Sheepishly, she added, “Of course.”
“Did you call for a reason, Mom?” I hated that we talked to each other like this. But the way we’d left things in Colorado hadn’t left much room for kind feelings.
“I thought…” She started again, “I thought that if you could make it, you might want to go to Seattle and support her.”
It was all I could do not to laugh.
I should tell her. Part of me wanted to keep this to myself a little bit longer, to keep my - whatever it was I had with Brett - to myself.
The other part, the little girl part that, deep down, still loved her mother, wanted to give her some peace. “Actually, Mom, I am going to the game.”
She chirped, “Are you going with Amanda?”
Lie? Don’t lie? Don’t lie. “Actually, I have a friend that plays for the Kraken, and he’s invited me to watch.”
“Elizabeth, you cannot cheer for the opposing team. You can’t do that to her.” She practically screamed. I pulled an air pod out of my ear. “That will crush your sister.”
I put the air pod back in and stood from the couch. “Okay, Mom, you know what? We’re done. I’m done talking to you. You completely miss the point of everything. I didn’t do ittoAmanda. I never do anythingtoAmanda. And yet everything you do and say seems to demonstrate that you have no regard for my feelings. Is it possible that I might like this player?”
“Are you punishing her?”
“Oh my God. I’m done, Mom. I’ll call you next week.” I hit the red phone icon, ending the call, and threw my air pods across the room.
I closed my eyes and took a deep calming breath. When I opened them, Todd was sitting at me feet, staring up at me. Panting.
“I want to be a dog. Your life is so easy, isn’t it?” He tilted his head in confusion. “I know. You just want to go for a walk, don’t you?” He bolted towards the door and did a circle. “Yeah, me too. Let’s go for a walk.”
When we returned, my heart rate was lower, my shoulders less tense. A sense of peace settled over me. I had tomorrow to look forward to.
Chapter 16
Decent, caring, andloving was not how I’d describe the man that took the ice for the seventh game in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Up close and personal, Brett was a force on the ice. He was focused, determined, relentless. Knowing he was planning on retiring after this season, I was hyper-focused on his every move.
I’d arrived earlier in the day. It had been a quick drive and a peaceful ferry ride from the airport to his house.
A heavy wooden gate had opened at the end of a very long drive. From tall, wooden pillars that framed the gate, cameras angled down at the entrance.
The driver eased through the gate and we cruised slowly down the endless driveway. Finally, we came to a stop before a very secluded, very large house. It sat at the edge of the water, with a spectacular view of Seattle across the bay.
The driver had jumped out and opened the door for me. “I’ll get your bags for you ma’am, and then I’ll wait here until you’re ready to go to the game.”
“Thank you.” I said, and he followed me to the door. I’d punched in the key-code Brett had given me and the doors swung open. The driver carried in my bags and set them just inside the door.
He shut the door behind him, reminding me to come out when I was ready.
I’d arrived with plenty of time to settle in, so I took my time looking around the upstairs of the house. It had an open floor plan. The kitchen and large eating area were on the left, while on the right was a spacious living area with a stone fireplace and big screen TV. A set of stairs descended to an unseen room; an area I imagined I would explore later. Plush, creamy cloth couches formed an L to the fireplace. Heavy throw pillows and jewel toned throws were strewn haphazardly across them.
To my left was a long hallway. I took my suitcase and rolled it behind me, peeking into doors along the way. Two guest rooms and a Hollywood bath were on the left. A guest bath and a den on the right.
At the end of the hall was an airy master bedroom that ran the entire width of the house.
The room was painted a charcoal, feathered gray. The bed had a heavy oak, dark chocolate frame. Gray and rich brown area rugs covered light oak flooring. On the ceiling, silver steel track lights turned on automatically as I entered the room.
I rolled my suitcase to the end of the bed and sat down on a leather loveseat facing the floor to ceiling windows. Heavy, velvet, blackout drapes hung at either end of the glass.
I’d opened the sliding glass door and stepped onto an expansive deck. Two chaise lounges faced the low afternoon sun. An umbrella shaded them. The water lapped at the beach below the house. Salt water scented the air.