Page 7 of The Closed Off Captain

“Is it a boy?”

It’s my turn to snort. “What am I? Five?”

She grins. “So, it is a boy.”

“No, Grandma May. It’s not a boy.” I shake my head. “Man.”

“Yeah, I guess Big C would be a man, not a boy, wouldn’t he?”

I play a card and refuse to react to her words. Speaking of Gunner, though, my mind runs through all the things I discovered on Jenny’s page today. I make a mental note tocontact Vic, one of the team’s lawyers, to ask if there’s anything we can do at this stage.

“See? That face right there. That’s what I’m talking about.”

Grandma May’s words snap me back to reality. “I’m just trying to think through a problem at work.”

“What kind of problem?”

I debate telling her, and then finally just do it. She’s a good sounding board anyway. I tell her everything that I know about Jenny. “She’s a witch.”

“Grandma, you can’t call people that.”

“Well, I’d call her that b- word, but I don’t want lighting to fall from heaven for saying a swear word. Now, what are you going to do about her?”

I lay my cards down and tally the points. “I’m not sure yet. I’m going to call one of the team’s lawyers tomorrow and see what we can do legally, but I’m not sure it will be a whole lot. And knowing Big C, he won’t want to do anything to her.” I usually use his nickname when I’m with Grandma May, just so she knows who we’re talking about, since she refuses to call him anything else.

“Hmmm. You know what he needs, right?”

“I shudder to think.” I deal seven cards to each of us and take a look at my hand. It’s a dud. Again.

“He needs a girlfriend. No, a fiancé. Nobody would bother him if that’s what he had.”

I look at her, ready to make a wisecrack; but then her words sink in. I sit back against my chair and think about it. “You know, I think you might be on to something.”

“Of course, I am. Grandpa Jim didn’t marry me for just my body.”

I smile at her words, even as my heart tugs. I wrap my hand around hers. It seems simultaneously like he’s been gone foronly a day and for years. It’s hard to believe it’s been almost five years. “I miss him too.”

Chapter 4

Chloe

I think about Grandma May’s words all night and the next morning when I wake up. I find myself pausing my audiobook after only a few minutes into my commute, so I can let my mind think through Gunner’s particular problem. “If he had a sudden fiancé,” I muse out loud, thinking back to Grandma May’s suggestion. “Nobody would believe that this Jenny is legit, especially if he starts appearing everywhere with another woman.” The more I think about it, the more I like the idea. We’ve already been down this road with both Aiden and Sebastian. “Okay, so the next thing is to find him a woman.” I don’t really hang out with any women my age, so I don’t have any suggestions. My thought would be to pull in his closest friends and teammates and ask their wives. I run through them mentally—Amber, Brielle, and Stephanie. Surely, one of them has a friend who’d be willing to date the captain of the Green Thunder. I shake my head. That’s a dumb thought.Anybodywould jump at a chance to date him.

After parking, I put on my blazer, grab my coffee and bag and stride towards the door. A quick glance in the glass door shows that everything is on point from my hair that’s pulled back into a bun, to my makeup, my blazer and hot pink blouse, black skirt and black pumps. I relish the chance to wear something besides green for the day. These days are few and far between. As I walk to my office, I make a mental note of all the things I need to add to my to-do list for the day.

The building is mostly quiet, which is perfect, and the reason I come so early. Once the players, coaches, and staff and everybody else that works in this building get here, it’s a madhouse, and I feel like I have a revolving door. I live for the quiet hour or so I get in the morning before the chaos starts. My peace is disrupted before I even get to my office. My steps slow when I take in the large form standing next to my office door. “Coftman, what are you doing here so early?”

Gunner turns toward me. “Waiting for you. Did you figure anything out over the weekend?”

I lift an eyebrow. “Your desperation is showing.”

I open my office door and stride inside, dropping my bag next to my desk and opening the blinds. I sit behind my desk and glance at my to-do list for today. I start adding the four things that came to mind as I walked in this morning. When I finish writing down the second one, I look up and see Gunner is still standing. “You can sit.” I motion to one of two chairs in front of my desk.

“I’ll stand.”

I shrug and finish writing what I’m working on. When I finish, I look up and catch him staring at me. I quickly look back down. Looking at Gunner, specifically at his piercing gaze—those eyes that can only be described as bright blue, almost teal—is hazardous for my heart. All I know is that they’re intense, and when the full force of his attention is focused on me, it always makes me lose the professional cool I pride myself in having. Needing something to do to keep my focus on besides him, I open my bag and pull out my laptop and open my email. “I am working on a plan. I will have something concrete for you soon. Check in with me before you leave today.” When he doesn’t say anything, I chance looking back up at him, and take in the look of frustration. I lean back in my chair. “I told you I would take care of this Coftman, and I will do just that.”

He gives me a tight nod and walks over to the door. “I’ll stop by later.”

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