Page 28 of The Nanny Goal

Two years has made her…brighter.

I search for words, fatigue making everything harder, more prickly. “Why are you in Hamilton?”

And why is she wearing my jersey?

Emery takes a deep breath and shrugs. “Oh, you know. The Grangers never miss an opportunity to do a hockey family road trip.” Her words are meant to sound light, but her voice is just as rough as my own.

As I stare at her, she shifts back and forth on her feet. “How is your mom?”

“She’s…” I trail off. I don’t know how to answer the question.

From a few chairs away, her parents rise and I’m vaguely aware of them joining us, but Emery is all I can really see.

“Emery was with your mom when they decided to call for the doctor,” her father says.

She ducks her head, visibly uncomfortable.

I feel rocked on my axis, as if my entire world has been moved by a cascading sequence of earthquakes.

She wasthere. In the arena.

I didn’t know.

I should have known.

I should have been on guard for that.

I always thought that if she was this close to me, I would know. Has she been at other games?

“We were hoping that there might be news tonight,” her mother says.

I shake my head.

I remember this intense Granger caretaking instinct from when Inessa was born. It’s very kind, but it’s also overwhelming at the best of times, and this is not that. Right now, I don’t have any answers. “She’s sleeping now. She’s being closely monitored.”

Each sentence is hard to get out, and as I find the words, Emery’s brows pinch together.

“Thank you for staying,” I add thickly. “And for bringing Inessa to me. I can take her home now. My father is going to stay here tonight. But you can go back to your hotel.”

Her parents nod and go back to their chairs, where they left their coats.

As they get dressed for outside, Emery tilts her head to the side, her blonde waves brushing her shoulder.

That fucking hair has haunted me for two years.

I want to wrap it around my fist and hold her still. Hold her down. Just…fucking hold her.

And that cannot happen.

That cannot happen under any circumstances.

An unexpected smile crooks at her mouth. “Your English has improved a lot.”

She sounds genuinely shocked, as if she hasn’t heard me in as long as I haven’t heard her. Maybe she really has stayed away.

“Surprised?”

“Maybe,” she says in a breathy rush that sends a jolt of inconvenient heat through me.

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