Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

HAYES

I love being on the road. Exploring new cities and meeting new people is one of my favorite parts of playing hockey. Right now, I should be loving it even more with the eight-game heater we're currently on, but on this long, nine-day trip, all I want is to be back home with Flora.

And fine, if I'm being honest, Quinn too.

It's not even entirely because I miss the smell of butterscotch or the way she tastes or the way she sounds when I'm inside her. I miss the ten thousand throw pillows she's put on my couch and the punny dish towels she's hung around the kitchen. I miss her snark and her eye rolls, and I even miss those ridiculous earrings she wears all the time. When I called to FaceTime with Flora last night, she had on a pair that were kittens wearing space suits. It reminded me I need to ask Lawson about adopting a cat for Flora.

"Yo, Lawsy," I ask during the second intermission. "Can I get Rory's number?"

The room goes from a bunch of loud-as-fuck hockey players all chatting at once to complete silence in two seconds flat.

Lawson lifts his head from his stall opposite me, then cocks it to the side. "I swear, Hayes, if you're about to make some uncouth comment about my woman, I will murder you, witnesses and all. I'm not opposed to spending a few years behind bars if it means defending my girl."

Honestly, the thought of making a sex joke about Rory didn't even cross my mind, and that's saying something for me.

I hold my hands up. "Nah, man. Totally innocent. I, uh, I want to adopt a cat, actually."

"What? All sad and lonely by yourself, so you're becoming a cat man now?" Keller asks.

"Guarantee even with that kid, I still get more pussy than you."

There's my old self.

"Your new nanny already putting out?"

I rise from my stall before I can stop myself, marching toward Keller, who is smirking like a cocky prick .

"Hey, whoa, easy," Fox says, standing up too. "Let's chill."

Locke joins in, both of them looking ready to hold me back if they need to, but they aren't the ones I'm paying attention to. It's Hutch. His head is tipped to the side, his eyes sharp as he studies me.

In hindsight, maybe I shouldn't have gotten out of my stall and tried to attack Keller. It makes me look awfully guilty, and though I am, that's the last thing I want to seem like. I tear my eyes away from him, turning my attention back to Keller, who is still fucking grinning.

"Leave Quinn out of this."

He shrugs. "Whatever, man."

He goes back to lacing up his skates like what just happened was nothing. For him, it probably was. I swear he gets off on getting riled up before games. He lives for the thrill of the spar. Usually Lawson is his partner, but I guess tonight it's me.

It's all my own fault too. I'm fucking anxious and all keyed up, ready to go home. It's been a long nine days, and I'm ready to be back in Quinn's bed.

No. Wait. My bed. I'm ready to be back in my bed.

Okay, fine, Quinn's too. But that's not the point. I just want to be home.

I blow out a breath, then return to my stall. Locke and Fox only sit down when I do. They don't have anything to worry about. I'm not going to jump Keller. Hell, just a few months ago, I would have said the same thing if the roles were reversed.

Man, what the fuck is up with me lately? Maybe Hutch is right. Maybe I am growing up.

Speaking of my captain…

He's still staring at me. Still studying me. Waiting for me to slip up again. But I don't. I stay on my best behavior the rest of the night, and we even win, beating Columbus 5–2, and that's with me taking three penalties.

Guess I can't change all my spots.

"Trick or treat!"

"Whoa!" I jump back, pretending to be scared of the little girl dressed in a black shirt and pants and a pink tutu that looks like it's been dipped in mud. Her face has been painted green with little black lines made to look like whiskers that match the ears on her head. "And just what are you supposed to be?"

She huffs, rolling her eyes. "I told you, Uncle Adam. I'm a zombie cat." She lifts her furry gloved hands like claws. "Rawr!"

If I thought the cat talk would die down after I told Flora no, I was wrong. She's just found more subtle ways to bring it up. I've been pretending to be annoyed by it even though I've secretly been in talks with Rory—Lawson did finally give me her number—about adopting one. What Flora doesn't know is that one of her treats tonight is going to be delivered here in the form of the tiniest black kitten, and I can't fucking wait.

"My bad. I totally forgot you're obsessed with cats now." I pat her head, careful not to mess with her cat ears. "Are you ready to go get some free candy from strangers?"

"I thought I wasn't supposed to take candy from strangers?"

"You're not."

"Then why do I get to do it tonight?"

Fuck. She has me there.

"Because… Because…" I rack my brain, trying to come up with a good reason, but I have nothing.

"Because your uncle Adam will be there to fight off any bad guys, plus we'll be checking your candy to make sure nobody has poisoned it."

"Poison?! Now I have to worry about poison too?!"

