Page 54 of Game On

I scrolled through my phone and looked at my schedule, trying to figure out a day that would work to take Lily out again.

“What’s with the brooding face?” she asked.

“I think I have a date?”

Her eyes widened, and then she gave me a playful slap on the arm. “Are you going out with my sister again?”

I rubbed my beard. “Am I foolish for doing that? I can’t give her what she deserves.”

Mari rolled her eyes. “It bothers me that you think you don’t deserve happiness. You’re a good man, Logan. Go out with my sister, but if you hurt her, I might have to quit.”

She smiled, so I knew she was joking, but that was what I was afraid of. Lily understood my need for something casual, but I didn’t want her to get ideas we could ever be something more. Even though I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Or the fact I was pretty sure Lily and Flower were one and the same. I wasn’t sure how to bring that up to her yet.

“Just because you’re a single dad doesn’t mean you need to give up everything. You can still have a love life,” Mari said.

I shook my head. “I’m too busy with hockey.”

Mari chewed on her lip and looked like she wanted to say something more, but she shut her mouth.

“Uncle Logan?” a tiny voice came from behind me.

“What are you doing up?” I asked my nephew.

Liam rubbed his sleepy eyes. “Can you read me a story?”

“All right, bud. Say goodnight to Mari.”

He ran over to her and hugged her. Mari took his hand and guided him back to his bedroom. She got him settled down into his bed when I walked in. Mari hugged him to her chest and sang to him.

She ruffled his hair. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

He didn’t seem to want to let her go.

“Liam, Mari has to go home now. Say goodnight.”

“Night, Mari,” he said through a yawn.

Mari pulled the blankets up and tucked him in. “Night, buddy. See you tomorrow.”

I walked her to the front door. Liam was still awake when I came back in. I sat in the chair next to him and pulled out his favorite book.

“Uncle Logan?” he asked.

“Yeah, bud?”

“Why do you go?”

That made my heart hurt. I tried to explain that I traveled a lot for work, but it wasn’t clicking for him.

“Because, bud, I have to travel to other cities to play hockey against them. If you want to be a hockey player, you’ll have to do that.”

He shook his head. “No.”

“No you won’t?”

“I don’t want to play hockey.”

That was new. Liam tried to emulate me so much. “What do you want to be when you grow up?”