Page 56 of A Scoring Chance
“You could always have Ramona sit on his lap. I hear that’s the best distraction for him these days.” The minute the words leave Beau’s mouth, Darius’s nose pulls up in disgust as he makes a gagging sound, causing everyone in the room to laugh loudly.
“And Cooper calls that the study. However, it’s more of a man cave than anything.” Alise throws her arm over my shoulder, shaking her head at the boys’ antics.
“It’s not our fault you chose to play against a professional hockey player inNHL ’25.” Beau chuckles as he turns towards us. “Hello, ladies.”
Beau is slightly taller than Cooper, but not by much. They have the same warm eyes, but Beau’s are hazel. His hair is curlier and longer than Cooper’s, tucked under a backward baseball cap. His large, muscular arms are covered by a Timberwolves hoodie, and he’s wearing dark-colored pants.
He winks at us, and I have to resist the urge to swoon. These Hendrix brothers are dangerous to the entire female population. I’ve only met two of them so far, but there’s no doubt in my mind that the four of them together are a force to be reckoned with.
“We’re teaching this young man a valuable lesson about life.”
“And what, pray tell, would that be?” I scoff, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Never playNHL ’25with two very competitive NHL hockey players.”
Alise nods her head in agreement. “He isn’t kidding. These two compete about everything. Auntie Mel said that their pee wee hockey coach moved Beau to goalie when they turned fourteen because he was tired of them fighting about who had the most goals all the time.”
“No, he moved me because I gained about twenty pounds of muscle and grew four inches. My big brother wasn’t really my big brother anymore.”
“Shut it, you ass. You might be taller, but you’ll always be the second-best Hendrix.” Cooper chimes in, his eyes never leaving the television screen.
“Don’t even try to understand those two. I stopped years ago.” Alise giggles, wrapping her arm through mine and pulling me further into the room.
We stand behind the couch near Beau as Cooper decimates Darius’s team, scoring goal after goal before pausing the game. “We’ve known some of these players for years, but we also play this religiously. Sorry, kid. Them’s the breaks.”
“You could’ve taken it easy on him, you know?” I giggle, knowing this won’t sit well with Darius. I’m going to have to physically pry the controller out of his hands to get him to stop playing. He’s just as competitive, if not more so than the other two.
“We let him play as the Timberwolves. That’s as big of an advantage as you can get. We are the best team in the league.” Beau reaches forward, giving Darius a noogie before turning toward me. “I’m Beau, the best Hendrix brother. It’s a pleasure to see you again, Ramona.”
He grasps my hand, slowly leaning toward it before a pillow smacks him in the side of his head. “Stay away from my woman, Beau.”
Alise rolls her eyes at the silliness before stepping between us. “No flirting with your brother’s girlfriend. It’s very rude.”
“Oh, if I was flirting with her, she’d no longer be my brother’s girlfriend, now would she?”
Darius finally pulls his attention from the television. “Wait. You’re dating Coach Hendrix?”
My mouth opens and closes like a fish as panic bubbles in my stomach. I knew we’d have to say something to Darius at some point, but this moment went a lot differently in my head. Cooper and I would sit down and have a conversation with him, probably over dinner, and explain as much as we could about what was going on.
“Yeah, little man.” Alise strides toward him, wrapping her arm around his shoulder. “Isn’t it amazing?”
I don’t hear Darius’s response as Cooper pushes to his feet and storms toward us. “Beau.”
I can tell by the sound of Cooper’s voice that he’s lost his patience with his brother, and it’s hot as fuck. I’m a strong, independent woman who can protect herself, but there’s something about how Cooper is ready to come to blows with his brother for flirting with me that does it for me.
“I swear on everything that is holy, Beau, if you don’t get away from her?—”
“Boys. Behave.” I whirl around at the sound of Ms. Melanie’s voice as she strolls toward us. “I won’t have Ramona thinking you were raised in a barn.”
Melanie Hendrix is the perfect mixture of both of her sons. Her shoulder-length blonde hair is so similar to what I’ve seen of Beau’s, brushing against her neck. She’s wearing a forest green sweater and a crisp white shirt laying neatly over the collar. Her eyes are so much like Cooper’s that it makes my breath catch in my throat, even with being hidden behind a pair of round, brown tortoiseshell glasses. Her khaki pants have a crisp pleat running down the center toward her slipper-clad feet.
“I would never think that, Mrs. Hendrix,” I say, trying to diffuse the situation. She doesn’t need to know that I much prefer her son acting like a caveman.
“Suck-up,” Beau mutters as Cooper grabs his neck into a headlock.
I’ve seen Melanie Hendrix in passing at Alise’s house and around town, but this is the first time I’ve met her directly. I have no idea what to do with myself. Beads of sweat pebble on my skin as I try to think of a way to properly greet her. Do I hold out my hand for a handshake, give her a hug, or wait for her to make a move first? The decision is made for me as she wraps her arms around my shoulders, pulling in for a motherly hug. The act catches me by surprise, but I quickly recover, wrapping my arms around her waist. I relax into her arms, the smell of a warm spring day and soap wrapping around me. “Now, dear, what did I tell you about calling me that?”
“Sorry, Mrs... I mean, Ms. Melanie.”
