Chapter 33- Tate
“So, now that you’re here…” I let my sentence trail off, trying to figure out the best way to ask what I want to know. My baby sister sits on a barstool, a suitcase next to her swinging feet. She looks like she doesn’t have a care in the world. I just go for it- plain and simple. “What’s the plan?”
“I don’t know, T.” Presley takes a large bite of her muffin. I know her. She’s not saying something.
“You know you can stay here as long as you want.” I pour the hot coffee into my mug, “Or I can get you a place of your own. Whatever you need.”
“I know.” She scratches at a spot on the counter with her nail, “I’m working on something but…I don’t want to jinx it. Friday is when I’ll know if it worked out or not.”
“Alright.”
“Really? Just… alright?” Presley blinks at me. “You’re not gonna try to interrogate it out of me?”
I chuckle. I shake my head as I cut up some fruit for the boys. “Wrong brother.”
She snorts. We both know Scotty is overbearing but it comes from a place of love.
“Does that mean I have to behave too? Cause I gotta say, T, I have to know what’s going on between you and the neighbour.
” An evil grin spreads across her face at the heat that spreads across my cheek.
I tug at the collar of my shirt and scoop the fruit into the bowls.
I clear my throat. The room feels warmer all the sudden.
“Tate. It’s me. Come on. I saw how you two looked at each other at the party. And the game.” She sits back in her seat, pleased with herself. Her brow arches. “Well?”
“I’m not talking about this with you. You’re my baby sister, it’s weird.”
“Are you kidding? How many times did I cover for you coming home drunk in the middle of the night and letting you in when Momma locked the door after curfew.”
“Okay, okay. I get it.” I lean forward on my elbows glancing toward the stairs. “Don’t let the boys hear all that.”
“Why? Don’t want them to know Dad is fun?” She says it playfully, but it sends a jolt of pain to my chest. I want to be Dad… to both. Fuck, I want that. I want Alli dancing in my kitchen.
A knock sounds at the door. I wasn’t expecting anyone. My poor pitiful heart jumps in anticipation. Presley bounces her brows at me, a sly smile playing on her lips. “Now who might that be?”
I know who I want it to be.
When I swing the door open, Alli’s eyes are bright. My eyes greedily roam her from head to toe. She’s in her running attire, just a light jacket and leggings, but damn do they show off her perfect curves.
“Hey!” Her voice comes out breathlessly, probably from her morning run.
“Hey, want some coffee?” I open the door wider. She seems to hesitate, but eventually steps in. Presley leaned on her stool, her neck stretched to watch the interaction. I close the door behind Alli and glare at my sister over her shoulder. A clear signal to not pull her shit and embarrass me.
I make quick work of pouring Alli some coffee into a cup as they catch up. I love how easily she chatters and giggles with my sister. I reach into the fridge and get the creamer I bought just for her, seeing as I drink mine black. It was hopeful on my part. Her face lights up.
“Oh, that’s my favourite!”
“Really?” She takes it from me with two hands, her smaller ones touching mine as she does. I take a sip from my own mug, ignoring Presley's shit eating grin.
“I was just bringing Hudson his phone. I like him to have it all the time after...” She trails off and waves a hand in an air circle, “The whole TJ thing.”
“How’s that going anyway?” I leaned a hip against the counter. Alli tucked her hair behind her ear and shifted her weight to her other foot.
“Well, my lawyer, Blake Ashford, said that it’s likely he’ll only be allowed supervised visits.” She sets her mug down on the counter, "There's a no-contact order until our lawyers go before the judge in a few weeks.”
“This way he doesn’t have to go with him in the meantime.”
“Yeah, exactly. Anyways, I gotta go get ready. I’m hosting the book club today.” She hooked a thumb over her shoulder in the direction of the door, "If I know my brother, he’ll be early.”
I walk her to the door. We both linger awkwardly in the doorway. She opens her mouth to say something but closes it again. Pink flushes her cheeks as she ducks her head. I reach for her, just as she turns to head down the drive. I run my hand through my hair and shut the door.
“Oof. That was painful to watch.” Presley says and slurps her drink.
“Yeah, well. What the hell am I supposed to do? She ended it.” I gestured to the door as I plop down next to her. “I can’t very well ask her to risk her job. Even if I would take care of them and she wouldn’t ever have to work if she didn’t want to.”
“Yeah, but did you tell her that?”
“I’m not trying to be pushy. She has a terrible fucking ex. I don’t want to make her feel like I'm anything like him.” I twiddle with the phone Alli dropped off for Hudson, flipping it over in my hands.
“You know what you need?” Her eyes narrow on me. “You need to stop being so fucking nice.”
My mouth dropped open. I scoffed. “I’m not nice.”
“No, you’re right. Not nice. Stop being... such a gentleman, you know?” She rolled her eyes at my confused expression.
“I’m a respectful person and I don’t see how abandoning that is going to help me. Your advice is shit.”
“It is not. I’m telling you, some women just need a man to put themselves out there. Risk complete and utter humiliation by begging. Are you really content to just be the neighbour, watching her whole life happen and not being a part of it?”
When she put it like that, no. I wasn’t fucking content with that.
I twiddled my thumbs as I rolled that over in my mind.
My salary wasn’t the top in the league, but I had invested and had passive income from different sources like real estate.
My agent had recommended to me a financial advisor that had me set up to retire long before my Dallas contact was up, if I wanted.
Hockey had been my life. A once in a lifetime ticket to not only play in the NHL but provide a decent life for Matty. Maybe it was time for a change. Hockey wasn’t everything, and I’d be damned if I let it hold me back from what I really wanted.