Page 14

THIRTEEN

Joey

“He seems nice, honey,” Beth says as we sit on my back deck.

Not long before, John kissed me on the top of the head, Beth on the lips, then slipped out to the RV, ready to consume his nightly dose of all things sports.

And Damon…well, he only left about ten minutes ago.

This was after he’d gotten John not just one beer, but three, and topped up Beth’s glass of wine—and mine—several times.

It was after we demolished the peanut butter sundae pie and after Damon turned on the charm in a way I’ve never seen before—doing dishes, talking about what a good job I do with the team. He’d deflected most personal questions about himself, but I did learn that his mom’s name was Darlene and he has an addicted to custom-made suits.

“He is nice,” I say, somewhat surprising myself. Because I would have said Damon’s predominate characteristics are grumpy, taciturn, and possessing a stubbornness that lives and breathes the sport and only the sport.

But nice?

No.

Only…that’s how he was tonight.

And earlier. And last night.

Something that has me ignoring the flutter in my chest.

“But he’s also my boss, Beth,” I say. “So, don’t get all romantic on me, yeah?”

“Oh, honey.”

Her exasperated words have me glancing toward her. She’s shaking her head, lips turned up at the edges. “What?” I ask.

“The what is that you’re trying to tell me you haven’t noticed the way he looks at you.”

The flutter in my chest comes back, grows .

“Beth,” I say. “He’s my boss.”

“Not really, though,” she points out and she’s not completely right, but she’s also not completely wrong. “Don’t the owners and the board have the ultimate say about your job?”

“Yes, but they take Damon’s opinion seriously.”

Case in point, me having the head coaching job in the first place.

“Hmm,” Beth murmurs. “I’m sure that’s true.” She sips from her wine then turns and smiles at me. “Still, I like the way he looks at you.”

I do too.

It’s the fantasy I’ve been harboring for years.

And yet, I know, at the end of the day, it means nothing.

“He’s protective,” I say, shrugging. “You know that things were tough with Hiller?—”

She scowls fiercely, and my heart squeezes. While she doesn’t know the whole story of what happened to me—no one except Damon does—I’ve told her and John enough for them to understand exactly how toxic it was behind the scenes.

Plus, she knows what happened to Ivy and the others because that’s why I’m in the position I’m in.

Her words that follow are just as fierce as her scowl. “I hope that asshole rots in prison for the rest of his sorry life.”

I doubt he will.

Because the world doesn’t seem to punish men who hurt women.

“Damon’s sister was hurt by a man,” I tell her, not wanting to share the details of a story that’s not mine to tell, and even though it was in the news, I’m not sure Beth is up to date on old hockey scandals, about my boss or not. “He’s protective of the women around him is all. It’s nothing more than that.”

It feels like more.

But that’s not Damon.

It’s not Damon and me.

It’s just… not.

I feel her gaze on me but deliberately keep my eyes on my wine glass.

Thankfully, she doesn’t push me. Well, she does say, “I think you may be wrong about that, honey,” but that’s quickly followed by, “Do you have time to come to brunch with us before you coach tomorrow?”

“For apple fritter pancakes?” I glance up, smiling at her. “I’ll make the time. Do you guys want to come to the game? Or will you be back on the road?”

Her mouth quirks. “We already bought our tickets.”

“Beth!” I admonish. “You know I could have gotten you some.”

She lifts a shoulder, drops it. “More ticket sales mean that our favorite girl is more likely to keep doing her dream job.”

“Dammit,” I whisper.

“What?” she asks.

I wave my hand in front of my face. “No fair making me teary-eyed.”

“Dammit,” she whispers.

“What?” I ask, blinking rapidly.

“No fair making me teary-eyed.”

John and Beth never had kids—they couldn’t—and they put their retired life and dreams of traveling the US on hold until I was done with college.

I’ll never be able to repay them for that.

I reach out and take her hand. “I hope you’re aware of exactly how much I appreciate and care for you guys.”

“Honey,” she rasps out, fingers spasming around mine, her other hand waving in front of her face as she blinks rapidly. “No fair giving me more teary-eyeness.”

I grin. “You’re tough. You can handle it.”

She grins back. Then her face softens. “You brought so much joy and pride and love into our lives.”

I close my eyes, the words wrapping around my heart and squeezing tightly. “Beth,” I whisper.

“I love you, honey,” she murmurs. “I know the old codger and I don’t say it often enough, but we do.”

“I love you too.”

She sniffs.

I sniff.

“Oh geez,” I hear John say as he comes out onto the back porch. “Not this again.”

“John!” she snaps. “Joey and I were having a moment and you ruined it!”

He tugs lightly on my ponytail, smiling at me.

And I know he loves me too.

I can see it in his eyes.

Then he’s sitting down in the empty chair next to Beth and me and I’m asking them about their trip, listening to them banter (a.k.a. argue), and it’s like that time when I lived with them. They loop me in without it feeling awkward, even when I’m sitting back in my chair and just watching them act like the lovable lunatics they are.

We talk late into the night about everything and nothing and I think…

Well, I think some part of that gnawing emptiness inside me is filled in.

Only, after they’ve gone off to bed in their RV, after I’ve taken a bath and crawled beneath my own covers, I know it’s only temporary.

Because that’s when the emptiness creeps back in.