“No, his wife took the kids down to Lethbridge to their grandparents’ and he has the house to himself.”
“Ah. He’s lonely.”
“He had a different plan for wallowing if we lost. Said he didn't want a bunch of crotchety-ass players around his fire pit.” Brett blew into his hands. He wasn’t wearing his coat. “We're all headed there now. I'm sure he'll pop his address in the chat.”
Country opened his door. “I know where he lives. I don't know if I feel much like celebrating tonight though.”
Brett slapped a hand on the rail of his truck. “Yeah, I know how that goes. Do I need to rally the troops and show up at your house for a sleepover?”
Country grinned. “Only if you're bringing your Nintendo 64. No, I'm good, bud. It's just been a lot the past couple of weeks.”
Brett nodded. “All right. I'll tell Jenna you said hi.”
Country froze with one foot on the rail. “What?”
Brett turned back, a smug smile on his face. “Ryan was texting her friends in the locker room. They're all coming.”
“Jenna's coming to the bonfire?”
Brett nodded. “That's what the text read. Said they're all driving out together.”
Country chewed on this. Jenna, who had been avoiding him nonstop for the last week and a half, was going to show up at another team event. Would she sit as far away from him as possible and refuse to make eye contact? Or worse, sit next to him and laugh like nothing had ever happened between them?
Brett took a backwards step toward the rink. “It's all good. I understand if you don't want a repeat of Sunday. She had your balls to the wall all afternoon.”
Country’s jaw flexed. “I was being polite. I could tell she didn't want to be there.”
“Well it seems like she wants to be at the bonfire tonight.”
Country scoffed. “Unless she's bringing a cameraman.”
Brett shook his head. “Nope. No footage. Ryan specified. If I don't see you there, have a good weekend. Ooh!” His face lit up. “Do you have Curtis’s gift?”
Country nodded. “It’s all finished. I have it back at the house.”
Brett pumped his fist. “I can’t wait to see it. We could give it to him another night, though.” He saluted him, then turned and shoved his hands in his pockets and jogged over the salted parking lot back to the doors.
Country slid into the seat of his truck and hit the start button. Why would Jenna McAllister voluntarily come to a bonfire after she'd scooted out of that rink so fast there was smoke trailing from her heels?
More importantly, why was he being polite? It seemed that Jenna wasn’t only going to be in his life at GCBN. And if her showing up at team events was going to be commonplace, he needed to learn how to act like he damn well pleased.
He hadn’t been lying to Brett about being exhausted, but the idea of Jenna showing up and hanging out with his friends without him rankled. It was almost Curtis’s birthday and he had a hell of a gift to give him.
Chapter Eighteen
Curtis’s backyard was like a fairy winter wonderland. Cafe bulbs hung from a pergola next to the fire pit with Adirondack chairs surrounding the brick. Fallow planters lined the far fence, and the yard was blanketed in pristine snow. All except an area next to a shed that had been scooped clean to make a hollowed-out snow fort.
Jenna’s heart twinged at the sight. Her mother had sent her articles over the years about adoption, and she’d read them. She’d cried at the stories of couples struggling with infertility and then finding children they felt they were meant to be with all along. There were far worse fates than being sterile, and she didn’t allow herself to drop into self-pity often. But the past two weeks had been more difficult than most.
Yes, there were options. But back then, she hadn’t wanted them. Back then, she couldn’t even fathom the idea of giving Country anything less than perfection. Now, in her thirties, she hadn’t exactly been looking for an opportunity to disappoint someone else. Until Gentry had shown up on her phone screen, she hadn’t considered she’d kept the past tied to her like an anchor, never allowing her to swim beyond a specific radius.
That had to end tonight. Not because John might offer Country a job at GCBN, though she was positive he would, based on the most recent reports she’d seen. She needed to close this chapter for herself. To finally put salve on that old festering wound and give her heart a chance to heal and find new dreams she might be capable of reaching.
“Is this your toque?” Anne spun in her seat and held out an olive green knit hat.
Jenna shook her head and held up her tan one. “Nope. Mine’s here.”
Tina reached out and grabbed it. “Mine! Thank you!”
