CHAPTER ELEVEN
Noah
Noah wiped the weight machine down and took a long drink of water. He had joined Harrison for an off-day workout at the practice facility.
“After we hit the showers, meet me in the parking lot. Sam asked us over for a beer. Interested?”
“Sure. Where are we hanging out?”
“His house. He’s home on daddy duty today.”
Noah agreed and headed towards the showers. “Be out in ten!”
Harrison was waiting by his vehicle when Noah exited the building. His arms were folded, and he looked at his watch dramatically. “Ten minutes, huh?”
Sure, he had taken longer than ten minutes. With a shrug and a grin, he taunted, “Hey, some of us still take pride in what we look like.”
“And some of us have grown out of the shallow, vain stage. We’re comfortable in our own skins. You’ll see soon enough,” Harrison teased.
“Well, not all of us are lucky enough to have a wife at home who doesn’t mind a few premature gray hairs.” He ran a hand through his own perfectly fixed hair, knowing it was his best chirp yet.
Harrison immediately looked at his reflection in the car mirror. “I do not have any grays!”
Noah chuckled. “Made you look!”
“Jerk. I don’t know why you primped for so long. Jordan isn’t going to be there, you know.”
Noah waved off his words and unlocked his car door. “Lead the way, hoser.”
The drive to Sam’s house was short, and the area was nice. Plus, the house was spacious. As much as he enjoyed the city, he began to wonder what was better, getting a nice house out here or living close to the arena—where Jordan was.
“Hey guys! Glad you could come over. I would’ve joined you at the gym, but I’ve got the kids today.” He looked from Harrison to Noah. “Can I get you guys a beer?”
They both nodded.
Sam quickly returned from the kitchen and tossed them each a beer, while he sipped from a bottle of water. Noah knew his expression at the water was obvious, when Sam responded.
“I stay away from beer while Trina is out. These two are a handful, and I need to stay on my toes.”
“Uncle Harry!” Willow barreled down the steps and leapt into Harrison’s arms.
“Hey kiddo! I hear you’re watching your dad today?”
Willow giggled. “I’ve only had to put him in time out once—so far.”
“Hey, super star.” Noah initiated his and Willow’s secret handshake. The girl had spunk; it was no wonder Sam didn’t drink beer when he was alone with the kids.
“Willow, where’s your brother?” Sam asked.
The little girl pointed upstairs. “In his room.”
“That’s not good,” Sam said, with a look of horror on his face. “Boys, let me teach you a lesson. When a kid is out of sight and quiet, they’re always up to no good. Fear the quiet!” Sam hurried upstairs, leaving Willow smiling, her guilt obvious.
A groan from upstairs told them all they needed to know.
Harrison laughed. “That doesn’t sound good.”
It took a while for Sam to return. Willow kept Harrison and Noah busy playing dance party, and Noah swore he heard the shower turn on.
Sam finally returned; Hank was in his arms looking freshly clean. Both dogs, Belle and Toby were in tow, licking their lips.
“The Hank-monster looks extra clean today,” Harrison commented.
“A quick bath will do that.” Sam said, annoyance obvious in his voice. He set Hank down and turned his attention to Willow. “Young lady, we need to have a talk later about helping your brother get food from the kitchen. And our no food upstairs rule.”
Harrison made an “Ooooooooo” sound, like kids used to make in school when someone was in trouble. He poked playfully at the girl. “What did you do?”
“Apparently Willow got out the peanut butter—I did say you have to stay alert.”
“You failed,” Harrison teased.
“Yeah, well, she gave the peanut butter to Hank, who thought it would be fun to put it on his face so the dogs would lick it off and give him kisses.”
“I fed it to them, too, with my hands,” Hank added proudly.
Sam shook his head. “Hank, peanut butter on your face, why?”
“Why not?” Hank shrugged.
“Boys are gross,” Willow added, unfazed by her dad’s obvious aggravation.
“How about we all go out back? It’s a gorgeous day, and at least out there I can keep an eye on both of you at the same time. And bonus, you kids can run some of that energy off.”
Willow ran out back first, followed by Hank, and then the two dogs.
