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  “I get it,” he assures me, holding his hands up again. A smile forms on his face, every bit of pain and sorrow for himself evaporates. “Now, you get going. You have a game to get to.”

  I don’t move a muscle, wondering if I’m being played or not. Shane waves, turns from me, and opens the door to my home. It’s only after he disappears inside that I head to my car.

  CHAPTER 20

  Jett

  Nora’s ranch—or rather I should say Nora and Tacker’s ranch since they’re married—is a pretty fantastic place. It’s not only beautiful but the purpose is humbling. Nora’s a psychologist and she uses horses in her therapy. It’s the place the team gathers the most for get-togethers because it’s so huge with plenty of room between their house and the barn.

  It’s no surprise that Nora has taken a shine to Emory and has been handing out advice on her situation with Shane. They both have the same grit and determination to be champions of others. When Nora invited Emory and Felicity out here, it was for two reasons. The first and most important, was to let Felicity ride and have fun. But the second was to give her an opportunity to talk to Nora about any fears or worries she had since her father had come back into her life after a very long absence.

  When I got the invite to attend with them—from Emory not Nora—I was shocked. It was a mother/daughter thing and I didn’t want to intrude, but on the other hand, I wanted time with Emory. We’re both so fucking busy in our careers that our time is very precious. And if I can only get a few hours with her today for a trip to Nora’s ranch, I’ll gladly take it.

  Out of politeness, because I always want to respect Emory’s boundaries around her and Felicity, I did suggest perhaps it wasn’t the best outing for me to attend with them. Emory replied that it was the best time since Felicity would be spending most of the time with Nora and Emory would be all by her lonesome.

  That, in turn, generated images of my hauling her off to a dark corner in the barn to have some very quality “alone” time together, but I knew that would never happen.

  Doesn’t matter.

  I’m content to stand here at the fence railing to one of the riding arenas and watch Felicity. She’s currently on a dark brown horse with a white blaze down its face. It’s a pretty big horse and I voiced my concerns when Nora’s ranch manager, Raul, brought the horse out. Raul shot me a wink and said old Charlie was the ranch’s laziest horse and couldn’t be bothered to do more than a slow walk. I actually think he was pulling my chain but it was his way of saying they knew the best horse to pair Felicity with, so I didn’t say anything else.

  Oddly, I’m more nervous about Felicity being up on that huge horse than Emory, but Emory assured me she did very well in the lessons she had taken before moving here. She was able to freely ride on her own at both a walk and a trot and was confident in controlling the lesson horses.

  I took her at face value and forced myself to settle as we watch.

  Nora is on one side of the horse and Raul on the other, both of them adjusting the stirrups of the saddle to accommodate Felicity’s little legs. Admittedly she looks adorable in jeans, cowboy boots, and her black hair done in two long braids hanging over her shoulder. When I showed up today to pick them up, she had on a baseball cap but I pulled a child’s size Stetson out of a bag for her to wear and when she put it on, she looked every bit the Arizona cowgirl. Of course, for safety, her hat has been exchanged for a helmet provided by Nora, and the Stetson is safely perched on the fence post to my left.

  Emory and I stand beside each other, near the gate they brought the horse through. Both of our arms are resting on the top rail, our elbows touching. Nora hasn’t made a big deal of me coming with Emory and Felicity. The cat is officially out of the bag that we’re a couple after our game last night. Emory came wearing my jersey, left the arena with me to hang at The Sneaky Saguaro for just one beer with the team since we pulled off a stupendous win, and left with me, our hands firmly clasped. I’m assuming word has made its way back to Nora as gossip regarding player love lives seems to run like wildfire in our team. I’m not sure why that is, but I have a feeling it all started in the beginning, when Dominik meddled in Bishop’s love life with his now-wife, Brooke, setting the tone.

  Your personal happiness on this team is as important as your professional happiness.

