Page 55 of One Kind Goal

Chapter Nine

“Charlie said we can have a helicopter ride!” Nia shouted as she ran to Sawyer with paper plates and napkins in her hands. “Can we go tomorrow? Can we, Daddy?”

Sawyer looked down at Nia, his eyebrows raised.

Nia immediately settled down. She placed the plates and the napkins on the coffee table then came to stand quietly next to Sawyer.

“Wow.” Austin let out a whistle. “You’ve got the Dad Glare down, dude.”

“The what?”

“The Dad Glare.” Austin gestured to Nia. “You got her to simmer down by merely looking at her.”

“Well, she blew in here like a hurricane and interrupted our conversation,” Sawyer said. “She needed to simmer down.”

“True, but my point is you didn’t need to say a word.” He sat on one of the couches in the large living room. “That’s a skill, man.”

Sawyer glanced at Nia. She was quiet, but her body was jittery as if it took all her energy to stay semi-still. “You don’t have to be a statue, Nia. I just don’t want you running in here.” He motioned to the living room around them. “Something could break.”

“Okay, Daddy, but I really want to go on a helicopter ride.” Nia grabbed the end of her shirt and twisted it in her hands.

“Yeah, Daddy,” Charlie said as she came in with a platter, Morgan following behind her. “And I really want to take you guys.”

“That’s kind of you,” Sawyer said. “We would love to.”

Nia twirled around Sawyer. “Yay!” She stopped abruptly. “Tomorrow? Can we do it tomorrow?”

“Only if it’s convenient for Charlie and okay with Morgan,” Sawyer said.

Charlie set her platter on the coffee table. “Tomorrow is fine. I don’t have any charter flights, but if I get called for a rescue, I’ll have to cancel.”

“Understood,” Sawyer said, sitting on the couch. “Thanks for the opportunity.” He looked at Morgan. “You cool with a helicopter ride tomorrow?”

Morgan put her platter next to Charlie’s then straightened, smoothing a hand down the front of her sweater. She had a weird look in her eye as if she’d been spooked in the kitchen or something.

“Morgan?”

Her gaze snapped to his. “Yeah, tomorrow. That’s fine.”

Charlie gave her arm a squeeze then tugged her to a seat on the couch opposite the one Sawyer and Austin were on. “Let’s all get comfortable.”

Nia skipped over to Charlie and wiggled onto the couch to sit between Charlie and Morgan. She spilled over a little onto Morgan’s lap. Sawyer liked seeing his daughter invade Morgan’s personal space like that. Nia was so comfortable with Morgan. Sure, she was friendly to everyone and not at all shy, but Nia appeared to accept Morgan on a deeper level. They certainly didn’t seem as if they’d only met yesterday.

Keeping Nia a secret all the time wore on Sawyer. None of his teammates knew about her. Teddy did, but that guy was a vault. Now that Morgan knew though and Nia was actually with him right now and they were in this remote little Vermont town, the situation didn’t seem as stressful. Normally, he checked around every corner for someone with a camera, afraid Nia’s existence would be broadcast to the world. On this trip, however, he’d gotten the chance to take a breath and simply enjoy his daughter.

And a super-hot woman who made him think about things he didn’t usually think about. Things that didn’t have anything to do with hockey, but everything to do with winning.

Winning Morgan’s heart.

Sawyer tuned back into the conversation happening around him when someone said his name, but a part of his brain was still sorting through this . . . this feeling he had about Morgan.

“I tried to show Sawyer an album of family photos to embarrass you, Morgan,” Austin said. “But he said he wanted to check with you first.”

Morgan gave Sawyer a small smile. “You refused the chance to see me looking like a total dork in outfits that matched my other two sisters?”

Sawyer nodded as Nia asked, “You have sisters and a brother?”

“Yes,” Morgan said. “I’m a triplet. My two sisters look exactly like me.”