Page 20 of Hutch (Minnesota Raptors #2)

Daisy

“What are you doing?” Jenny plops down on one of the barstools at the kitchen island. I’ve got my laptop open to several different recipe websites.

“Trying to make a carb friendly pizza crust. I’ve tested three so far and they’re awful.”

“You going on a diet?”

I shake my head. “Nope. Hutch was telling me he had to nix pizza and it’s his favorite. I volunteered to try and find a crust recipe without all the carbs.”

“You volunteered?”

“Don’t start. I love pizza and the thought of anyone having to cut it from their diet is too horrific to contemplate. No one deserves to be punished like that.”

“Uh huh.”

I glare at her and finish rolling out the newest attempt at a crust. Instead of cauliflower, I’m using cottage cheese. It’s definitely different, but I added a few spices that I’m hoping will give it a decent flavor.

“You keep telling yourself that, girlfriend.”

Nope, not getting into that argument.

“So how many have you tried?” She jumps up and grabs a bottle of water out of the fridge, getting me one as well.

“Thanks.” I take the water and set it to the side before adding the garlic oil to the top of the crust. It’ll give the crust flavor. Anything to hide that it’s not a grain based crust. “The rejects are over there.” I nod toward the counter behind me. “Feel free to taste them.”

Instead of taking her seat, she goes over to the rejects and tears a piece from each of them before coming back to the island.

“What are these?”

“Different bases like cauliflower and almond flour. Neither of them have the consistency I like.”

“They taste…different?”

I laugh at her expression. “They’d taste more like pizza dough with the actual ingredients on them.”

“If you say so.”

“What smells good?” One of the many athletes who visit the house sniffs as he comes through the door. I don’t recognize him at all.

“Who are you?” Jenny asks.

“I’m Will.”

“That still doesn’t tell me who you are.”

“Sorry.” He flashes her a smile that doesn’t change the frown on her face. “Mitch told me to meet him here.”

Hailey’s boyfriend. Which means Will is probably on the football team alongside Mitchell.

Just the thought of football players makes me nervous.

I barely told the girls the edges of the truth.

If they knew the whole truth…I shake my head.

It was bad enough when it happened. I don’t want anyone treating me like glass again.

“Well, I guess have a seat or something,” Jenny says, her demeanor changing instantly to a friendlier one.

Sometimes I think she trusts too easily. Just throw a name around that she knows and its fine for a stranger to come in. As much as I want to run to my room and lock the door, I’m not leaving her alone with this guy. We’re the only two people home right now that I know of.

“Are you on the team?” she asks.

“QB2.”

“Mitchell’s backup.”

“That’d be me. If he gets picked up by the NFL, I’ll be QB1.”

I didn’t know he had plans on professional football, but then again, I don’t really talk to any of the guys.

I put the new dough in the oven to bake and start rolling out the second dough. The mixture seems to have the consistency I was going for so I want to make one with all the toppings. Something tells me it’s a keeper.

“Hey, Jen, what do you want on this pizza?”

“As long as there’s pepperoni, I’m good.”

Nodding, I get all the ingredients I’ll need out of the fridge and set about grating the cheese. You can use cheese from the pack, but they tend to leak more fluid and it’s not the same. Freshly grated cheese is best when making pizza or sauces.

“Homemade pizza?” Will comes closer, inspecting everything.

“Jenny, think you can wash the mushrooms for me?”

“Sure thing.”

“Why not just order it?”

I shrug. “I like to cook.”

“Wait, you’re the chick who made all the taco shit the guys were going on about?”

“First, I’m not a chick. Second, yes, I made tacos for everybody a few weeks ago.”

“Sorry.” He smiles impishly, hoping for forgiveness. I bet he thinks all that perfectly styled brown hair and matching brown eyes combined with the status of QB2 will let him get by with anything. Been there, done that, not doing it again.

“Why don’t you invite Hutch over to test out the pizza?” Jenny suggests. I’m not sure if she senses my unease or if it’s her attempt at matchmaking. Nope, definitely the latter. She’s a born matchmaker.

Will frowns. “The hockey player?”

“Yup.” Jenny smiles at him. “This is the sports house after all. Lots of the boyfriends are from different sports teams.”

“Huh. I thought it was a football house.”

Jenny snorts. “My boyfriend is on the hockey team.”

“Cool.” He sits down at the island. “You got a thing for Hutch?”

“No.”

“Then why are you trying out different recipes just for him?”

“I guess you don’t want a slice.”

“Don’t you dare threaten to take away my pizza.”

“Then don’t go around claiming things that aren’t true.”

“Then you don’t have a thing for him?”

“What’s it to you?” I ask, my tone sharper than I intended for it to be.

