Page 10 of Worth the Risk
“That’s too bad.” I’m barely containing my relief at this news. On occasion mom or Colt has mentioned she’s on a date or out with a boyfriend and I always find myself relieved when I hear it ended. They wouldn’t deserve her anyway. She’s special. I’veknown this since I was 15 and mom brought her over to make cookies. Instead of getting sucked into the memory I focus on what she’s saying now.
“Eh, it’s fine.” she waves it off. “I think I need to just be single for a while anyway. Mare thinks I need to trycasual dating,” She scoffs. “I’m not sure I’ve ever done that.”
My heart sinks into my stomach.Casualand Winnie do not sound like a combination I’m okay with…she keeps going. “I’ve always been such a relationship girl. Maybe that’s the problem. I guess we’ll see.” She stands and I can see my time with her dwindling so I rush to put my two cents in.
“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be in a relationship.” she huffs a little laugh.
“This coming from you? The serial dater? The ‘hockey heartthrob' I've seen so much about? I’m surprised that’s your opinion.” Yeah I’m not sure why I thought she would take my advice on this subject. Even though I haven’t been that guy in years, it’s hard to live down a reputation like that. I cringe.
“That was a while ago, Winnie and you can’t believe everything you see in articles and on TV.” I’m not sure why, but it matters to me that she knows I’m not doing that and haven’t been for quite some time.
“Alright, that’s true,” she says as she takes a couple steps back but I can’t tell if she is accepting what I’ve said. “Thanks again for coming in, Rhett. Support from the new hockey coach is very appreciated.” She winks and my heartbeat instantly picks up. Does she know how truly captivating she is?
“You know I’ll always support you, Winnie.” Her face turns more serious.
“I do know that. Your family has always been there for me and Colt. I’ll always be thankful for it. See you around.” She’s walking through the door that hit her last night and back through the one to my heart. Distracted by that thought, I almostmiss the ink on the back of her neck as she slips away. I hadn’t noticed it last night.
“See you soon, Winnie,” I say into my coffee cup then proceed to buy a danish, cinnamon swirl muffin, and another cinnamon roll because I can’t decide on just one. I walk back to the hotel to shower and take a nap before I have to leave for lunch at mom and dads.
I slide the keycard into the door and walk inside. I strip my sweatpants and hoodie and turn the shower on. I’m still thinking about thatcasualcomment she made when referring to dating as I step under the spray. I’m not sure I have a right to feel any type of way about that, but I do. Winnie deserves a man who worships the ground she walks on, even if it’s not me. I want it to be me.
The one summer I had with her will definitely never be enough. I wanted more then, but she was set on us ending when I started my first year in the NHL that fall. We still talked, I wasn’t capable of cutting off communication with her. I called her after practice, and we would watch a movie. Afterwards she would analyze all the characters and I would listen to each one. It was her favorite way to watch a movie and so it became mine.
That only went on for so long before she got busy with something or hockey season picked up and I got busy with that. She made it to games with my family but I could tell she was putting distance between us. I was too prideful to ask her. Women were throwing themselves at me weekly. I was annoyed that she wasn’t also. Ah, I had so much growing up to do.
One summer I came home on a break and Colt told me she was busy. She was busy a lot that summer and continued to be on most of my visits. I didn’t ask Colt too many questions because I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea…or the right one more like, but I asked my mom about Winnie every chance I got. She directed me to go to the source if I had questions aboutWinnie’s life. That didn’t feel like something I could do at the time. But now? Now I really just wanted to talk to her.
I think back to Winnie’s comment about me being a serial dater and she’s not really wrong. I dated a lot over the years. I had one relationship that lasted six months. She came to every game and seemed like the most supportive girlfriend. I remember her being bothered by my friendship with Winnie. Thankfully I realized she wasn’t the one and broke things off with her, but she still tried to come around. Kept coming to games and even told a hospital once after we hadn’t been together for months that I was her boyfriend.
I felt bad for her until it turned out she was more attracted to just being with an NHL player and it didn’t really matter which one. I caught her making out with a guy from an opposing team after being dragged to a bar by my teammates to celebrate a win. I only wish I hadn’t wasted so much time on her. After that, I decided I wanted to keep my focus on hockey. No relationships. Talking with Winnie has really made me rethink a lot of the decisions I’ve made.
I get out of the shower and check the time, lunch isn’t until 11:30 and it’s only 6:30 now. I lay down letting myself relax and realize I’m even more tired than I thought. So, I set my alarm and let myself drift off thinking about Winnie and her dark hair barely contained with that clip this morning, the tattoo I spotted on the back of her neck, the way she bit her full lower lip, and the bit of flour on her forehead.
Iended up making it to mom and dads at 11:45 and am greeted with the front door swinging open before I can turn the handle.
“Rhett!” My baby sister Florence squeals and she jumps into my arms. I half carry, half drag her with me as I walk through the front door.
“Hey, baby Lo. It’s so good to see you!” She gives me a tight squeeze then releases me. “When I got to the hotel yesterday, you looked busy with check-ins.” I hold her out and look at her. “When did you grow up on me?”
Florence is the baby of the family. A surprise to my parents nine years after having me, she’s never wanted for anything in her life. With three older brothers that would do anything for her and parents too old to tell her no, it's a miracle we didn’t turn her into a spoiled brat. She’s actually turned out to be the sweetest one of us all. She’s incredibly smart and driven and hasbeen running the family hotel for two years. In that time she’s exceeded expectations and improved on what was already there.
“I’m 23, Rhett,” She says like I don’t know how old she is. “When are you gonna stop calling me baby Lo?” She’s asked this before and I give her the same answer.
“Never. The name stays. Along with all the special treatment from your whole family.” We both chuckle because it’s true. “Speaking of…where’s everybody else?”
“They are all out back, waiting for you to get here.” I grin.
“Well I better go make everyone's day then.” I wink and Lo rolls her eyes, following me through the house and out the back glass doors to the deck. I see my dad first. He’s at the grill talking to mom, making her laugh. She sits on a cushioned chair angled towards dad, holding a glass of wine. The sight makes me grin. Someday I want what they have.
“Hello? I heard you’ve been waiting on my arrival to get this thing started.” Mom whips her head to me and laughs as she stands to give a hug. Dad follows behind her. When he turns I see his apron.Caution: extremely Hot, and so is the food.It’s one mom got him. He has a whole collection now that we’ve gifted him over the years. It’s so good to see them. They both visited after my injury. Mom even stayed for a couple weeks to help me get settled and take me back and forth to physical therapy.
“Hey son.” My dad slaps my back as he pulls me to him. “It’s good to have you home. Settle in at the hotel okay?”
“It’s really good to be home. Yeah, the hotels fine. I sign the papers on the new house right after I leave here and I’ll move in this weekend.” His eyebrows raise in surprise.
“Well that was fast. Did you get an inspection? When did you even have time to look at it?”
“I’ve looked at it plenty of times and I had my agent make sure it was inspected and the report has been gone over multipletimes by myself and a professional. Knox looked over it as well as the contract for me, too.”
