Page 139 of The Love Penalty

I stupidly responded, “Since I was four.”

“Perfect! You're in.”

I shouldn't complain. It's a little extra cash, and those five- and six-year-olds are damn cute. I'm only an assistant coach… unless the head guy doesn't show up. On those days, I also have to stick around for the Mite and Squirt practices. And occasionally, I'll run a Peewee session too.

The older those kids get, the faster they are on the ice, and I won't admit this to anyone, but I kinda love watching their progress. I almost hope I can keep the position for more than a year or two so I can watch my little Minis improve.

Which tells me I probably want to stay in Nolan for now.

I scratch my whiskers again, surprised by that. I always thought Nolan was a four-year stop, but where the hell else am I gonna go?

I'm not a big-city man, and I can't go back to Gladstone. I'd run out of oxygen by day three. And everywhere I turn, I'll just be reminded of her.

That town is too small to survive in.

And at least Nolan is filled with mostly good memories.

I reach the top floor and am just getting ready to lay out some drop cloth when I hear a voice downstairs.

“Hello? Anybody here?”

I wait for Rachel to respond, but she doesn't say anything.

“Hello?”

With a frown, I squeeze the back of my neck and wait out one more “Hello?” before giving up with a huff and clomping back downstairs.

Rachel must have left already. She probably went out the back, which means she wouldn't have seen whoever was coming in.

“We're not actually open yet,” I call down the stairs, but my voice dies when I reach the landing and see the woman waiting in the foyer.

My breath hitches and I'm frozen in place, my heart thumping wildly as she turns around and spots me.

Her almond eyes crease at the corners, and I'm sucked back in time for a second. Back to that moment when I'm pretty sure I fell in love with her. It was the Fourth of July, and she was wearing red ribbons in her hair and a stars-and-stripes T-shirt. Her smile was radiant as she laughed at something her friend said, and then she looked right at me and winked.

And now she's standing here like an apparition. Her hair is shorter—cut to her shoulders—and she's got a kid perched on her hip.

I gape at the boy, my insides curdling as I force my legs to move down the final stairwell.

“Baxter Brown.” She grins at me. Her smile is still the same. I could never get enough of those dimples.

Stopping on the final step, I grip the railing and try to play it cool. That's how I get through most things in life—aloof and unreadable.

“Hey, Tammy.”

My little TT. That's what I used to call her.

Tamara Tan—the only girl I've ever loved—is standing just a few feet away from me.

And she's holding a kid.

Not my kid.

His kid.

It's gotta be. The boy looks like he's around four-ish, and that's when she was dating him. That's the reason they got married… or at least one of the reasons.

Working my jaw to the side, I beg my mouth to work as I step onto the wooden floor and close the space between us.

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