Chapter Six Ryker #2
“She’s kind of a sports trivia nut,” he continues.
“She can rattle off stats like nobody else. And sometimes, we’ll be watching a game, and she’ll start ranting about something, and then not thirty seconds later, the commentator dudes rant about the same thing. It’s like she’s psychic or something.”
This is a side to Willow I don’t know but I want to learn more about.
And now that the kid has diarrhea of the mouth, I don’t want him to stop.
“Like what?” I ask him.
“Oh, I don’t know off the top of my head.
” He chews thoughtfully. “Well, one time, you were playing, and we were watching as usual, and there was nothing on the screen hinting at the fact that you might be breaking a record that night. I hadn’t heard anyone mention it in the pregame. I had no idea.”
He takes a bite, and I cross my arms over my chest, listening.
This is fascinating.
“But Aunt Wills looked kind of nervous. She was pacing and biting her thumbnail, and she wasn’t eating any of the nachos, and I was like, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ And she said, ‘He only has to score two goals to break it.’”
I have chills. Goose bumps all down my arms.
“And I said, ‘Break what?’ and she said, ‘The all-time scoring record. They’re not even talking about it, and he could break it tonight.’ She was so mad that the commentator dudes weren’t talking about it.”
“They didn’t want to jinx it,” I murmur, remembering that night.
Christ, I was nervous. And I never get nervous on game night.
“And then, when you made that second goal,” he continues, finished with his sandwich now and switched back to the bag of chips, “she freaking cried. It scared me because Aunt Wills doesn’t cry.
That woman is solid. And she just wept like a baby.
I patted her back for a few, and then I was like, ‘I’m going to my room. ’”
Fuck me.
“Thanks for telling me that.”
“Sure. She probably wouldn’t like that I told you she cried, so let’s keep that between us.”
With a chuckle, I nod. “Okay. Was there something specific you wanted to ask me before we got off on the Willow tangent?”
“Oh, right. Do you think I’m too old to start playing?”
“I was your age when I started,” I reply. “You’re not too old.”
He scratches his nose. “I don’t know. I kind of want to. But some of the guys at school are assholes, and I don’t want to hang out with them.”
“Beat ’em up on the ice,” I suggest. “That’ll feel damn satisfying.”
“I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Come on, let’s finish up. We have a lot left to do.”
Aiden is a hard worker. I can see that he’s beat, since I worked him hard today, but he never complains. I don’t have to ask him to do anything twice, and when he saw that I was struggling with a tree earlier, he jumped in to help me.
He’s going to be an asset to the ranch this summer. This first week went really well.
And I can also see that Willow’s right. He’s a good kid. So why is he acting out and treating her so badly? What in the hell is going on with him?
I’ll ask him over the coming weeks, and we’ll get to the bottom of it because I hate seeing my Willow upset.
We’re sitting on the porch with bottles of water when Willow comes driving up to the house. She climbs out of the car, and Aiden stands and turns to me.
“I guess I’ll see you on Monday,” he says.
“Get some rest tonight,” I reply, and he walks down to where Willow’s standing.
“I figured you’d be hungry,” she says as she approaches, and I hear the hesitation in her voice as she speaks to him. Is she afraid of him? “So there are some burgers and fries in the front seat. I already had mine, so the rest is yours.”
“Awesome, thanks.”
Her eyes widen in shock as Aiden climbs into the car, unwraps a burger, and bites in happily.
“Holy shit,” she murmurs.
“What’s wrong?”
“He hasn’t thanked me for anything in . . .” She swallows hard. “In a long time. I guess he must have had a good day.”
“Yeah, we had a good day.” I want to hug her more than I want to breathe, but I’m filthy, so I reach out and tuck her hair behind her ear. She’s so damn soft. “How was your day, Trouble?”
“It was good. I started on a new audiobook for an author that I’ve worked with before, and I enjoy her books. This one is a football romance.” She blows out a breath and shoves her hands in her pockets. “I should be able to have it done by Tuesday, if I work through the weekend.”
“No days off for you?”
She shakes her head. “I have back-to-back projects, and I’m still catching up from last month. Not to mention, driving back and forth takes a chunk of time out of my workday.”
I wish she’d stay out here. I hate that she has a long-ass drive ahead of her. They should be here, on the ranch. She should be with me. This week has taken a toll on her. I can see that she’s exhausted.
“He didn’t give you any trouble today?”
“Not at all. He did well.”
Her shoulders drop in relief. “I’m so glad. Well, I’d better get him home, but we’ll see you on Monday.”
She watched all my games and cried when I set the record.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asks.
“Like what, Wills?”
“Like . . . I don’t even know, but it’s different.”
I think I’m finally seeing what I’ve been missing all along. She’s not just my best friend. But I don’t know for sure if she feels what I do, and I have to tread carefully so I don’t fuck up three lives.
“I just think you’re pretty great.”
She smiles softly and then frames her face and rolls her eyes. “I’m glad somebody notices.” She smirks and walks to the driver’s side. “Have a good weekend, Ry.”
“You too.”
Both of them wave, and then they’re off, leaving me here alone, and I wish they’d stay. I want to talk about hockey with Willow and pick her brain. Listen as her sexy-as-hell lips rattle off stats to me. I never considered that to be hot before, but just the mere thought of it has my cock stirring.
With a shake of my head, I walk into the house and head straight for the shower.