Page 8 of Make Your Shot
CHAPTER FOUR
MIA
“Miss Mia!”
A smile pulls across my lips at the sound of Posey’s voice as I step into the family room at the arena. Her step-dad, Lincoln Matthews, plays for the Aston Archers and I see her mom sitting on one of the couches, waving from across the room.
Posey climbs off the couch, leaving Nova there with another one of the wives. “Miss Mia, look!” She runs over to me, almost barreling into me as she holds up a piece of paper for me to look at. I immediately crouch down to her level, taking it from her.
“Oh my goodness, I love it!” My smile spreads across my face as I hand it back to her. “You’re so talented, Poe!”
“Miss Mia,” another voice calls from my other side. I slowly spin on my heels, turning to see Matteo, Carson Ford’s son, holding out a piece of paper. “Look at mine.”
Posey scoffs, but doesn’t say anything as I take the picture from Matteo, inspecting his drawing like I did Posey’s.
“These are both really good, you guys,” I tell them, nodding as I take in the colorful swirls of crayon across the page. “We should have a competition. A draw off.”
Matteo’s face lights up. “I know I’ll win.”
“Will not,” Posey snorts, moving over to Matteo to stand in my line of sight. “My drawings are better than yours.”
“Wrong,” another child’s voice cuts in.
A little girl who could pass as Matteo’s sister walks up behind them. Estella Ford. Caleb Ford’s daughter.
She’s a sassy, fierce little thing. Truly, she’s a force to be reckoned with.
“Hey, Tella,” I say softly, smiling at her as she moves to stand between Posey and Matteo, crossing her arms over her chest. “Did you draw something too?”
She rolls her lips between her teeth, shaking her head. “Not yet.”
“Would you like to enter the drawing competition?”
Tella levels her gaze on mine, lifting a dark brow above her blue grey eyes, as if to challenge me. “What do I win?”
“You’re not gonna win, Tella,” Matteo mumbles, rolling his eyes at his cousin.
Tella doesn’t respond. She doesn’t even bother to look at him. Instead, she looks at me, waiting for a response. But my attention is pulled to the opposite side of the room. Caleb is there talking quietly to Andi, his brother Carson’s fiancée. He drags a frustrated handdown his tense face, gripping his chin as his gaze collides with mine.
My breath catches in my throat as his stare lingers for a second, before his hand falls away from his face. Andi’s lips move, pulling his attention once more.
“Miss Mia?” Tella questions me, her head tilting to the side. I immediately clear my throat, glancing back at her.What did she ask? Oh right, a prize.
“Well, I don’t know. What do you guys think the winner should get?”
Matteo and Posey immediately start talking over one another as Tella looks past me, her eyes squinting as if she’s trying to come up with an answer.
“Poe, can you come here for a second?” Nova, her mother, calls out to her from where she’s sitting next to Hadley, Rowan Taylor’s fiancé. Rowan’s the star goalie for the Aston Archers and his daughter Lucy is the cutest little baby girl.
Hadley bounces Lucy on her lap as Lucy’s little face crumbles. She’s about to start crying. Posey trots over, immediately going to Lucy to try to make her smile. I watch the two of them for a moment, a smile tugging on my lips as Lucy giggles and reaches for Posey.
Matteo is the next to go and I slowly stand upright as he walks away, heading over to where Riley’s standing, bouncing her baby on her hip. Andi turns away from the door, where Caleb no longer lingers. It’s like a big family tree here.
I look down at Tella for a moment, who lingers by my leg, slowly surveying the room. I know bits of Tella’s story. Her mother passed away just before herfirst birthday and her father Caleb has been raising her as a single dad since.
My eyes follow after Tella's, my eyebrows pulling together as I realize there isn’t an unfamiliar face here. Caleb’s previous nanny, Gloria, is nowhere to be seen. I overheard Riley and Andi talking recently about how she was retiring, so I’m not surprised she isn’t here.
However, I can’t help but wonder who’s responsible for Tella right now.
