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“If it’s okay with Mom.” He avoids looking at me.
“Can he?” she asks, and I just nod.
They each take his hand, pulling him upstairs. “I got them,” he tells me. “Relax, for once.”
“Yeah, right,” I mumble to his retreating back. I feel like I’m a firework that’s been lit on fire but hasn’t exploded yet. I put away the lunch things before wiping down the island again for the third time.
I hear him walk down the steps and look up to see him coming into the kitchen. “They are waiting for you to kiss them good night.”
I nod and walk over to him, stepping toward the staircase. “I’m going to head out.” He stops at the base of the stairs. “Come and lock the door,” he urges softly, and I follow him to the door as he pulls it open. “Thank you for tonight.” He stops and turns back to face me. “For answering the door and letting me stay.” It feels like he’s going to advance toward me, and I hold my breath, thinking he’s going to kiss me. I don’t think I even take a breath. “I’ll see you soon, Dakota,” he says right before he steps out, and the door closes behind him.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
christopher
I pull up to the airport and get out of my truck, grabbing my overnight bag. “Did you pack a hat?” Cole asks when he gets out of his own truck beside me.
“I did not. Why?” I shut the door and lock the truck before turning to walk to the plane on the tarmac. The stainless-steel stairs are out, and a couple of players are already here and walking up toward the door.
“I think it’s snowing there,” he states as we walk side by side to the plane.
“In Buffalo?” I ask, shocked.
“That’s what I just saw.” Cole holds up his iPhone. “It’s also cold AF.”
I let him walk up the steps before me, grabbing an empty row and putting my bag in the overhead bin. We are on our way to Buffalo for a game tomorrow. “It’s snowing in Buffalo.”
“It’s not that bad,” someone says as I take off my cashmere coat and toss it on the seat next to me. Chatter happens around me as everyone gets situated for the fifty-minute flight. When we land, it is in fact snowing.
The wind blows the snow as we step off and head to the heated bus that is waiting for us. I’m getting my key in the hotel lobby when my phone rings in the inside pocket of my jacket. Pulling it out, I see Dakota is FaceTiming me. I’m about to answer it when it stops, and only when I scan my hotel key on the door and step in do I call her back.
When I showed up at her house, I expected her to tell me she was busy and didn’t have the time. What I wasn’t ready for was her telling me that we should forget whatever happened. There was no way in fuck I was going to forget what we did. Not a chance in hell. I also never expected the girls to invite me in. Was it a cheap shot to just go in? You bet your ass. But there is no place I want to be these days other than with her and the girls. I know there is something else there I have to talk about. I know I’m treading on ice so thin that it’s cracking and my foot is already in the water. I know that everything in my head tells me it’s wrong, yet my heart tells me a different story. A story I’m not sure I’m ready for.
The sound of the ringing fills my room as I shrug off my jacket. I see that she connected and I’m expecting to see her face, but instead it’s Rain who comes on the screen. “Hey there.” I smile at her.
“Uncle Christopher,” she says, her smile so big that her eyes light up, “guess what?”
“Ummm, you got a hundred on your spelling test?” I guess the first thing that comes to my mind.
“No.” She shakes her head. “I scored three goals today.”
I gasp, “You what?”
“We had a hockey practice today,” she starts, “and at the end, we had a little game, and I scored three goals.”
“That’s a hat trick.” I sit on the bed, looking at her, and my chest fills with pride. I honestly have never felt this feeling in my life. I know I feel pride for my nieces and my nephews, but this one, this one just feels like my chest is going to explode. “Did Mom throw a hat on the ice?”
She giggles and looks up at Koda. “She didn’t.”
“I didn’t have a hat.” I hear her voice, and another thing happens, but that is more south. Just her voice and a little laugh, and my body suddenly awakens.
“I’ll be there for Saturday practice. We can go out after and celebrate,” I say, and she looks up at her mom.
“We are going to celebrate,” she tells her even though I know she can hear. “Bye, Uncle Christopher,” she says and then hands the phone to her mom. “Here.”
“I want to talk to Uncle Chrissy,” Luna whines.
“Here you go.” Koda hands her the phone.
