Page 32 of Cassie
“Good eye.” Hoss waited, and Faith gave him a trembling smile. “Now, we’re in the box tonight, so I want you to behave.”
“Dad.” She rolled her eyes. “When do I ever not behave?”
He gestured towards the door to the garage, letting Faith move in front of him. They were down the two steps and beside the truck when he dropped the hammer on her hopes. “When you eyeball Jonny like you want to climb him like a tree. You are not nearly old enough to be running after a boy like that, Faynez.” Her gasp made him grin. “Thought you had a secret, huh?”
“Dad.” Faith’s exasperation was clear in her tone, his name gaining several syllables in how she drew it out.
“I remember the day you were set on marrying Garrett in Uncle Mason’s living room.” Hoss angled his head so she couldn’t see his smile as he folded into the truck and jammed the keys into the ignition. “You swapping your allegiance, honey? Poor boy’s gonna be devastated.”
“God.” She huffed as she threw herself into the seat next to him, already digging in her back pocket for her phone. “Kill me now.”
“Not sayin’ Jonny’s a better bet than Garrett. Boy’s good, but he’s older, honey. Life’s changed for him over the past couple of years. I’m also not sayin’ Gar’s a better bet than Jon-boy, either. Both boys are good, I’ll give you that.” He opened the garage door and twisted the keys. Shifting smoothly to pull out of the garage, Hoss glanced at Faith, catching a glimpse of her bright red face.She’s really embarrassed. It was time to cut her some slack. “But, my girl deserves the best. So…” He changed topics, giving her a chance to regain her composure. “Who are we playing tonight?”
***
Hoss kept his binoculars trained across the rink, following Cassie’s every move. It was near the end of the first period, and she’d seemed settled, eager to watch the team skate. He hadn’t told her he would be in the arena tonight, hadn’t mentioned the club kept a box, so she wasn’t watching for him.
He grinned when she lifted a hand, fingers curled into a fist so she could give a knuckle-pound to some of the boys as they came off the ice. A pane of heavy plastic separated them, but that didn’t seem to dilute her pleasure. There was an empty seat beside her that called to him and he glanced at the clock. Four minutes left in the period could be upwards of fifteen or more with penalties, so he likely had time to hit up a concession stand on his way over if he wanted.You’ve already decided to go, old man. Just go already.
“Faynez.” Hoss lifted his voice to call to his daughter where she played with Fury’s little girl. Faith’s head rose, and Hope’s steady gaze looked back at him. Caught off guard, Hoss stilled, breath locked in his lungs. This was another precious moment when their child so resembled her mother, and he wanted to hold it in his hands, wanted to take a snapshot of it in his mind so he could transfer the memory to canvas later.
“Yeah, Daddy?” She tipped her head to the side and quirked her lips sideways as she considered him. “Looks like you’re going somewhere. You fixin’ to take a walk?”
“Yup, found someone I wanna talk to.”
Rolling her eyes, she angled back towards Beauty. Laughter was thick in her voice when she dismissed him with a rolling, “Duh.”
“What’s that mean, baby girl?” He studied her back, the shaking of her shoulders. Beauty stared into Faith’s face, a broad smile brightening her features as she reflected Faith’s hilarity.
Her answer came quickly as she sang, “Nothing.” Faith waved a hand over her head, not deigning to turn around. “Go for your walk, Daddy. Finally. I’ll be here.”
Fury’s amused voice came from beside him. “She’s got you pegged, man. Might as well tell her.”
“She already knows. I just didn’t tell her Cassie would be here tonight.” After the infamous run he’d drawn Cassie into, every member of the Fort Wayne chapter, as well as some members from other chapters, knew all about Cassie. Tugboat and Deke, along with Tequila and Mojo had all been free with their praise of her, talking her up all around the clubhouse and club businesses. It was likely Faith had heard a few of those stories, as well as others told not skimping on details such as how possessive Hoss had behaved at the diner.
“Go on, I’ll watch your girl.” Fury gave his shoulder a squeeze. “Go find your woman.”