“Do you have daddy-duty often?” Noah asked, and was promptly laughed at by both men.
“When you have kids, you share the responsibility,” Harrison said. “You’ll learn.”
“My wife went shopping with Talia and baby Dakota,” Sam answered. “Trina is out getting her shopping fix and her baby fix.”
“Is that a real thing? A baby fix?” Noah asked.
Harrison nodded. “I’m sure she’s sniffing poor Dakota’s head as we speak.”
Noah knew nothing of what these guys were talking about. Baby fix? Sniffing a baby’s head?
“Good thing she has Dakota and Christian to fawn over. She can get all the baby kisses from her niece and nephew, because we are done,” Sam said, matter of factly.
“That’s not what your wife says,” Harrison insisted.
“What more do we need? Two kids is a nice sized family. Plus, we have one of each. One boy, one girl. What more could she need?”
Harrison shrugged. “If you say so.”
“That’s not how any of this works, is it?” Noah whispered to Harrison. He was starting to think the wife always had the last word.
Harrison shook his head. “Nope. Sam has no say.”
“I didn’t think so.”
The back and forth of these two was comical and succeeded in getting his mind off of Jordan for a while. But was this really what married-with-kids dads talked about?
“Who wants to play hockey?” Willow ran by them with her stick in her hand.
As soon as she hit the black top that Sam had put in the back yard—specifically for dek hockey with the kids—she dropped a street hockey ball. The little blonde stick handled the hockey ball like a mini-Tyler Kidd, and then dropping to one knee, she shot the ball into the net. Making a sound like the crowd was cheering, she added, “She shoots and scores! And the crowd goes wild!”
“Nice shot, Mini Morris!” Noah cheered.
Willow whipped her head around to look at them. With one hand on her hip, she asked, “One of you boys mind playing in net?”
“Morris, what have you been teaching this girl?” Harrison laughed.
“C’mon ladies, are we playing or kibitzing?” Willow chirped.
“Dash,” Sam accused. “She learned that from you.”
“The attitude, no doubt, but the word? I don’t think I’ve ever said kibitzing in my life, and I know I couldn’t spell it.” He touched his heart. “Kiddo does make an uncle proud.”
Willow just stood there, leaning on her stick and tapping her foot.
“Alright.” Sam grabbed a stick from the porch and tossed sticks to Noah and Harrison. “You heard the lady.”
Entering the black top, Harrison gently shot the puck to the center of the playing area.
Hank had been in the yard chasing the dogs, but when he saw them playing, he grabbed a small stick off the porch and then ran to the black top, positioning himself by Sam. He struggled to get hold of the ball, and when he managed to get hold of it once and shot at the net, he missed.
“So close, Hank-man!” Harrison called.
The ball bounced to Sam, who then danced around Willow, stick handling.
“Mini Morris better watch out. Big Papa Morris has a breakaway,” Noah commentated.
Noah jumped in to help out Willow and blocked Sam so Willow could steal the ball. She shot the ball to the net past Harrison for a goal.
She pumped her fist in the air and ran around pretending to pump up the crowd.
“I’m thinking she’s going to be the first female on the Renegades,” Noah said.
“Girls rule, boys drool,” Willow taunted.
“Easy does it on the chirping, Mini Morris. How about you go grab a juice box,” Sam suggested.
“She might need to work on her chirping a little, but with genes like those, the Morris kids are going to make it big. Look out Professional Hockey League!” Noah said.
“Just wait until Dakota and Christian put on a pair of skates,” Harrison said.
Sam and Harrison continued to boast about their kids, but Noah sat back, thinking how much fun he had with Willow and little Hank. He’d never been a fan of children, nor did he plan on having them any time soon. But interacting with Willow outside and watching her climb on Harrison, it made him consider his options. Maybe not soon, but was it possible that his endgame was a wife and kids?
Willow ran around him, Harrison, and Sam, putting her hand out for high fives, just like at the rink when the player skated by the bench and everyone gave the guy a high five.
Yeah, this was new territory for Noah, and it didn’t scare him as much as it used to.