Page 141 of Bleacher Report
Isla notices me first, then Cammy, then all the girls.
They cheer, banging on the glass like we just won the Stanley Cup.
I smile, cheeks burning.
But just as I reach my seat, I stop—someone’s sitting there.
"Excuse me, I think this is my—"
The woman turns.
"Carly?"
She beams. "There you are! I’ve been waiting an hour."
She immediately jumps up and hugs me. It takes me a second to connect with what's happening, and then I stretch my arms around her too.
Finally, we both pull back from our hug.
"What are you doing here? Should you even be traveling? I thought you were starting treatment."
She pats the seat beside her. "Next month. I’m getting settled first. The moving van just got here."
I blink. "Settled? Where?"
"In the guest house behind the house that Hunter just bought. It’s in that nice subdivision where all the retired players live,”she tells me as if this news doesn’t have more questions that are bubbling up. I have no idea where to even start now. “And I believe that Hunter told me Coach Haynes lives three doors down."
I sit, stunned. "Hunter...bought a house in Seattle? I don’t understand…why?"
"Because he didn't take the trade. He's staying,” I hear a voice, and someone flips around in front of me in their seat.
Jesse.
Now I feel like I’m in a tailspin.What is going on?
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
"We were invited," a deep male voice echoes next to him. A voice I've known since childhood.
My brother, with Abby sitting to the right of him, my mom on the left.
"Oh my God! You’re home!" I say, as he stands from the seat in front of me and we hug. “I’m so confused as to why all of you are here.”
"We're here for you and Hunter sweetheart,” Carly says.
“And the moving van you just mentioned? I thought you already told Hunter that you wouldn’t move.”
“I was waiting for my doctor to find me an opening in Seattle. I didn't want Hunter to be let down if nothing opened up in time. But the rest of it... Well, that's the fun part...and you'll have to wait and see. Hunter wants to tell you all about it."
The lights dim.
The jumbotron flares to life.
A close-up shot appears.
Of a sticky note.
Shaped like a bulldog.
