Page 71 of One Kind Goal

“Swimming?” Nia’s dark eyebrows shot up to her curly hair. “In the winter?”

“Indoors, Nia-bunny,” Sawyer said, turning more to see her.

“A pool inside?”

“A heated pool inside,” Morgan said.

“I don’t think Mommy packed me a bathing suit,” Nia said.

“We can improvise,” Sawyer said.

“What’s that mean?”

“It means we’ll look at what your mom did pack you and get creative,” Morgan said.

“Okay!”

“Great.” Sawyer started the SUV and drove down Austin’s driveway. “I can’t wait for you to meet my teammates, Nia. They are a fun bunch.”

“They are fun,” Morgan said. “I loved meeting them when we first met.”

“They loved meeting you,” Sawyer said. “I think half of them hoped you’d choose them.”

Morgan laughed. “Some of them are handsome.”

Sawyer frowned and shot her a sideways glare. “You’re not allowed to say that.”

She reached over and hooked her little finger around his that peeked from his cast. “It’s a fact, Mr. Center Forward. They’re handsome, but you, however, are extremely handsome.”

“And that’s why you picked me?”

“No, I picked you because you helped me up when I fell,” she squeezed his finger. “That told me you were about more than . . . scoring goals. You were kind too.”

Sawyer brought her hand up to his mouth and pressed a soft kiss to her knuckles. “Well, I’m glad you fell then.”

She pulled her hand free and swatted him. “Sawyer!”

“What? I am.” He caught her hand again. “I’m also glad Brett didn’t run over to help you before I did.” The possibility that one of his buddies could have snagged Morgan’s attention instead made him downright panicky.

“The Universe apparently wanted us to meet.”

“I like the Universe.” He kissed her hand again then looked in the rearview mirror at Nia who was holding her purple giraffe up to the window so it could see outside. “No, I love the Universe.”

They arrived at the cottages after several ABCs sing-alongs with Nia. Morgan made it fun by varying the style in which they’d sung. The Celine Dion version may have been his favorite, with the death metal one a close second. A woman who could get her voice to sound like both an angel’s and the Devil’s himself was a keeper.

A woman who turned a tank top and a pair of sleep shorts into a bathing suit for a four-year-old was also a handy gal to have around. Fortunately, both Sawyer and Morgan had packed swimsuits for themselves, and thank the heavens, Morgan’s was a black bikini that highlighted all her . . . highlights. Sawyer had to bite back a desire-filled groan when she emerged from the bathroom wearing it.

“If that pool isn’t heated,” he whispered to her in the hallway, “it will be.” He trailed a fingertip along her arm then ducked into the bedroom to pull on his trunks. He rather enjoyed the expression on Morgan’s face when she got a look at him.

“I’m upgrading you from extremely handsome to outrageously handsome,” she said, throwing his T-shirt at him. “Now cover all that up so you don’t freeze on the walk to the pool.”

He slid on the T-shirt then slipped into his jacket, slapping his baseball hat on his head. Nia had her snowsuit on over her makeshift swimsuit, and Morgan wrapped her coat around herself. They all poked their feet into their snow boots and trekked to the pool.

The giant room was warm. A huge rectangular pool took up the center of it. The building around the pool was timber framed, but instead of solid walls, it had windows all around the perimeter and enormous skylights on the roof. The snowy woods surrounding the building was a perfect winter wonderland.

“It’s as if the pool is still outside even though it’s inside,” Morgan said.

“Yeah.” Sawyer turned in a circle after shedding his coat and boots and helping Nia out of her winter gear. “Isabel sure knows how to do the amenities up big.”