Page 34 of The Sweet Spot (Kodiaks Hockey #3)

Chapter Thirty-Four

Brandon

T he road trip seemed to never end, and going home had some rewards. I’d see Wolseley again, and get to eat her food. While everything she’d selected and had available for me was great, nothing compared to what she created. The other perk to going home was a visit with my little sister. She was in town for a fitness and health convention of some kind, and was staying an extra day. Thankfully, Coach Anthony had given us a few days to catch up on sleep and mend all our bruises and other injuries from such a long road trip.

On the flight home, Ryan sat next to me. He wasn’t interested in cards or any of the other games the guys were playing. He said he wanted to sleep, and since I was the only quiet one reading a book, I was the perfect choice to sit next to. I thought he’d nodded off since his eyes were closed, but then he started talking.

“You’re a good egg,” he said.

I stopped reading and glanced over at him. His eyes were still closed .

“That’s nice of you to say. Very thoughtful.”

He chuckled to himself. “Come on. You had such a shitty reputation. But look at you now. Some of the guys like you, you’re captain of the team, and you actually have a girlfriend we can see. That’s some major progress.”

Ryan wasn’t the type to issue backhanded compliments, so I knew he was trying to be sincere, especially about some of the guys liking me. My first couple of years with the Kodiaks weren’t great. My time with Tangi, and being sent to the minors for rehab on my knee, started my trend in the right direction. Being co-captain with Ethan last season made me see that I needed to lighten up while working with someone who would rather push me into a pit of lava.

But Wolseley? She was the cherry on top. The person I needed in my life to balance me. Someone who walked into my life and changed everything in a good way. I couldn’t imagine life without her. How many times had she made me smile and laugh these last few months? More than the thirty years before that put together.

“I did date people.”

Ryan chuckled to himself. “Maybe, but we didn’t meet a single one of them.”

Granted, most weren’t long term. I was more committed to the game than I was to dating. Even when I’d met Wolseley, I hadn’t expected to fall in love with her—but how could I not? She filled the missing piece in my life. Nah, she wasn’t a piece; she was like the other half of me, the good half.

“I didn’t want my life to get complicated with a relationship.”

“I get it. It’s Wolseley. She’s different. That chick always has me in stitches when we talk. She really wants me to cut back on my meat eating, and she’s always finding the cutest ways to convert me. She tells me these really long and detailed stories about factory farming, or whatever she calls it. I can’t believe I listened to it all, but she’s interesting. She’s a keeper. Don’t fuck it up.”

And with that, he was done. He let out one long exhale and was asleep in minutes.

Wolseley wasn’t in the condo when I got home, but she left a long note about missing me and seeing me in the morning. She also left instructions on how to reheat my late-night dinner. She insisted on leaving the same or similar note every time, even though she knew I could handle it. She said she did it out of habit because Ryan needed instructions with every meal, so I let it go. It was kind of cute.

I ate, caught up with texts, group chats, and the news before heading off to bed. My sister was due the next afternoon, and I couldn’t wait to see her. She wanted to stay in a hotel, but I insisted she stay with me. I hadn’t seen her in such a long time, and though she was going to be busy for part of the weekend, I still wanted to spend every second with her. She’d also mentioned something about being here for my birthday. Having her around would be kind of nice, although as kids, we didn’t do much for birthdays. Mom had a little family party where, for one day we got to feel special.

When I woke up the next morning, I listened for the comforting sounds of the kitchen. The gentle clattering of dishes, the sounds of pots and pans, and if I listened hard enough, and my door was open, Wolseley humming to herself. I didn’t hear much, but when I opened my bedroom door, I was hit with a mixture of the scent of coffee and maybe waffles ?

I got to the kitchen, and Wolseley was mixing up batter with a few pancakes on a plate in front of her. I hugged her from behind and kissed her cheek.

“Good morning,” I said. “It’s been a while.”

“It sure has.”

“How was your trip back home?”

“Good. Spent time with my family and caught up with some of my old employees. Wren, my manager, landed on her feet. I hated how they all lost their jobs.”

“Don’t beat yourself up about it.”

