Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 101758 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101758 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
“Keep it.”
Ivy nibbles her bottom lip and then nods.
“Thanks, I am chilly. I’ll bring it with me tomorrow.”
The others have walked away, and it’s just the two of us now.
“Just keep it. I’ll see you at the house in the morning. Don’t have breakfast, you can eat with us.”
“Xander, I appreciate you wanting to include me, but this is my job. I’m not—”
I brush her hair behind her ear and she stops talking.
“You’re not what, Red?”
“I’m not one of you.”
Oh, I think you are.
“It’s just breakfast.” I shrug and step back. “So, come a little early.”
I nod and walk away before I yank her against me and kiss the fuck out of her here on Main Street.
Fuck, I want to kiss her.
Easton: Indigo wants a meeting with the siblings ASAP. Mornings are best for her. What works for you guys?
I’m just having coffee, watching the sun come up over the pond in my backyard, when my brother’s text comes through.
Me: I can make anything work.
Ava: Same goes. Wednesday is out for me because I have an early meeting, but otherwise, I’m good.
Harper: I have Tuesday off and Blake can keep the baby.
Me: I want baby time.
Harper: Focus, X.
Tucker: Tuesday morning at 8, here at the farmhouse?
Me:
Ava:
Harper:
What the fuck?
Harper: Oops, I was texting Blake last night. Sorry.
Me:
Tucker: FFS.
Ava: I’m cackling! High five, Harpsichord!
Easton: See you Tuesday. Have to go bleach my eyeballs now.
Harper: We have a baby. How do you think that happened?
Me: Gotta go. Goodbye. Send bleach.
Shaking my head, I set my phone aside and take a breath. I love those weirdos. I hated being gone for so many months at a time. Hockey is my life, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything, but being home has been good for me. I should invite them all over for a barbecue before we lose the decent weather since, thanks to Brit, I’m craving ribs and corn on the cob. The trees are already starting to turn, and there’s a chill in the air this morning as I walk out onto the patio and take a deep breath.
There’s a family of moose on the other side of the pond, and the baby looks up at me, but they don’t run away. Birds flit around, taking baths. It’s the fucking best out here. There’s nothing like it.
And, for some reason, I wish Ivy were here to see it with me.
That’s fucking weird.
I never wish a woman was around for longer than it takes for a mutually beneficial time, and then I send them on their way. I’m respectful and affectionate, but I don’t keep them around. Women are not permanent. I learned that early in life.
And yet, I wish Ivy was here to sit outside with me and have coffee. Sit in the silence and watch the world wake up.
I’m becoming corny as fuck.
But there’s just something so familiar about her, something that makes me feel at ease. Like I don’t have to be anything other than me when I’m with her.
And I don’t find that very often.
The door opens behind me, and I sense Cooper before he appears in my periphery. He takes a seat and sets his mug on the arm of his chair.
“I fucking love it out here,” he says, his voice still raspy with sleep.
“Me too.”
He sips his coffee. “I might buy a place in the area. Brit’s obsessed with it here, and she mentioned that she already has a friend in town, so she’s off and running on planting roots.”
I turn to him and lift an eyebrow. “Brit’s the friendliest person I’ve ever met. I love her to death.”
“Get your own wife,” he mutters, but there’s no heat there. He knows I’d never poach on his woman. I don’t need to. She cooks for me once a week, babies me when I’m injured, and I get sex elsewhere. It’s the best.
“Ava’s been decorating these new condos up at the ski resort,” I tell him. “They’re fancy as fuck. It’s nice up there. There’s also a little exclusive community on a lake not far from here. The whole lake is private. The main lodge always has condos come up for sale.”
“I’ll look into it,” he says, and I feel him glance at me. “Might be a good place to retire.”
That has all my attention turning to him. “You planning on doing that anytime soon? We’re the same age.”
“Not yet,” he says, shaking his head. “But I’m not as young as I used to be. I figure I have three to five years left. What about you?”
I blow out a breath and take a sip of my cooling coffee. “I don’t know. This injury was a wake-up call. I know it wasn’t my fault, and Matthews is a piece of shit, but I miss Montana. My family. The game has always been number one. Always. But now—”