Chapter 29
Iwas looking forward to the break. The first part of the season had caught up to me, and my body was screaming for a few days off for rest and relaxation, even if it was with my meddling family. But damn, I did miss them all.
I packed up my SUV with our bags and Chloe’s bed while Jill made up some snacks and packed some drinks for the road. I planned to do most of the driving, especially during the mountain pass, but Jill would do the BC interior. Since she didn’t have a car in Vancouver and hadn’t driven much, I gave her the easy part.
As we drove through the mountains, she took out her camera and posted snapshots here and there. She posted a few to social media, and when we got to a rest stop, she asked a couple to take some photos of us with Chloe. Jill planned to post them to social media to keep up appearances. Now that Orla had backed off, it wasn’t so critical anymore, but it was good to keep the charade up anyway. After all, we were supposed to be a happily engaged couple.
“This is gorgeous,” Jill said, looking up through the passenger window at the snow-covered mountains.
“We should go up to Banff or Whistler. You’d love it. Do you ski?”
“Only cross country. Tangi and I used to go all the time for exercise,” she said, snapping a few more pictures. “But I’m open to learning downhill.”
I loved that about her. She wasn’t necessarily sporty, but she was open to trying anything. She’d already agreed to let me teach her how to skate, and now I had her learning to downhill ski. She loved hiking in the park, and didn’t once fuss about her hair or makeup. But then, she had a natural beauty about her, and her sharp wit always had me on my toes. She certainly didn’t suffer fools.
“When I have our week off, we can plan a trip up to Whistler. In the meantime, I’ll find you a good ski instructor. It will be fun.”
We stopped for a quick lunch near the border of BC and Alberta before we hit the last stretch of our road trip. Mom had already called a few times to check our progress, and I assured her we would be there for dinner. Mom was more than a little excited that I was bringing a woman home, especially one I was engaged to. I usually didn’t because there was no use getting her hopes up. But Jill was different. She was a friend I was dating, and if things didn’t work out, we’d still be friends. I just had to convince Mom that we hadn’t set a wedding date, and not to smother Jill with wedding plans.
We got to my parents’ massive two-story just before six o’clock, mostly because the road conditions had been good, traffic had been light, and I was driving a little fast. Jill took Chloe’s leash and some of our stuff, and I followed behind with the rest. Mom greeted us at the door and nearly shrieked when she saw us. Her dog, Lulu, a totally bratty Shih Tzu, was right behind her, ready to snap at Chloe. Behind her was Gracie, Dad’s yellow Lab. While Mom freaked out about our arrival, Lulu eyed up Chloe and Gracie jumped in and gave Chloe a sniff. Within seconds, all three dogs were running into the house, ready to play. At least Chloe and Gracie were. Lulu was a wildcard.
I made some quick introductions, and Mom grabbed Jill into a hug. Since Jill wasn’t overly used to affection, it took her a second to react and hug Mom back. Dad appeared in the doorway and ushered us in. We were barely out of our coats, and Mom was escorting us into the dining room for the setup she’d created. Gwen was just sitting down, and Jamie, my little brother, and his latest girlfriend were heading in as well. More introductions followed once I found out my brother’s girlfriend’s name. I had to try to remember it.
We passed food around, then Mom set her sights on an unsuspecting Jill. Thankfully, I’d warned her that Mom was going to throw a barrage of questions her way, mostly about the engagement, but I had no doubt she could handle them.
“Jeremy says you’re from Minnesota.”
“Yes,” Jill said as politely as possible. “I was born and raised there.”
“But you have no issues relocating? To wherever you end up?”
I smirked. Mom was already gauging if Jill would move with me to wherever I had to go if the Kodiaks ever traded me.
“I have no strong ties to Minnesota other than good friends.”
Mom tilted her head. “Oh. No family left?”
“My mom, but we aren’t overly close. And my father isn’t in the picture. I have no siblings.”
I bristled at that. Jill had no idea she had a younger brother and sister. I hated that I knew it, but telling her would mean that I’d have to tell her I’d met her dad, and that wouldn’t go over well.
A small smile crept up on Mom’s face. I knew exactly what she was thinking. Not only did Jill not have an attachment to Minnesota, she also had no meddling family. But my mom could do the meddling for two families.
As she grilled Jill some more, I caught up with my little brother. He was the baby of the family and quite possibly unexpected, not that I was going to ask my parents. Jamie was nine years younger than me and finishing up his last year of Juniors. He was hoping to get drafted. I hadn’t had an honest conversation with him in a long time, but my feelings were that if he did get drafted, it would be in the later rounds. The kid had talent, but he’d always been babied by my parents, and quite frankly, a little lazy. I’d warned him a few years ago that he needed to work harder, but he’d always been more interested in friends and girls.
“Mom, enough!” Gwen said when Mom was still pebbling Jill with questions. “The rest of us would like to get to know her too.”
“Oh, shush,” Mom said.
Dad rolled his eyes and kept eating.
By the time we got through dinner and dessert, Jill could barely keep her eyes open. It had been a long day, so I showed her to our bedroom and pointed out the bathroom. Gwen took that as her cue to go home, and Jamie and his girlfriend—I forgot her name already—took off to hang out with friends. Dad and I helped Mom clean up, but then she told us to get lost so she could prep for Christmas dinner. Mom loved the holidays, and she made an epic Christmas dinner, so Dad and I let her have the kitchen back.
Dad grabbed two beers, and we hung out in the living room watching football. Dad loved sports more than I did, and had he not fucked up his knee when he was in high school, he probably would have played professional hockey. Instead, he lived vicariously through me and Jamie.
“How are things going with the Kodiaks?” Dad asked.
“It’s fine. I’m making inroads with the guys. At least they’ve all stopped hating me. But Orla is in town. She’s writing a book. Not an autobiography or anything, some romance novel.”
Dad arched a bushy eyebrow. “Sounds like her way of gossiping without doing it for real.”
“Maybe.”
He looked over his shoulder to see where Mom was, then turned his attention back to me. “Are you serious with this girl?”
“I don’t know. I’m getting to know her.”
Dad gave me the sternest look he could muster. “You’re engaged to her. And you’re getting to know her?”
Shit. How had I walked into that? “I care a lot about her.”
Dad gave me the same look he always gave me when I was about to get into trouble. “Susan, I need Jeremy to help me with the air compressor. We’ll be in the garage,” he called out to Mom.
I groaned. First of all, Mom had no idea what an air compressor was and whether it worked. This was Dad’s way of trapping me into a conversation I didn’t want, but I dutifully followed him out to the cold garage.
“What is going on? You are going to tell me right now.”
I told Dad everything, from the fake engagement to the fact that Jill and I were dating now, or whatever it was we were doing. I didn’t tell him that I had fooled around with Orla, but I did mention that I was worried she was going to throw me and the Kodiaks under the bus.
“Your mother is going to be devastated if this doesn’t turn into an actual engagement.”
“When it’s all over, I’ll tell her the truth. I’ll apologize for getting her hopes up.”
Dad shook his head. “I don’t like this one bit. She’s been talking about the wedding of the century for the last few weeks, and now you’re telling me there is never going to be one?”
“Probably not. Jill is great, but I don’t know her well enough to know what the future holds.”
“How much longer do you plan to continue this nonsense?”
“It was supposed to be until the end of the season.”
Dad’s face contorted into a sneer. “I have to pretend to go along with this for at least another four or five months? Wonderful. Let me make this clear: when the truth comes out, you will tell your mother in person. Don’t even think of chickening out. You are going to deal with the fallout. Do you understand?”
Perfectly. And knowing Dad, he’d make sure I was punished sufficiently.