I poured myself a massive cup of coffee and tried to work out all my kinks with various stretches before sitting down at the island for part one of my breakfast. She’d perfected protein pancakes, and I was starting the day with those before getting to my hot oatmeal. She’d laid out various fruit choices for me as well.

“I had a talk with my brother that I wasn’t expecting,” she said, putting the plate of pancakes in front of me. I sliced up a banana and threw some berries on them. I finished it up with a touch of maple syrup.

“What about?”

“Our birth parents. Apparently, he looked them up. He said it was more about finding out our medical history now that he has a family, but he’s always been more curious about them than I have. He asked me if I wanted my birth mother’s contact info. He wasn’t able to track down our birth father. I guess I don’t know what I want to do. I told him I’d think about it.”

Usually, Wolseley was so upbeat, but this seemed to be getting her down. The spark and light in her eyes had dimmed a little.

“What does your gut tell you to do?”

“I don’t know. I see that my brother has a point. It’s a good idea to have that medical history, I guess. But I can get that from him. I don’t need to talk to her.”

“You know that you don’t have to make that decision today.”

“I know. It’s just something to think about. It’s just if I want kids one day …”

She watched me expectantly. I’d never really thought about having kids, but the idea of having them with Wolseley, someone so grounded and sweet, who would keep me in check and make me a better dad if I needed to be, made me reconsider.

“Do you want kids?” I asked, knowing she didn’t want that answer.

“Yes. You?”

Her big brown eyes were staring at me, waiting for the right answer.

“I think so. No, I do want them.”

A wide smile spread across her face that warmed me inside.

“Enough about that,” she said. “Your sister is coming today!”

“I’m pretty excited about that.”

“I was thinking I’d put together a nice dinner, hang out for a bit, then let the two of you have the evening to yourselves. You probably have a lot to catch up on, and you don’t need me buzzing around.”

“You can stay.”

“Nope. I have a feeling you and your sister have a lot to talk about. Things that don’t involve me. I’ll be here in the morning to make breakfast.”

As I watched her finish up my oatmeal, I thought about life before her and decided at that moment that I never wanted to go back to it.

I picked up Brooke at the airport, which was a bad decision all around. One person recognized me, that became two, and then it was a crowd of ten. Normally, I would have been a little cranky about all the photos and autographs, but my little sister was in town and that made up for everything else.

The second I saw Brooke, I politely told the last of the autograph seekers that I had to wrap this up. I scribbled my name a few more times and took off to meet her. She threw her arms around me, and I hugged her tight.

“You’re looking good,” she said as we finally walked out to my SUV.

“Changing my diet has made a huge difference. I have more energy, I feel good, and I’m sure my recovery time has shortened. Honestly, I think I’m in the best shape of my life.”

She pursed her lips and narrowed her blue eyes. “Do you think that maybe Wolseley has something to do with that?”

“For sure,” I said, unable to hide a smile.

“You are giddy. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so happy.”

“Like I said, I made some changes. All for the positive.”

We drove back to my place, and she told me all about her job and the convention she would be attending. It was Saturday and Sunday, during the day, with some kind of dinner Saturday night. But I’d have her Sunday evening and all of Monday before she headed back home Tuesday morning. She told me all about her promotion and that she loved living in Toronto. Mostly because it was far away from Mom and Dad, but neither of us needed to verbalize that detail.

“Sunday night, we are going for dinner, on me, to celebrate your birthday. It’s not every day you leave one decade and join another.”

“Sure, but let’s keep it low-key. ”

“Didn’t we always have low-key birthdays? I think we were all scared to have friends around.”

She was right about that.

We got to the condo, and I introduced Wolseley to Brooke. I’d always been nervous introducing women I was dating to family. I think I had it engrained in my brain that it didn’t matter who she was, she wouldn’t live up to my parents’ expectations. That was why Mom and Dad didn’t know Brooke was bisexual and had been in a healthy relationship with Phoebe for the last year and a half. Dad would have so many issues about that.

And that is why I should have known better with Brooke. She welcomed everyone, and Wolseley was hard not to like, so I wasn’t surprised when they immediately hit it off like they’d been friends for years.