  “You’re seriously not the slightest bit worried about her?” I ask Emory without taking my eyes off Felicity.

  She giggles in response and bumps her hip out to hit mine playfully. “She’s fine. She rode for almost half a year before we moved, and I know Nora won’t put her on a horse she can’t handle. But it’s adorable you’re so worried about it.”

  I can’t say that I particularly like being thought of as adorable, as it might ruin my ice cred if word got out, but I let her have it. I’d let her have anything she asked of me, I’m thinking.

  Raul moves from the horse and heads our way toward the gate. He tips his hat to both of us after he passes through and re-latches it, before ambling off to the barn. We watch as Nora places a hand on Felicity’s calf, her other hand holding onto the horse’s bridle although it doesn’t appear to want to go anywhere. It just stands there placidly, tail swishing back and forth.

  Nora is talking to Felicity, but we can’t hear what they’re saying. But then she steps back several feet and says something else to Felicity, who gives the horse a kick with her booted feet. The horse moves and it’s a slow plod, which I’m liking.

  “Move to the rail,” Nora instructs and, using the reins to guide her horse, Felicity does as requested, moving further away from where Emory and I are standing. Nora stays in the center of the ring watching, sometimes telling her something like “tighten the rail rein” or “I see space between your knees and the saddle”. Those commands mean nothing to me, but they do to Felicity and I relax as she adjusts according to Nora’s instruction.

  Emory and I watch as she makes a complete loop around the ring. Felicity’s eyes move to her mom as she approaches, giving her a toothy grin. She then glances at me, smiles bigger, and sits a little straighter to show the effort she’s putting into her posture.

  Fucking adorable.

  Apparently just like me.

  After she passes us, Emory says, “Shane wanted to come today.”

  That shocks me as Emory had not said anything about it before. “When did he ask?”

  “Last night,” she admits. “Before I left for the game.”

  “And you didn’t tell me last night because…”

  “Because you’re such a good guy, you probably would have insisted you not go and Shane come in your place.”

  Maybe I would have. I want Felicity to have time with her dad. But maybe I wouldn’t have. Maybe I would have been selfish because I’ve been looking forward to this outing with not only Emory, but Felicity as well. I’m not stupid… if I want things to work with Emory, Felicity is part of the package deal. She needs to like me. She needs to get used to me being around.

  It’s moot though. I turn my head to look at Emory. “I don’t know what I would have done, but in the end, I would have supported what you wanted.”

  She shoots me a quick glance—and in that brief moment, I see she’s touched—before putting her eyes back on Felicity as she responds. “Is it awful of me that I just don’t want him to be a part of my life? I mean… fine, he should have something with Felicity and I’m all for that. But it doesn’t mean he gets to be a part of a family unit with us again.”

  “That doesn’t make you awful at all,” I reassure her as I watch Felicity bring her horse to a halt on the far end of the arena, per Nora’s request. Nora walks toward her and I use the opportunity to fully face Emory. My hand goes to the side of her neck where I give a gentle squeeze. “You center your life around Felicity and all decisions you make are in her best interest. You do a fabulous job of it. But that doesn’t mean you cannot make decisions in your own best interest too. You’re still allowed to look out for your happin
ess, and you owe Shane nothing other than to try to let him be a parent if he can handle it. Past that, if you don’t want him in your life, it’s your right to say no to him.”

  Emory lets out a long, shaky breath and admits, “I don’t think I realized how much I’d been doubting myself until you reaffirmed that I’m allowed to not want to be around him. I was starting to feel that same guilt that would creep up on occasion after I made the decision to separate. I just don’t want to be sucked into it again.”

  “You won’t be,” I assure her. I’ll fucking make sure she looks out for herself.

