Chapter 20
Twenty
Hannah
“Look, look, look,” Aiden says so quickly the three words run together. “She cleared that railing like she was going for an Olympic gold.”
He laughs, rewinding last night’s game before pressing play. We all watch as I vault over the railing. He rolls it back again, pausing the TV with me in mid-air. “See the height of that jump?”
“’Cause she don’t got no tits weighin’ her down, ain’t that right, hun?”
Everyone’s head whips in Granny’s direction, their mouths falling open.
I, on the other hand, am not a bit surprised by a single thing that comes out of that old woman’s mouth.
She and I stare at each other for a second, then she gives me a wink before we both burst out laughing.
To be honest, her humor is refreshing. That woman doesn’t tip-toe around anyone.
Carter takes the remote from Aiden and presses the play button again. “Damn, Granny, don’t hold back.”
“Never do, boy. Once ya get to be my age, ya kinda just say whatever decides to run through yer mind.”
“What gets me is the mean mug expression on her face. Look at how fuckin’ pissed off she is,” River says, watching me rip the tablet from Dad’s hands.
Tucker pulls a deck of cards out of the cabinet while Jade’s gaze lingers on him like he hangs the moon.
“We’re both gonna be rich. Uncle Carter .
. . the tall blonde guy over there, he has the worst mouth aside from Aunt River.
But unlike my aunt, anytime he drops an F-bomb, he also drops a twenty. ”
“Tucker, quit teaching her shit,” River scolds him, adjusting Ash on her shoulder and patting his back.
“She’s gotta learn from somebody, and it sure ain’t gonna be from you, cheapskate.
” He turns back to Jade and hands her the deck of cards.
“Aunt River's always telling me to put it on her tab, so don’t ever expect to get any money out of her ‘cause it ain’t happenin’.
But everyone else . . . well, they’re as good as gold. ”
“That’s bullshit,” River protests.
“Yeah? And that’s another five dollars I’m never gonna see.” Tucker pins River with a pointed look as he closes the cabinet door, then he focuses back on Aiden’s daughter. “Come on Jade, I’ll teach you how to play go fish.”
Aspen snatches the remote from Carter and turns off the TV. “Y’all leave Hannah alone. She’s clearly passionate about the game.”
“Passionate isn’t the fucking word for that,” Cal says.
“Would everyone stop cussing around my daughter?”
“Oh, like she doesn’t hear it from Granny, Aiden. That woman has said the word ‘fuck’ about a dozen times since she’s been here,” River laughs.
I look down at Ember, sleeping in my arms, and gently stroke the fine hairs on the side of her head with my thumb. “Sweet baby. You were born into a crazy family.”
“When I retire next year, you’re not going to be able to storm down there like that and tell the new coach how to do his job,” Dad says, catching me off guard.
The room grows silent, and my gaze flicks from Ember up to my dad, standing over me at the island.
I had no idea he was retiring. Can’t say that I blame him, but I also can’t imagine someone else being the head coach of the Blaze.
With so many memories centered around him and this team, it’ll be weird to show up at work and he not be there.
My chest aches at the thought of someone else stepping into his role.
“Maybe she won’t have to,” Aspen says as the doorbell rings.
Knowing it’s Sean, I walk over and answer the door. It takes me a second to register the sight in front of me.
What the hell?
“Uh . . . Hey, Cammie? Can you take Ember please?” I call out from the door. “Or help with whatever’s going on here?”
“I got you flowers,” Sean says, his voice muffled by the bouquets.
“Thank you. Umm, did you buy flowers for the entire neighborhood too?” I laugh.
“The vase is for you. I thought . . . I should probably buy some for Katherine, since she’s hosting, but then the florist said the other women might feel left out, and that I should get some for them too.”
Once Ember is secure in Cammie’s waiting arms, I relieve Sean of the vase and the bottle of wine.
He comes into full view and . . . oh, hot damn.
The way his dress shirt clings to his muscles causes my brain to malfunction.
A few buttons are undone at the top, and as he shifts the flowers around his shirt opens up a little more, giving me a peek at that sexy tattoo on his chest.
Holy fuck.
He winks, then leans in, and kisses my lips. “Hi, baby.”
“Hi, Sean.”
I lick my lips and stand there, shamelessly checking him out.
“You want to let me in? My hands are kinda full here, mi amor.”
Shit!
I jump into action and spin around, leading him into the house. He laughs as he trails behind me.
“These are beautiful, Sean. Thank you,” I say, turning the vase from side to side.