My woman. Whatever expression he wore had to be telling, because Fury’s mouth stretched in a broad grin. Hoss shook his head and muttered, “Asshole.”
A commotion rose from near the box entrance and Hoss turned to see Mason strolling in with Willa trailing behind him. Garrett, their boy, followed in and took a moment to glance around before making a beeline for where Faith sat with Beauty.
A few casual words later and the buzzer sounded, marking the end of the first period, and Hoss was still no nearer his goal. Fury closed in behind him and muttered, “Go when you need to.” Hoss nodded, made his apologies, and left, striding through a mass of people leaving their seats for the promise of overpriced soft drinks and salty junk food.
Having been a fixture at the arena for so long had its advantages, and Hoss quickly made his way to one of the out-of-the-way vendors. Leaving there with a tray of drinks and snacks, he dodged between groups and made his way to the entrance closest to Cassie’s seat. Standing at the top of the steep steps leading down to ice level, he saw she was still seated.Perfect. There’d been no one in the two seats nearest her during the earlier part of the game, which should leave him free to stay next to her when play resumed after the intermission.
Standing at the end of the row, he watched her for a moment. Cassie’s focus was on her phone, thumbs tapping at the screen. She lifted it closer to her face and apparently satisfied with what she saw, poked at it with one fingertip before dropping it to her lap and covering her face. Hoss’ phone vibrated in his pocket. He juggled the tray for a moment to dig the device out and looked at the screen.How’s your night going?So few words to account for the amount of time she’d spent typing it meant she had agonized over what to say, how to connect with him tonight.
He quickly typed back,Well. Yours?
An instant after he hit Send, she jolted and dropped her hands, fumbling for her phone. She studied it a moment, then went to work on the screen again, thumbs tapping out an inconsistent beat. Finally, she poked at the screen again, and her one-word response flashed on his phone.Yes. She groaned and tipped her chin down. “Why can’t I be a normal human being? ‘Yes.’ Could I shut down a conversation any faster? Ugh.”
Hoss grinned. He’d wondered how much of her he’d been getting in their interactions, and this told him more than she probably would want exposed. She cared, and he mattered to her. With that knowledge, he felt like he was on top of the world, ready to take on all comers for the prize.Her. My Cassie.
“Pretty much any question you wanna ask me, I’m gonna answer with yes, Cassie.” Careful of her feelings, Hoss pitched his voice for her ears only. At his first word, she whirled to face him, cheeks pinking. One step at a time, he made his way up the row, talking as he paced towards where she sat. “You want me to come over? The answer is yes. Wanna hang out with me at the bar? Yes, again. Dinner? That’s affirmative, honey. Hockey game? You betcha.” He stood in front of her, staring down into her shining eyes. Hoss remembered his thoughts the first time they’d spoken and smiled softly as he planned his next few words. “Want a personal tour of my private gallery? Oh, yeah. I’d be down for that. Mmhmm, anytime.” He pretended to leer until she smiled broadly, shaking her head in amusement. “Come on over and I’ll show you my sketches, baby.” She giggled, and the sound was so light and free it broke the bonds holding his chest tight. More confident than he’d felt in a long time, he gave Cassie a promise, the words resonating through him. “The only no you’ll hear from me is if you try to give me my walkin’ papers. That’d be not just a no, but a hell no. May I join you?”
Wordlessly, she indicated the seat next to her, and he grinned as he settled into it.
After what could have been a heavy start to their evening, he kept things light, pleased when Cassie followed his lead. Hoss pointed out all the resident characters, fans of the team he knew personally and by reputation. She laughed and angled towards him in her seat, focusing her attention on him in that way she had of making him feel like the only thing within her orbit. He took a chance and leaned in to offer another handful of popcorn. He withdrew the offer at the last moment, capturing her mouth in a gentle kiss instead. She made a low sound far back in her throat, and his cock jerked when he felt the heat of her palm settle on his thigh as she steadied herself against his tender approach.