But I can't worry about Flora's questions. Not right now. Not when Quinn is walking into the kitchen wearing the most skintight one-piece I've ever seen in person. She's decked out in black head to toe, looking like she just stepped out of a superhero movie or something. In addition to the black spandex suit and tall black boots, she's wearing a black wig and black sparkly ears. She's even painted whiskers on her face and colored the tip of her nose pink.

It's hot. She's hot.

And fuck, I can't wait to peel it all off her tonight.

Well, maybe not the boots. Or the ears. We'll see.

"You don't have to worry about poison," she says as she messes with her ears. "Do you have your bucket?"

"Oh!"

Flora rushes to her room, presumably for her candy bucket, and it leaves me and Quinn alone for the first time since I got back from the road. I wanted to sneak into her room so badly last night, but it was late when we landed in Seattle and even later by the time I made it home. I didn't want to worry about waking her up.

Seeing her now, I'm regretting it.

Don't get a boner, Hayes. Not when you're about to take your niece trick-or-treating for the first time.

"There. All better." She drops her hands to her hips and grins at me. "What?"

I can't help myself—I close the small distance between us, capturing her lips in a heated kiss, coasting my hand up the back of her neck and holding her tight. She melts into me, and I press her to the counter, crowding every inch of my body against hers.

Fuck, I missed this.

I missed kissing her and touching her and smelling her and everything else that comes with her. I try not to read too much into that as I reluctantly pull my mouth from hers.

"What was that for?" she asks through harsh breaths.

"Have you seen your costume?"

She grins. "Why, Mr. Hayes, are you telling me you like my cat ears?"

"And those stupid yarn-ball earrings," I say, nuzzling her neck, loving it when they smack against my forehead. "You look hot, honey."

She giggles. "Thank you."

"I'm going to fuck you in those boots later." I slide my hand over her hip, tugging her close so she can feel how serious I am about this. I'm hard as hell right now. So much for not getting a boner.

"I was hoping you'd say that," she says.

"Why, Miss Quinn, did you wear them just for me?"

"Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't. Maybe I?—"

"I'm ready!"

Quinn shoves at me and I fall backward, my back ramming right into the kitchen island. I grunt at the impact, hoping that's not going to hurt tomorrow for the game, and try to play it cool as Flora comes to a stop just at the edge of the kitchen.

"What's going on?"

"Your uncle was helping me with my earring. How do they look?" Quinn tucks her hair behind her ear, showing them off for the kid.

"Good. Are we ready?"

I laugh at her impatience, but I don't blame her for it. When Quinn told me she had never been trick-or-treating before, I was pissed but not surprised. Of course my brother didn't bother taking her. He's a self-centered jackass who didn't do shit with his daughter and only cared about whatever drug he could get in his system next.

"We're ready."

"Then where's your costume, Uncle Adam?"

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Quinn runs by us and back down the hall to her bedroom. She emerges a few moments later carrying another pair of ears.

"What is this?" I ask, taking them from her outstretched hand.

"Ears."

"Ears?"

She nods. "We're all wearing matching costumes tonight."

"Quinn… "

She widens her eyes, jerking her head toward Flora, and I sigh, giving in because of course I give in.

"Fine. I'll wear them." I slip them over my head, hating every second of it. "Happy?"

The two girls look at each other and burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing. You just forgot to turn them on."

She reaches over and presses a button on the right ear, and it's so fucking bright I can see their pink shadow from here. There's no doubt in my mind I look stupid. Completely fucking ridiculous. I'm wearing light-up cat ears for fuck's sake.

But if it meant Flora and Quinn would smile at me like they are now, I'd wear them every day.

I think I might be in trouble.

"Flora! Someone's at the door for you!"

"For me?" she calls through the house, but I don't hear her feet hit the floor.

She's been sitting at the kitchen table since we got home, pulling piece after piece of candy from her bag, separating it by type, then handing it over to Quinn to inspect for poison, because apparently she's very concerned about it.

"Yep! I think you're going to be meowy happy about it."

"Did you just say meowy ?"

Her feet hit the floor, and Lawson stands before me, bouncing on his heels. I swear he's more excited about this than I am.

"Dude, she's gonna freak." He rubs his hands together. "And Daisy is so going to kill me for coming home smelling like a cat."

"She will not. She's used to it from me," says his girlfriend, Rory, as she sticks her hand into the pumpkin-shaped candy bucket to pet the sleeping kitten that's tucked away inside. "Besides, who could be mad at this sweet face?"

"We are not getting another cat, Wednesday. Don't even think about it."

"Excuse me, you have three dogs. I have one pet—one!"

"Okay, wow. You're just going to forget you're the mother of my children, huh? Forget we're co-parents ? Noted."

I roll my eyes at them and their bizarre conversation, then turn just as Flora marches into the living room. Quinn trails behind her with a smile.

