Chapter 7 #2
I gave a brief grunt of agreement than pounded up the stairs.
Exciting, sure. That was one word for it.
Slightly nauseating might be another. There was just no getting around the fact that this new team was messy.
Tons of young, inexperienced kids. Plenty of guys with shitty attitudes about the move.
An apparent asshole for a coach. That didn’t exactly sound like a recipe for winning a lot of games.
But I couldn’t worry about that now. My biggest responsibility was to Josie, and right now my girl was probably pacing the front walk waiting for me to get my ass in gear.
I changed from my gym shorts and T-shirt into a pair of khakis and a polo shirt.
I wondered if maybe this was the kind of thing a guy should wear a suit to?
I pushed the thought away—even if I had time to get dressed up, I wouldn’t want to do it.
It was hot as hell in Austin at the end of the summer.
I couldn’t understand how anyone wore a suit around here ever.
I found Josie exactly where I left her—looking anxious on the front porch. After a quick hug for her grandmother, I had her buckled into the rental and we were on our way.
Our silent, tension-filled way.
“So, I was thinking we should go and look at cars this weekend.”
She continued to stare out the window, unresponsive. “I’ll need you to help me,” I continued, my bright voice sounding forced in my own ears. “I was thinking maybe a Jeep? Or some kind of SUV. Something with a little more room.”
Still nothing.
“I know you’ve always wanted to get a dog and I was thinking now that we have some real space…”
Her head popped up. “A dog?”
Okay, it was kind of low. I was pretty sure the experts wouldn’t recommend bribing your kid with a dog (or a fancy house with a pool, for that matter) to try to cheer her up, but I didn’t have many better ideas.
And with the way she was actually meeting my eyes in the mirror for once, I wasn’t exactly regretting it.
I shrugged. “What was the deal we made last year?”
“You said if I wanted a puppy, I had to take a pet care class and promise to walk it and feed it.” Her little face was all lit up and I felt it like a punch to the gut. I needed to see her looking that happy a hell of a lot more.
“Right,” I said. “So if you’re still thinking you can handle all of those responsibilities—”
“Oh, I can. I promise I can, Daddy.”
I laughed. “Well, we should talk about it with your grandparents before we make any final decisions. They’re going to be the ones watching you when I’m on the road, so that means they’ll be looking after any dog we have, too.”
“I’ll convince them,” Josie said, her voice oozing confidence.
“Grandpa says Granny spoils me rotten and Granny says he’s one to talk because he can never say no when I make my eyes go like this.
” I watched in the rearview mirror while she made her eyes all big, blinking up through her long lashes. I snorted.
“Your granny has a point. Those puppy dog eyes are lethal.”
Josie returned her attention to the window, but this time, she was smiling. I took a deep breath, relief setting over me. At least I had got her to release some of that tension before we got to the school.
The drive was short—less than ten minutes. Josie’s new elementary school was a sprawling, single story brick building. The lawns looked well taken care of, there were plenty of shady trees, and a pretty extensive looking playground sat on the side of the property.
“This looks great,” I told her as we both climbed out of the rental car. “They have those twisty monkey bars you like.”
She was looking nervous again but she didn’t shy away when I placed my hand at her back. “Let’s go find out where we’re supposed to be.”
Inside the main entrance, we found a welcome desk where parent volunteers were crossing off names and passing out teacher information. “Josie O’Conner,” my girl said in a quiet voice when it was her turn.
“Josie O’Conner,” the woman with the clipboard murmured, running her fingertip down the page. “Hmm.”
“She’s a new student,” I interjected. “Just enrolled two weeks ago.”
“Oh, well that makes sense.” The woman looked up from her paper to smile at me, then did a double take. “My, aren’t you tall.”
I smiled awkwardly. What was I supposed to say to that? And why did people always feel compelled to comment on my height anyhow? I was six foot five. I’d been six-five since I turned seventeen. I was perfectly aware of how tall I was without strangers pointing it out.
“Can’t say I’ve ever seen y’all around the PTA,” she drawled, touching my arm, and alarm bells started going off. I glanced down at Josie in time to see her roll her eyes. She’d seen this before. “I’m absolutely positive I would remember a man like you.”
“Yeah, well, like I said. We just enrolled two weeks ago.”
For a long moment the woman just looked at me, batting her eyelashes. I had the sudden thought that she looked a lot like Josie had just now in the car, when she demonstrated the puppy dog eyes she used on her grandpa to get her way.
“So, um, is there another list you can check?” I asked, ready to get the hell away from the blinking woman and her way-too-friendly smile.
