to start calling you Grandma.”
My jaw drops and I jab a finger into his shoulder. “If that word ever leaves your mouth again, you can consider this a failed experiment.”
“Really? You prefer Granny?”
I spin back towards the door as if I’m going to leave but Deacon catches me easily, his big, strong arms wrapping around me.
“Gran?” he continues to tease as I struggle to get free. I’m losing the fight to hold in my laughter and as soon as a squeak breaks through, his deep laugh fills the open space. “Grammy?”
“You have a death wish,” I gasp between fits of giggles, and when I try to break free again, he lifts me easily. My feet kick uselessly at the air beneath me.
“Let me make it up to you,” he rumbles in my ear, and my laughter instantly melts into something more urgent. “Time to see the bedroom, Mama.”
That name, I don’t mind, especially in his deep baritone, and when he twists me to face him, my legs wrap around his waist instead as he walks us down the hall to his room.