Page 69 of Fall For Me
“If I do, I’ll just call your sister. She’ll come over and dry my tears. Isn’t that right, Sunshine?”
“I will literally beat your fuck—” Carter’s eyes cut to Jade. “Shit. I mean . . .”
“That’s forty dollars, Uncle Carter.” Tucker holds out his hand, and when Carter blinks at him in confusion, he adds, “Twenty for me. Twenty for Jade. Let’s go. Chop. Chop. Hand it over or we’ll add another sixty for the other spawn, making it a hundo.”
“Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack. It's not personal. It’s business. You don’t make it anywhere in the world by being soft,” Tucker says as Carter pulls out his wallet.
“This is bullshit.”
“And that’s another ten. Wanna keep going?”
Filling my plate, I laugh and glance out over the table at my family, razzing each other and carrying on. My eyes lock with the one person centered in it all—Aspen’s mom.
“So, your surgery’s the day after tomorrow? Are you staying here with me or . . .” Katherine trails off.
“I’m staying with Cammie for a couple of weeks,” I say, placing a roll onto my plate.
“Well, sweetheart, I don’t mind staying over at your house until you’re on your feet if you’d rather be at home. You just let me know what I can do.”
There hasn’t been a single time that she hasn’t treated me like her own. She’ll never replace my mother, not that she’s ever tried to . . . I mean, I’m well into my twenties, but. . . I guess what I’m trying to say is that she’s my mom too. And if there’s room for her to be that for me, well then, maybe there’s room for me to be that to a child that’s not biologically mine. I glance down at Jade, still feeling the same overwhelming emotion I felt for her the minute I laid eyes on her. I imagine it’s the closest feeling to a mother’s love I’m ever gonna feel.
“Speaking of your surgery, how long are you out of commission?” Aspen asks, breaking me out of my wandering thoughts.
“About four weeks at the most. Two weeks if I’m lucky and able to just work at my desk,” I reply, taking a sip of my wine.
“Good. So, here’s the deal. When you come back to work, I’m gonna need you to train someone for your position so you can take over coaching the team.”
I strangle on my drink, coughing, and sputtering.
“Way to lead into it, Aspen. Jesus.” River laughs, patting my back. “You okay?”
“I’m okay,” I wheeze, my lungs working overtime to clear my airways. “I wasn’t expecting you to say that . . . I’m honored. Truly, I am, but I’m not qualified to coach an NHL team. I have zero experience.”
“Zero experience.” Aspen laughs sarcastically, rolling her eyes. “First of all: That’s the biggest crock of shit I’ve ever heard in my life.And second: Did I have experience when I took over this organization? No. But here we are.”
“How many female head coaches have you seen in the NHL, Aspen?”
“One . . . and I’m looking straight at her,” she says, holding a bottle to Westin’s mouth while Cal piles mashed potatoes onto her plate. “When someone needs help with their game, who do they come to? You. You’re training these guys during your free time just about every day. You have this way of fixing their issues and quirks. I’ve seen what you can do with my own two eyes. Hell, the entire nation saw it last night when you went down to the bench and outsmarted your own father on national television. It’s all the sports networks have been talking about all day. They’ve been calling you ‘The Protégé.’ You’ve already been coaching these guys; we just want to make it official.”
“What about Carter? Why can’t he take over?” I ask.
“I’m starting my practicum next year. Everyone knew when I stepped in as assistant coach that it was temporary.”
This is nuts. I just need to breathe. I can’t freaking breathe.
“Please excuse me,” I say, standing from the table. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I-I need some fresh air.”
“I told you to talk to her privately . . .” Dad’s voice fades out as I leave the dining room and head outside to catch my breath.
There’s so much more that goes into coaching than fixing a little quirk. And I didn’t outsmart my dad; I did what I’ve watched him do time and time again. If I do this, I’ll be on display for the entire world to judge and criticize. What if I fail? It’ll be a damn crucifixion. The door opens and closes behind me; then strong arms wrap around me from behind as Sean nuzzles into my neck.
“You okay, mi amor?”
Taking comfort in his arms, I lean my head back and sigh. “Yeah. I’m okay. Just thinking.”
“Liar. You’re freaking the fuck out.” He chuckles in my ear. “She’s right, you know? I don’t know anyone better than you to take over coaching, but you don’t need to make any big decisions tonight.”