When he doesn’t respond, I glance back over my shoulder and find him standing in the middle of the living room, his jaw ticking while he pins Cal, Aiden, and Carter with a glare. “You said no jeans.”
“I didn’t say I couldn’t wear jeans. I said you couldn’t wear jeans,” Cal corrects him, popping a carrot into his mouth. “I’ve already done my time impressing the in-laws.”
“With what? Your bubbly personality? And why doesn’t Aiden have to wear slacks?”
“Because I’m single as a Pringle. I’m not trying to impress nobody,” Aiden answers.
I set the vase down on the island, my brows knitting together, then turn to face everyone gathered in the living room. “But I thought you and Cammie—”
“Girl. No.” Cammie laughs, handing Ember over to her brother. “Aiden and I are just friends. We might have fun from time to time, but that’s as far as it goes.”
“If you two aren’t together, then why is he at our family dinner?” Carter asks, earning a deep scowl from Cammie.
“Because I invited him, Carter,” she bites back. “And stop glaring at him like that.”
Granny takes her flowers from Sean’s hand and beckons him to lean down. Holding her hand to the side of her mouth like she’s about to tell him a secret, she says, “I’ll go on and take the flowers, but ya gotta know, if ya wanna get in my drawers, ya don’t really have to work this hard.”
We all burst out laughing, letting her know we heard her loud and clear.
“What? A girl can dream, right?”
“My offer still stands, Granny,” I tease. “Take him.”
“You’re asking for it, Rebel. You just wait until I get you home—”
“Okay.” Dad interrupts Sean with a clap of his hands. “Now that everyone is here, let’s eat.”
I saunter into the kitchen, and as I stand at the counter uncorking the wine, Jade runs up to me with a bouquet of white daisies in her little hand. “Look what Seany got me!”
“Oh, those are so pretty.” I smile down at her as she looks up at me with those pretty brown eyes. “Let’s put them in a vase so they don’t wilt. Did you tell Sean thank you?”
“Sure did.”
Pulling up a stool for her, she climbs up, and we work together quickly, her tiny hands reaching over mine as we place one flower after the other into the vase.
“That’ll do, right?” She asks, twisting the vase side to side to admire our handy work.
“It’s perfect! Great job, Jade.”
She holds up her hand, and I give her a high five, then help her down. Grabbing the wine, I follow her to the dining room. She runs ahead of me to the table, plopping herself down in the chair next to Sean, and I take the seat between her and River.
“Jade, why don’t you come sit by me and let Hannah sit next to Sean?” Aiden suggests.
Her little chin wobbles, and she shakes her head. “I wanna sit by Seany.”
“First my best friend . . . now my little girl . . . I’m sure if I had a dog, you’d steal that too, Mac,” Aiden jokes.
Carter barks out a laugh. “Jealous? Need a shoulder to cry on?”
“If I do, I’ll just call your sister. She’ll come over and dry my tears. Isn’t that right, Sunshine?”
“I will literally beat your fuck—” Carter’s eyes cut to Jade. “Shit. I mean . . .”
“That’s forty dollars, Uncle Carter.” Tucker holds out his hand, and when Carter blinks at him in confusion, he adds, “Twenty for me. Twenty for Jade. Let’s go. Chop. Chop. Hand it over or we’ll add another sixty for the other spawn, making it a hundo.”
“Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack. It's not personal. It’s business. You don’t make it anywhere in the world by being soft,” Tucker says as Carter pulls out his wallet.
“This is bullshit.”
“And that’s another ten. Wanna keep going?”
Filling my plate, I laugh and glance out over the table at my family, razzing each other and carrying on. My eyes lock with the one person centered in it all—Aspen’s mom.
“So, your surgery’s the day after tomorrow? Are you staying here with me or . . .” Katherine trails off.
“I’m staying with Cammie for a couple of weeks,” I say, placing a roll onto my plate.
“Well, sweetheart, I don’t mind staying over at your house until you’re on your feet if you’d rather be at home. You just let me know what I can do.”
There hasn’t been a single time that she hasn’t treated me like her own.
She’ll never replace my mother, not that she’s ever tried to .
. . I mean, I’m well into my twenties, but.
. . I guess what I’m trying to say is that she’s my mom too.
And if there’s room for her to be that for me, well then, maybe there’s room for me to be that to a child that’s not biologically mine.
I glance down at Jade, still feeling the same overwhelming emotion I felt for her the minute I laid eyes on her.
I imagine it’s the closest feeling to a mother’s love I’m ever gonna feel.
