Page 100 of One Kind Goal

Sawyer grabbed Nia around the waist. “Then let’s not keep her waiting.”

Morgan had to jog to keep up with Sawyer’s long strides and speed. When they found Charlie leaning against the fence that surrounded the carousel, Sawyer put Nia down and the kid ran to see her.

“Auntie Charlie!”

“Hey, Pipsqueak.” Charlie hugged Nia then gave Sawyer and Morgan hugs too. “I have the perfect carousel horse picked out for you, Nia.” She looked at Sawyer and Morgan. “And you two are riding at least once before you go.”

“I will do absolutely anything you tell me to,” Sawyer said. “You are the best person ever to babysit Nia tonight.” He took Morgan’s hand and they followed Charlie and Nia toward the carousel’s entrance.

“Like I told Morgan, Nia here is doing me a favor. Austin and I are going to celebrate Valentine’s Day next weekend when I fly out to see him.” She wiggled Nia’s hand that she held. “We’re going to have the best slumber party. I have a bunch of movies, snacks, and games planned.”

“I never had a slumber party before,” Nia said.

“Well, that changes tonight, Pipsqueak. I am Queen of the Slumber Party. Ask Isabel. We still have slumber parties sometimes.” Charlie guided Nia to a purple carousel horse that Nia instantly fell in love with.

Sawyer chose a horse outfitted with armor and a menacing gleam in its eyes.

“Am I supposed to be turned on by you on a carousel horse?” Morgan mounted the white unicorn beside him.

“You’re supposed to be turned on by me all the time, baby.”

“Oh, good, because I was turned on by you earlier when you were leaning against your SUV in front of Trixie’s.”

“It’s hard being turned on all the time, isn’t it?” He shook his head. “Sometimes I don’t need to even see you to be turned on.”

“Active imagination you’ve got there.”

“Indeed.” He reached over and tugged on her hair. “I plan to make some of those imaginings a reality tonight.”

Morgan wrapped her hands around the pole through her unicorn. She leaned back a little, making sure to arch her back so her chest was in prime view, then she gave Sawyer a seductive look. “Hey, did I ever tell you about the pole-dancing class my sisters and I took?”

Sawyer’s entire body stilled as he stared at her. He didn’t blink for a ten-count. “A pole-dancing class you say?” He swallowed, but it looked as if he struggled to do so. “What are my chances of getting a display of those skills?”

Morgan straightened and slid her hands down the pole. “Your chances are very, very good, Mr. Center Forward.”

Sawyer rested his forehead on the pole of his horse, his hands tightly gripping as he let out a low, rumbling moan. “Do you know how challenging it is to straddle this horse when my dick is doing an amazing sword impression right now?”

Morgan barked out a laugh. “You keep that sheathed, Sir Hockey. We’ll be needing that later.”

She blew him a kiss as the carousel started turning. While she was mostly still turned on by seeing Sawyer on that armored horse, the little girl inside her who remembered riding that carousel with her parents swam to the surface. Her parents’ biggest dreams for all their children had always been that they grew up to be happy.

Morgan could finally say she had.

****

While seeing how much Nia had enjoyed the carousel had been fun, Sawyer was more than ready for the next set of surprises this Valentine’s Day had in store. Charlie had taken Nia back to her house. He was thrilled to find out Morgan had packed a bag for the two of them so they could head to Pine River Cottages for the night.

“It’s where we began,” she’d said.

And, shit, he was glad his team had picked Pine River Cottages Mountain Resort to stay at when they’d had that particular game months ago. He was also thankful for the foul weather that night. A snowstorm had been the reason Morgan had shacked up at the cottages instead of going back to Montpelier where she’d been staying at a hotel with Austin. The stars had been aligned for him to meet her.

Meet her and fall totally in love with her.

She drove the SUV past the Pine River Cottages gates and pulled up in front of the cottage they’d stayed at the first time. “Isabel upgraded the two brothers who were staying in this cottage to a larger one so we could have it tonight.”

“We’d better make good use of it then.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

“We will.” Morgan opened her door. “Grab our bag in the back?”