He holds his hands up. “Just curious.”

“Why don’t you go watch TV or something?”

“Sure.” He slides off the chair and goes into the living room, looking like a kid whose puppy just got kicked.

Dammit.

Jenny’s eyebrows are raised and I shake my head.

“Will, I’m sorry. I’m in a bad mood and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

“All cool.” He waves it away and plops down on the couch, reaching for the remote. “Just give me a slice of pizza and all is forgiven.”

“So, about Hutch…”

“I’m not texting him.”

“Hmm…I’ll text Dylan to let him know you’re making non-wheat based pizza. They should just be getting out of practice. They have a game tomorrow and if this is healthy, they’ll appreciate it.”

“I don’t have enough dough for the whole team. Just this one pizza.”

“You just put dough in the oven.”

“Empty dough so I could test it.”

“How long does it take to make more.”

“It needs to sit overnight for it to be a decent dough.”

“I’ll tell him to just bring himself and Hutch.”

“Do you have to?”

“He should get to taste the experiment you did just for him, don’t you think?”

“You’re a menace.”

“I’ve been called worse.” She pulls out her phone and shoots off a quick text. “Now, do you want me to finish chopping veggies for you while you make the sauce?”

“I’d appreciate it.”

“You make your own sauce too?” Will’s head swivels in our direction.

“Yeah. It’s healthier if you make it yourself.”

Thirty minutes later, the sauce is done and I’m just loading up the dough to put in the oven when the door opens and Dylan comes in, followed by Hutch and Collin. Another who looks familiar follows them. One pizza is not going to be enough for everyone.

“Don’t worry,” Jenny whispers. “I ordered Papa Johns for the rest of us.”

Thank God.

“And there is the back up!”

“I got it.” Hutch waves her away and pays for the pizza. He comes in carrying eight boxes. She bought enough pizza for an army.

“It’ll get eaten,” she assures me. “When the other guys wander in, they’ll devour it.”

Dylan’s face falls when he sees just one pizza ready for the oven. “This is not going to feed the three of us.”

“Sure it will.” Jenny slaps his stomach as she goes by. “You’re on a strict diet. More than two slices will be bad for you no matter what the crust is made from. The cheese you know?”

“Fuck,” he mutters.

“I made guiltless cheesecake.”

“What’s that?” he asks, immediately happy.

“Something you can eat that tastes good.”

“Is that one of those diabetic recipes you told me about?” Hutch sets the pizzas down on a counter behind me and then comes over to stare at the pizza I’m putting the finishing touches on.

“Yes. There’s sugar in it, but not enough to actually hurt you. Y’all can even have two pieces of it after you eat pizza.”

“Two?” New guy’s eyes light up.

“Daisy, this is Carson. He’s our goalie.”

“The one in front of the nets?”

“That’d be me.”

“Why would you do that to yourself?”

He cocks his head. “What do you mean?”

“I mean willingly stand there on weapons of mass destruction while missiles are whizzed at your face.”

He laughs. “When you put it like that, it does sound crazy, but I love the game and I’m good at my position.”

I shake my head and push Hutch out of the way so I can put the pizza in the oven. We’d taste tested the dough and even Jenny deemed it good. Who would have thought cottage cheese would be better than almond flour? I may need to look into other things it can be substituted for.

“How long should we leave the tomatoes marinating?” Jenny asks as she swats Will away from the pizza boxes.

“They should be ready to eat as soon as the pizza is done.”

“What are you marinating tomatoes for?” Dylan asks.

“Tomato salad. Daisy made it for us last week and now we eat it all the time.”

“A tomato salad?” Dylan rolls the words around like he’s part confused, part fascinated, and part horrified.

“You can eat it.” She smiles, her own dimples coming out. “It’s healthy.”

“And if you’re serious about wanting a shot at the NHL, then you have to get with the program.” Hutch grabs several bottles of water out of the fridge and passes it around.

“The NHL?” Jenny pauses and looks at her boyfriend. “When did you decide this?”

He looks hesitant and I realize this is not a conversation for them to have in front of all of us. “Why don’t you two go talk? I’ll finish everything up.”

She nods and leads him upstairs.

“I thought he told her.” Hutch jams his hands in his pockets. “I’d never have said anything…”

“I’m sure he was going to tell her.” I check on the tomatoes and while it would be better if they sat overnight, they’ll do.

The longer they sit, the more water they release, helping to create a natural sauce.

The spices we’d added would highlight the natural tomato flavor.

It reminds me of pico de gallo , only with different seasonings and no onions. The tomatoes are chunkier too.

“Where’s all the guys?” Collin asks. “Practice should be over.”