“Speaking of your surgery, how long are you out of commission?” Aspen asks, breaking me out of my wandering thoughts.
“About four weeks at the most. Two weeks if I’m lucky and able to just work at my desk,” I reply, taking a sip of my wine.
“Good. So, here’s the deal. When you come back to work, I’m gonna need you to train someone for your position so you can take over coaching the team.”
I strangle on my drink, coughing, and sputtering.
“Way to lead into it, Aspen. Jesus.” River laughs, patting my back. “You okay?”
“I’m okay,” I wheeze, my lungs working overtime to clear my airways. “I wasn’t expecting you to say that . . . I’m honored. Truly, I am, but I’m not qualified to coach an NHL team. I have zero experience.”
“Zero experience.” Aspen laughs sarcastically, rolling her eyes. “First of all: That’s the biggest crock of shit I’ve ever heard in my life. And second: Did I have experience when I took over this organization? No. But here we are.”
“How many female head coaches have you seen in the NHL, Aspen?”
“One . . . and I’m looking straight at her,” she says, holding a bottle to Westin’s mouth while Cal piles mashed potatoes onto her plate.
“When someone needs help with their game, who do they come to? You. You’re training these guys during your free time just about every day.
You have this way of fixing their issues and quirks.
I’ve seen what you can do with my own two eyes.
Hell, the entire nation saw it last night when you went down to the bench and outsmarted your own father on national television.
It’s all the sports networks have been talking about all day.
They’ve been calling you ‘The Protégé.’ You’ve already been coaching these guys; we just want to make it official. ”
“What about Carter? Why can’t he take over?” I ask.
“I’m starting my practicum next year. Everyone knew when I stepped in as assistant coach that it was temporary.”
This is nuts. I just need to breathe. I can’t freaking breathe.
“Please excuse me,” I say, standing from the table. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I-I need some fresh air.”
“I told you to talk to her privately . . .” Dad’s voice fades out as I leave the dining room and head outside to catch my breath.
There’s so much more that goes into coaching than fixing a little quirk.
And I didn’t outsmart my dad; I did what I’ve watched him do time and time again.
If I do this, I’ll be on display for the entire world to judge and criticize.
What if I fail? It’ll be a damn crucifixion.
The door opens and closes behind me; then strong arms wrap around me from behind as Sean nuzzles into my neck.
“You okay, mi amor?”
Taking comfort in his arms, I lean my head back and sigh. “Yeah. I’m okay. Just thinking.”
“Liar. You’re freaking the fuck out.” He chuckles in my ear. “She’s right, you know? I don’t know anyone better than you to take over coaching, but you don’t need to make any big decisions tonight.”
I turn around and wrap my arms around his neck. “You really think I can do it?”
“I don’t think there’s a single thing you can’t do,” he says as the wind picks up, whipping my hair around us. “Damn, you smell amazing. What is that?”
Blushing, I bury my face into his chest. It’s embarrassing really, but I swallow down the emotion and look back up into his eyes.
“I wanted something that reminded me of the garden in Vegas. I found this apothecary in Manhattan, Luna Sage, and the owner created a custom perfume specifically for me. Want to know what we named it?”
“What?”
“Rebel.”
He closes his eyes, pressing his forehead to mine, then he leans back, swiping my hair back from my face, and gazes into my eyes. “Te amo.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means it’s beautiful,” he says.
“Why do you lie to me? I know that’s not what you said. I swear, while I’m recovering, I’m learning Spanish. I just can’t with you.”
Laughing, he trails the back of his hand down my arm, threading his fingers through mine. “God help me if you learn Spanish. You ready to go back inside?”
“I guess.”
He leads me back to my chair, then sits down and addresses my family, pinning them with a look that warns them to abort any further conversation about me coaching. “I think it’s best that we let Hannah get through her surgery and recovery before asking her to make anymore life-changing decisions.”
Aspen and Dad both nod in agreement, and the rest of dinner is filled with laughter and light conversation.
When everything begins to wind down, I gather plates, taking them to the kitchen to clean up.
Rounding the corner, I catch sight of Dad with his hand on Sean’s shoulder.
I can’t quite hear what he’s saying, but they're both laughing.
I make my way to the sink, watching them out of the corner of my eye, but then focus back on my task when Sean heads my way, rolling up his sleeves to help me with the dishes.
Sir, if you’re looking to get laid, that’s one way to do it.
“After this, you want to go do something?”
“I might be able to be convinced.” I smirk at him over my shoulder. “What did you have in mind?”
“You’ll just have to wait and see . . .”