My Angel is fast asleep, hurdled up in a ball against my best friend’s side, who looks extremely out of place. He’s still fully dressed in his suit, his shoes propped up on the bed, just lying there with one arm awkwardly placed around Aubrey’s frame.
I suppress my laugh, sucking in my lips as I pull out my phone and snap a picture. “You know, this is not exactly what I meant when I said to stay by her side,” I whisper, looking over the picture and snort. “Oh, this is too good.”
“She was crying, I was not going to just pretend I could not hear her. Be aware, you now owe me for this. You know I do notdo… whatever this is.” He lifts his arm and removes himself from the bed. “You’d better delete that,” he warns with an icy glare.
“No way, this is perfect blackmail material. Julian all domesticated.” I laugh but cover my mouth with my fist when Aubrey stirs.
“I mean it, Jefferson,” he says, then straightens his suit jacket, fixing the cufflinks. “Now if you will excuse me. I have more productive things to do than to play house with your woman.” He walks past me, not bothering to say bye.
“It’s two in the morning, Storm,” I say over my shoulder.
“Yes, well, world domination never sleeps,” he answers simply and I shake my head.
“Hey, Julian?” I call one last time as he turns to face me. “Thank you.” His eyes stay focused on mine for a moment until he nods and leaves.
Chapter twenty
Shane
Shane and his walking snack.
~ One Week Later ~
I think my words may have gotten through to him. We’re seeing more of the old Greyson at games and during practice. Although he does seem down, but that might be a side effect from having a toddler and two newborns at home. I can imagine nights are rough in the Ford household.
It’s been a little over a week since my one-in-the-morning speech with Ford, and even though he still hasn’t apologized toAubrey, there’s been some improvement. He actually looks and speaks to me now. Well, it’s mostly just ‘yes, Coach’, or ‘no, Coach’, but still something.
Now that his game has improved, the team’s whole dynamic has as well, and I’m finally seeing the great hockey team we had before the holidays. We’ve been winning all our last games, but we still haven’t been clinched into the playoffs, and there are now only ten games left in the regular season.
It’s just nearing one in the afternoon, and the boys should have wrapped up with their training for today and headed home by now. So you can imagine my surprise when there’s a knock at my office door and I find one of them standing in the open doorway. “Coach, can we talk?”
I nod from my seat behind my desk. “Yeah, come in.”
He steps in and closes the door behind him, then faces me again, but doesn’t say anything.
“What can I do for you, Ford?”
“I just wanted to inform you that I plan on going to see Aubrey today. I’ve tried calling her a few times, but she won’t take my calls.”Well, this is news to me.“So I thought I’d drop by her work to see her. I know it’s not the best place to talk, but I don’t know how else to reach her.” He cups the back of his neck and looks down.
“Why do you want to see her?” If his answer is anything but the one that I’m expecting, he can forget about it.
“I want to apologize. I’ve taken the week to think over my actions and everything that’s happened since the new year. Plus, the gang sat me down and pretty much told me I was being a self-centered asshole, so yeah.” He chuckles then sighs. “I know I owe her more than just an apology, her and you. But it’s a start. She’s my baby sister… I only wanted to protect her,” he admits with hurt in his eyes as he looks at me.
“She doesn’t need protection from me, and pushing her away and treating her like she was disposable wasn’t protecting her, Greyson,” I say harshly.
“I know that now, and I’ll admit that my methods weren’t exactly thought out properly.” He lifts his arms at his sides. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? I know how much I fucked up, and that it will take time and a lot of work to rebuild my relationship with Aubrey, and with you. But I want that, and for that to happen, I have to start with apologizing to her.”
I take a moment to study him, noting the sincerity in his eyes and tone. Then I stand from my chair and walk over to my man purse, searching through it for a second. Once I’ve found what I’m looking for, I stride over to him and hand over a little black remote.
He takes it with a confused look. “What is this?”
“To open the gate to our property. Aubrey isn’t at work today, she’s home. And if she’s refusing your calls, then she most likely won’t let you through the gates either. This”—I point to the remote—“will let you in.”
He clutches it tightly in his hand. “Thank you.”
“Greyson, don’t cause her any stress. I mean it,” I warn him.
“I won’t.” He nods and turns to leave.
