Page 37 of Power Play

“Yeah? You like swimming in the ocean?”

“I’m scared of the waves,” she said, shaking her head.

“Strictly a pool kid?” I asked her with a sage nod.

“I went to a lake when I was little, but Mom always takes me to the pool in the summer.”

“Well, Liam should take you to the pool one of these days,” I said. But if taking her to a park was going to be a problem, a pool would be worse. The second he took off his shirt, every phone would turn his way. Surely, he belonged to some private rich guy club that had a pool.

“Check,” Tess said as I stared, flabbergasted, at the board. She had me. I moved my king one space, but I couldn’t run forever and in two moves she had me beat.

“Rematch?” I asked her, and she lit up with excitement as she set up the board again.

Well, Kit, I thought. You’re in it now.

9

Liam

Me: Yo, Wy. Do you know anything about kids? Asking for a friend.

Me: Don’t want to mess up your honeymoon, but I’ve got a situation.

Me: Hey! Stop fucking my girlfriend and answer your damn phone.

Me: Don’t look at that celebrity truth garbage. Call me before you freak out.

Me: The kid’s not mine.

It was a cruel trick that the one woman I would not trust as far as I could throw her was somehow my guardian angel.

The second after Janice had dropped Tess off with a suitcase full of books and stuffed animals, plus another suitcasefull of clothes and a box of graham crackers, things had started to go wrong.

All Tess wanted to do was read. So, I let her do it for one day to help her settle in. The next day I tried to get her out to the park. That had been a disaster. This morning, I woke up with the fantastic plan to fill the place with toys and games. If we couldn’t go out to have fun, I’d bring the fun to us.

She wasn’t interested. Worse, she was retreating. Everything I did felt too loud. Too big. Too desperate. She just got quieter and quieter. Harrison had a pool at his house and so I had called him and made plans for us to go over later this afternoon and hang out with his family. He’d agreed and immediately turned it into a team thing, so there’d be tons of kids.

Very chill.

Very fun.

Maybe Harrison would just take her for the two weeks? He was a dad. He knew what he was doing. Except as soon as I thought it, I felt bad. Tess was a sweet kid. It wasn’t her fault I didn’t have a clue.

My phone buzzed and I flipped it over to read a text from Dillon, former Bruiser and my mentor from years ago when I was new to the league. We’d never played together, but Dillon worked for the organization to help rookies acclimate to professional life.

Dillon: Wanted to wait until the dust settled to say, well done, man. You brought the cup home to Portland. Couldn’t be prouder.

Me: Thanks. Means a lot coming from you.

Dillon: Is the celebration still going?

Me: Sure is.

Dillon: Remember, if you need a break and some fresh air, you can always come up to the Cove. I’ve got a house for you and all the peace and quiet a guy could use.

Me: I’ll keep it in mind.

Dillon: Hope you’re not allergic to cats.

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