Brooke sampled the grilled vegetables and demanded that Wolseley tell her how she made them. The same thing happened when Brooke tried the portobello pasta in marinara sauce, the marinade for the grilled chicken, and how Wolseley made the dressing for the salad.

“I’d be happy to share all my recipes with you,” Wolseley said.

By the time we got to dessert, we were all stuffed, but that didn’t stop us. Wolseley had made tiramisu, Brooke’s favorite, and when she took her first bite, I thought she might pass out from joy.

“I don’t know how my brother isn’t fat,” she said, scooping more tiramisu into her mouth.

“Because I burn four to five thousand calories a day! Wolseley also doesn’t make dessert that often.”

Brooke turned to me, pointing her finger. “You marry this woman right now!”

I laughed, and Wolseley blushed.

Brooke and I insisted that Wolseley relax while we cleaned up. Brooke and I were well-acquainted with housework, something Mom instilled in us many times. They probably thought it was a form of punishment, but I enjoyed those moments of cleaning when I didn’t have to deal with their bullshit.

“I have a date with my friends tonight,” Wolseley said. “So I’m going to leave the two of you to your fun and cleaning.”

“I will see you Sunday, right? We have to celebrate with the birthday boy,” Brooke said.

“You bet.”

She gave me a quick kiss, grabbed her coat, and was gone. Brooke and I watched her go, and when I turned to my sister, a silly grin was on her face.

“You so love her,” she said, slapping my arm with a dish towel.

“I do like her a lot,” I said, my heart bursting a little at the thought.

Brooke grabbed the plate she’d set aside and piled more tiramisu on it. We sat back down at the island, and she reached out and squeezed my hand.

“She’s the yin to your yang.”

I rolled my eyes. “Really? That’s what you come up with?”

“I’m not wrong. She’s a firebug who can light up a room. You are … not. She can make people laugh, and you … don’t. The one thing you both have is a huge heart, and I see how you complement each other. I still can’t believe you went to a drag show.”

“I’m going to be thirty tomorrow. And for most of my life, I—we—have been under our parents’ thumbs. That’s not happening anymore. I want to find out who I am, and I’m finding that out with Wolseley. That means doing things I normally wouldn’t think to do.”

“I have that with Phoebe, so I understand. Why do you think I moved so far away? Hell, I would have gone to Greenland to get away from them. Despite how hard they tried to fuck us up, we are going to come out okay.”

I thought about Christmas with my parents and what Wolseley had to endure. Brooke knew all about it, and, of course, she understood.

“Bailey seems to have them figured out too. He’s also the baby, so maybe that’s why he gets a pass.”

Brooke and I were less than two years apart, but Bailey had come a lot later. Maybe by then, Dad had mellowed out a bit, but Bailey still got his fair share of verbal, emotional, and physical abuse. He may have been Dad’s favorite, but Bailey still had to meet expectations. Meanwhile, Dad made my life a living hell and didn’t hold much back for Brooke either.

I tapped the rim of my water glass, thinking about shit I wanted to forget. I glanced up at Brooke, and she was focused on her dessert.

“Is it wrong of me to not want to patch things up with them?”

Her spoon stopped mid-scoop. “No.”

I nodded, satisfied. “Good. Because my last correspondence with them was to say that I had no intentions of speaking to them again until they both apologized to Wolseley. Mom’s reply was that they had nothing to apologize for.”

Brooke laughed sarcastically. “You know, I’ve been in therapy a long time. One thing I’ve learned is that sometimes you have to give up the toxic people in your life. Mom and Dad are toxic. No, worse. They are nuclear waste. I know they don’t see it, and that’s their problem, but if the three of us want to have normal lives, we need to set boundaries. I think you finally set yours, and I’m proud of you. You should think about therapy too. It’s not a weakness.”

“It’s funny you mention it, because Wolseley said the same thing. I have been thinking about it, and I’ve done a bit of it in the past. I need to live a better life, you know?”

“I know,” she said. “And from what I can see, you’re already on that path to a better life.”