Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 81076 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81076 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
“Our boys are getting beat to shit,” Jacob mutters, wincing.
“Spearing!” Binx shouts again, flapping an exasperated arm at the screen. “Again! What is wrong with these people?”
Spearing…
I have no idea what that is, but I’m pretty sure Aaron and I did it in November.
We banged on every surface in this room, including the table I’m currently scrubbing. And it was fucking incredible, and I do my best not to think about it.
Even if Aaron weren’t the boy who bullied me in high school and an arrogant alpha male man beast who thinks he’s better than everyone else, he doesn’t live in Bad Dog. He was in Iowa in the minors for years. Now, he’s a Minnesota Midge, but they’re based in Minneapolis and NHL teams travel all the time. A relationship with a man like that would be impossible and that’s what I want, a relationship.
I want someone to share the good times and the bad times and the parenting duties. I want someone who wants more kids, before I get too old to have as many as I’d like, and who loves the idea of a big happy family as much as I do. I don’t know what I’d do without all my brothers and sisters. I want Chase to have that, too, a whole pack of siblings who will have his back for the rest of his life.
“Holy shit,” Binx breathes, sounding more shocked than angry. “That’s Aaron, isn’t it? He’s the one down on the ice.”
My focus whips toward the screen just as the cameraman zooms in on Aaron’s body, lying flat by the boards, his shoulder wrenched up at an unnatural angle over his head and blood on his helmet. He’s unconscious and clearly badly injured, the kind that’s going to require a lot more than some ice in the locker room.
Before I realize it, I’m on the move, running for my cell in the kitchen and calling Aaron’s grandmother.
Delores answers on the first ring with a strained, “Hello?” that makes it obvious, she’s seen the injury.
“Hey, Delores, it’s Melissa McGuire,” I say, my heart racing. “I saw what happened. If you need someone to take you to the hospital, let me know. I have family here who can watch my son while I drive you to wherever they’re taking him. Matty took Nora and the kittens out to the treehouse for a surprise, and they might not be reachable on their cells. Service is sketchy out there.”
She exhales a ragged breath. “Oh, thank you, Melissa. I was about to call Nora, but I don’t want to bother her if she’s on a date. Not until we know what’s happened to Aaron, anyway. But my boyfriend can’t drive at night, and I haven’t been safe behind the wheel for nearly a decade.”
“I’ll be over in twenty minutes,” I assure her. “Do you have a contact number with the Midges? Someone to call in case of an emergency?”
She says she does, I encourage her to call it and get more information about where they’ll be treating Aaron, and we end the call. Then, I sprint through the living room and up the stairs to my bedroom, ignoring my brother’s worried, “What’s wrong, Mel?”
I throw clothes in a bag just in case, and race back down the stairs. “I have to take Aaron’s gram to the hospital because Nora is out of town with Matty. Which one of you is staying over to watch Chase and take him to daycare in the morning?”
“Me,” Wesley says immediately, making me love my sweet, generous brother even more. “Don’t worry about it.”
“I’ll open up the catering office for you tomorrow and tell your assistant manager what’s up before I go to work,” Binx adds.
“I’ll finish cleaning,” Jacob says, rising to his feet. “Tell Aaron we’re rooting for him. He can get past this. Even gnarly injuries can’t keep a Bad Dog boy down. Drive safe.”
“I will,” I say, grabbing my keys and heading for the garage, grateful I was too busy cooking to have more than one beer during the party. I’m sober and fine to drive, though even as I back out of the driveway, I’m not sure why I feel so compelled to make sure Aaron has family waiting for him when he gets to the hospital. I truly loathe the man.
Maybe it’s because I believe everyone, no matter how obnoxious, deserves to be surrounded by the people who love them in times of trial.
Or maybe it’s because I know what it feels like when a dream starts to die, and don’t want even Aaron to face that alone. He may be a turd burglar, but he’s also worked his ass off to make it the NHL. To be taken out in his third game, right as people are starting to notice what an amazing player he is, because some Wisconsin cheesehead thought it would be fun to play rough, would be…heartbreaking.