Page 39 of Goaltender Interference

“Yes!” She giggled. “Daddy suggested it and I thought it was sooo funny.”

“It’s pretty funny,” Jesse agreed with a smile, moving his hand a little to make their arms swing.

Connor glanced over at Nolan who gave him a little shrug like he found them amusing too.

Evie had always been a friendly kid. She was a chatterbox and a little bossy—or assertive, as Viv liked to say—but even by Evie’s standards, she’d taken to Jesse quicker than most.

Maura was a lot more reserved than her older sister, so it was hard to tell what she thought, though the fact that she’d let Jesse help with her coat earlier said something. She usually retreated when there were strangers around.

Honestly, Jesse kept surprising Connor in many ways.

He wasgreatwith kids and he’d quickly won Viv over. Not completely, but he’d demolished the first layer of her wariness with ease and it had been nice to see her look more relaxed and comfortable with the idea of Jesse living in the house this season.

And, well, Nolan was all about hanging out with his friends, so Connor suspected he didn’t care much about Jesse either way. Though Connor also suspected that if Jesse liked to play video games or was willing to shoot the puck with Nolan, he’d win him over quickly too.

“This is Grandma’s and Grandpa’s house!” Evie said a few minutes later, marching up to the door with Jesse in tow. She immediately opened it, hollering for her grandparents.

“There’s my girl!” a deep voice boomed.

Evie let go of Jesse so her grandfather could pick her up. His naturally stern face was soft when he kissed the top of her head.

“Hi, Grandpa!” she said happily.

“Hi, Peanut. You’re getting so tall! I’m not gonna be able to pick you up like this much anymore if you keep this up. I’m old now.”

Connor chuckled. His father didn’t look old.

Declan O’Shea was still an incredibly imposing figure, a few inches taller than Connor, with broad shoulders and thick armsand thighs. He certainly hadn’t slacked off on his workouts since his retirement, though his red hair and beard were a lot more peppered with white than they used to be.

Declan shifted Evie to his hip and held out a hand. “And you must be Jesse. Welcome to Boston.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Oh no, none of that. Just call me Declan. Everyone does, including my sons.” He winked.

Connor laughed softly. He’d only played pro hockey with his father for half a season but his brothers Finn and Pat had played with him for several years and they still often fell into the habit.

There were a flurry of greetings as Declan said hi to his grandkids and to Connor.

“Oh! You’re here early!” Connor’s mother said, appearing in the doorway. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Connor said, kissing her cheek. “Ma, this is Jesse.”

“Welcome, Jesse!” Catherine O’Shea said warmly. “Although, technically we already met at the wedding.”

“Right, right,” Connor said, willing his ears to not turn red. He’d nearly had a heart attack seeing Jesse sitting at a table with his family at brunch.

He hadn’t been at his best that morning, hungover and a little bit freaked out about the fact that he’d hooked up with a guy, thenreallyfreaked out and pissed about the trade. He realized now that he had been too harsh with Jesse about that. Connor was sure Jesse hadn’t had a clue about the trade until the moment heread about it on his phone, and Connor shouldn’t have accused him of being manipulative.

Jesse was a lot of things—immature, a little bratty, an all-around disaster in many ways—but manipulative didn’t seem to be one of them.

Should Connor apologize? Ugh, he probably should.

But, thankfully, he didn’t have to worry about it now, not when everyone was kicking off their shoes and stepping into the house, talking over one another while they made their way downstairs to the rec area where they often congregated.

Connor’s parents’ six-bedroom brick townhouse was less than a ten-minute walk from his place—even when the kids were dragging their heels—and he was grateful to have found something so close. The townhouse had been built in the 1860s. It was the one he and his siblings had grown up in, and it had undergone numerous renovations over the years.

It was clean, bright, and open now, perfect for all of the hosting his parents did.

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