“You’re tired and stressed. Nothing is wrong with you.”
She nods, sniffling.
I go over to the kitchen sink, open a cabinet door beneath it, and take out a bucket, passing it to her. “You and Coop move to my bed and have him puke in here if he needs to. I’m taking Eli to school and then I’ll strip your bed and get it made with fresh sheets. Take a nap with Coop.”
“I should study.”
“You’ve studied enough. Take a nap.”
“Okay. I’ll strip the bed, though. Thanks, Jules.”
She grabs a pancake and takes it over to the table, putting some bacon on it and rolling it up to eat like a burrito.
I have work to do today, and I need to get some content up on my personal socials. It’s a great day to be able to work from home. With the road trip tomorrow, I can create extra content topost on my accounts for the next few days. No matter how busy things get, I have to take care of my primary income source.
It’s a good thing I deleted the dating apps from my phone. I genuinely don’t have time for dates. All the pointless chattering with potential dates is a waste of time anyway. The people I need in my life all live in this house.
I drive Eli to school, finishing the spelling-list practice on the way, then come home and load the breakfast dishes into the dishwasher. After that, I check my work email and socials again.
The video about Noel is killing it. I wish I had time to capitalize on it this morning, but it’s going to have to wait. Instead, I get the pukey blanket into the washer and order the groceries for chicken noodle soup.
By the time I film content with some cosmetic samples and new clothes, it’s almost noon. I return to the video about Noel and respond to a few dozen comments.
At least we have a hot coach going for us. With Stanton out for 6-8 weeks, we’re screwed.
I’ve got no response for that one. Carter has a broken collarbone, and everyone on the staff is shaken that we lost our star player to an injury in the first game of the season.
The upcoming road trip will reveal how the team plays without its captain. I can’t say I’m looking forward to it, other than all the time I’ll have to secretly stare at Noel.
CHAPTER NINE
Noel
I wishI could go back in time—even last week would do. I’ve had it with the barrage of messages in my social media inboxes.
At first, I responded to most of them, saying thanks. But what do you say in response to a video from a stranger who tears open her flimsy shirt to reveal her bare breasts, then shakes them?
I’m not offended. Not by the photos, or the newest trending hashtag on the videos of me—#putyourpoleinallmyholesnoel. I’m just fucking annoyed. Stanton isn’t with us as we head out for our next road trip, and he’s out for at least six weeks. There’s also a situation with my daughter, Audra. I’ve got bigger things on my mind than women who find my scowl attractive.
I can’t help glaring at Jules when we lock eyes as she’s walking to the back of the plane to sit by Talia.
“I’m not your favorite social media coordinator anymore, am I?” she says lightly.
“Get people focused on something else,” I bark. “Anything else.”
“Please,” Talia says from the seat in front of mine. “I can’t even go online without seeing posts from women who want to get freaky with my dad. It’s gross.”
I frown at that. “I’m forty-seven, not eighty-seven.”
“You’re my dad. Some woman posted a video last night of her wearing underwear with a puck inside, hoping you’ll comehit it.”
Jules cringes and laughs at the same time. “Sorry about that. I had no idea videos of him yelling and scowling at players would elicit this response.”
“Do I need to start smiling? If that’ll make it stop, I’ll smile every damn second of the day.”
Jules arches a brow, looking skeptical. “Will you, though? I’m not sure your smiling muscles are up for that much use.”
Someone snickers from nearby. I clamp my teeth down on my tongue to keep myself from threatening to take Jules over my knee and spank her for her smart mouth.