  Emory’s gaze cuts back to Felicity, who is still halted on her horse and talking to Nora. When she gives me her attention again, she says, “I can’t begin to tell you how bad things were for several months before I finally got the courage to leave. I don’t even want to tell you about it, because I don’t want to have to think about it. But for whatever reasons, the cumulative effects from all the pain he caused me and Felicity… it broke something inside of me toward him. I’d like to say I don’t feel a thing for Shane, but I do. I feel so much anger, and disgust, and I don’t trust him at all. I want to rail at him for everything he did to his daughter, because drugs were more important to him than she was. It’s that anger that constantly brews when he’s around that I’m barely able to manage. And so when he wants to spend more time with us, I want to scratch his eyes out.”

  My chin jerks inward, my eyes slightly flaring over her desire for violence. But then I can’t help snickering. “I think I’d actually like to see it.”

  She shakes her head, a half-smile on her face, and I drop my hand away from her neck. “It’s not funny. I feel awful feeling so awful toward him. Maybe I need therapy.”

  I laugh and then loop my arm around her neck, pulling her into me. “I’m sorry for laughing. You’re just so fierce and I love it.”

  Her face is pressed slightly at my collarbone but I can understand her muffled words. “I swear… if he does anything to hurt Felicity, I’ll kill him, Jett. I hope you’re prepared to have a girlfriend in prison.”

  I laugh again and press a kiss to the top of her head. I know it won’t ever happen, but I do have a better understanding of how she feels about Shane. All those insecurities I had that she might want to give him another chance are burned away by her vehemence.

  My eyes catch movement, and Felicity has the horse walking. Then she kicks again, and it takes off faster and I’m equal parts scared and exhilarated.

  “Fuck,” I mutter as I release Emory. “She’s running on the horse.”

  Emory laughs as she watches her daughter. “That’s called a trot. And see the way she’s moving up and down… that’s called posting.”

  “Damn,” I drawl in admiration. “She’s really good.”

  “For seven years old, yes,” Emory says with pride. “I really need to get her back into lessons.”

  We watch as she trots by, but she doesn’t look at us. She’s concentrating and Emory calls out softly, “You’re doing great, honey.”

  When she’s out of earshot, Emory nudges me with her shoulder. “I do want your advice on something. Shane is getting tired of having to come to my house for supervised visits. He wants to be able to take her to dinner, and there’s a daddy/daughter dance at her school coming up that he wants to take her to. Do you think I should give him that leeway?”

  “Do you think he’s solid in his sobriety?” I ask as we both watch Felicity while we talk.

  “Based on past experience… yes. He’s solid right now. But I also know that never lasted.”

  “Had he ever been high around her where he was driving?”

  Emory sighs. “Not that I know of. His drug usage was always done away from us for the most part until I’d somehow catch a slipup. He swears he’s never done drugs around Felicity, but who knows. I don’t even want to think about the possibility he had her in the car while stoned.”

  I ponder this and I’m not sure there’s a good answer. “You could let him take her but insist on an Uber.”

  Emory winces. “I can, but Felicity would want to know why. I’m trying to make this normal for her.”

  I angle my body her way and she gives me her attention. “You know the signs… if he’s on drugs, right?”

  She nods firmly. “Know them well.”

  I glance back at Felicity, then to Emory. “I don’t know if this is the right thing, but maybe you should let him take her. And you can judge his stability when he shows up.”

  Emory tips her head slightly left, then right, pondering my suggestion. “That could probably work.”

  “When is the dance?” I ask.

  “Day after tomorrow.”

  “We could stalk them,” I suggest with an evil laugh. I don’t have a game that night, and while the better idea would be to just hang with Emory at her house while Shane took Felicity to the dance, I’m up for doing anything to make her feel better about this.

  Emory laughs and turns away from me. “I’ll think about that offer too.”

  The subject of Shane is dropped. We watch Felicity in the ring and she rides for about half an hour before Nora draws her in. She lets Felicity get off all on her own, the little girl swinging one leg over then sliding down to drop to the ground.

  She has Felicity take the reins just under the horse’s chin and start walking our way, side by side.