"I was counting my chocolates," Flora announces proudly. Then she spies Rory and Lawson on the other side of the door, and all her bravado vanishes. Her shoulders roll inward, and she shrinks down an inch, her steps slowing to a crawl.

"This is one of my teammates," I tell her, motioning her forward. "They brought something over for you."

"For…me?" she asks, hesitation clear in her voice.

I nod. "Yep. Come check it out."

She inches closer, then practically attaches herself to my leg as she peeks up at Lawson and Rory. Lawson drops to his haunches to match her height.

"Hey, kid. I've heard a lot about you. Name's Lucas."

"Hi, Lucas," she whispers.

He hitches his thumb over his shoulder. "This here is Rory, but you can call her Wednesday if you want."

"That's a day of the week, not a name."

Rory laughs, dropping down beside Lawson. "He's silly. Sometimes I ignore him. You can too." She holds her hand out. "It's lovely to meet you, Flora." They shake hands. "I'm a veterinarian. Do you know what that is?"

"An animal doctor."

"That's right." Rory grins. "And as an animal doctor, sometimes people bring me pets they don't want anymore or can't take care of. "

"That's what happened to me," my niece whispers, and I grip the doorknob so tight my knuckles turn white.

Fuck my brother and his stupid fucking face. I'm glad he's in jail so he can't mess this little girl up more than he already has. He doesn't deserve her. He never fucking did.

Rory's eyes well up with tears, but she blinks them away as quickly as they came. "Well, then I guess you and this little creature have something in common."

She holds the pumpkin bucket out, and Flora cautiously—oh so cautiously—steps forward and takes a look inside.

One.

Two.

Three.

That's how many seconds it takes before she lets out the loudest shriek I've ever heard.

"A kitten!" she yells. "You got me a kitten!" She looks up at me. "You got me a kitten?"

I nod. "I got you a kitten."

"But I thought you said…"

"I know what I said," I say, dropping down to her level, "and I was wrong to not hear you out. So I thought about it"—I look over at Quinn, who isn't as composed as Rory and is definitely wiping away tears, before I turn back to Flora—"and I decided you're ready for one. You deserve one because you're the best kid I know."

It's lightning fast, so quick I don't even see it coming. Flora flings her arms around my neck, and she squeezes me so tight I can barely breathe, but I don't care.

She's hugging me.

Flora is hugging me.

She's never hugged me before, and I never realized how badly I needed it. Emotion climbs up my throat, robbing me of the ability to say anything as I squeeze her back just as tight, letting go far before I'm ready.

"Thank you, Uncle Adam."

"You're welcome, kid." I sniffle, hoping like hell Lawson isn't going to make fun of me for it later. "You want to hold her?"

"It's a her?"

Rory laughs. "Yes, she's a girl. I can teach you how to hold her properly if you'd like."

"Yes, yes, yes!"

I wave Lawson and Rory into the house, and they take Flora over to the couch. Rory talks to her about what to expect and how best to hold the kitten before pulling the black ball of fuzz from the Halloween bucket, coaching Flora as she takes hold of the little creature. She smiles down at it, happier than I've ever seen her before, and that includes the time we let her get three different flavors of ice cream.

"Hi, Pickles. It's nice to meet you."

"Pickles? Is that her name?" Rory asks.

Flora nods.

"Why Pickles?"

"Because I love her like I love pickles, and I love pickles a lot ."

I laugh. It's perfectly Flora.

"Hey, man," Lawson says, walking over my way. "This is great. She loves it."

"She does."

"Just don't let her get too carried away, you know? Next thing you know, she'll be asking for another cat, and you'll have to say no because you're the man of the house, dammit. You can put your foot down whenever you want. And?—"

"I'm getting another cat, Lawson," Rory says without even looking away from Flora.

"Yes, yes you are, Wednesday. Whatever you want." He turns back to me with an eye roll. "Women."

Only there's nothing but absolute love and admiration in his voice when he says it. The guy has fallen hopelessly in love, and it's hilarious to watch him get humbled by it.

"By the way, love the ears," he says, clapping me on the shoulder before returning to Rory's side, his hand going right to her waist like he can't help but touch her.

I don't care that he just made fun of my ears, which I didn't even realize I'm still wearing. I'm too busy watching Flora fall in love with the cat. She cuddles the kitten gently, running her finger over her nose and tickling her belly. She plays with her, wiggling a toy around for Pickles to chase. They bond, and it's so damn sweet I find myself having to look away a few times, my eyes stinging.

Quinn steps up beside me, butterscotch tickling at my nose.

"You're a good uncle, Hayes," she says quietly. "The best one I know."

As badly as I needed Flora's hug, I think I needed those words even more.