Page 18 of Love of the Game
We headed to the other part of the house, and climbed up to the second floor. Thor followed. Loki didn’t.
Of course, when I opened the guest room door, Thor ran right in, trilling his little head off. “Sorry, he loves these rooms, but I’ve been keeping the cats out of here, just in case?—”
“Oh, that’s okay.” Drake wheeled his large suitcase near to the side, then crouched. “Come here, buddy. I’ll let you hang with me.” He held out his hand, and Thor, the loaf that he was, rubbed against Drake’s fingers and started purring like a bike engine. “You got the names from the Marvel movies?”
“No, from Norse Eddas.” I said, and when confusion swirled in Drake’s expression, I added. “Tales. Prose. Poetry. Norse mythology.” When Thor rubbed against me, I bent and gave him scritches on the head. “They’re like gods, you know? Cats. Or at leasttheythink they are.”
Drake chuckled, low and soft. “Yeah. I know hockey players like that.”
“Don’t we all.” I thought of Adam, then shook my head. Thankfully, Drake wasn’t that way—quite the opposite, in fact. “Let’s get the rest of your things, and I’ll show you around. House isn’t too huge, but there’s space.”
“Well, it’s larger than my place in Pittsburghandyou have land.” He followed me down and back out to his SUV. “It’ll be good to save some cash. Still have to pay rent there, and now my salary…”
He hefted another large suitcase out of the SUV, and I grabbed a carry-on-sized roller bag.
I winced. “You’re still on your ECC… shit.” That was a two-way contract. Meaning he got paid a whole lot less here than when he was in the NAPH. “I know a good finance guy if you…”
He shook his head, but there was a small smile on his lips. “First thing Mom had me do when I signed with the Lions was to talk to a sports financial advisor. I’ll be fine. It’s just…” That smile slipped away. “It kind of sucks. To… well… suck. Then go on waivers and realize no one else wants you because you?—”
I cut him off. “You don’t suck. You’re having a rough patch.”
He grunted, and didn’t answer until we deposited the last of his things into the guest room—his room, at least for now. “Lions didn’t want me, Jon.”
God. He looked much as he did before. Beaten down and heaping all of the blame onto himself again.
So I pulled him into a hug. He sucked in a breath, but also relaxed and wrapped his arms around me. “You’re wrong. They want you.”
“They want the player I was last season.”
“You are that player.” I felt him inhale to reply, so I hugged him tighter. “Think, Dragon, think. If they didn’t want you, they wouldn’t have waived you.”
He went still, and I pulled back so I could see his face. Those blue eyes were full of emotions. Hurt, disappointment. Confusion. But all of that shifted to something calmer, and then he met my gaze. “They didn’t trade me. They could’ve traded me.”
I nodded. “They took a risk, waiving you to send you here, but they did it tokeepyou. Yes, they want that player you were last year and theyknowyou’re that player. You just need to find your game.”
He slid his hands from my body, so I let him go.
“Will you help me?” Those damn blue eyes of his. Still full of worry and hurt, but also a hint of hope.
“Of course.” It came out as a whisper.
And that’s when Loki sauntered into the room and squawked for attention.
Drake started. “How is a cat that big that quiet, and what was that meow?”
“He’s only that quiet when he wants to be. Usually the floorboards rattle when he walks.” I stooped to give Loki his due. “And he’s a butter muffin. Don’t let his size scare you.”
Drake squatted down and offered his hand to Loki, who promptly mashed his face into it, and started purring deep and loud.
“Oh shit,” Drake said. “Heissoft. Does he like snuggling?”
I chuckled. “If you leave your door cracked tonight, I can almost guarantee he’ll abandon me for you.” I mean, who wouldn’t want to curl up with this man?
He gave me a curious look, and I answered, “Loki has a habit of claiming anything and anyone I bring into the house.”
“I guess someone wants me after all,” he murmured to Loki. “But don’t abandon your dad, beautiful. I’m sure we can share.”
The cats? Yes. I’d share Loki and Thor. But an unusual zing of possessiveness rattled through me when it came to Drake. I had no desire to share him with anyone—at least not in the way I wanted him. “Let’s get the rest of yourthings, then I can give you a quick tour of the remainder of the house, and let you settle in.”
