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“I’ll—”
“No. I know you want to help, and I appreciate it, but I have to do this on my own. I can’t take a lease unless I know I can afford it. Can you imagine if anything went wrong between us, and I was stuck—”
“No.” He reached for her, lifting her and setting her on the counter. “I can’t because it’s not going to happen. You think I’m going to fuck up the best thing that’s ever happened to me? To my daughter? Not a chance. We’ll figure this out. Whatever comes our way, we’re in this together.”
A ring of fire blazed the mountain peaks as twilight settled over Jackson Hole. In his private box in the pit of the amphitheater, Jaime watched his daughter playing with Cole’s girls and Hailey and Gracie chatting away.
Cole unwrapped his arm from his fiancée’s shoulders and turned to face Jaime. “He sign yet?”
“Yep. One hour ago.” Just one more piece that had fallen into place. For the first time since Kurt had formed this team twenty years ago, they had a winning roster.
The only reason their former coach had bought a hockey team in the first place was so the four friends could play together. The Dream Team, he’d called it. And now, finally, it was happening. It might not be exactly how Kurt had envisioned it—only Cole played hockey, but with Declan as coach and Jaime as owner, it was close enough.
While talking to her friend, Gracie’s fingertips gently caressed his thigh. She flashed him a quick smile.
I have everything.
It didn’t seem right that one man could be so happy.
The only missing piece was Booker…
But he shook it off and clapped a hand on Cole’s shoulder. “You’re going to get your cup.”
His friend watched the three girls play together, totally ignoring their dinner. Paisley and Kinny got on like they’d known each other forever. “It’s not like I sat around thinking of us as adults…getting married, having kids. In fact, I didn’t think that was in the cards for me. But right now, with our two families hanging out, it just feels right. I hate that Kurt died, but I sure appreciate the way he brought us back together.”
My family.
Me, Kinny, and Gracie.
Jaime sat up straighter. “I want her to stay. I lo—” No, Gracie got to hear those words first. Besides, he didn’t need help with that part of the equation. “She’s the one for me, I know it. But she’s sacrificing a lot to be with us. I don’t want to be a selfish prick.”
“You’re only selfish if you push her to do something she doesn’t want.” He gave a chin nod to where Gracie brushed hair off Kinny’s forehead, making her take a bite of the cheeseburger she’d ordered. “Does she want to make the move?”
“Yes, absolutely. She’s got some concerns, though, about the viability of opening a bakery here whereas at home, she’s got a space for her business and an apartment. Both free of charge.”
Cole watched him carefully. “Is that the real problem? Her choice between opening a bakery in Rhode Island or one out here?”
“No.” He let out a frustrated laugh. “It’s like…I live with this sense of impending doom, you know?” He kept his voice low. “Like one wrong move, one wrong decision, and something terrible will happen. And right now, it’s almost too good to be true. Like a trap. Like if I take one step deeper into this life, it’ll all blow up.”
“And what does this blowup look like to you?”
His jaw snapped shut. Words got scrambled in his mind, but the images came front and center. Kinny cracking her head on the ice, his mom getting kicked by a horse...
Booker coming in for a landing.
Fuck.
“Hey.” Cole set his hand on the back of Jaime’s head. “Listen to me. What do you think? You put a ring on that woman’s finger and the Yellowstone Caldera’s gonna blow? Hot gas and magma will come shooting out, covering the earth, wiping out civilization?” He let him go.
“Yeah.” He kept his gaze trained on his daughter. “Something like that.”
“I get it. I lived with the same guilt.”
Lived. Not live with. Past tense.
If Cole can get there, can’t I?
“Makes you feel like you don’t deserve the good stuff. But it’s not true. You can have her. You can have all the things you want. Because punishing yourself isn’t going to get Booker back to playing hockey.” Cole looked him right in the eyes. “What happened that night isn’t a life sentence.”
