Page 76 of Comeback
“No,” I said. “I’m going back to Dallas.”
Her eyes widened. “Wait—are you saying you’re going back to hockey?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Don’t know if I’ll be any good still. My teammates think so, but we’ll see, eh.”
She wrapped her arms around me tight. “I’m so happy for you, Jack. You’ll be great. What changed your mind?”
“A long talk with Dane and Reavo.” I paused. “And losing you.”
“You haven’t lost me. You haven’t lost me at all.” She looked up at me with an uncertain tinge in her eye. “But … maybe you’d rather do it alone?”
“No. I want you with me. You and Mackenzie both.”
Her eyes went wild. “Kiss me,” she demanded.
“Can’t.” I gestured at the Range Rover. “Mack might see,” I warned.
“I don’t care,” she said. “You’ve earned it.”
I didn’t need to be told twice. I planted my lips against hers and our somber mouths bonded in a soulful embrace.
“I won’t let anything happen to you or Mackenzie. I swear, I’ll be the man you can both be proud of.” I kissed the top of her head and whispered, “I love you, Emma.”
“God, I love you, too, Jack,” she said, leaping to her tiptoes so our mouths could meet again.
I looked at the house. The police had hauled Trevor away, but there was still an ominous sense about it—the trauma too recent, too fresh. The whole place had an eerie vibe.
“You guys shouldn’t stay here tonight,” I said. “Should we get you and Mackenzie a hotel room? Or … would you like to stay at my place? I’ve got plenty of room. You know that. And I know it’s probably too soon, but—”
She put her finger over my lips to mute me.
“Your place,” she whispered, before we kissed again.
Chapter 31
Emma
Three weeks later.
It was funny how something so horrible could bring so many people together. Ever since that awful night, seven of us all lived at Jack’s house—Jack, Mackenzie, Nicole, Jeff, Dane, Reavo, and me. Jack said his house went from being “eerily quiet” and feeling “almost haunted” to feeling like a bustling village all its own.
Jack planned to move back to Dallas before the season began; the only question waswhen. There wasn’t much of a rush just yet because hockey was still in its off-season. The other question was if Mackenzie and I were going to join him, and if so, when. He also promised me that I didn’thaveto move with him just yet if I felt the timing wasn’t right—I could stay behind and live at his lake house for as long as I needed. We wouldn’t see each other much, and only a day or two at a time, but he promised we’d find time to talk every day.
That was tempting, because I didn’t have any interest in ever stepping foot in the old house again, for obvious reasons. Just moving my things out of there was enough to give me chills. I felt like Trevor was lurking right behind me the whole time, breathing down my neck. Jack talked me into taking time off work Perry’s, too. He wants me to quit outright—but I’m not ready for thatjustyet. I do want to work again. I don’t know what I’d do if I wasn’t working—especially once Mackenzie starts daycare.
Speaking of Mackenzie, I was worried that Trevor’s psychotic appearance in our lives would stunt her progress in a bad way. And I’m not saying itdidn’taffect her—she’s been terrified of her nightmares, where a bad man breaks into the house late at night.
At the same time, I think that having so many people around the house has been great for her. There’s always someone to talk to, something to do, andsheis always talking, too. She’s been seeing the child psychologist once a week now. The psych says she’s doing great—and while she has told the doctor about the time “that bad man” was taken away by the police, she doesn’t seem to remember or grasp the fact that the bad man was, in fact, her biological father. No, whenever the doctor asks about her father, she’smuchmore interested in talking about Jack and Uncle Dane and Uncle Reavo and Uncle Jeff and all the fun things she gets to do with the guys—but especially Jack, because he’s her “best fishing friend.”
Jack didn’t want Nicole and Jeff to go back to a house with such bad memories, either—so he invited them to move into his mansion, too. They moved into the guest house above the boat house, which gives Nicole a quiet space to do her work from during the day, and it also gives them their own “meat-free” space to escape to when the rest of us are cooking dinner—although they’ve gotten better about being around the sight and smell of meat without turning pale and looking like they’re going to get sick.
Jack even told them they could stay in his Bayfield house rent-free for as long as they wanted, too. Once he heads back to Dallas and starts his hockey career again, he obviously won’t be needing the house. They wanted to pay a monthly rent, but in typical Jack fashion, he wouldn’t name a price and he certainly wouldn’t accept whatever cash they tried to offer up. What hedidaccept, however, was Jeff’s offer to take care of Jack’s lawn and landscaping. (Although the stubborn athlete still tries to pay Jeff for his work …)
Then, of course, there was Dane and Reavo—ahh, who could forget Dane and Reavo? Apparently they hated their hotel and didn’t want to go back, either. Jack made sure it was fine with me if they stayed with us. I was a little uncertain at first—because Dane had left an awful first impression on me. But since getting to know him, I’ve realized he was only mad at Jack for the way he left the Devils. They’ve worked through their issues and they’re best friends again. Now, I can’t stress enough what a great guy Dane is, and what a fun time it’s been having him and Reavo around.
Obviously, Reavo is a wonderful guy, too. He likes to throw Mackenzie high up into the air—high enough that her mom can’t bear to watch—before he catches her. He calls it his “shoulder exercise.” Mack obviously loves it—she’ll squeal and laugh and drool all over Reavo’s shirt until he’s too worn out to throw her anymore.
During the day, the three athletes push each other hard on their summer workouts together, trying to get in game shape for the coming season. That’s right, there are nowthreemysterious “RollerBlade Guys” charging around the streets of Bayfield … although Reavo’s skating is somewhat limited, thanks to his knee injury. Nicole has him doing all sorts of yoga and stretches to ease the pain. It’s so hilarious to see people from such different walks of life getting along and sharing knowledge.
