Page 24 of Redeeming Heart

“You are up early.” My father remarked, placing his newspaper aside.

“Wasn’t done by choice.” I clarified, grabbing a mug from the cupboard and filling it up with coffee.

“Jonah?” He questioned with an amused smile.

I nodded. “That kid doesn’t give up easy.”

Meredith gave Jonah a pointed stare when he decided to be brave and join us in the kitchen.

“She is my nanny after all.” I felt like dumping my cup onto his head but fought against it as I loved my coffee too much and I needed caffeine before I could face this day.

“This was no part of the deal and last time I checked a nanny gets paid,” I informed everyone.

My father rolled his eyes at me and I noticed a small smile playing in the corner of his mouth. “Other nannies do it to make an extra buck and out of free will. You on the other hand are grounded.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “Yeah, because I stood up for myself and not let a man take advantage of me,” I said my voice laced with sarcasm.

“Sasha is more than that.” My father insisted.

I wanted to argue and stated my point but one look at Jonah’s face of agony made me hold my tongue, and I was baffled when my father noticed.

He also let it go and then got us to follow him to the car before we miss out on the game that Jonah was going on about all week.

The stands of the hockey ice rink were packed with spectators when we finally arrived and Jonah was almost worried that there won’t be any seats available. My dad who was the only patient person in the bunch assured Jonah that everything will be alright while I just wanted to get out of here and go back to my bed.

We finally found seats between a fan club of girls who made it obvious that they were only here for Brandon Hills. They were wearing matching pink t-shirts with his face printed on the front and held up one massive banner with his name written on it.

It was not long before the announcers called the teams out onto the ice. I had to cover my ears when the girls sitting next to us, jumped and shrieked when Brandon made his way out on the ice.

Brandon waved at the crowd as he made his way over to his team and for a second, I caught him looking this way. He probably couldn’t miss the girls sitting beside us with their pink shirts and massive banner, but I was a bit stunned when he shot Jonah a grin when Jonah jumped up to wave at him.

All cheers around started to calm down when the teams met each other in the center circle and I suddenly found myself interested to see who got the first shot at the puck.

The referee dropped the puck between the two opposing players who immediately started scrapping to win possession for their team. Brandon’s team was faster than their opposing team and got the puck.

I understood why people started supporting ice hockey as it was a lot more entertaining than field hockey. The rules were almost the same but their defending techniques were a bit harsher. I also believed to play ice hockey you must be able to put on skates and know what you are doing.

Somewhere during the game, I caught myself craving to be part of a team and competing for a championship again. The desire of wanting to hold my hockey stick overwhelmed my senses so badly that I started cheering for Brandon’s team whenever they got a goal.

Most of the spectators from Louisiana weren’t surprised when Brandon’s team won the match.

Jonah shared his excitement quite vividly with everyone who was applauding Brandon’s team. He even went as far as running down the steps to give Brandon a high-five when Brandon made his way off the ice.

I was amazed at how well Brandon handled Jonah.

“Come on,” My father gestured towards the exit while Meredith went over to get Jonah. We waited for Meredith and Jonah at the car when we finally reached outside without getting squashed.

“I couldn’t help but think of the times when your mother and I attended all of your games.” My father remarked, looking at me.

I concealed a chuckle when memories played in the back of my mind of how my mom used to go on.

“Do you remember that time when the referee gave her a red card?” My father’s chuckle caught me completely by surprise.

“How can I forget? She almost shoved the card up his ass.” A laugh slipped past my lips before it was met by sad memories of her when she was hospitalized and had to go through all that.

“I miss her,” I admitted with a sad smile.

“Let it go, Sasha.” He pressed.

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