Chapter 7
Chapter
Seven
West
Sleeping on a relatively small couch is hard on my extra-large body, but waking up with a beautiful woman pressed against my side makes up for it.
I don’t know how we got in this position, because when I woke up to put more wood in the stove around four in the morning, she was still on the other side of the couch.
So sometime in the last three hours she drifted over to me.
And I can’t help but take a moment to look at her.
Really look at her.
Without makeup she’s just as pretty as with it, and she looks so innocent in her sleep.
Like life and her son’s douchebag father didn’t try to break her.
But she’s strong. I haven’t even known her for twenty-four hours but I can see it in the way she carries herself.
The way she takes care of her son. Hell, even in the way she allowed herself to trust a stranger on the side of the road.
If I were in a different place in life, I’d want to take her out.
Maybe see what there is to see. But I’m not doing the single mom thing again.
My ex broke my heart, but it was more than that.
I had a bond with her daughter too, and losing that hurt almost as much as losing her mom.
That’s why I got myself traded because there was no going back, looking back, or even pretending like we could be friends.
Once I’m done with a relationship, I’m completely done. I tend to shut down and compartmentalize, for my own sanity.
That’s why the next woman I get involved with isn’t going to have baggage.
Or red hair.
I’m a sucker for redheads, and they always seem to break my heart.
It’s probably unfair to lump them all together, especially since something about hair that color gets my dick hard every time.
Like now. Of course, I wake up with wood most mornings, but it goes away pretty quickly if I’m alone.
Since I’m not, I gently move Serena to the side and get up, heading for the bathroom.
It’s frigid in here so I’m quick to do my business and wash my hands. When I come out, Serena’s awake, checking something on her phone.
“Good morning,” she says. “According to the weather app, we got an inch of ice overnight and we’re expecting more. We’re going to have sleet and freezing rain on and off all day, which means I don’t see how you can drive in this.”
“Any news on the electricity?” I ask.
“It says we should expect it to be another forty-eight to seventy-two hours before they can fix it.”
Yikes.
“Have you ever cooked in your wood stove?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “Nope.”
“Well, let’s get creative.”
“If you can figure out how to boil water, I have instant oatmeal for breakfast.”
“The flames will do a number on your pans but I can probably make it happen.”
“Don’t worry about the pans. It’ll be nice to have something warm to eat, though I don’t know how I’ll survive without coffee.”
“That could be a problem,” I acknowledge.
“Well, you work on that while I get Joey up.” She pads into Joey’s room and I watch for a moment. She’s wearing baggy sweats, a hoodie, and wool socks but she’s sexy as fuck.
Dammit.
I walk into the kitchen and start looking for anything I can potentially stick in the wood stove. Right now, while the fire is fairly low, we might be able to get a pan in there. I have no idea how long it’ll take to boil water but I’m going to try. If I were at home, I’d have my generator going.
I texted Bodi last night to let him know where I was and that I wouldn’t be home. Then I told him how to set up the generator.
No such luck here.
Boiling water turns out to be more complicated than expected but eventually I make it happen. We make oatmeal for Joey but use our share of the water for hot tea, which isn’t coffee but it’s not bad. Then I go back to the stove to boil more so we can have oatmeal too.
“By lunch, maybe we can figure out how to make grilled cheese,” Serena says with a grin. “I have all the fixings—all we need is something we can grill them on.”
“Let me see what I can do,” I say. “But we’re going to need more wood. I’ve used everything Rudy brought us.”
I’m not used to roughing it but somehow this doesn’t feel like a huge inconvenience. The electricity is out at my place too, and though I have a generator and gas fireplaces, it feels like this is where I’m supposed to be.
Like being here with Serena is important.
My phone buzzes with an official text canceling practice today, which is good since I couldn’t get to the arena anyway.
I don’t know what the rest of the city looks like since I’m trying not to use my phone too much but I’m going to have to check in at some point.
I also need to see if I can help Rudy get that tree out of the road.
I just wish I had warmer clothes. I’m pretty good with cold weather but it’s the ice and rain that will be a problem.
If my clothes get soaked, then it’ll be colder than I’m comfortable with.
Hanging out here is kind of relaxing, though.
If I’m honest, it’s nice not having anywhere to be.
No busy chit chat over breakfast. No practice.
No travel on the horizon. Nothing but soft giggles in the kitchen.
The sound of the fire crackling in the stove.
And my own thoughts. Usually, I’m too busy to really think about anything except work.
Hockey. Practice. Games. What time my flight is. Updating my calendar.
This is just…nice.
And I’ve missed it.
I haven’t had this kind of down time since—
Nope.
Not going there.
All I want to think about is breakfast.
Eventually, my little pot of water boils and I carry it back to the kitchen with one of Serena’s silicone potholders.
“Boiling water,” I announce needlessly.
“Excellent.” She pours it into two waiting bowls and stirs them up. Then she hands one to me with a playful little bow. “Your breakfast, good sir.”
“Why, thank you, milady.” I incline my head graciously.