“Let me just see,” she said, grabbing up another stack of papers. “Okay, Josie O’Conner, right here.” She plucked a piece of paper from the stack and turned her toothpaste smile grin to my daughter. Then, in a voice usually reserved for toddlers, she said, “aren’t you just the prettiest thing!”
“My dad’s not going to ask you out,” Josie said, her voice flat, and it was all I could do to keep from bursting out laughing.
Like I said, she’d seen this before. Hockey had been a big deal in New York, and there was no shortage of puck bunnies bold enough to proposition me even in front of my little girl. I squeezed her shoulder tight.
“Oh, what a silly sweetie,” the woman cooed, trying to laugh it off, but I could see her cheeks flushing. Time to evacuate from this situation.
“So, is this all we need?” I asked, reaching for the paper.
“Oh. Yes.” She looked momentarily upset but then her face brightened. “Looks like my Aidan is in the same class. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”
“Sounds good,” I said, doing my best to keep from gritting my teeth.
One more brilliant smile and eye flutter in my direction, and we were on our way, following the signs to the number on the paper: Miss K, room 17.
“Sorry about that,” I murmured to Josie as we walked away.
She shot me a skeptical look. “Why? It always happens.”
“In New York, sure. But I didn’t think anyone around here really knew anything about the team yet.”
Josie rolled her eyes, looking so much like her mother in that moment that I had to smile. “She wasn’t trying to pick you up because you’re a hockey player,” she said, like I was the stupidest man on the planet. “She was trying to pick you up because she thought you were hot.”
“Hmm.” I ruffle her hair a little. “You think the old man is easy on the eyes, huh?
She pushed my hand away, but she was smiling up at me when she said, “Nope. But I know what you look like first thing in the morning with your hair all messed up and drool caked to your chin so—”
“I don’t have drool caked to my chin!”
“Do too,” she argued, giggling now. She pointed at her face. “Right here. It’s so gross. And you get these weird eye boogers too—”
Her voice cut off when we rounded the corner and came face-to-face with a little girl about her age standing outside room 17 with her parents. Josie snapped her mouth closed, clearly not eager to talk about my eye boogers in front of a classmate.
The girl shot her a shy smile then followed her parents through the door. Josie stood frozen at my side, staring at the classroom.
“You okay, Josie girl?” When she didn’t respond, I pulled her over to the wall and crouched down in front of her. “Everything is going to be just fine. You’re a smart, funny, kind girl with a huge heart. You’ll make friends here just like you did in New York, okay?”
“You promise?” she whispered, the waver in her voice breaking my heart.
I knew she wouldn’t want me to hug her in front of any of her new classmates, so I satisfied myself with a shoulder squeeze. “A kid would have to be crazy not to want to hang out with you. You’re one of the best people I know.”
She grimaced, turning her face down to the floor. “I’ve been kind of mean to you,” she whispered.
My heart clenched but I tried to keep the mood light. “What, ’cause you were teasing me about my drool? Don’t worry about it. You could have teased me about my morning breath, that would have been really mean.”
She looked like she was fighting back a smile. “No, Dad. I mean…you know. About moving.”
I squeezed her shoulder tighter, wishing I could pull her into my arms and hug the snot out of her. “This has been a tough couple months, Josie girl. You don’t have to apologize for anything. I love you no matter what.”
She blew out a deep breath, her shoulders straightening. “We should probably go in.”
I grinned at her. “There’s my brave girl.” I held out a fist for her to bump. “Let’s do it.”
I let Josie lead the way into the classroom, wanting her to feel in control of the situation. A wave of pride rushed through me when she raised her chin a little as she stepped through the door. That was my girl, facing her fears with her head held high.
I was so busy watching my daughter that it took me a minute to see the woman standing at the front of the room, staring at me with wide eyes.
For the third time in a week, I felt her presence like a punch to the gut. Gracie Knight, in the flesh.
“Hey,” I said, my mouth suddenly dry. “I mean, hi. How are you?”
“I’m good.” Her eyes bounced from me down to Josie then back.
“Are you…” I looked around, feeling confused and more than a little overwhelmed by her mere presence. “Do you have a kid in this class?”
She shook her head, red curls bouncing. “Um, no. No kids. This is actually my classroom.”
I must have stared at her for a full twenty seconds, waiting for the sentence to make sense. Josie looked up at me, probably confused why I was staring at this woman with my mouth hanging open.
And then it clicked into place.
Her classroom. Miss K.
Holy shit.
Gracie Knight was my daughter’s teacher.