I was fucking mad at myself. I trudged to the locker room and hung my head. The guys left me alone, allowing me to work out my bad game for myself. I’d had bad games before, and I’d risen above them. They happened to all of us. We were human after all.
And now I was moving Caro across the hall from me. I’d be lying if I pretended her presence wouldn’t have an effect on me. We had chemistry, and from the few times I’d been around her, that chemistry was as strong as ever.
I wasn’t looking for a relationship, and starting one up again with her would only cause problems when it ended. I had to maintain a polite and friendly distance for our children’s sakes. No options.
Caroline point of view
I checked out and hurried to the airport as soon as Easton and I finished our talk this morning. I’d managed to snag a flight to Chicago at noon and was home before the first puck drop of the Sockeyes game.
Once I’d arrived home and collected the kids from their grandparents, I’d called my best friend, Juniper. While Fran and Howard were supportive and understanding, I needed someone who’d known me all my life and called me on my bullshit when I needed it. I’d met Juniper in first grade, and we’d been friends through high school. In fact, she’d been around that summer and met Easton and dated a few of his teammates. Juniper was coming off a bad divorce to a lazy, abusive asshole and needed me as much as I needed her.
She loved hockey, so it was a no-brainer that we’d end up watching the game.
Easton played like a man who’d just found out he was the father to a set of six-year-old twins, including his ass-plant on the ice, which was replayed over and over again throughout the game. I felt responsible for his crappy game. Nothing was going right for him tonight. I worried our presence might endanger his spot on the team, because I worried about everything.
“He’s playing like crap,” Juniper noted as Easton tripped over his own feet and passed the puck to an opposing player, who sailed down the ice and scored a goal.
“It’s not one of his better games, I’d guess.”
“You aren’t blaming yourself, are you?” Juniper said, picking up on my misery.
“Sorta.”
“He’s a professional. You’re not responsible for how he plays. He needs to put on his big-boy boxers and not let his personal life interfere with his game. And his graceful entrance on the ice was a classic. He’ll be living that one down forever.” Junie laughed her ass off, not caring about Easton’s bruised ego.
“It was funny,” I admitted. “And you’re right, I’m not responsible for his on-ice performances.”
“I’m always right.”
We’d ordered out for pizza, and I’d almost gotten a smile out of Heath when I told him he could stay up and watch the hockey game since it wasn’t a school night. The Blackhawks were his team, and they happened to be playing the Sockeyes. Hailey forgot she was mad at me and snuggled up next to me with Rusty purring on her lap. Rusty was my old tabby. I’d had him since I’d been fourteen. He’d been with me through so much good and bad in my life.
“Who are you talking about?” asked Heath from between us.
I met Juniper’s eyes over Heath’s head. She shrugged and left it up to me to explain.
“No one you’d know,” I said, taking the easy way out. It was intermission, and they were showing the salmon being tossed back and forth in Pike Place Market.
“Can we go to Seattle and throw fish?” Heath asked.
Maybe there was a God, because my son just gave me a segue.
“Sure, we can do that. What would you think about moving to Seattle?”
“And leave Nana and Grandpa?” Hailey stuck out her lower lip and shook her head. “I don’t want to move.”
Heath didn’t say anything.
“If we move to Seattle, we can eventually get that dog you’ve been wanting.” Bribery wasn’t beneath me.
“We can?” Hailey perked up and was all smiles for a moment. Then her frown made a reappearance. “What about Nana and Grandpa?”
“They’re moving somewhere warmer, honey, so they aren’t going to be living here either. They’ll come visit.”
“Okay,” she said, somewhat mollified.
“If we move to Seattle, I can throw fish?” Heath had a one-track mind, and his pleasures in life revolved around hockey. So much like his father.
“Yes, you can.”
“When can we move?” Heat nodded vigorously. This was the most enthusiasm I’d seen from him other than when he was playing hockey since his father had died. He even smiled at me. I wasn’t naïve enough to think we’d gotten over that hump permanently, but we’d turned a corner. Tomorrow, he’d probably be back to sullen and angry, but hopefully, those moments would become less and less.
Hailey watched us, quiet for once, and yawned. “Hockey is boring.”
“You can go to bed.”
“No, I’m fine.”
Things were looking up. They were behaving like my children once more.
An hour later, I put both of them to bed.
Juniper was waiting for me when I returned.
“When were you going to tell me you were moving to Seattle?” The hurt on her face was obvious as she rose from the couch to pour herself a glass of wine.
I followed her to the kitchen and accepted the glass she held out to me. I slid onto the counter stool and regarded her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t have a chance to tell you.”
“I’ve always wanted to live in Seattle,” she said wistfully.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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