He snorted, pushing my hand off so he could start walking backwards to his car. “Forget the girl. You don’t need complicated right now.” I bit back my annoyance. It wasn’t anything I hadn’t already told myself. Life was way too messy right now. So why did I want to argue when I heard Jay say it?
Because it’s Gracie Knight,I told myself. I was always going to want there to be a chance with her.
“Friday night,” he continued. “I’ll be your wingman.”
“I think I’ll pass. You would scare any woman away.”
“You sound jealous,” he called. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell your redhead how lacking you are in confidence.”
“Fuck off, Jay!”
“See you around, buddy!”
I was still laughing as I climbed into my car. This new team might be on shaky ground, but I was damn glad to be in the same city as my old friend. Even if he was annoying as hell sometimes.
CHAPTER 10
It took a hell of a lot of effort, but by the time Josie’s first week of school ended, I was finally starting to feel like I was close to getting us into a routine.
Since school started earlier than I had to be at the rink, I made her breakfast every morning before driving her. The first day, I wanted to go in with her, but my baby girl informed me that she was far too old to be walked in by her dad. Watching her leave my car and head into that building all alone made my chest constrict. She had shot up a few inches over the summer and all of a sudden, she looked older. I knew that she was nervous to be starting at a new school, but my girl walked away from me with her shoulders set and her head held high.
I was so damn proud of her.
I headed off to training camp, thankful yet again that I’d been traded to Austin. Josie’s grandparents were going to pick her up after school and hang out with her until I got home. Knowing that she would be with people she loved and trusted was a huge weight off my shoulder. I was sure I never would have been able to concentrate on practice if I was worrying about some brand-new nanny getting her from school.
That night, I came home to find Josie out back with her grandparents. They sat at the patio table, laughing about something, the remains of their dinner in front of them.
“Well, this looks like a pretty good party,” I said, joining them at the table. All the laughter left Josie’s face, her expression turning flat and I couldn’t help but sigh. She’d been more cheerful with me the past few days and I had been hoping we were turning a corner.
“I found the grill,” Peter said. “Want a burger?”
After a long day of drills and scrimmages, I was starving. “A burger sounds great.”
“Josie had a nice day at school,” Evelyn said, smiling at her granddaughter. “Why don’t you tell your dad about it?”
She gave a small shrug. “Miss. K. is really nice. She put me at a table with Gabby and we played together at recess.”
“That sounds great. Did you guys have fun?”
Another shrug. “It was okay.”
I gritted my teeth. “What else did you do today? Did Miss K get you those books she talked about?”
I was sure that would get Josie to light up—she had been so excited that Gracie knew the books at Meet the Teacher night. But all I got was a minuscule head nod. “She let me read for fifteen minutes after lunch. That was probably the best part of the day.”
I took a bite of burger, wondering if I should keep pressing her to talk about her day or just let it go. Josie took the decision out of my hands when she picked up her plate and her glass. “Can I be excused?”
I didn’t bother to hide my sigh that time. “Sure you can.”
“Why don’t you come help me load up the dishwasher,” Peter said, gathering up the rest of the plates on the table.
Once they were gone, I turned to Evelyn. “Did you get more out of her than that?”
She gave me a sympathetic smile. “She seemed pretty happy when we picked her up. She talked about that teacher of hers for a good fifteen minutes. It sounds like she’s crazy about her.”
Crazy about Gracie Knight. It must run in the family.
The next day was just the same. Josie still looked nervous when I dropped her off, but she insisted on going in alone. I waited until she disappeared into the building before heading to training camp and Evelyn picked her up after school, staying over until dinner time again.
