Page 54 of Center Ice

“Nonsense. I’ll be there with Sydney. You can let us know where you want to crash tomorrow. Her pool house is a nice one bedroom, but if you stay with me, we have a spare car.”

“Decisions, decisions.”

She laughed. “I’ll see you soon. Oh, and don’t tell Jake. I want to surprise him.”

“Thank you, Chloe. I don’t know how I’ll ever pay you back for all you’ve done.”

“Just let us help. That’s all I ask. We’re a pretty intrusive group, but it comes from love. We all want the best for each other, and now you’re a part of that.”

I couldn’t believe that part. Not yet. When I saw how close they were the night of Wyatt and Kendall’s wedding, I ached for something similar. Never did I imagine they might welcome me into their family.

“I’ll do my best.” It was the most I could give at the moment. Accepting help was something that would take time to get used to. I was the fixer. I was the one that took charge and got rid of problems before they even appeared. Now, I needed to let others fill that position. At least for a little while.

We ended the call, and I looked around my little room that had been my home for three years. Tomorrow I’d say goodbye forever. I thought I would feel more dread or fear, but I was mostly excited. Nothing was holding me here anymore. It was time for the next chapter to begin.

Since my decision was made, I called my parents and told them everything that had happened in just one week.

* * *

The air was dry. I could feel my skin shrinking and shriveling up as I walked through the airport to the pick-up area.

How did people live like this? I rubbed my fingers together and cringed. I’d have to invest in copious amounts of lotion in order to survive. I cringed, thinking about what my hair would do in this climate, but if the women of the Pride managed, I would find a way, too.

I stepped into the heat and searched for Chloe or Sydney. I wasn’t sure what car they were driving so I walked slowly across the street to the row of waiting vehicles.

“There she is!” I recognized Sydney’s voice and turned to the right to see them both waving in front of a large black SUV, one that looked like it would cost about two years’ worth of my salary.

“Hey.” I smiled and hurried over. I hugged them both. “I can’t believe it’s only been a day since I saw you guys.”

“I know! It feels like so much has happened,” Chloe agreed.

“Yeah, like we decided that it would be best for you to live in our pool house, but of course, you’re going to need a car, so Reese dropped off their extra one this morning,” Sydney told me as we climbed into Chloe’s luxurious supercar. I felt like the president or something.

“Really? That’s so nice you guys.” A small part of my brain couldn’t believe they were being so generous. I half expected someone to pop up and scream that I was getting pranked.

“We’re happy to help,” Chloe said as she slid on her big black sunglasses and merged into traffic.

“Taylor was living in it for a little while when she first moved here,” Sydney explained. “We convinced her to move here after her job in Raleigh fell through.”

“Wait, what?” I asked.

Chloe laughed. “Oh you didn’t think this was the first time we picked up a stray, did you?”

I shook my head.

“Yeah, we ran into her during the Stanley Cup finals,” Sydney started. “She was supposed to start a job there, but she got lost in Ohio or Indiana or something and ended up missing her first day, so they withdrew their offer. She was just hanging out downtown, in the very same hotel we were staying in. She threw wine in Jason’s face, so we instantly liked her.” She laughed. “Since she didn’t have any job prospects there, we told her to move to Salt Lake and we’d help her find a job.”

“And now she works for the team,” Chloe finished.

“That’s insane.” Although, it did make me feel a little bit better about basically trusting them with my life and future. I wasn’t the first. When I told my parents what I was doing, I think they were shocked into silence. It took almost an hour of reassuring them before they calmed down enough for me to tell them about the potential clients that had reached out and the interviews. Then I started dropping the names of the guys from the team, and Dad was too starstruck to care. By the end of the call, they made me promise to check in regularly. They were more nervous about me moving to Salt Lake than Mexico. I guess there was more at stake now. They didn’t want me to lose all I’d worked for.

“We do have a way of finding the wayward child and bringing them into the fold,” Chloe said with a smirk.

“So, do you want to see your new home first or go find Jake?” Sydney turned around to face me.

“Whatever works for you guys. I’m kind of along for the ride.”

“Training starts in an hour, so that would be the perfect time to drop in,” Chloe said.