  When they reach the gate, Nora says, “I’m going to have Felicity help me put Charlie back in his stall and feed him. We’ll be back in a bit.”

  I think that’s code for “this is my chance to talk to her about Shane if she wants to” and Emory gives her an appreciative smile.

  CHAPTER 21

  Jett

  I should feel ridiculous. Just this side of two months ago, I was a single guy, loving the single life with the singular intention of staying single forever.

  Single, single, single.

  Now I’ve driven twenty-five minutes out of my way to the arena just to see Emory for no reason at all other than I want to see her. I know I’m going to be catching her just before she leaves for work, which is ironic since we both work at the arena and I could have far more easily popped in to see her there, but then the gesture wouldn’t have been as dramatic.

  No, going to her house early in the morning to bring Emory and her crew breakfast is something that feels good to me.

  It symbolizes the death of the single guy who hated responsibility and commitment.

  Then again, this doesn’t feel burdensome.

  Commitment actually feels easier than anything I’ve felt before.

  I’ve got a box of croissants in one hand and a bag of chocolate donuts—which I learned at some point over the past few weeks are Felicity’s favorite but don’t remember how I learned—and I make my way up the porch steps.

  It’s just past seven and I also know from my many chats with Emory that she’s been up since six, first having her coffee, then a shower. After, she’ll get Felicity up and dressed. They’re at the breakfast table usually by seven-fifteen am so she can hit the bus when it pulls up in front of the house at seven-thirty am. I also know that while they live close enough to Felicity’s school, which is five blocks down on the same street, Emory won’t let her walk there by herself. She feels seven is just too young and while I’ve never had the opportunity to consider something like that before, I think I agree with her.

  At any rate, if I had more time, I’d offer to walk Felicity to school today but as it stands, I have only a few minutes to bring my ladies—yeah, I said it—breakfast and then I have to get to the arena for a short 8 AM skate since it’s game day. I’m going to be cutting it close as it is.

  Using the hand with the donut bag, I knock on the door—making a mental note to replace her doorbell this weekend—and wait for someone to answer.

  It’s actually Felicity and after she blinks in surprise at me, her grin is wide and welcoming. “Jett,” she exclaims. “What are you doing here?”

>   I rustle the bag and hand it to her. “I brought chocolate donuts for you.”

  Just as Felicity takes my offering, Emory emerges from the hallway that leads to the bedrooms. She’s completely made up for work in a slim, navy blue skirt and a white silky blouse tucked in. She’s rocking a pair of dark blue heels that do amazing things to her legs—which look equally amazing wrapped around my waist, and it’s been far too long since that’s happened—and her hair is back in the tight bun she prefers for work. As usual, she’s sans contact lenses and has her black frames on, and I have no clue why she’s so hot this way, but she is. We really, really need a night alone, and soon.

  I was hoping it would be tonight after our game, which seems to be the best time for Emory to stay over with me, but unfortunately she’s got a lot of work to do tonight. I don’t like it, but I understand it. It’s no different than me having obligations to attend an away game. There are going to be times when work will take precedence in our relationship.

  We’ve got plans for tomorrow night when Shane takes Felicity to the daddy/daughter dance, and that will be soon enough.

  “What are you doing here?” Emory asks, the same question as her daughter, as she tilts her head and puts an earring in her lobe. I notice the other one is already filled.

  This time, I hold up the box. “Croissants for breakfast. But I can’t really stay. I’m just dropping off treats to you.”

  Her eyes light up, because… well, the flaky French pastries are her favorite.

  “You came all this way just to bring us breakfast?” she asks in wonder, moving past Felicity to me. The look in her eyes has changed from mere joy to something a lot more serious.

  Fuck if I don’t like it.

  Just as I like, and relish, when she steps right into me, one hand to my chest, and lifts up to press her lips lightly to mine. I accept the kiss, eyes closed for a moment, then open them out of curiosity to look at Felicity.