“Levi warning you away from Hannah?”
“Sounds like that. Not that I’m interested,” I lie.
“I say this with all the love in the world man, but stay away from that one. From what Ellie has let slip, her ex-husband is a piece of work, and she’s too sarcastic and wild for you. I’ve heard Levi talk about her more than once, and that girl is too good of a catch for you to mess around with,” he says with his own warning look.
Am I really that bad of a guy?Women know what they’re getting into when I take them home. Or when they bring me home, I should say, since I never bring anyone home. I’m stuck debating my own morality for the entire hour I’m on the ice, thankful that everyone agreed with Packer that we should take it easy today.
Before I know it, I’m sitting in my truck on my way to my parents’ house instead of my own. I haven’t lived at home in a couple of years, yet I still manage to make the forty-five minute drive without realizing it. I park my truck next to my mom’s SUV, but movement catches the corner of my eye and I see my mom leading her mare out. Noticing my truck, she sends me a wave. Making my way to her, she can clearly see something is bothering me. She doesn’t even say hi, she just says, “I was waiting for your dad to get home before saddling Lily here for a ride. How about you go saddle Stella?”
Not needing to be told twice, I make my way to the back of the barn, where my dad built a makeshift walk-in closet for all of our riding stuff like our boots, hats. Switching out my shoes for my cowboy boots, I grab my hat and go saddle Stella. Making my way towards Stella, she starts whimpering as she sees me approaching.
“Hey there, girl. You wanna go for a ride?” I say as I get to her stall, reaching in to pat her. It’s been a while since I’ve ridden her. I used to ride her at every chance I got, but nowadays life is just so busy so I rarely get out. Once I’m sitting atop of her, I urge her to meet my mom who’s now sitting on Lily.
“I should do this more often,” I say once both mom and I are in the field, making our way towards the creek that runs through the eastern side of the property.
“You should. It’s a great way to clear your mind. To get away from the hustle and bustle,” my mom quietly answers.
About an hour later as we’re nearing the creek, she finally asks, “So are you going to tell me what’s got you coming home on a sunny Friday afternoon instead of hanging out with your friends?”
“Can’t I just want to see my mom?” I say without looking at her.
She waits until we’ve both gotten off the horses and are leading them to the creek before she says, “You know, I know you better than that.” With a look she continues, “You’re not still hung up on what Levi said the other day, are you?”
Sitting by the creek running my hands through the grass, I look at the moving water. “No, it has nothing to do with that. Well maybe in a roundabout way, but not really.”
“Sure, that makes sense,” she says with a laugh. “I know I’m raising a teenage girl, so I know how to read between the lines, but you’re going to have to give me more than that,” she continues, taking a seat next to me.
“When did you know dad was the one?” The question comes out before I even know I’m going to ask it.
“So, itisstill about what Levi said. I knew your dad was the one the minute I set my eye on him. It was the first day of school, I had just moved to Calgary,” she says with a soft smile on her face, lost in the memory. “I was nervous and late for my firstday, I wasn’t looking where I was going and I walked, more like smacked, right into a tall guy with the greenest eyes I had ever seen. I started to fall backwards but he was fast enough to grab me so I didn’t fall. The minute I touched his hand, it was like I could finally breathe, like a weight I didn’t know I was carrying was lifted. Right then and there I knew he was the one. I was going to spend the rest of my life with him,” she finishes and turns to look at me.
After a few minutes of silence, she nudges my shoulders with hers and asks, “Are you going to tell me where this question is coming from? Did you meet someone or are you thinking of starting to date?”
If only she knew . . . I felt the exact same way when I shook Hannah’s hand.
Chapter 9
A few days after crossing the line dancing off my list, I finally don’t feel like death. Seriously, who let me take that many shots of tequila? They should get hit by a bus and then tell me if anyone should take that many shots of tequila.
Downstairs I find Levi sitting at the breakfast bar drinking coffee and scrolling through his phone. Hearing me approach the coffee machine, he looks up and smiles. “I see you’re finally up at a decent hour. I guess the hangover is finally over.” Looking at his empty wrist and laughing, he continues, “What is it, thirty-six hours later?”
“How would you feel after seven tequila shots and I don’t know how many drinks?” I ask sassily as I fill up my coffee mug. Bringing the mug up to my nose, I close my eyes and take a big breath in, savouring the smell of the nectar of the gods.
“Summer does the same thing with her first cup of coffee, swears half the caffeine is in the smell.”
“She’s right,” I say, completely serious as I take the seat beside him and sip my coffee. I quietly add, “I miss her.”
“Me too. Hopefully, she can come catch some of my games this fall and spend a few weeks with you. I haven’t seen her in two years at this point. Last time she was in the country I had a training camp and couldn’t get away,” he says with a sad smile.
“At least you had a valid excuse for not seeing her. My excuse was Lucas had a busy week and didn’t want me to go, saying he needed moral support. Even though he never got home before eleven o’clock at night that entire week,” I say, shaking my head at how stupid I was. How blind I was to his manipulations. I haven’t seen my best friend in four years because every time she was in the country Lucas gave me a guilt trip about needing me at home. All the while, he probably wasn’t busy at work but with his flavor of the month.
Pulling me out of my spiraling thoughts, Levi pulls a wrapped box I hadn’t noticed at his feet. “Enough about that douchebag and more about Summer and me,” he says as he hands me the box.
“What’s this?” I ask, confused, taking the box he’s offering me.
“Not much. Just open it.”
“What did you guys get me? Why did you guys get me anything? You’ve both already done too much for me,” I say, shaking my head, as I start unwrapping the box.