We laugh and she reaches into a cupboard. “Walnuts?”
“Sure.”
After embellishing instant oatmeal with walnuts and blueberries, we eat in companionable silence. Joey finishes his breakfast first and then gets down to go play. He pulls out the biggest toy dump truck I’ve ever seen and seems content to vroom vroom it around the living room.
“Does he entertain himself like this a lot?” I ask curiously.
“Not for long periods of time, but he’ll do it long enough for me to eat or clean up the kitchen, fold laundry, something like that. Then he’ll get bored and we’ll do a puzzle or color or whatever. He’s pretty easy-going.”
“My ex’s daughter was not,” I say with a laugh. “I mean, she was well-behaved, don’t get me wrong, but there were days where she never stopped talking.”
“It could also be a girl thing,” Serena says with a laugh. “Joey will talk up a storm sometimes if he’s excited, but then he’ll be more thoughtful too. And remember, it’s always been just the two of us. I think he’s used to our quiet little life.”
“I don’t have quiet,” I admit. And though I may not say it out loud, part of me realizes that was done by design. The louder and busier I kept myself, the less time I’d have to think about Briar.
Instead, I filled my home and my days with as much activity as possible, so there’s never a moment to slow down. Or miss her.
And I’ve been doing myself a bit of a disservice.
I enjoy my friends and roommates. I love hockey. Travel is usually fun. My career allows me to make a fuck ton of money and live a great life. One I haven’t really bothered to enjoy lately.
Maybe this is fate—and Mother Nature—showing me it’s time to slow down.
Forcing me to step back.
“Never?” Serena is asking.
“At night when I go to bed, I guess, but the rest of the time it’s go-go-go.”
She frowns. “I don’t think I could live like that. Short-term, sure. I go through busy times too. But then I need my solitude. A book and a cup of tea. A movie I’ve been meaning to watch. Sitting at the park while Joey plays.”
That sounds wonderful.
When was the last time I sat down with a book? Months. Maybe longer.
“I guess my relaxation comes with cooking,” I say slowly. “Being in the kitchen is my happy place when I need to wind down. Chopping vegetables is soothing. Putting something in the oven that comes out amazing makes me feel good. I do like feeding people.”
“Same.” She smiles, nodding. “I love coming up with a new dish and trying it out on people.” She pauses. “These days, it’s usually Rudy and Gemma, or the ladies at school, but it’s still fun to see their faces and know I hit something good.”
“Could you get a job at a high-end restaurant?” I ask carefully. “I know why you work at the school, but wouldn’t the salary at a restaurant like that allow you to send him to private school?”
“It would,” she agrees. “The problem is the hours. I’d have to work nights and what would I do with him? A sitter every single night adds up fast and in the beginning, I wouldn’t have that kind of salary. It would be more than I’m making now but not full-time nanny and private school money.”
“I didn’t think of that.”
“When he’s older,” she says gently. “When I don’t have to worry about him being here alone, then I can think about that. Until then, I’m fine where I am.”
“What do you do for fun?” I ask casually.
She gets up and starts washing the dishes.
“Fun is subjective. I have fun playing with Joey. I enjoy reading. In the summer, it’s fun to go roller skating in the park.
I still have my skates and I can push Joey in his stroller really fast, which he loves.
But those probably aren’t things you think are fun. ”
I walk over with my bowl and now empty mug of tea, setting them on the counter.
“That’s not true. Skating in a park sounds great.
” I pick up a towel and start drying the dishes she washed.
“I enjoy a nice dinner with friends. Good conversation, a bottle of wine, hanging out. I also enjoy the occasional rock concert. I go to baseball games. Once in a while, I take cooking classes, which is something I love.”
She nods. “I’d do that if I could afford it, but the ones I’d want to take are out of my price range.”
I want to offer to pay for one for her but I’m not sure how that would go over. Would she be insulted? It’s hard to tell. I don’t know her that well yet.
“Maybe we could take one together sometime,” I say instead, keeping my voice casual.
So I don’t sound desperate. Or like a guy who hasn’t dated in over a year and wants to dip his toes in the waters carefully.
Because I really don’t want to date a redhead but the idea has already started to take root.
“Maybe,” she agrees noncommittally, as if she’s in exactly the same boat I am, trying to figure out what to do about a situation we want to avoid but are probably going to jump in anyway.
We finish the dishes and I look out the window.
Still sleeting. Maybe freezing rain. I’ve never really understood the difference.
“I should go talk to Rudy,” I say. “See if he needs help with that tree or get some more wood.”
She nods. “Thank you.”
Grabbing my windbreaker off a hook by the door, I slip my feet into my sneakers and open it to find a stack of wood on the porch, Rudy walking in the opposite direction.
“Rudy!” I call out. “Can I help with anything?”
He shakes his head. “The weather isn’t letting up. It’s too cold to work on that tree. Maybe we’ll try tomorrow.”
Well, I guess I’m not going anywhere.
Like it or not, I’m slowing down today.
With a pretty redhead and a wood stove.