Chapter 1 #2
But why wouldn’t he? Especially after I spent the summer laying low and I have been keeping to myself more often than not.
He’s the guy I confided in all those months ago.
I needed to talk to someone, so I told him about Maria and me, and how late one evening back in her kitchen, things heated up between us.
But then, they cooled just as quickly. I never really told him why, and let him believe it was just a quick hook-up, even though he’s smart enough to know I’ve got more going on with me. Too bad I wasn’t smart enough to stop myself from getting involved with a single woman raising two teenagers.
“So yes to dinner?” he asks, breaking my painful trip down memory lane.
I give him a shove. “What do you mean you never see me? I’ve seen you every day for the last two weeks.” The season is just beginning and we’ve been in training camp every day.
“Yeah, but Rowyn hasn’t seen you. Not that she’s missing anything.” He mock shivers. “Not with an ugly face like that.”
“Fuck off.” I shove him and he laughs. “Wait. She’s not trying to set me up, is she? I heard rumors about Jaylynn trying to set up her friends Sloane with Nicklas.”
“That’s a losing bet there,” Jaxon says. “And no, Rowyn doesn’t have the energy for that.”
“How many months along is she?”
“If you ask her, she’ll tell you twelve. But it’s five.”
“Yeah, dinner sounds great. What can I bring?”
“Just your appetite, bud.” I’m about to protest when he holds up a hand. “Tuck, I’ve tasted your food and trust me, no need to bring anything.”
“Hey, I take offense to that.”
“Just like my stomach took offense to that pasta salad you brought to the potluck last summer.”
“Who knew mayonnaise went bad?”
“Everyone, Tuck. Everyone knows mayonnaise goes bad. You need to check the date on things.”
As we both laugh, I spot Elena and Grant. Elena is Maria’s mother and Grant is my buddy Ash’s dad. They have the cutest later-in-life romance. I guess there really is someone for everyone. Maybe just not for me. Or rather, there is someone for me, I just can’t have her.
Elena and Grant walk close, his hand hovering near her back like she might tip over at any second. That’s when it hits me—her skin is ghostly pale, and my body stiffens, spine locking into protective mode.
It’s not just because I’m team captain, trained to watch for risks and anticipate every move of those around me. It’s deeper than that. I notice. I act. I step in. Because that’s who I am. I take responsibility—for my team, for my friends, for the people who exist in my little universe.
And maybe most of all it’s because I’m a nurturer by nature. It’s in my DNA. I can’t help it. I watch, I worry, I want to make things right. Keeping an emotional distance from Maria’s boys goes against everything I am, everything I’ve been built to do.
“Hey,” Grant says. “Jaxon, do you think you could give Lucas and Josh a drive home? Elena’s not feeling great.”
Right on cue, she sneezes, and sags against Grant. My heart pinches tight, because Elena reminds me of my own grandmother, and makes me miss having my family around.
Makes me miss having my own family.
Sure, I have my hockey family, but I don’t have anyone to go home to, anyone to kiss good night, or more importantly kiss good morning.
Grant’s arm slides fully around her shoulders. “Poor thing’s been fighting something all afternoon.”
“I would if I could,” Jaxon says quickly. “I came with Noah and his kids.”
And then they all look at me.
My heart slams into my throat.
Absolutely not.
As captain I’m the leader, the one who gives advice and is there when anyone needs anything, but taking care of Maria’s boys…
I don’t think I can do that. Partly because I want to keep a measure of distance from them, and partly because it means going to Maria’s house.
Which means possibly seeing Maria. Which means reliving everything we did in her kitchen that night, and how I quickly pulled away afterward. We both did.
“Tuck?” Grant prompts gently. “I asked a couple of the other guys, but they all carpooled.”
“Um…” I rake a hand through my hair. I can’t say no. Not to them. Not to the boys.
Elena sneezes again, and the sound is small and miserable. Guilt punches me square in the chest.
Wait, are they trying to set us up?
Grant had played matchmaker with his son Ash and Gina.
Sure those two really were made for each other, and are now happily married but that can’t happen with Maria and me.
I narrow my gaze slightly, but Elena looks genuinely unwell.
And now I feel like a complete asshole for even thinking they were up to something.
Maybe the world doesn’t revolve around my drama.
“Yeah. Sure,” I say. “No problem. You guys head home. Get some rest. Hope you feel better, Elena.”
She gives me a grateful smile and leans more into Grant. “Thank you, Tuck. And please give my daughter a hug for me.”
My spine goes hockey-stick straight.
“What?”
She laughs, waving her hand. “Oh, I just mean, tell her I say hello. And tell her I’m sorry I couldn’t stay for tea and muffins after I dropped the boys off. I hope she didn’t go to too much trouble.”
Right. Tea. Muffins.
“Yeah. Sure. I can do that.”
“You good?” Jaxon asks quietly as they walk away.
“Peachy.” I shove my feet into my boots as Lucas and Josh skate toward us, still shoving each other like they’re four and six instead of fourteen and sixteen. Jaxon stands and I cast him a fast glance. “See you tonight.”
“Where are Grandma and Grant going?” Josh asks as Grant and Elena head out.
“I’m giving you guys a ride home,” I tell them. “Your grandmother isn’t feeling well.”
They nod and drop onto the bench, unlacing their skates.
“I’m starving,” Josh groans. “Can we stop for burgers?”
“If it’s okay with your mom,” I say carefully.
Lucas is already pulling out his phone. Efficient. Responsible. A lot like his mother. Josh, though, he’s staring at me, and I’m not sure I like the look in his eyes. It reminds me of the way Stella was watching me earlier.
“What?” I ask.
He shrugs. “Just…Stella.”
I groan. “Don’t listen to anything she tells you. I’m pretty sure she’s out to get me.”
He chuckles. “I was just thinking…why are you single?”
I blink. “Ah, what?” I ask, for lack of anything else. Why is everyone so interested in my love life—or lack thereof—today?
He snorts. “If I had all those bunnies crawling over me…”
“I’m not interested in any of the bunnies,” I cut in.
He pauses, considering that. “You like them older?”
“There’s nothing wrong with maturity,” I mutter. “Or someone who wants to settle down.”
Lucas stands, slinging his bag over his shoulder. Josh mirrors him, stick propped against one shoulder like he’s posing for a hockey trading card.
Then Josh says it.
Casual. Deadly.
“I think my mom might like you?”
Oh no he fucking didn’t.
A grin tugs at the corners of his mouth. “Okay, well, I don’t really know if she likes you but I’m sure she doesn’t think you’re ugly.”
“Josh,” I begin, but my brain scrambles for oxygen. I blink once, twice. Maybe I heard him wrong. Maybe he wasn’t suggesting I ask his mother out.
Ah, but he was, Tuck.
He absolutely was.
What the hell am I supposed to say to that…